Query: the nine Rasas; what colours are associated?

[Noel Salmond]

At 12:53 PM 8/7/97 BST, you wrote:
>Dear list-members,
>
>I've been reading up on Indian aesthetic theories and I gather that each 
>rasa has its associated colour. So far I have - 
>		the comic	white
>		the furious	red
>		the terrible	black
>		the erotic	blue-black
>(from B. N. Goswamy, "Another past, another context: Exhibiting Indian 
>Art Abroad", in "Exhibiting Cultures", Eds Karp & Levine)
>
>However a literature search has failed to reveal any of the others. If anyone
>knows the other colour associations I'd be very keen to hear from you. This
>is of more than academic interest to me because I am a visual artist and want
>to use this in a series of artworks. 
>
>Thank you; Clare
>	----------------------------------------------------------
>	Clare Martin			   clare at coombs.anu.edu.au
>	PO Box 13				Tel: (06) 247 2397
>	Ainslie				       	    +61 6 247 2397
>	ACT  2602
>	Australia
>	----------------------------------------------------------
>
>
Clare

My notes remind me:

rasa                  colour               deity

S.rn.gaara  erotic:   bluish black         Vi.s.nu
haasya  comic:        white                Siva
karu.na pathetic:     ash colour           Yama
raudra  furious:      red                  Rudra
viira  heroic:        light orange         Indra
bhayaanaka terrrible: black                Kaala
biibhatsa  odious:    blue                 Mahaakaala
adbhuta marvellous:   yellow               Brahma
Saanta  peaceful:     jasmine              Naaraaya.na

B.N. Goswamy did an exhibition catalog for the Asian Art Museum in San
Francisco that was titled <Essence of Indian Art> (1986) I think there's
quite a bit of rasa theory in there and an attempt to correlate rasa theory
with the visual arts.
best wishes

Noel Salmond
Carleton University