30. HISTORY OF INDIAN ÆSTHETICS 33

HISTORY OF INDIAN ÆSTHETICS 33

According to this view, art creates illusion on the stage by means of its skilful representation of what appears in poet's imagination. Therefore, just as at the time of illusory knowledge of silver at the sight of brilli- ance of mother of pearl, there is the same experience for a moment as at the sight of real silver ; so, on the objective perception of the stage representation of the historic, there is for a moment an extremely pleasant experience very much the same as at the sight of the real, For, the spectator is aware of the presence of an emotive state in the focus of the situation, the hero, though it is really not there.

This illusion-theory of art is also maintained by some of the western writers on æsthetics. We shall deal with their theory in the second volume. And much more interesting is the criticism of the oppo- nents of Bhatta Lollata's supposed explanation of the1 æsthetic experience in the spectator. These late commentators knew and had accepted Abhinava's elaborate theory of art. They, therefore, knew that æsthetic experience is not due to the objective cognition of a basic mental state in union with the situation, the mimetic changes and the transient emotions and that it arises from subjective realisation. Their chief criticism of the explanation of æsthetic experience, attributed to Bhatta Lollața, therefore, naturally is that æsthetic experience is not possible on the basis of a mere objective cognition of a basic mental state. For, if it be so, there is no reason why we should not have æsthetic experience from an emotive situation in daily life.

THE CAUSES OF THE MISUNDERSTANDING. It is not difficult to account for the attribution of the

1. S. D. Comm., 69. 5