RASA-CHITRAS OF BHARAT: THE DIVINE VISION OF ANCIENT ART
Whether on the stately walls of the royal city of Ujjayini or in the timeless murals of the Ajanta Caves nestled in the Sahyadri Hills, the Rasachitram of Bharat stands as a living testament to artistic mastery and sacred expression. For over two millennia, Bharat has sustained an unbroken lineage of spiritual and aesthetic devotion—an art tradition that is not decorative, but revelatory. From frescoes shaped by light and rhythm to narratives formed in mineral pigments, every line carries disciplined knowledge, lived practice, and the breath of a civilisation rooted in both śāstra and lived wisdom.
RASA-CHITRAS
SAHYADRI-AJANTA - 100 BC
The art of Bharat is emphatically emotive, ritualistic, and symbolic—known in tradition as Rasa-Chitra, painting that awakens rasa, the aesthetic and emotional essence. These are not decorative images but sacred acts, embodying chetanā—the living consciousness that breathes life into form.
Such creation was never left to improvisation. Painting in Bharat was governed by Chitraśāstra—the disciplined science of image-making. Texts such as the Chitralakṣaṇa and the Chitra sections of the Viṣṇudharmottara Purāṇa laid down precise laws of line, proportion, gesture, space, colour, and expression. They taught not only how to paint, but how to think, feel, and see as an artist.
These manuals shaped a living system where proportion, emotion, divinity, and discipline functioned as one. They were not theoretical treatises but working guides—meant to be practiced, embodied, and transmitted through the hand, the eye, and the breath of the artist.
TECHNIQUES OF IMMORTALITY: TALA-MANA AND VISUAL SCIENCE
The Vinaya Piṭaka of around 300 BCE records a time when even kings such as Prasenjit maintained private galleries, so powerful were the images that Bhikkhunīs were forbidden entry. Such reverence arose from the extraordinary precision with which these images were created.
Every image in Bharat was formed through strict adherence to Tāla–Māna—the science of proportion that governs aesthetic balance. Symmetry, spatial harmony, and foreshortening (kṣaya–vṛddhi) were not stylistic choices but sacred laws. This system ensured that a form radiated divine presence, even when its physical size changed. Here, physical scale was secondary; spiritual proportion was supreme.
Creation began with rekha—the fundamental line. From rekha arose chetanā, the living pulse that transforms pigment into presence. Proportional systems classified figures as Uttama, Madhyama, and Adhama, with Daśa–Tāla—the tenfold measure—standing as the highest model, rendering the human body as sacred geometry. Within this structure, subtle sub-measurements allowed refined detailing, giving visual form to both discipline and life.
INTERCONNECTION OF THE ARTS IN BHARATAM
Bharat never treated its art forms as separate disciplines. Painting, music, dance, and drama evolved as a single, integrated language of expression. Each artform informed the other, creating a living harmony rather than isolated practices.
An image was never meant to be still—it was expected to sing through rhythm, move through gesture, and speak through emotion, even in silence. This was the vision of the golden age of Bharat’s art: creation not for entertainment alone, but as sacred offering, where every form carried sound, movement, and devotion within it.
”SASVASA IVA YACCHITRAM TACCITRAM SUBHALAKSHANAM”
A painter should make the picture alive, depicting life movement or Chetana.
Below an unknown artist has tried to replicate a few portraits of Ajanta.
Kamasutra of Vatsyayana, explains that painting has six limbs (shadanga)- rupabheda (distinction of form), pramana (proportion), bhava and lavanyayojana (the infusion of emotion and grace), sadrshya (likeness or verisimilitude), vamika bhanga (division of colour).
Woman potrayed in cave 17,Ajanta
Bagh cave paintimg,Madhya Pradesh
EXPERIENCE TIMELESS BEAUTY IN A MODERN REALM
From the woman portrayed in Cave 17 of Ajanta to the Bagh cave paintings of Madhya Pradesh, the echoes of Bharat’s eternal brushstrokes continue to captivate. And now, you can witness them anew.
Experience our online Virtual Exhibitions here. Step into the world where the divinity of art in Bharat still breathes through digital corridors.
JOIN RE-SEARCH HINDU
OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS!
JOIN RE-SEARCH HINDU
OPEN CALL FOR ARTISTS!
We extend an evocative invitation to all artists, students, and seekers—to learn from the Chitrashastras and embrace the ancient Rasachitram of Bharat. Paint, draw, or design—in any medium, including digital—and imbue your creation with proportion, grace, and Chetana.
Instruction model – Chitrasutra.
Two outstanding works will be rewarded with prizes:
SUNYAM and ANANTAM – £1000 each.
Submit Your Artwork, Learn More About Chitrashastras, and become part of a sacred continuum where technique meets transcendence. This is an online opportunity to explore the depths of Indian artistic heritage, and a chance to study ancient prescriptive manuals.