The Effect of Drama: Towards a Theory of Aesthetic Experience in Early Jainism

Renunciant traditions are known for their ambiguous views on drama since aesthetic experience distracts mendicants and laypeople from the right path rooted in equanimity and self-discipline. Having recognized the powerful effects of drama, however, Jains developed some of the earliest theories on drama and aesthetics, which they imbued with social and ritual efficacy. For instance, in the Piṇḍanijjuti, a drama about the world-emperor Bharata encourages five hundred kṣatriyas to renounce the world. In the Rāyapaseṇiya, a devotional performance by the god Sūriyābha represents a ritual internalization of the Jina’s biography. Through the analysis of these and other examples from early Jain literature, this paper argues that Jains envisioned aesthetic experience produced by drama and poetry as a source of social and ritual transformation, which affected individuals and communities.