Aswada is the term used in Hindu religion to refer to the
action of relishing and the object relished. The object relished may be either physical or intellectual
or mental.
Physical objects have specific qualities referred to as rasa
(taste) and they are six in number.
- Sweet
- Sour
- Salty
- Hot
- Pungent
- Bitter
Since all the tastes are needed for health, one should
cultivate the habit of enjoying them equally.
For example, in winter season a person should take foods
that are heavy and should counter vayu and thereby the digestive fire induced
by it.
Thought foodstuffs with all the six tastes are to be
consumed, foodstuffs with particular tastes suited for a particular season
should be used frequently.
The taste suited for the seasons, as given in Ayurveda are
- sweet, sour and salt in winter and rainy seasons
- bitter, hot and pungent in spring season
- sweet in summer
- pungent and bitter in autumn
Sentiments are known as Asvada in Sanskrit aesthetic
literature. They, too are known by the term rasa only. In fact, Sage Bharata in
the sixth chapter of this Natyashastra, explains the enjoyment of these
sentiments in terms of relishing food tastes.
When a particular scene is enacted on the stage or portrayed
in a poetic work, it kindles the appropriate dormant emotion (one of the nine
sthayaibhavas). Helped by anubhavas and sancaribhavas, the dormant emotion is
generalized (sadharanikrata) and is raised to the level of enjoyment or relish
or rasa.
This process of delineation and the enjoyment of the
sentiment are called rasasvada. It is similar to, if not the same as,
brahmananda (Supreme Bliss).
Source - notes taken from Encyclopedia of Hinduism Volume II (IHRF) page 2
Source - notes taken from Encyclopedia of Hinduism Volume II (IHRF) page 2