Vatsalya in Hinduism is the affection of parents and elders for children and youngsters; one of the rasas added to the nine rasas of Bharata by later rhetoricians. An aspect of love based on affection and attachment, called preyas, was mentioned as the tenth rasa by Rudrata in this Kavyalankara (III.3). He mentions sneha as the sthayin – snehaprakritih preyah. Here, Rudrata has thought mainly of friendship.
At the same time, the other type of preyas of Bhamaha and Dandin is considered by them as only a bhava, developed into a new rasa, vatsalya. Vishwanatha, in his Sahityadarpana, enumerates it as one of the main rasas, along with Bharata’s nine rasas, and calls it vatsala – atha munindrasammato vatsalah… vatsalam ca rasam viduh. King Dilipa’s vatsalya towards his son Raghu (Raghuvamsha III) is cited by him as illustrative of this. He considers sneha as its sthayin.
Haripaladeva, in his Sangitasudhakara, accepts vatsalya as a rasa but gives priti as its sthayin. Mandaramaranda campu (Kavyalankara 100) curiously enough declares that karuna or karunya (compassion) is the sthayin of vatsalya: anye tu karunasthayi vatsalyam dasamo’pi ca. Kavikarnapura (Alankara Kaustubha) depicts Yasoda’s love for child Krishna as an instance of vatsalya and considers mamakara as its sthayin – atra mamkarah sthayi. Bhoja, in his Sringaraprakasa, includes vatsalya as one of the ten main rasas … Vatsala bhayanaka santa namnah amnasisurdasa rasan…
Bopadeva and Rupa Gosvamin accept vatsalya as one of the major rasas and classify it as one of the five mukhya Bhakti rasas.