["Abhinava's Conception of Humor" has been visited 66 times since 25 March 2007]
Abhinavagupta's Conception of Humor:
Its Resonances in Sanskrit Drama, Poetry, Hindu Mythology & Spiritual Praxis
I
have been meditating on a very serious subject...humor!
But the funny thing about it is that I don't find it at all humorous!
This is Sunthar's Ph.D. thesis as it was submitted to the Benares Hindu University in 1983. The only changes to the text are cosmetic: proofing, adding English equivalents of Sanskrit terms, etc. The thesis was strongly recommended for a D. Litt. degree (read the examiners' reports), which the university does not confer. I've offered the entire text (including summaries) of all the chapters and the lengthy Appendix (= endnotes to the Introduction), and am now proceeding to add the more significant footnotes. The page numbers of the original thesis submitted to BHU have been inserted in [red brackets] at the start of their corresponding pages to facilitate citation and reference in other works.