Verse Text
śrī-viṣṇu-dharmottare ca –
rasānāṁ samavetānāṁ yasya rūpaṁ bhaved bahu |
sa mantavyo rasaḥ sthāyī śeṣāḥ saṅcāriṇo matāḥ ||44||
Translation
Viṣṇu-dharmottara says: In a combination of rasas, that whose form is most prominent is considered to be the sthāyi-bhāva, and the rest should be considered to have the nature of vyabhicāri-bhāvas.
Purport (Jiva Goswami)
Rūpam means svarūpam and bahu means “more in quantity.” Though the rest should be considered to be vyabhicāri-bhāvas, those bhāvas which never separate from their respective āśrayas, such as madhura or śānta-rasa, should be considered only to act as if they were vyabhicāri-bhāvas, though they actually are not. However, the secondary rasas like hāsya, which are separate from their āśrayas, are actually vyabhicāri-bhāvas. In distinguishing other rasas from the prominent rasa by the term vyabhicāri-bhāva, the intention is to point out the cooperative nature of the rasa as it assumes the role of nourishing the prominent rasa (just as vyabhicāri-bhāvas assist the main sthāyi-bhāva.) This was also shown in verse 42, where the other rasas (either primary or secondary) were considered aṅgas of the prominent rasa called aṅgī.
Purport (Nectar of Devotion)
It is confirmed in the Viṣṇu-dharmottara that when there are many mellows of devotional ecstasy mixed together, the prominent one, or the whole, is called the steady ecstasy of devotional service. Although the subordinate mellow may be manifested for a certain time, at length it will become merged into the prominent whole. Thus it is called an unconstitutional ecstasy of devotional service.