Madhura-rasa-vicāra
Sthāyībhāva & Stages of rati The next day, Vijaya Kumāra arrived punctually at the lotus feet of his Gurudeva, offered sāṣṭāṅga-daṇḍavat, and sat in his place. Śrī Gopāla Guru Gosvāmī observed Vijaya’s eagerness to know about sthāyībhāva and said, “Madhura-rati is the sthāyībhāva of madhura-rasa.”
Vijaya: What causes the appearance of rati?
Gosvāmī
Rati arises from abhiyoga, viṣaya, sambandha, abhimāna, tadīya-viśeṣa, upamā, and svabhāva. Each of these causes is progressively superior to the previous one, so the rati that arises from svabhāva is the best of all. Vijaya: What is abhiyoga?
Gosvāmī
Abhiyoga is expressing one’s bhāva. There are two types of abhiyoga: that which one reveals personally, and that which someone else reveals. Vijaya: What is viṣaya?