1. A Historical and Cultural Study of Natya Sastra Anupa Pande

A

HISTORICAL

AND

CULTURAL

STUDY

OF

THE

NĀTYAŚĀSTRA

OF

BHARATA

Anupa

Pande

KUSUMANJALI

PRAKASHAN

JODHPUR

A

HISTORICAL

AND

CULTURAL

STUDY

OF

THE

NĀTYAŚĀSTRA

OF

BHARATA

Anupa

Pande

KUSUMANJALI

PRAKASHAN

JODHPUR

A HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL STUDY OF THE NĀṢTYAŚĀSTRA OF BHARATA

A

Historical

and

Cultural

Study

of

the

Natyasastra

of

Bharata

ANUPA

PANDE

Published

by

KUSUMANJALI

BOOK

WORLD,

JODHPUR

Price : Rs. 450.00

Edition : 1996

© Dr. Mrs. Anupa Pande

Published by :

Kusumanjali Book World

41-A Sardar Club Scheme

Jodhpur-342 011

All rights reserved including the right to translate. No part of

this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by

any means without the written permission of the Publishers.

Published by Kusumanjali Book World, 41-A, Sardar Club

Scheme, Jodhpur-342 011 (India) and printed at

Printing House, Jodhpur-342 001.

कां सोस्मितां हिरण्यप्राकारामाद्री ज्वलन्तीं तृप्तां तर्पयन्तीम् । पद्ये स्थितां पद्मवरेपु हूये श्रियम् ॥

श्रुतुलित-बल-धामं हेम-शैलाम-देहं दनुज-वन-कृशानुं ज्ञानिनामग्रगण्यम् । सकल-गुण-निधानं वानराणामधीशं रघुपति-प्रिय-मक्तं वातजातं नमामि ॥

Preface

Although the Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata is known to be an encyclopaedic source for the reconstruction of ancient Indian social and cultural history, it cannot be said to have been adequately utilized so far. Much of the work which has been done so far relates to the dramaturgy of Bharata. Thus Sylvain Levi and Sten Konow, A.B. Keith, S.K. De and P.V. Kane have attempted to trace the history of Sanskrit drama and dramaturgy and V. Raghavan, R. Gnoli, Masson and Patwardhan have sought to elucidate the aesthetic concepts involved in this literary tradition. Mankad, tarlekar, G.K. Bhat and Manmohan Ghosh have written on Bharatan theatre compendiously. On dance Dr. Kapila Vatsyayana’s work is well-known. Acharya Brihaspati, Dr. Premlata Sharma, Dr. Mukund Lath, Svami Prajnanand have commented on several aspects of the development of ancient Indian music. Despite such scholarly attention, it remains a fact that there has been no adequate treatment of Bharata’s Nāṭyaśāstra as a whole. Nor has there been any attempt to analyse it from a historical point of view or to bring out its social background.

Much of the work done so far discusses the theatre from a technical point of view as defined in the tradition of literary criticism. It does not sufficiently attend to the fact that drama involving social representation may serve to throw light on social history. Formal categories of dramaturgy may in effect be congealed facts and values deriving from social life. The present work, thus, explores the technical world of theatrical conventions, practices and ideas from the standpoint of social history.

At the same time, unlike the usual practice, the focus in the present work is on the musicology of Bharata, not on his dramaturgy. In interpreting the text of Bharata in this area recourse has been taken to other ancient texts in music but especially to the admittedly difficult but illuminating commentary of Abhinava Gupta. Explanations of ancient terms by modern interpreters like Fox-Strangways, Clements, Alain Danielou, Mark Levi, Acharya Brihaspati etc., have been critically considered and special attention given to theatrical music.

Bharata treats the performing arts as parts of Nāṭya and Nāṭya as social representation. Expression, communication and representation are essential processes through which the arts operate. Their formal and technical categories cannot be divorced from social facts, attitudes and values. From this point of view the Nāṭyaśāstra acquires the aspect of a highly significant social and cultural document from which

viii A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

one may glean not only the outward appearance, manners and gestures of the people in its age but also their inner psyche and social relations. It is from this point of view that the present work seeks to put together the social and cultural data of the Nāṭyaśāstra and placer them in the context of their historical development.

In the scheme of Bharata the various arts meet in the theatre and find their inner unity in the concept of rasa in which aesthetic and social values coincide. The present work seeks to bring out inter alia these unifying strands of the arts.

The distinctive approach in the present work may, thus, be defined by its socio-historical orientation, focus on musicology, and the analysis of aesthetic and social values.

The present work is based on a dissertation with the same title accepted by the University of Allahabad for its degree of D. Phil. in 1987. The original work has been revised and updated into its present form in the light of further study and reflection made possible by the Research Associateship granted by the University Grants Commission in January 1989, and forms the first part of a series of monographs planned on the Nāṭyaśāstra tradition.

My deepest debt is to Professor B.N.S. Yadav, former Head of the Department of Ancient History, Culture and Archaeology, University of Allahabad for his never-failing guidance in my research work. I am also beholden to my other teachers in the Department especially to the late Professor G.R. Sharma, Professor U.N. Roy, Professor S.N. Roy and Professor S. Bhattacharya. Professor K.D. Bajppai, Dr. S.P. Gupta, Professor V.S. Pathak, Dr. Mukund Lath, and above all, the late Dr. Jai Dev Singh, the celebrated musicologist, have helped me through their reprints, books and suggestions from time to time, and I am grateful to them. I must also record my gratitude to Shri M.C. Tiwari and Shri Raghuvarsh Tiwari for their assistance and courtesy. Finally, but for the kind interest of Professor S.R. Goyal the present work would have remained on the dusty shelf and without seeing the light of the day so soon. I can never express my gratitude to him sufficiently.

It would hardly be appropriate to speak of gratitude towards my parents, Professor G.C. Pande and Shrimati Sudha Pande, or towards my mother-in-law, Shrimati Brajangana Pande or my husband, Shri D.P. Pande, whose affectionate interest in my work has afforded me constant emotional support. Even my little son Anshuman has been considerate by not being over-demanding !

Allahabad, 12.06.1990

Anupa Pande

Contents

Preface

vii

Abbreviations

xi

Chapters

1 The Nāṭyaśāstra and its Date

1

2 Ancient Indian Theatre as Reflected in the Nāṭyaśāstra

12

3 Theory and Practice of Drama

32

4 Geographical Horizons and Material Culture

63

5 Aspects of Social Life: Structure, Institutions and Values

82

6 Dance and the Language of Gestures

113

7 Development of the Musical System: Gāndharva and Gāna

177

8 Musical System: Elements and Structure

182

9 Theatrical Music: Dhruvā-gāna

228

10 Rhythm and Time (Tāla)

254

11 Musical Instruments

278

12 Concept of Rasa and the Foundations of Indian Aesthetics

308

in Bharata

Bibliography

328

Index

334

Abbreviations

AB : Abhinava Bhāratī

ASI : Archaeological Survey of India

ASS : Anandasrama Sanskrit Series

AV : Atharvaveda

BB : Bharatabhāṣya of Nānyadeva

BG : Bhagavadgītā

Br : Bṛhaddeśī

Ch. Upa : Chāndogya Upaniṣad

DN : Dīgha Nikāya

GOS : Gaekwad Oriental Series

IA : Indian Antiquary

IHQ : Indian Historical Quarterly

JASB : Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal

JAHRS : Journal of the Andhra Historical Research Society

JBRS : Journal of the Bihar Research Society

JDL : Journal of the Department of Letters

JRAS : Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society

Kalā. : Kalānidhi of Kallinātha

Mbh. : Mahābhārata

NŚ : Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata

PHAI : Political History of Ancient India, by H.C. Raychaudhuri

PTS : Pali Text Society

RV : Ṛgveda

SBE : Sacred Books of the East

SBAW : Sitzungsberichte der königliche Akademie der Wissens-chaften zu Berlin

SN : Saṃyutta Nikāya

SR : Saṅgīta Ratnākara of Śārṅgadeva

S. Rāj. : Saṅgīta Rāja of Kumbhā

Tai. Brā. : Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa

Tai. Sam : Taittirīya Saṃhitā

Tai. Upa. : Taittirīya Upaniṣad

Chapter 1

The Nāṭyaśāstra and its Date

The Nature and Date of the NŚ

The Nāṭyaśāstra deals with theatre in the most comprehensive manner. It is not simply an elaborate treatise on dramaturgy, but the most ancient and authoritative surviving treatise on histrionics, dance and music. “The term ‘theatrics’ is perhaps the most appropriate word to represent its Sanskrit denotation.”1 The author is designated Bharata or simply Muni. The work has also been designated by Abhinavagupta “Ṣaṭtriṃśakam Bharatasūtrāmidam.”2 It was also known as ‘Ṣaṭaśāstrī.’3 Bahurūpa Miśra, in his commentary on the Daśarūpaka, refers to an earlier and larger work consisting of twelve thousand ślokas.4 In the Bhāvaprakāśana5 it is stated that from the Nāṭyaveda of twelve thousand verses, the Bharatas produced a summary of six thousand verses. This earlier and larger work has been lost, only some quotations from it survive. ‘There is also a tradition that originally the gāndharva-veda composed by Brahmā consisted of 36,000 ślokas.6

It seems that tradition recognised three stages in the development of the NŚ—an original work attributed to Brahmā; a later work of 12,000 verses, apparently in the form of dialogue between Śiva and Pārvatī; and the present treatise by Bharata. Abhinavagupta refers to three different schools of earlier opinion, namely of Sadāśiva, Brahmā and Bharata.7 He combats the view of some ‘disbelieving critics’ (nāstikas) that the NŚ was not the work of Bharata but a work intended to prove the superiority of the Brāhmamata over the other two.8

It has to be remembered that the word ‘Bharata’ was not simply the name of a particular sage, but also a word signifying an actor or nata.9 It is, thus, possible that the present NŚ was not the work of a single sage, but rather a comprehensive handbook of actors, traditionally handed down and enlarged. This would explain its encyclopaedic scope, highly technical exposition and a severely practical style which generally eschews theoretical discussions. On the other hand, the work as it exists is highly systematic and by and large consistent and unified. The hypothesis about a composite authorship is already mentioned and criticised by Abhinavagupta “ekasya granthasya

2 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyāśāstra

anekavaktrvacanasamdarbhāmayatve pramāṇābhāvāt”.10 It certainly shows the unifying activity of some great mind or minds responsible for its original conception and final redaction. Since Bharatamuni is described as a master of drama and stage-craft (NŚ,ch. 1) and the head of a long line of theatrical experts, there is no real contradiction between the two views. A theatrical tradition existed among the actors nnd producers and Bharata himself, conversant with their practice, systematically epitomised the tradition.11 A similar situation is found in the case of the śilpaśāstras, where also one can see the combination of the practical tradition of craftsmen with the intellectual activity of sages or seers. The fact that the actors and craftsmen worked in guilds, made the growth of tradition in a more or less codified form easy. Without postulating a close association between the practical experience af artists and the theoretical activity of intellectuals or seers, the growth of the NŚ or of the Śilpaśāstra or of other similar Śāstras would hardly be intelligible.

It is for this reason that the dating of the NŚ presents serious difficulties. Diverse dates have been proposed by different scholars12 from c. 500 B.C. to c. 300 A.D. It has been reasonably argued that the Mālavikāgnimitram, Kumārasambhavam, Raghuvamśam and Vikramorvaśīyam13 of Kālidāsa and the Amarakośa presuppose the NŚ which would, thus, be pre-Gupta. The fact that Mātṛgupta, whom tradition connects with Kālidāsa and Harśa-Vikrama are said to have expounded the NŚ,14a would strengthen this supposition. From the 8th century onwards, there was a long line of commentators on the NŚ, such as Lollaṭa, Udbhata, Śaṅkuka, Bhaṭṭanāyaka and Abhinavagupta.14b Apart from commentators, literary critics like Bhāmaha and Vāmana appear to have been versed in the NŚ. Although the dating of Bhāmaha has attracted much controversy, his treatment of the Buddhist principle of apoha and his closeness to Daṇḍin suggests a date between the 6th and 8th centuries for him.15 The anteriority of NŚ to Bhāmaha, Daṇḍin and Bhaṭṭi is also clear from its rudimentary treatment of Alaṅkāras. Thus a pre-Gupta date for the NŚ cannot be seriously contested.

On the other hand, Keith argued that the Prākṛtas of Bharata are later than those of Aśvaghoṣa,16 though he does not substantiate or elaborate it. If we examine the contents of the NŚ, we find it referring to Khaśa, Vāhlīka and the Mlecchas.17 Again, the mention of Śakāra, if it implies a reference to the Śaka janapada, as was the opinion of some ancient commentators, and also the plain reference to Śaka, Yavana, Pahlava and Bahlika would suggest a date not earlier than the end of the second or the first century B.C.18 The refere-

nce to the Pāśupatas19 would harmonise with this. The reference to Bhārata as karmabhūmi20 is redolent of the early Paurāṇic atmosphere as is its picture of the gods and myths. At one place, the kings are described as celebrated in the Vedic tradition and as born of the gods.21 This cannot but remind one of Manu22 whom Bühler placed between the 2nd cen. B.C. and 2nd cen. A.D.23 For the NŚ also this time-period would appear to be not far from the truth.

Although the NŚ does not refer to the nāgaraka of the Kāmaśāstra as such, its characters of the Prakarana approach that image closely. The Viṭa in particular is a sophisticated town-dweller. Even though the NŚ does not dwell on the city and its life as such, it has an entire chapter on the Vaiśika. Now it may be recalled that according to the Kāmaśāstra, one version of it was composed by Dattaka, who wrote a separate treatise on the Vaiśikādhyāya.24 Since the treatise of Dattaka no longer exists, it is difficult to say as to what extent the Vaiśikādhyāya of the NŚ derives from it. In fact, Dattaka is said to have composed his work for the sake of the ganikās of Pāṭaliputra. It may be presumed that NŚ also presupposes the rise of such big cities as Pāṭaliputra became by the 4th cen. B.C. Its geographical, ethnic and social horizons indicate the age of the Indo-Scythians and the Indo-Greeks.

Another consideration important for the dating of the NŚ is the fact that it presupposes a well-developed theatre and dramatic performances, as also a highly formalized tradition of dance and music. The antiquity of this tradition provides an earlier limit for a text like the NŚ. How old the theatrical tradition was, has been a question much debated by modern scholars. Some modern scholars have attempted to trace the origins of Sanskrit drama to the Vedas themselves.25 The dialogue hymns of the Vedas have been considered the source of later drama. There are at least fifteen such dialogue hymns in the Rk Samhitā. Thus, in the first maṇḍala we have two hymns (numbered 165 and 170) recalling a dialogue of Indra with the Maruts. In the same maṇḍala hymn number 179 contains the famous dialogue of Agastya with Lopāmudrā. In the third maṇḍala, the thirty-third hymn has a dialogue of Viśvāmitra with the rivers and in the fourth maṇḍala, the eighteenth hymn records a dialogue between Indra, Aditi and Vāmadeva. The 42nd hymn in the same maṇḍala, has a dialogue between Indra and Varuṇa. In the 7th maṇḍala, the 33rd hymn gives the dialogue between Vasiṣṭha and his sons. In the 9th maṇḍala, the 100th hymn has the dialogue of Nema Bhārgava and Indra. The 10th maṇḍala has as many as 6 hymns with dialogues. The 10th hymn of this maṇḍala records the famous dialogue of Yama and Yami. The 28th

4 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

hymn has the dialogue of the gods with Agni. The 86th hymn is the dialogue of Purūravas and Urvaśī, while the 108th hymn has the dialogue of Saramā and the Paṇis.

Now these dialogues have not been ascribed any ritual use by Sāyana. It has been suggested that some of these dialogues may have been reported or enacted at Vedic sacrifices. Von Schroeder suggested that these dialogue hymns, had their origin in Vedic mysteries which went back to Indo-European times.26 One difficulty with the hypothesis of regarding the dialogue hymns as providing the origin of later drama is that this genre virtually disappears in later Vedic times. Windisch, Oldenberg and Pischel suggested that these dialogue hymns were survivals of ancient epic dialogues with the connective prose eliminated. Thus, both drama and epic may be said to have their source in them.27 Keith, however, comments that there is no evidence that such a prose-verse mixture existed in the early Vedic hymns.28

Thus, although, it is undeniable that the dialogue hymns of the Ṛgveda are dramatic and that Vedic ritual also contained dramatic elements such as may be seen in the ritual of soma-purchase, the ceremonies of royal consecration and the Mahāvrata ceremony, it is not clear that these elements existed in the Vedic religious literature in the form of independent dramatic performances. The dramatic elements in the Vedic ritual or literature connected representation with a direct religious or magical result, not with entertainment. This difference of spirit and purpose between Vedic literature and ritual on the one hand, and classical drama on the other, remained fundamental. It is true that classical drama and even music and dance retained a certain connection with ritual and religious purpose, but they tended to emphasize secular entertainment. That is why the traditional origin of drama as reported in the NS is that drama began in the Tretā yuga, and did not exist in the Kṛta yuga. While in creating it Brahmā used elements from the Vedas, it is not itself ascribed a Vedic character. It is described as the ‘fifth’ Veda and, thus, is understood to be different in character from the Vedas, though seeking to disseminate traditional wisdom along with providing popular entertainment. Earlier, Itihāsa has been described as the fifth Veda. The application of that title to drama suggests a direct connection with the epics. The connection with the Vedas is, indeed, more a claim than a reality because, as Keith pertinently points out, no actual quotations from the Veda are offered in the Nāṭyaśāstra.

Thus, while the connection of the NS with the Vedas was somewhat remote via the Gāndharva Upaveda and the use of ritual in dramatic prologues, its connection with the epics and the secular folk-tra-

ditions of inime, dance and music in Vedic ritual as well as of ballads and dialogues in the Vedic literature would themselves point to folk sources. The same elements of art as were current among the folk would be taken up for specialised use and characteristic development by the priests in religious and ritual contexts. As a matter of principle the distinction between the 'sacred' and the 'secular' could only have arisen within a folk context originally. The continuity of folk life as a source of creativity and standardization is not to be regarded as seriously interrupted by the emergence of formalized structures of sacred ritual. Despite the formal distinction of Veda and Loka, or for that matter, of the ecclesiastical and the pagan in the West, the existence of feed-back mechanism linking the two cannot be wholly denied.

Several scholars in the past advocated a variety of much controverted theories which have now become dated. Thus Hillebrandt and Sten Konow emphasized the secular origin of drama in puppet play. Lüders emphasized the role of shadow plays, Weber and Windisch sought Greek influence and inspiration for Sanskrit drama and pointed specially to the New Attic Comedy. Sylvain Lévi argued for Śaka influence.29 Most of these theories have been long since criticised as exaggerated and one-sided and they deserve to be discarded for the additional and simple reason that all of them consider the origin of Sanskrit drama to lie in too late a period viz., the period of the Indo-Greeks and the Śakas. Keith holds that there is no real reference to drama in Pānini and that even in Patañjali's times there is evidence only of some kind of religious spectacles. If then the origins of classical drama are to be placed between the 2nd century B.C. and the Ist century A.D., it would obviously be necessary to assign a much later date for the NŚ. It is for this reason that Keith dates the NŚ between Aśvaghoṣa and Kālidāsa.

However, the evidence for the antiquity of drama has been re-assessed by several recent Indian scholars. It has been pointed out that already in the Vedic literature we have reference to śailūṣa30 which later meant an actor following the tradition of Śilālin, the author of a naṭa-sūtra. This raises the presumption that 'śailūṣa' may have had a similar meaning in the Vedic texts also. It is true that the explicit mention in this context is only of 'song and dance', 'gīta ya śailūṣam', nrttāya śailāgam', but then it may be questioned, if the Vedic use of nrtta can be given the technical meaning current in later times. 'Naṭa' itself is sometimes believed to be Prakrtised from Nrt and it is possible that originally Nṛta, Nṛtya and Nāṭya were all rolled into one. Pānini's reference to the naṭa-sūtras can only be adequately interpre-

6 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

ted in terms of practical hand-books for actors.31

The Arthaśāstra clearly distinguishes between “actors (naṭa), dan-

cers (nartaka), singers (gāyakas), instrumentalists (vādakas), story-

tellers (vāgjīvana), bards (kuśilava), rope-dancers (plavaka), showmen

(śaubhika), and wandering minstrels (cāraṇas).”32 This shows a well

developed and differentiated stage of the performing arts. This is con-

firmed by Kauṭalya’s reference to the diverse arts (kalā) taught to the

women who lived by the stage (raṅgopajīvini). These include the arts

of “singing (gīta), playing on musical instruments (vādya), reciting

(pāṭhya), dancing (nṛtya), acting (nāṭya), writing (akṣara), painting

(citra), playing on the lute (vīṇā), flute (venu) and the drum (mṛdaṅga),

reading the thoughts of others (paracittajñāna), preparing perfumes

and garlands (gandhamālyasamjūhana), entertaining by conversation

(samvādana), shampooing (samvāhana) and the courtesan’s art (vaiśika-

kalā).”33 It is clear that even instruction in the diverse theatrical arts

had become highly professionalised. The Nāṭyācārya or the instructor

in theatrical arts was a recognised figure, popular but not approved

by Brāhmanical orthodoxy. Thus, in the Baudhāyana Dharmasūtra,

being such an instructor (nāṭyācāryatā) is condemned as a minor defi-

lement.34

The Mahābhāṣya refers to the enacted spectacle of the killing of

Kaṃsa (by Vāsudeva) and of the binding of Bali (by Vāmana). There

were actors (naṭas) as also their instructors (śaubhikas), as is brought

out by the Pradīpa “śaubhika iti Kamsādyanukāriṇām naṭānām vyākh-

yāṇopādhyāyaḥ on the Mahābhāṣya text—‘Ye tāvadete śaubhikā nāmaite

te pratyakṣam Kaṃsam ghātayanti pratyakṣam ca Baliṃ bandhayantīti.’

The spectators (sāmājikas) were moved by the spectacles and took

sides.35 These spectacles were not simply religious mimes, but had an

aesthetic purpose as is shown decisively by Patañjali’s reference to

‘rasiko naṭaḥ.’36

An important piece of evidence about the antiquity of drama in

India has been furnished by the identification and historical location

of Subandhu and Vāsavadattā.37 It is well-known that Vāmana quotes

a verse which says that now the youthful son of Candragupta, shining

like the moon, has become the king and the patron of the learned.

He explains that the patronage of the learned meant that Subandhu

became the Counsellor (Sācivya).38 Some scholars see in this verse a

reference to Samudragupta or Kumāragupta as the patron of Vasu-

bandhu. Now, Abhinavagupta in his commentary on the NS tells us

that Mahākavi Subandhu wrote Vāsavadattānāṭyādhāra which was a

prime example of nāṭyāviṭa or play within a play. Here Bindusāra is

made the spectator of a play in which Udayana watches a play with

Vāsavadattā as heroine.39 Now, a commentary published some time back and called Kalpalatāiveka40 explains with reference to Bhāmaha (4.50) that the writing of Subandhu had been attacked by Viṣṇugupta as unrealistic on five scores and that these objections had been answered.

It seems, thus, that the patron of Subandhu was Bindusāra. This confirms what had been known earlier by the Pāriśiṣṭaparvan, the Jaina Brhatkathākośa and the Manjuśrīmūlakalpa. Subandhu appears to have been a minister under the last Nanda and the first two Maurya rulers41 and obviously a rival of Viṣṇugupta, i.e. Kauṭalya or Cāṇakya.

The dramatic composition attributed to him indicates by the very complexity of its form a long earlier tradition of drama. The reference to troupes of actors in the Dīghanikāya supports this antiquity.42 In the Samyuttanikāya it is said that an actor pleases and amuses the assembled spectators by his speech and acting.43 With the existence of handbooks for actors (nāṭasūtras) as attested by Pāṇini even earlier, this should cause no surprise.44 If then the theatrical tradition clearly existed between Pāṇini and Patañjali, the date of the NŚ could well belong to the succeeding two centuries.45

NŚ Text and Commentaries

Although the NŚ has been edited wholly or partly several times, there can be no doubt that its text remains unsatisfactory as has been pointed out by several scholars.46 Apart from the defects in the manuscript material, this is also due to the highly technical nature of the text which tended to make it unintelligible occasionally to scribes and editors alike.

The greatest single help provided by Abhinavabhāratī in this context was itself subject to the difficulty of corrupt manuscripts and perhaps unavoidably imperfect editing. This does not, however, suffice to prove the composite authorship of the work or justify its stratification on impressionistic grounds.47 As an attempt to provide a comprehensive handbook of traditionally current ideas and practices on a wide range of subjects, the NŚ is bound to contain heterogeneity and its material would belong to traditions of varying antiquity.

Nevertheless, the work is arranged not in a historical, but rather a systematic manner and hence does not give any adequate clues about the evolution of its concepts, except that Abhinavagupta occasionally points out such differences. Under the circumstances, the NŚ has to be treated as representing an age of classic systematisation which sums up earlier traditions and stands at the head of subsequent developments.

Thus, in drama it presupposes the numerous types of rūpakas and their formal analyses but the systematisation of uparūpakas came later. In music, it presupposes the full development of the Gāndharva system but gives currency to theatrical

8 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

music from which the subsequent development of the rāga system took place. In aesthetics, it produced the celebrated formula of rasa, which was at once descriptive and evaluative, but it became the starting point of later aesthetic ideas. Its concept of rasa, despite interpolations was confined to only eight rasas. Many other rasas were conceived of in later times.48 While it shows much development in metrics, its rhetoric is relatively reduntory. In the analyses of dance movements and gestures, it presents a well-nigh perfected grammar leaving for posterity only the development of special and complex dance forms which combined pure dancing into musical operas.

Apart from Bharata several authors have been mentioned in the NŚ. Not only the mythical Sadāśiva and Brahmā, we also find the names of Nandi, Kohala, Vātsya, Śāṇḍilya and Dhūrtila.49 Abhinava has many references to the authority of Kohala. Tanḍu or Nandi is mentioned as a celebrated master of dance while Svāti and Nārada are mentioned in the context of music especially. It has been suggested that Dhūrtīla or Dhūrtita is a mistake for Dattila who has been mentioned in the NŚ in the company of Śāṇḍilya, Vatsa and Kohala.50 Dattila appears to have been an authority on Gāndharva and coeval with but independent of Bharata.51 He refers to Nārada, Viśākhila and Kohala. Nandi is sometimes identified with Nandi-keśvara without much cogency.52

The value of the NŚ as a source for the study of ancient Indian culture is matched only by the difficulties which stand in the way of its full utilization. The work is encylcopaedic in character,53 but written for the most part in the highly technical language of the performing arts of a long vanished age. That a certain reconstruction of its contents is possible, is only because of the continuity of the ancient tradition reflected in theatrical writings primarly and to some extent in the practical tradition. A number of ancient authors wrote commentaries on the NŚ—Bhaṭṭodbhaṭṭa, Lollaṭa, Mātṛgupta, Śaṅkuka, Bhaṭṭanāyaka, Bhaṭṭayantra and Abhinavagupta. Unfortunately, except for the last, all the earlier commentaries have been lost. Abhinavagupta occassionally quotes the views of earlier commentators. He himself wrote late in the 10th century in Kashmir and was, as is well-known, a celebrated mystic, philosopher and a versatile scholar. His explanations constitute the most valuable key to the unlocking of the NŚ, especially of its sections dealing with music and aesthetics. The works of Dattila, Mātaṅga and Śārṅgadeva, too, are of great importance in this context. So are the works of later dramaturgists and rhetoricians. The Kāmasūtra, the Manusmr̥ti, the early classical dra-

matists and poets like Bhāsa, Aśvaghoṣa, Kālidāsa, Śūdraka and

Hāla too, are relevant to the understanding of the NŚ as they illus-

trate the tradition of dramatic practice and atmosphere proximate to

it. The sculptures of Śuṅga, Sātavāhana, Śaka and Kuṣāṇa ages,

occasionally provide telling illustrations of ornaments, dress, social

character etc. which may be found in the NŚ. This is, however,

only incidental because the NŚ is a technical summary of the per-

forming arts rather than the visual arts of the ages.

Footnotes

1 NŚ (GOS ed.), Vol. I, preface, p. 57.

2 AB, prefatory verses on NŚ, 1.2.

3 AB, Vol. I, p. 9.

4 Bahurūpa Miśra on Daśarūpaka, 1, 62.

5 Bhāvaprakāśana, 10, 34-35.

6 Yamalāṣṭakatantra, quoted by Ram Krishna Kavi, NŚ, preface, p.

58, fn. 1.

7 AB, Vol. I, p. 9.

8 Ibid., p. 8.

9 Amarakośa, 2, 10, 12.

10 AB, I, p. 9.

11 According to Abhinava, Bharata quotes the Āryās of his prede-

cessors—AB, I, p. 358.

12 H.P. Shastri, JASB, 1913, placed the NŚ in the 2nd cen. B.C.; S.

Lévi places it in the Indo-Scythian period (IA, Vol. 33); A.B.

Keith places it about the 3rd cen. A.D. (Sanskrit Drama, p. 13);

Manmohan Ghosh argued for the period between 100 B.C. and

200 A.D. (JDL, Vol. 25), though in his translation of the NŚ he

argued for 500 B.C.

13 NŚ, Vol. I, preface, pp. 14-15. Kane, History of Samskrit Poetics,

p. 21.

In the Vikramorvaśīya (2, 18) we have a direct reference to the

Sage Bharata and the tradition of his staging a dramatic play :

'Muninā Bharatena yath prayogo bhavatiṣṭhasṭarasāsrayah prayuktah/

Lalitābhiniyayam tam adya bhartā marutām draṣṭumānāḥ sa loka-

pālaḥ//

The reference to 'eight rasas' and to 'lalitābhiniaya' also under-

scores the connection with Bharata. In the Mālavikāgnimitra

(1, 4) a well-known verse has been regarded as a virtual summary

of the leading ideas of the NŚ—

"Devānām idam āmananti munayaḥ kāntam kratum cākṣuṣam Rudre-

ṇedamumākṛtavyaktikare svāṅge vibhaktam dvidhā/Traigunyodbha-

vam atra lokacaritam nānārasam dṛśyate Nāṭyam bhinnarucerjanasyabahudhāpyekam Samārādhanam//In the Kumarasambhava (7, 91)

we have reference to the technical concepts of Sandhis, Vṛttis, Rasa and Lalitāṅgahāra—“Tau Sandhiṣu Vyañjitavṛttibhedam rasā-ntaresu pratibaddharāgam/Apaśyatām apsarasaṃ muhūrtam prayogam ādyam lalitāṅgahāram//In the Raghuvaṃśa (19, 36), again,

we have “Aṅgasaṃtānavacanāśrayam mithah sṛṣṭu nṛtyam upadhāya darśayan” which has technical echoes of the NŚ.

14a Abhinava mentions a Vārtikakāra of the NŚ and this Vārtikakāra is named Harṣa-Vikrama by Sāgarandin in Nāṭakalakṣaṇa-ratnakośa and by Śāradātanaya in Bhāvaprakāśana. Kalhaṇa associates King Harṣa Vikramāditya with the poet Mātṛgupta (Keith, A.B., Sanskrit Drama, p. 29; Bhaduri, JBRS, VI, pp. 218 ff.).

14b Cf. Śārṅgadeva in SR (1.19) : ‘Vyākhyātaro Bhāratīye Lollaṭodbhaṭa-Saṅkukāḥ/Bhaṭṭābhinavaguptāśca śrīmatkīrtidharaḥ parah//

15 See Dasgupta and De, History of Sanskrit Literature; Keith, History of Sanskrit Literature, p. 382-83; Kane, History of Sanskrit Poetics, pp. 78 ff.

16 Keith, Sanskrit Drama, p. 292.

17 NŚ, Vol. II, p. 377. The reference to Nepāla and Mahārāṣṭra cannot be said to indicate a date not earlier than Samudragupta as argued by D.C. Sircar (JAHRS, XII); cf. Kane, op. cit., p. 42.

18 NŚ, Vol. II, p. 161. Cf. Tarn, The Greeks in Bactria and India, 2nd ed., p. 232; Raychaudhuri, PHAI, 5th ed., p. 433.

19 NŚ, Vol. III, p. 127.

20 Ibid., pp. 18, 100.

21 Ibid., pp. 12, 28 ‘Devānāṃśajāstu rājāno’

22 Manusmṛti, 7, 5.

23 Bühler, Manu (S.B.E.).

24 Kāmasūtras, I. 1. 11.

25 S. Lévi, Theatre indien; L. Von Schroeder, Mysterium and Mimus in Ṛgveda; Sten Konow, Das indische Drama. Keith (op. cit.) discusses these views at length and Dasgupta and De (op. cit.) tend to follow him.

26 Von Schroeder, op. cit., cited by Keith, op. cit., p. 16.

27 Keith, op. cit., pp. 23 ff.

28 Ibid., l.c.

29 Ibid., l.c.; Dasgupta and De, op. cit., pp. 44 ff.

30 Vājasaneȳi Saṃhitā, 30. 6; Tai. Brā., 3, 4, 21.

31 Aṣṭādhyāyī, 4, 3, 110.

The Nāṭyaśāstra and its Date 11

32 Arthaśāstra, 2, 27, 25, translated by R.P. Kangle, Vol. II, p. 161.

33 Ibid., 2, 27, 28.

34 Baudhāyana Dharma Sūtras, 2, 25.

35 Mahābhāṣya on Aṣṭādhyāyī, 3, 1, 26.

36 Ibid. on Aṣṭādhyāyī, 5, 2, 95; Kāśikā mentions bhāvayogyatā—

apros ‘rasiko nataḥ’.

37 Krishnamurthi, Indian Literary Theories, pp. 105 ff. Cf. K.A.N.

Sastri (ed.), Age of the Nandas and Mauryas, pp. 329-30.

38 Vāmana, Kāvyālamkārasūtravṛtti, 3, 2, 2.

39 AB on NŚ, 22, 48; NŚ, III, p. 172.

40 Published by L.D. Institute, Ahemdabad.

41 K.A.N. Sastri, l.c.

42 Cf. Wijesekera, ‘Buddhist Evidence for the Early Existence of

Drama’, IHQ, XVII, pp. 196–206. Cf. Tarlekar, Studies in the Nāṭ-

yaśāstra, p. 8.

43 SN (PTS ed.), IV, p. 306.

44 Vide, supra.

45 Cf. Byrski, Concept of Ancient Indian Theatre, 1974, p. 37.

46 Eg. Kane, op. cit., pp. 12ff.; Mukund Lath, A Study of Dattilam,

p. 753. Visvesvara Shastri, Abhinavabhāratī, Intro., p. 50; NŚ, I, p.

20 (GOS, 2nd ed.).

47 As attempted, for example, by Kane, op. cit., p. 18.

48 See, infra.

49 Sāṇḍilyam caiva Vatsam ca Kohalam Dattilam tathā, NŚ, I, 26.

//Kohalādibhirevam tu Vatsaśāṇḍilyadhūritaiḥ//

...Etacchāstram praṇītam hi narāṇām buddhivardhanam//

—Ibid., 37, 25-36.

50 Lath, op. cit., p. 52.

51 Ibid., l.c.

52 V. Shatri, op. cit., Intro.

53 Cf. NŚ, 21 122 : Na tajjñānam na tacchilpam na sā vidyā na sa kalā/

Na tat karma na yogaśsau nāṭake yan na dṛśyate //

Chapter 2

Ancient Indian Theatre as Reflected in the Nāṭyaśāstra

The antiquity of Indian drama and theatre is, as discussed in Chapter 1, uncertain. While dramatic elements can certainly be discovered in the Vedic literature, it is difficult to say that there was any formalised, distinct recognition of drama at that time. Folk mimes and dialogues accompanied with dance and music may be presumed to have existed because these elements are found in some Vedic rituals. At the same time, naṭas or actor-acrobats were certainly known in the later Vedic age because they figured in the sacrificial list of the puruṣamedha found in the Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa.1 In Pāṇini's Aṣṭādhyāyi, one hears of naṭa-sūtras.2 It may, therefore, be presumed that handbooks of the histrionic art were already known to Pāṇini. Theatrical troupes with distinct professional expertise must, therefore, have existed in some form. The sūtras mention the profession of a theatrical coach (nāṭyācāryaṭ).3 The Arthaśāstra also mentions wandering groups of actors as also the professional coaching of the arts of those who live by the stage (raṅgopajivin).4 In the Mahābhāṣya the existence of dramatic representations is quite clear.5 We also find that a cave in the Ramgarh hills in Madhya Pradesh probably served the purpose of a stage in about the second century B.C.6 Thus, between Pāṇini and Patañjali, i.e. between the 5th and the 2nd centuries B.C., there certainly existed troupes of actors, handbooks for them and some kind of stage and shows. If this evidence is combined with the plausibility historicity of Subandhu and his Vāsavadattānāṭyadhārā, it would indicate a developed dramatic tradition by the 4th century B.C.7

Prof. Keith has suggested that dramatic performance were probably enacted in palaces or temples without any regular or permanent buildings constructed as theatres.8 This state might have existed in very early times, but it had been overcome by the time of Bharata. Bharata's Nāṭyaśāstra visualises definite types of theatres with well-developed convections regarding their construction. Although between the 2nd century B.C. and the 2nd century A.D., the Indo-Greeks and Śakas ruled over parts of northern and western India, neither the theory of Weber and Windisch9 about Greek influence,

Ancient Indian Theatre as Reflected in the Nāṭyaśāstra 13

appears plausible now, nor that of Sylvain Lévi and Konow about Śaka influence.10 The Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata presupposes a long and indigenous tradition.

The broad outline of the architecture of the theatre (nāṭyamaṇdapa) is clear enough. Three different forms of the theatrical hall are visualised. It could be rectangular, square or triangular.11 The sizes could be big, middling or small.12 Generally, the hall was conceived as two-storeyed, which apparently meant that the elevation of the theatre had the appearance of being divided into two storeys.13 The stage occupied the western half of the dramatic hall. The eastern half consisted of the auditorium. At the back of the western-most end of the stage was located the green room or nepathya.14 Its length was half of the stage (raṅga),15 which itself appears to have been divided into two parts, namely, raṅgaśīrṣa and raṅgapiṭha, the former being to the west of the latter which was not so elevated.16 It has, however, been suggested that raṅgaśīrṣa and raṅgapiṭha were identical.17 The green room was separated from the raṅgaśīrṣa by a curtain and a central pillar though some scholars have suggested that the curtain was between raṅgaśīrṣa and raṅgapiṭha.18 The nepathya was connected with the raṅgaśīrṣa by two doors, one on each side of the pillars.19 In front of the pillars was located the orchestra or the kutapa.20 On both sides of the raṅgapiṭha and projecting beyond the walls of the hall stood two ornamental verandahs or mattavāraṇi.21 Some scholars have, however, suggested that mattavāraṇi was a continuous frieze of elephants along the elevation of the raṅgapiṭha.22

The eastern half of the hall was built as an auditorium with tiers of elevated seats.23 Many ornamentally constructed pillars studded the building.24 The ceiling was apparently shaped like the vault of a cave, which implied a gable roof.25 There were distinct entrances for the actors and the audience.26 The columns and the walls were decorated and painted.27 The openings were arranged with reference to sound accoustics.

As mentioned earlier, the general idea of the dramatic hall is clear enough. Sharp controversies, however, plague the interpretation of various points in the text of the N.S. Abhinavagupta himself mentions diverse interpretations at places. Some have even suggested that Abhinavagupta did not have any living theatrical tradition before him.28 The principal controversies may be listed as follows. 1) The determination of the dimensions of the permissible types of shapes; 2) the meaning of raṅgapiṭha in relation to raṅgaśīrṣa; 3) the location of yavanikā; 4) the meaning of mattavāraṇi; 5) the meaning of ṣaddāruka; 6) the placement of the pillars; 7) the meaning of dvi-

14 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

bhūmika and guhākara; and 8) the partition of seats. Dr. Mankad, M.M. Ghosh, Dr. Raghavan, Dr. Subbarao and Visvesvara Shastri are the principal names of scholars who have expressed divergent views on one or more of these questions.29

The verses 7 to 11 of the second chapter of Bharata run as follows: “The wise Viśvakarmā having seen the theatre conceived it in accordance with śāstra, as having a three-fold plan (trividhaḥ sanniveśaḥ).

The theatre (mandapa) may be rectangular (vikṛṣṭa), square (caturasra) or triangular (trayasra). Their measures (pramānāni) may be large, middling and small. These measures are prescribed as based on hastadanda and are of 108 hastas, 64 hastas and 32 hastas. The large measure is of 108, the middling one of 64 and the smallest of 32 hastas. The large is meant for the gods, the middling for the kings and the smallest for other people.” Ābhinava furnishes some explanations. He says the large, middling and small measures are based on measurement in terms of hastadanda, not on the shapes of the theatre—“Pramāṇam hastadandāśrayamjyeṣṭhaditvam na tu sanniveśāśrayamiti vāvat.”30

Secondly, he comments that these diverse shapes and sizes are mentioned only to continue the old tradition according to which there are eighteen types. Practically, not all of them are useful.31 Thirdly, he points out that the reference to gods, men and other beings is a reference to plays of different types, where the hero and the villains come from these classes. Abhinava rejects the rival contention that here gods etc. are intended for spectators, not characters. He gives the examples of the dima for the large sized (theatre), nataka etc. for the middle-sized (theatre) and bhāna, prahasana etc. for the small-sized (theatre).32

The text goes on to mention that a danda consists of four hastas, while the hasta consists of twenty-four fingers or eighteen inches. According to Abhinava, the eighteen possible types include nine measured in hastas and nine measured in dandas. Nine possibilities arise from the combination of three shapes in three sizes each.33 Thus, vikṛṣṭa could be jyeṣṭha, madhyama and avara; and similarly would be caturasra and trayasra. 1) Vikṛṣṭa jyeṣṭha would be 108×64 hastas; 2) Vikṛṣṭa madhyama would be 64×32 hastas; 3) Vikṛṣṭa avara would be 32×16 (?) hastas; 4) Caturasra jyeṣṭha would be 108×108; 5) Caturasra madhyama would be 64×64; 6) Caturasra avara would be 32×32; 7) Tryasra jyeṣṭha would be an equilateral triangle with one side equal to 108 hastas; so Tryasra madhyama would have a side of 64 hastas and Tryasra avara would have a side of 32 hastas.

In understanding this classification, one must decide on two of

Ancient Indian Theatre as Reflected in the Nāṭyaśāstra 15

Abhinava’s interpretations at the outset. Is the reference to gods,

men and others a reference to spectators or plays having these as

principal characters? Some modern critics like Subbarao have assum-

ed the former, whereas Abhinava had rejected this view. If Abhi-

nava’s interpretation is not accepted, the NŚ would appear to have

been meant as much for the gods and other creatures as for men.

This does not appear to have been the case. Similarly, hasta-daṇḍa

can only mean hasta and daṇḍa. Prof. Subbarao’s interpretation of

daṇḍa as a measuring rod seems to have no justification.34

Prof. Subbarao says that Vikṛṣṭa jyeṣṭha, being for gods is not

relevant for men, and that Vikṛṣṭa avara is impossible because there

cannot be any dimension less than 32. He also rejects Caturasra jyeṣṭha

because it would be larger than Vikṛṣṭha jyeṣṭha, which would contra-

dict caturasra being a madhyama shape. This is based on Bharata’s

verse 10, where 108 hastas are called jyeṣṭha, 64 as madhyama and 32

as kaniyas. From this, it does not follow that caturasra is madhyama,

— ‘caturasram tu madhyamam.’ However, Prof. Subbarao appeals to the

eliminated verse 3 after verse 11, where it is said that the smallest

size is triangular, the square is the middling and the jyeṣṭha is

vikṛṣṭa. The authenticity of these verses is itself debatable. Since,

Caturasra madhyama would be longer than the Vikṛṣṭa madhyama,

Subbarao rejects this also as impossible. Caturasra avara he deems

feasible, and thus concludes that only three shapes and sizes are

permissible for men namely, Vikṛṣṭa madhyama (64 × 32), Caturasra

avara (32 × 32), and Tryasra avara (32 × 32 × 32).35

Dr. Mankad36 had already suggested that the measures of the 3

shapes commence with 108, 64 and 32 hastas, so that Vikṛṣṭa

becomes jyeṣṭha, Caturasra madhyama and Tryasra becomes avara.

The result is that Vikṛṣṭa madhyama would be 64 × 32 and Caturasra

madhyama would be 32 × 32. This suggestion was meant to resolve

a peculiar difficulty in Bharata’s classification. On the one hand, it

recommends in verses 17–21 that of all the theatres (prekṣāgṛhas), the

middling or madhyama is the best. This apparently is of the dimen-

sion 64 × 32 hastas. Beyond this size, the appearances of the

characters would become indistinct and the voices would be distort-

ed. In the middling size, the accoustic qualities are the best. From

this it follows, that just as Vikṛṣṭa madhyama is illustrated by verse

17 as measuring 64 × 32 hastas, similarly, the Caturasra madhyama,

being 64 × 64 ought to be prescribed for the caturasra shape. But,

actually in verse 86, the model size for caturasra is prescribed as

32 × 32. This appears to be contradictory. Thus, instead of picking

up on 64 × 64 as the ideal madhyama of square shapes, Bharata

actually picks up 32×32 as the ideal caturasra which is not madhyama. To explain this, Dr. Mankad has supposed that the measurement for Caturasra should begin with 64 and not 108. Measurement will begin for 108 in the case of Vikr̥ṣṭa which is jyeṣṭha, and with 64 in the case of Caturasra.

The fact is that Bharata does not regard any particular shape as inherently jyeṣṭha, madhyama or avara. Abhinava has made this quite clear. Despite the 9 or 18 possible types Bharata has stipulated that the maximum size should be 64×32. He has given details of two types—vikr̥ṣṭa measuring 64×32 and caturasra measuring 32×32. It will be noticed that the area of this caturasra is one half of the prescribed Vikr̥ṣṭa. As for the tryasra, no precise measurement is given. Since, the equilateral triangle with sides of 32 hastas will have precisely half of the area of the prescribed caturasra, perhaps that is the appropriate triangular size. Shri Visvesvara Shastri has suggested³⁷ that Caturasra madhyama of 64×64 would be longer than the prescribed maximum of 64×32. So Bharata prescribed only 32 × 32 as the proper size for a square shape.

Although the reference to gods, men and others could not be for stages where gods etc. constitute the spectators, to say that different types of stages and theatres are required for different types of plays is also not free from difficulty. How could stages and theatres be changed for different types of plays? It may be suggested that a theatre for gods probably meant a theatre connected with the temple. Similarly, a theatre for kīṅgs probably meant the theatre connected with the royal palace and one for the common man (śeṣā prakr̥ti) probably meant a popular peoples’ theatre.

According to Bharata’s directions, the theatre is to be divided into two equal parts along its length—the stage and the auditorium—then the stage itself is divided into two equal parts, again along its length—the backward or western portion consisting of the nepathyaagr̥ha or the green-room. In NŚ 2, 34, the second or the forward half of the stage is termed raṅgaśīrṣa. In verse 62, Bharata goes on to say “then (i.e. after the construction of mattavāraṇī) the raṅgapīṭha is to be constructed according to the prescribed method. But raṅgaśīrṣa is to be constructed as having ṣaḍdāruka.” The use of the particle ‘tu’ here in ‘raṅgaśīrṣaṁ tu’ clearly shows that raṅgapīṭha and raṅgaśīrṣa are different. In his commentary on verse 34, Abhinava says that the stage minus the green-room should be divided into two parts each consisting of 8 hastas. One of them is called raṅgaśīrṣa, the other raṅgapīṭha.³⁸ Of these, raṅgapīṭha is directly in front of the audience and is the place where most actions are represented; raṅgaśīrṣa is the

back where the orchestra takes its place. Abhinavagupta gives the analogy of a person lying on his back so that his body is in front and the head at the back. The latter is apparently comparable to raṅgaśīrṣa.

M.M. Ghosh, in an article in the IHQ 1933, while criticising Mankad's article in the same journal in the previous year, expressed the view that raṅgapiṭha and raṅgaśīrṣa are two names of the same thing. He has, besides, tried to argue that three-fourth of the hall should be for the audience and only one-fourth for nepathyā and raṅgapiṭha. His arguments are : 1) In the first chapter of the NŚ (vv.90,95), while raṅgapiṭha is mentioned, raṅgaśīrṣa is not. 2) In the second chapter verses 32-33 mention raṅgaśīrṣa, but not raṅgapiṭha. Again, in verses 72, 73 and 75, only raṅgaśīrṣa is mentioned and not raṅgapiṭha. Again in verses 102-104 of chapter 2 only raṅgapiṭha is mentioned and not raṅgaśīrṣa. Then in verses 88-101 of the same chapter, while raṅgapiṭha is mentioned four times, raṅgaśīrṣa is mentioned only once and there we have a variant reading, raṅgapiṭhā in place of raṅgaśīrṣa.

While Abhinavagupta places the curtain or yavanikā between raṅgapiṭha and raṅgaśīrṣa,39 M.M. Ghosh rejects it and places the curtain between nepathyā and the raṅgaśīrṣa. Prof. Subbarao describes the raṅgapiṭha as the stage block and the raṅgaśīrṣa as the upper surface of the stage. He says that the raṅgapiṭha is the base of the raṅga, just as the raṅgaśīrṣa is the top of the upper surface of the raṅga or stage. Raṅgapiṭha is, therefore, the entire block of the stage having raṅgaśīrṣa on its upper surface. The raṅgaśīrṣa is to rest on ṣaddāruka, which Subbarao takes to mean ‘braced frames’.40

In examining these different views and arguments one conclusion which is unmistakable is that Abhinavagupta clearly distinguished between raṅgapiṭha and raṅgaśīrṣa; therefore to abolish this distinction one requires positive and powerful evidence. Mere presumption cannot be sufficient to discard Abhinava's positive statements.

As regards the position of the yavanikā or curtain, we have already mentioned two views—Abhinava's view that it stood between the raṅgapiṭha and the raṅgaśīrṣa and Dr. Ghosh's view that it separated the nepathyā from the raṅgaśīrṣa. Keith also supposes that the curtain (pati, apati, tiraskarani, pratisīrā) to which the name yavanikā or javanikā was given stood behind the stage (i.e. in front of the nepathya). He argues that when the characters enter hastily, the curtain is said to be violently thrown aside—apatikṣepa. Prof. Keith also argues that the name yavanikā denotes that its material was foreign,

18 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyaśāstra

and forbids any conclusion as to the Greek origin of the curtain itself.41

In view of the fact that entry from the nēpathya to rangaśīrṣa was regularly through two doors and the orchestra stood between them against a central pillar, it does not seem that the division of the nēpathya and rangaśīrṣa was by a curtain. On the other hand, Abhinava’s suggestion would simply mean that the actors entered the rangapīṭha by tossing aside the curtain. At the same time, however, this position of the curtain would muffle the orchestra unless one supposes that the curtain was removed after the commencement of the action. Abhinavagupta described rangaśīrṣa as the inner place for the entering characters—“praviśatām pātrāṇām ca antassthānam.”42

There is considerable controversy on the relative heights of the stage, the auditorium, and the different parts of the stage. Dr. M.M. Ghosh suggests that the stage should be lower than the auditorium. On the other hand, Abhinavagupta interprets Bharata to mean that the stage including rangaśīrṣa and nēpathya should be one and a half hastas higher than the auditorium.43 He says that the rangapīṭha has to have the same height as mattavāraṇī, which is to be constructed with a height of a hand and a half. Thus rangapīṭha becomes one and a half hastas higher than the ground floor (bradhnabhū-bhāga). He adds that the reason for this is to prevent the obstruction of the rangapīṭha by the mattavāraṇī. Thus, rangapīṭha is slightly higher than the auditorium, and rangapīṭha. In NŚ 2, 62, it has been laid down that the rangaśīrṣa is to be filled with black earth free from impurities. This is obviously intended to raise the level of the rangaśīrṣa. This surface of the rangaśīrṣa is to be plain like the surface of a pure mirror, not like the back of a tortoise nor that of a fish.44 Prof. Subbarao explains ‘kūrmapṛṣṭha’ and ‘matsyapṛṣṭha’ as convex and concave respectively.

Dr. Ghosh, Dr. Mankad and most western scholars hold the rangapīṭha to be lower than the nēpathya. Dr. Weber is an exception.45 Weber argued from ‘ni-patha’ which denotes a descending way and hence nēpathya should be lower than the stage. Keith, however, argues that the recurring phrase about the descent of actors on stage (rangāvatarana) suggests that the stage is lower than the nēpathya. This can easily be reconciled with Abhinava’s statement that rangaśīrṣa is a kind of vestibule (antassthānam) for the actors. They enter the rangapīṭha from the rangaśīrṣa and if the latter is slightly higher than the former, the idea of descent is easily understood. It may be added that the derivation of nēpathya remains uncertain.

It may be recalled that the rangaśīrṣa was declared to rest on

ṣaddāruka.46 Abhinava explains ṣaddāruka as consisting of a certain arrangement of columns between the rangaśīrṣa and nepathyā. “In front of the wall of the nepathyā-grha (bhitti), there are to be two columns at a distance of eight hastas. Then on each side of these two columns there will be two other columns one on each side of the earlier columns at a distance of 4 hastas each. These 4 columns along with the joining beams on top and below form six timbers which collectively are called ṣaddārukam. The purpose of it is beauty of construction. Then two doors are to be made of the nepathyagrha, one to the south and one to the north. These doors are to have curvilinear heads or lintels in the shape of arches. Thus, the rangaśīrṣa ruka is the same as Acchapata (? tridvāraka), consisting of the two pillars adorned by timbers on the two sides above and below. Some others say that ṣaddāruka consists of the following six viz. ūha, which is the timber, extending far away from the capital of the column, pratyūha or the balancing timber on top of that, niryūha consisting of the part projecting out from the ends of the pratyūha or the balancing timber on top of that, niryūha consisting of the part projecting out from the ends of the pratyūhas and joining with the wall, sañjavanaphalakas which project from the niryūha, anubandha or decorations on the columns like lions, mythical serpents etc. and kūharas or representations of mountains, towns, groves, caves, etc. These six (elements) constitute ṣaddāruka. In all the alternatives, there have to be two doors for the movement of the actors”47

In all these three interpretations of ṣaddāruka as given by Abhinava, ṣaddāruka represents a group of columns and their elements in particular arrangements. These are, in other words, decorative elements on the rangaśīrṣa. Against this Prof. Subbarao has given a wholly new interpretation of ṣaddāruka. He believes that the rangaśīrṣa has to be strongly supported, and for this support, cross-braced frames need to be provided. These are called ṣaddāruka. Such a support will neutralise the reversal of stress created by movements of actors on the rangaśīrṣa.48 This interpretation, however, totally disagrees with that of Abhinava.

Bharata says that on the side of the rangapīṭha should be constructed the mattavāranī with four pillars in accordance with the size of the rangapīṭha. The mattavāranī is to be constructed with a height of one and a half hastas. The height of the two should be the same as the rangapīṭha. Abhinava says that the word pārśve without qualification and the phrase ‘equal to those two’ which indicates a dual

20 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

number, togethe1 show that the reference is to the future two sides.49

The four columms are held projecting out of the stage. Thus, two

pillars will be outside the wall of the stage and then beyond the wall,

two others at a distance of 8 hastas. Thus, we get a square with

sides of 8 hastas, and formed by four columns projecting outside the

wall of the rañga. Those who think that mattavāraṇī ought to be

rectangular will have its dimensions as 16×8 hastas. Thus, on Abhi-

nava's view mattavāraṇī represents a pair of four columns on each

side of the stage, outside the wall of the raṅgapiṭha.

The meaning of the word mattavāraṇī itself requires some inter-

pretation. In the dictionaries the meaning of the word mattavāraṇa

is given as a verandah of a special kind. It has even been suggested

that mattavāraṇī is a mistake for mattavāraṇau, but the suggestion

runs counter to Abhinava's text.50

Modern interpreters have, however, tended to place mattavāraṇī

within the stage itself. Thus M.M. Ghosh makes the mattavāraṇī

on both sides of the raṅgapiṭha extend up to the wall. Prof. Subbarao

has suggested a wholly novel view. He purposes that mattavāraṇī is

a single entity, being in the singular. He supposes that mattavāraṇī

is a frieze of elephants depicted on the audience-facing elevation of

the stage.51 Another view, expressed by Prof. Bhanu, is that matta-

vāraṇī is a kind of railing which is in front of the raṅgapiṭha to pre-

vent spectators from rushing on to the stage.52

The most surprising thing about the mattavāraṇī is the unfamilia-

rity of the word itself. In the Kuṭṭanimatam, the word mattavāraṇa

is used, but, there its sense may not be technical at all. The most

significant use is found in the Vāsavadattā of Subandhu, where we

find ‘mattavāranayor varandakena’.53 Here also the form is mattavā-

raṇa’ but the connection with verandah seems to be clear. ‘Mattavā-

raṇī or mattavāraṇa’, thus, seems to be a projecting and elevated ele-

ment at the same height as the raṅgapiṭha and on both sides of it,

constructed by means of four pillars on each side. The alternative

to this is to regard it as some kind of railing, or frieze on the railing.

Bharata makes it clear that after measurements are completed

(māna-vidhi), the construction begins by placing the bricks (iṣṭikāsthā-

pana).54 Bharata here speaks of the construction of the hall (manda-

pasya niveśanam). If Abhinava is right, this construction is obviously

of a permanent nature. After sthāpanā, Bharata prescribes the

construction of the walls (bhittikarman). Abhinava adds that

māna-vidhi, sthāpana-vidhi and bhitti-vidhi are successive. In verse

44, Bharata prescribes that the columns should be fixed after the walls

have been completed. Abhinava explains that here, sthāpana (of the

pillars) means their elevation. Apparently, there were four principal pillars on the four corners. The brāhmaṇa stambha is apparently to be placed at the south-eastern corner, the kṣatriya pillar in the south-western corner, the vaiśya pillar in the north-western corner and the śūdra pillar in the north-eastern corner. The position of the vaiśya stambha and śūdra stambha is given explicitly in the NŚ.55 The position of the brāhmaṇa stambha is given by Abhinava as ‘īsāna koṇa’ which is the south-eastern corner. In fixing the pillars, several faults are to be avoided so that the pillars are immovable (acala), unshakable (akampya), and unturnable (avalita). Faults in these respects were held to indicate calamities.56 The pillars were required to be as immovable as the Himalayas and bring victory to the king.

After this, as explained, mattavāranis were to be constructed on the sides of the rangapīṭha and rangasīrṣa was to be constructed along with the śaddāruka. This also involved the two doors of the nepāthya. The floor of the rangasīrṣa was to be polished. After the rangasīrṣa was constructed, then woodwork (dārukarma) was done. The woodwork or kāṣṭha-vidhi involved various types of ornamental works on the pillars or special constructions made out of these. These include ūha, pratyūha, sañjavana, vyāla, śalabhañjikā, niryūha, kuhara, vedikā, vinyāsa, citra-jāla and gavākṣa, pīṭhadhāriṇī and kapotālī.57 Several of these like ūha, pratyūha, niryūha, kuhara, and sañjavana have been explained by Abhinava in the context of śaddāruka. Vyāla seems to be the same as anubandha in the śaddāruka, referring to carving of beasts. Śalabhañjikā is charming wooden images.58 Vedikā generally had the sense of decorated railings as at Bharhut and Sanchi. Abhinavagupta calls it ‘caturasrikā’, but he clearly says that they are decorated by many forms. Citrajāla is a variegated lattice, which has square octogonal holes. Gavākṣas are lattices with circular holes. Vinyāsa obviously has the sense of disposition or arrangement of elements. Pīṭhadhāriṇī has been explained by Abhinava as the balancing projection above the pillars. Kapotālī refers to a dove-cot.59

After wood-work, the walls are to be completed. It is laid down that brackets (nāgadanta), windows, corners and minor doors should not have doors opposite to them. This restriction on cross-ventilation is for acoustic purposes.60 Abhinava explains that nāgadanta here refers to the bracket on a pillar which holds an image. He gives an alternative name for this, viz., gajamukha.

Bharata then goes on, in the same verse (2.80), to say that the theatre, nāṭya-mandapa, should be in the form of a mountain cave (śailaguhākāra) and in two floors–dvibhūmi. From śailaguhākāra

Abhinava concludes that from it follows the firmness of sound—i.e. when the theatre is constructed in the form of a cave, it leads to the firm resonance of sound. Prof. Subbarao says that śailaguhākāra means that the centre of the roof is higher than the sides. It simply means that the theatre must have a gabled roof, hipped at the ends. “The accoustical prcperty of a gabled roof is to reflect the sound from the stage to the audience in an auditorium, and that of a flat roof is to reflect the sound back again to the stage.”61

Abhinava gives several interpretations of dvibhūmi. According to some, two floors refer to the different elevations of parts of the stage. Others say that along the measure of the external projection of the mattavāranī, a second wall is to be constructed like the pradikṣinā-mārga in temples of the gods. Some others say that a second floor is to be constructed in the theatre. Still others read advibhūmi for dvibhūmi. Abhinava’s teacher, Bhaṭṭatauta, holds that it really refers to the succession of levels in the theatre—low, high and still higher, running from rangapiṭha to the door for public entrance. This will prevent the obstruction of spectators by each other, produce form of the mountain cave and provide firm resonance.62

The theatre is to have few windows with low access of air, almost without flow of breeze and with resonant sound.63 This would lead to the orchestra having a deep resonance. The walls should be plastered. Abhinava explains that the plaster should consist of ground conchshells, sand and nacker. Then, on the outside, the walls should be whitewashed with lime (sudhākarma). When the surface of wall is burnished and even, it should be painted. The pictures should be of men and women, and of creepers.64

Shifting to the Caturasra or square theatre, while saying that most of the procedures will be similar as in the rectangular one, Bharata describes in addition the positions of the pillars and the construction of the seats. The pillars were installed for several purposes—for giving support to the ceiling (mandapadhāraṇa), for decorative purposes and for dividing the theatre into various parts.65 Ten pillars were to be the main support of the mandapa, and were to be placed on the stage block (rangapiṭhopari). Six other pillars were to be set up in the interval (between the stage and the auditorium?). Beyond them were to be set up another eight pillars. This gives a total of twenty-four pillars—10 on the rangapiṭha, 6 between the rangapiṭha and prekṣaka niveśa and 8 apparently in the auditorium where the seats were laid.66 These 24 apparently exclude the original four pillars at the corners named after the different varṇas and also the four columns used in the ṣaḍḍaruka and the eight columns used in the mattavāranīs.

Ancient Indian Theatre as Reflected in the Nāṭyaśāstra 23

The total number would thus become 24 plus 16, that is 40. Apart from these, Bharata prescribes that strong pillars, decorated by caryatids may be further used according to the judgement of experts.67

The location of the three groups of pillars, consisting of ten, six and eight pillars respectively, was conceived by different commentators in different ways. According to Saṅkuka, the ten pillars were thus disposed—four on the four corners of the raṅgapīṭha; four more, each being four hastas distant from these four pillars towards the south and the north, and the remaining two at the same distance from the eastern two of the central pillars further toward the east by four hastas. These constitute the first group of pillars. The remaining six include two on the southern and two on the northern side of the pillars on the raṅgapīṭha and two by the side of the eastern pillars. The remaining eight are in the auditorium on its eastern-most side.68

Another view mentioned by Abhinava agrees with this view in the respect to the ten and six pillars, but eight pillars are on this view placed not at the back of the auditorium, but on the boundary of the nepathya and raṅgaśīrṣa.69

The account of Abhinava also mentions the view of a Vārtikākāra. On this view, of the first group of ten pillars, the ninth and tenth are placed to the west rather than the east of the central six pillars which are simiiar to the arrangement of Saṅkuka. In the next group of six, three are placed to the south and three to the west in such a way that only two are to the east of the raṅgapīṭha, the other four are to the west, near the nepathya. The remaining eight form a kind of enclosure with two on each side of the central eight pillars.70

Abhinava sums up the discussion with reference to the views of his teacher, Bhaṭṭatauta. According to the latter71 the pillars have been divided into three groups of 10, 6 and 8 because they are located at three levels. The three levels are the lower floor (adhobhūmi) where the spectators are seated, raṅgapīṭha which is higher and raṅgaśīrṣa which is higher still. The first group of 10 pillars is located in the adhodhūmi, the second group of six pillars is located in the raṅgapīṭha, while the third group of eight pillars is located in the raṅgaśīrṣa. The main difficulty in this interpretation is to justify the location of the ten pillars in the auditorium instead of the raṅgapīṭha. Since the text of Bharata clearly speaks of them as 'raṅgapīṭhasthitāḥ'. It has been suggested the Bhaṭṭatauta offered two explanations of this. Firstly, he understood 'upari' to mean 'in front of' or 'beyond'. Secondly, he even took the text to be 'raṅgapīṭham paristhita' where pari had the sense of avoiding.

Turning now to the seating of the spectators, we find Bharata pres-

24 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

cribing it in verses 90-92. The seating of the spectators was to have

the size of one hasta with the height of half hasta. Prof. Subbarao

has pointed out that bhūmibhāga is a technical term for one half.

Thus each seat was to be one hasta in width and half hasta in height

and these seats were to be in tiers. The rangapiṭha was to be clearly

visible from the seats. The auditorium was to be constructed out of

bricks and timber.

In this context, ‘sopānākr̥tipīṭhakam’ of verse 90 has been inter-

preted as referring to the base of the pillars. It may be suggested that

it should be connected with the next verse dealing with the construc-

tion of the seats. This is also supported by one of the verses

quoted by Abhinava of the Vārttikakāra, which says that the staircase-

like base should be constructed all around the ranga.

As for the entrances there was to be an entrance at the back of

the nepathya graha on the western side of the theatre for the actors

and another on the eastern side for the spectators.72 Thus the thea-

tre faced the east, with a gable roof and a gallery running around it

giving the impression of a second storey. It had tiered seats in the

auditorium, and on the west the stage with numerous, well decorated

columns on which rested the beam of the roof.

The architecture of Bharata’s theatre reflects traditional and gene-

ral features of the times. The concept of the theatre being modelled

on a mountain cave is highly suggestive because as we know the use

of the caves for monastic residence was widespread. Not only does

the Buddhist Vinaya mention guhā as one of the types of monasteries,

but from Aśokan times, historical examples of cave monasteries abo-

und. What is more, we even have the example of a cave theatre in the

Ramgarh hills. A peculiar advantage of the cave is its resonance.

Just as the cave architecture had imitated the use of timber in huts,

similarly now, the form of the cave with reference to its ceiling vault

and gable end are imitated in the structural theatres. We find theatrical

architecture using brick foundations, walls made of well-baked bricks

and the technology of roofing big halls. The walls were plastered,

white-washed and painted. The pillars had stepped bases, capitals,

brackets, and carvings including figures called śālabhañjikā. The

roofing was apparently of timber. The structure of beams was mainly

supported by pillars.

The stage did not use properties except sparingly. Āhāryābhinaya

has been explained as the preparations in the green room- ‘nepathya-

vidhiḥ.73 They enable different types of mental states and characters

to find suitable expression on the stage. “Āhārya is to acting as the

wall is to paintings done on it.”74 Four kinds of Āhārya are

Ancient Indian Theatre as Reflected in the Nāṭyaśāstra 25

mentioned—a)75 pusta or model work, b) alaṅkāra or decoration, c) aṅgaracanā or the make-up in accordance with the role, and d) sajīva or different objects represented on the stage. Model work or pusta was of 3 kinds, following different measures and forms (nāma-rūpa-pramāṇataḥ). The first was Sandhima, which included productions made up from joining pieces of bamboo or birch (kiliñja) and covering them up with skins or clothes. The second was called vyājima. Here some mechanical means (yantra) were used for moving the model, such as a string. The third variety was called veștima, where a covering by lac or wax was used. In general, mountains, vehicles, vimānas, shields, armours, flags etc., were included in pusta.76 Thus, in the Abhiññānaśākuntala, the king enters seated on a chariot; in the Mṛcchakaṭika a clay toy-cart gives the name to the play. In the Bālarāmāyaṇa we have mechanical dolls. Mythical animals and monsters could be made of bamboos and cloth. Weapons were not to be made of hard material. The general princīp'e followed was not that of stark realism but of conventional representation. “The kind of production which depends on much use of wooden machines (kāṣṭhāyan-trabhūyiṣṭha) is not to be used in our theatrical productions because it implies a great deal of labour (khedāvaha). Whatever substances of diverse characteristics are found in real life, the imitation of their forms are a means to be used in the theatre. Palaces, houses, vehicles and diverse weapons cannot be reproduced in their characteristics in real life. Realism (lokadharmī) is different, theatrical representation (nāṭyadharmī) is different. The former is the real nature of things (svabhāva), the latter only an image (vibhāvanā). Theatrical weapons should not be made of iron nor should they be substantial lest they be a burden. Theatrical implements should be light and made of wood, leather, cloth, lac, bamboo pieces etc. Shields, armour, flags, mountains, palaces, houses, horses, elephants, vehicles, temples or flying cars (vimāna) etc. after being constructed by bamboo pieces should be covered with coloured cloth and given the shapes of the objects represented. If suitable cloth is not at hand, then palm leaves and birch bark may be used. The weapons may be made of straw, bamboo splits, lac, gourd etc. in diverse shapes. Models (sārūpyāṇi) may be created of straw, bark, gourd etc. Diverse shapes resembling the original may be made of clay, gourd, cloth, wax, lac, bits of mica (abhra), atasi, śaṇa, bilva etc.77

The preparation of the actors in the green room included the use of elaborate make-up, costumes, jewellery and ornaments. The make-up of actresses included the painting of eyes, lips and teeth as also the painting of the feet. The diverse ornaments have been prescribed

26 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

but it is laid down that they should not impose too much weight. Hair style and costumes were to be distinctive of the character represented. Thus, muni-kanyās were to have a costume suitable for their dwelling in forests, the gandharva-women were to have sapphires to decorate them, white teeth and black clothes.78 When representing women separated from their husbands, their dress was to be dusty and their hair bound up in a single plait.79 Actors had to have their limbs and complexion painted in diverse colours to suit the types of characters they were required to represent. This enabled them to represent gods, demons, gandharvas etc.80 Thus gods, yakṣas and ap-sarās were to be fair; Rudra, Sun, Brahmā and Skanda were to have the shine of gold etc. Kings were to have a lotus-complexion, fair or dark. Happy mortals were to be represented as fair, the sick or the evil-doers were to be represented as black; Kirāta, Barbara, Āndhra, Draviḍa, the people of Kāśī and Kosala, Pulindas and the Southerners were to be generally represented as swarthy.81 On the other hand, Śakas, Yavanas, Pahlavas, Bāhlīkas and other Northerners were to be generally represented as fair. Brāhmaṇas and Kṣatriyas were to be fair, Vaiśyas and Śūdras dark. The colours of the costumes too, varied according to the conventions of representation. Thus Buddhist and other monks were to be dressed in ochre coloured robes, the Pāśupatas were to have variegated robes.82 Warriors were to be shown in martial attire with armour, bow and quiver. Kings were to have crowns of which three varieties have been mentioned. Ministers and merchants were represented as wearing turbans. Many types of religieux had shaven heads; crooks and rakes kept curly hair.83

Sajīva meant the forms of living beings such as snakes, birds, animals and men.84 These were to be represented in scenes of fighting, siege etc. Thus, when the use of nāgāstra or snake weapon was shown, the forms of snakes were to be represented.85

The term ‘naṭa’ is held to have denoted a variety of allied professions viz., dancer, pantomime, acrobat, juggler and actor, and the precise history of these meanings and the social history of the professions is not clear. As mentioned before, the evidence of Pāṇini, Baudhāyana, Kauṭilya and Patañjali clearly indicates that the ‘naṭas’ were professional actors with their own tradition, customary laws (āmnāya or dharma)86 and teachers (nāṭyācāryas) who gave instructions in a variety of skills. They were organized in troupes under a leader often styled Sūtradhāra. These wandering troupes were sometimes treated as sub-castes and despised, especially for their low morals.87 However, they also laid claim to professional excellence and

Ancient Indian Theatre as Reflected in the Nāṭyaśāstra 27

respect from connoisseurs and popularity from spectators.88 Even

sages and royal personages participated in stage-acting and the art

had a divine prototype.89 Learned authors had actors as their com-

panions.90 It must, thus, be concluded that the actors belonged to

several social strata—the lowly, wandering in villages, as well as the

more affluent and accomplished who enjoyed the patronage and even

company of learned poets and royal courts. They not only performed

as instructed but also shared in the aesthetics of the enterprise.

The actors included men as well as women.91 Although sometimes

men also played female parts and were then known as bhr̥kumāsa,92

it was quite usual for actresses to play such roles. The use of the

kaiśikī vṛtti, in particular, made the employment of actresses impera-

tive.93 Again, they were indispensable for singing. Literary descrip-

tions of play-acting clearly indicate the prevalence of actresses for the

rendering of female roles.94 Occasionally actresses also play.ed the

role of men. The playing of roles, is in fact, divided into three types95

viz., anurūpa, bṛhadrūpa (virūpa) and avirūpānurūpiṇi (rūpānurūpa).

Where actresses take on female role and men male roles that is

known as anurūpaprakṛti. Where the roles are adopted without

regard to the age of the actor in relation to that of the character, it

is known as virūpa. Where the actors and actresses play the parts

of characters of the opposite sex we have the third type.

High qualifications have been laid down for the Sūtradhāra or the

Nāṭyācārya who was the Director of the play and himself the princi-

pal actor.96 He was expected to be not only learned and skilled but

full of moral qualities. He alone was authorized to perform the ritual

of worshipping the gods. Since the play began with such worship,

he introduced it and often took the leading role. He was assisted by

his wife who used to be an actress or a naṭī. He was also assisted by

other male actors in the Prologue called Sthāpaka or Pāripārśvika.97

High qualifications have been mentioned for the actresses. They were

required to be accomplished in various arts including music, dance

and acting.

About acting itself, it has to be remembered that it was a combi-

nation of realistic representation and conventional gestures and sym-

bolism called lokadharmī and nāṭyadharmī98 respectively. The conven-

tional element was the most prominent in the representation of cha-

racter-types and their identification as also in the ways in which invi-

sible elements and actions were indicated. Realism, on the other hand,

was prominent in the acting of emotions through gestures. So detailed

and thorough was the training in such acting that the whole body was

used as a tool of precision for the suggestion of a wide gamut of

28 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

feelings.

The audience included the high and the low, the four castes, women and children, princes, ministers, priests and the numerous retinue of the court. The kings and the retinue enjoyed a place of honour and the seating of the socially high-ups followed a detailed precedence. The audience also included experts who acted as judges (Prāśnikas) of the theatrical production.99 The well-developed principles of the theatrical representation and dramaturgy in the NŚ obviously reflect the result of a long tradition of critical analysis and judgement of dramatic production and performance.

Footnotes

1 Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa, (SBE), V, p. 413.

2 Aṣṭādhyāyī, IV, 3, 110.

3 Baudhāyana Dharmasūtras, 2. 2. 5.

4 Arthaśāstra, 2. 27. 25.

5 Mahābhāṣya ad Aṣṭādhyāyī, 3. 1. 26.

6 Bloch, ASI Report, 1903-04, pp. 123 ff.

7 See supra, Chap. 1.

8 Keith, Sanskrit Drama, p. 358.

9 Ibid. pp. 57 ff. Weber had raised the probability of Greek influence through the courts of Bactrian kings in India but Pischel criticised him. Windisch raised the probability afresh by emphasising the sea-change which must occur to transform mere dance and pantomime or epic recitation into the kind of regular drama presupposed by the NŚ. The example of Gandhāra art and the spirit of enlightened rulers like Menander suggest the possibility of Greek influence in the spheres. Although little evidence of the influence of Greek on Indian philosophy is attestable, the influence on astronomy is undoubted. Some contact between Greek and Sanskrit drama, thus, would not be impossible but the detailed comparison of the two do not bring to light any decisive resemblances. On the other hand, the difference of spirit and atmosphere is quite striking. Yavanikā or Javanikā is without significance since Greek drama used no curtain and the presence of Yavanis only reflect a feature of Indian courts. Although both Indian and Greek drama were conceived as ‘imitation’, Indian drama emphasized the repretation of mental states (bhāva) rather than mere action. It analysed action quite differently and often used a much larger span of time and a much larger number of characters. Its treatment of bhāvas has a much larger range. The old Greek drama, in contrast, left romance alone, while the New

Ancient Indian Theatre as Reflected in the Nāṭyaśāstra 29

Attic Comedy resembles to some extent the Nāṭikā and to some extent the Prakaraṇa rather than the Nāṭaka. Noticeable are the similarities in themes of ‘complications’, and ‘unravelling’ of roma-nces, though ‘recognition’ etc. do not really indicate any specific borrowing. On the characters, Vīṭa, Vidūṣaka and Śakāra, which have been cited as showing Greek influence, the verdict must be ‘unproven’.

10 As Keith states, the views of Sylvain Lévi and Sten Konow rest on the assumption that drama originated as a religious drama in Prākṛta, and the Śakas patronised Sanskrit for secular purposes and helped the creation of Sanskrit drama. (op. cit., p. 71). Mathurā and Ujjain are held to have been the centres in the first and third centuries A. D. The clear connection of Sanskrit with the Śakas, however, emerges only with Rudradāman who claims to be educated in a pre-existing literary and artistic tradition rather than to be the creator of one. Vide his Junagadh inscription.

11 NŚ, 2, 8.

12 Ibid., l.c. Cf. Abhinaya on this—Etāṇvye a trīṇi jyeṣṭhādīṇiti kecit. Anye tu pratyekaṁ trividvam iti navaite’tra bhedā ityāhuḥ. Etad eva yuktam.

13 dvibhūmir nāṭyamandapaḥ—NŚ, 2, 80.

14 Ibid., 2, 35.

15-16 Ibid., 2, 33-35.

17 See, infra.

18 Cf. G.K. Bhatt, Theatric Aspects of Sanskrit Drama, pp. 67-70.

19 NŚ, 2, 96-97 and AB on these—tena dvāradvyam eva raṅgaśirasi nepathāyagatapātraprāveśāva kartavyam. It quotes NŚ, 13, 2, “Ye nepathyāgrhāvare mayā purvam prakṛtite.

20 Tayaḥ bhāṇḍasya vinyāsah—ibid., 13.2.

21 Ibid., 2, 63, 67, 69.

22 See, infra.

23 NŚ, 2, 91-92.

24 Ibid., 2, 92-96.

25 kāryaḥ śailaguhākārāḥ—NŚ, 2, 80.

26 Ibid., 2, 86-97.

27 Ibid., 2, 78, 84-85.

28 Cf. Subbarao, NŚ, Vol. I, p. 454.

29 D.R. Mankad, ‘Ancient Indian Theatre,’ IHQ, 1932; Subbarao, NŚ, Vol. I, App.; Visvesvara Shastri, Abhinavabhārati; M.M. Ghosh, IHQ, 1933; Raghavan, IHQ, 1933.

30 AB on NŚ, 2, 7-9.

31 Ibid., l.c.

30 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

32 Ibid., on NŚ, 2, 10-11.

33 Ibid., on NŚ, 2, 7-9.

34 NŚ, Vol. I, p. 427.

35 Ibid., p. 428.

36 IHQ, 1932.

37 Abhinavabhāratī, edited and translated by Visvesvara Shastri, pp. 254-61.

38 Ibid., p. 288.

39 AB, Vol. I, p. 210.

40 NŚ, Vol. I, pp. 440-43.

41 Keith, Sanskrit Drama, p. 359.

42 AB on NŚ, 2, 33-34.

43 AB on NŚ, 2, 64.

44 NŚ, Vol. I, p. 446.

45 Quoted by Keith, op. cit., p. 360.

46 AB on NŚ, Vol. I, p. 62.

47 Ibid., l.c. Cf. Visvesvara Shastri, op. cit., pp. 324-27 and the diagrams on p. 326.

48 NŚ, Vol. I, p. 444.

49 Ibid., p. 61.

50 Visvesvara Shastri, op. cit., p. 314.

51 NŚ, Vol. I, pp. 441-43.

52 Quoted V. Shastri, op. cit., p. 317.

53 Vāsavadattā by Subandhu, quoted V. Shastri, op. cit., p. 313.

54 NŚ, 2, 36-37.

55 Ibid., 2, 48-49.

56 Ibid., 2, 61-62.

57 Ibid., 2, 75-78.

58 Vide U.N. Roy, Śālabhañjikā, 1979.

59 AB, NŚ, Vol. I, pp. 62-63; V. Shastri, op. cit., pp. 331-32.

60 Subbarao, NŚ, Vol. I, p. 447.

61 Ibid., l.c.

62 NŚ, Vol. I, pp. 61-62.

63 NŚ, 2, 81.

64 Ibid., 2, 82-85.

65 Ibid., 2, 90.

66 Ibid., 2, 89-93.

67 Ibid., 2, 95.

68 Ibid., Vol. I, p. 66; V. Shastri, op. cit., p. 348.

69 Ibid., l.c.

70 Ibid., Vol. I, p. 67.

71 For an interpretation of this part of AB see V. Shastri, op. cit.,

Ancient Indian Theatre as Reflected in the Nāṭyaśāstra 31

pp. 362 ff.

72 Cf. V. Shastri, op. cit., pp. 383-84.

73. NŚ, 21, 3.

74 Ibid., 21, 5 (Kāvyamālā ed.)

75 Abhinavabhāratī, Vol. III, p. 109.

76 Śailayānavimānāni carma-varma-dhvajānagāḥ—NŚ, 21, 9.

77 Ibid., 21.205.

78 Ibid., 21.61.

79 Ibid., 21.75.

80 Ibid., 21.77.

81 Ibid., 21.110.11.

82 Ibid., 21.130-32.

83 Ibid., 21.119-20.

84 Ibid., 21.162.

85 AB on NŚ, 21.164.

86 Cf. Kāśikā ad Aṣṭādhyāyī, 4, 3, 129.

87 Cf. Mahābhāṣya ad Aṣṭādhyāyī, 2, 3, 67.

88 Eg. instances quoted by Keith, Sanskrit Drama, pp. 362-63.

89 Cf. NŚ, I.

90 Cf. Harṣacarita, Bombay, 1937, pp. 41-42.

91 NŚ, 26, 9-10.

92 Cf. Mahābhāṣya ad Aṣṭādhyāyī, 4, 13.

93 NŚ, I.

94 Cf. Kuṭṭanimatam, vv. 856 ff.

95 NŚ, 26.1.

96 NŚ, 26.35-36.

97 Ibid., 24

98 Vide, infra, Chap. III.

99 NŚ, 27, 50-53, 64-67.

Chapter 3

Theory and Practice of Drama

Nāṭya has been derived from the root naṭ in the sense of move-

ment (avaspandana) and has been distinguished from Nṛtya and Nṛtta,

both derived from the root nṛt in the sense of throwing about one's

limbs (gātra-vikṣepa).1 Nṛtta is the simplest of the three, and simply

denotes the movements of limbs in a definite rhythm and tempo—

"Nṛttam tālalayāśrayam".2 Nṛtya involves acting (abhinaya) in a limi-

ted sense. Abhinaya had the sense of bringing forth or presentation—

"Abhipūrvastu nīndhaturabhimukhyarthanirnaye/Yasmāt prayogam nay-

ati tasmād abhinayaḥ smṛtaḥ."3 Abhinaya was of four recognised types,

Sāttvika, Vācika, Āngika and Āhārya. Of these, nṛtya had a profusion

of Āngika. The dancer expressed emotional states through the motion

and disposition of his limbs. Hence, nṛtya has been described as bhā-

vāśraya, i. e. based on bhāva or feeling. Alternatively, it has been

described as padārthābhinaya, or the representation of the meaning

of a word, i.e. a self-contained and static tableau. In contrast nāṭya

is the enacting of a sequence of such meanings which are linked as a

sentence (Vākyārthābhinaya).4 Nṛtya is a mere spectacle which is the

representation of some object. Nāṭya is the articulate expression of

connected meanings communicating rasa. Thus, unlike nṛtya, nāṭya

uses not merely the language of bodily gestures and movements but

primarily the language of articulate speech. It is not so much a spec-

tacle as a communication.

This may be seen most clearly by recalling the connection of

nāṭya with the vṛttis i.e. modes or styles of behaviour and represent-

ation—"Vyāpārah punarartha-sādhaka vṛttīḥ." Vṛtti is the manner of

action adopted to pursue human values. Such actions are mental,

vocal and physical (Vāgaṅgasattvaceṣṭāsāmanyam).5 Sāttvatī, Bhāratī

and Ārabhaṭī are connected with three ways of actions respectively.

Apart from these three is the additional dimension of grace in actions.

That which is conducive to grace and belongs so distinctively to

women, the peculiarly 'aesthetic' component of behaviour, is termed

kaiśikī.6 Now these four dimensions of behaviour—linguistic articu-

lation and communication, psychic high-mindedness or heroism,

impetuousity and violence, aesthetic grace—constitute the matrix of

nāṭya—“Vṛttayo nāṭyamātaraḥ.”7 Of these while three belong to the

object matter of nāṭya, Bhārati belongs to its principal expres-

sive medium which is the language or speech. The ubiquity of Bhārati makes

nāṭya primarly a spoken communication—“Vāci yatnastu kartavyo

nāṭyaśaisā tanūḥ smrtaḥ Āṅga-nepathya-sattvāni vākyārtham vyañjayan-

ti hi//”8 Although Abhinavagupta has given a neat, logical explana-

tion of vṛttis as different kinds of dimensions of behaviour, the origi-

nal conception as reflected in the NŚ is more practical. It seems to

have been a classification of principal elements or aspects or dramatic

representation to which the dramatist and producer must pay atten-

tion and it was obviously connected with the classification of abhina-

ya. The connection of Sāttvati, Bhārati, and Ārabhati, Vācika and

Āṅgika is clear enough. By exclusion it follows that Kaisiki would

be connected with āhāryābhinaya. The role of make-up in lending

grace to the dramatic performance is specially connected with the

playing of female roles. If, as is likely, female roles were, in an ear-

lier stage of the evolution of the theatre, either excluded or played by

male actors, this would be even more intelligible.9 As a whole, the

vṛttis indicate that drama rests on four principal pillars—speech,

character, action and artistry.

The origin of drama is traced to the creator Brahmā himself.10

When the Kṛtayuga had passed and the Tretā had fully commenced,

the purity of the human mind and conduct declined.11 Passions of

diverse kinds—sex, greed, envy, anger etc., assailed mankind which

now experienced the vicissitudes of pleasure and pain.12 The influ-

ence of diverse gods and demons, gandharvas and yakṣas, rakṣāsas

and nāgas spread over the Jambūdvipa.13 In this situation the gods

led by Indra approached Brahmā and entreated him to provide them

with a means of entertainment which would be perceptible by eyes

and ears.14 As the Vedas were not to be recited to the Śūdras, a di-

fferent and fifth Veda was required which would be available to all the

varṇas.15 As Brahmā recalled the four Vedas through the power of

concentration and created Nāṭyaveda out of the elements drawn from

the four Vedas, he took pāṭhya or dialogue from Ṛgveda, music from

Sāmaveda, acting (abhinaya) from Yajurveda, and the rasas from

Atharvaveda. The Nāṭyaveda, thus created, was connected with the

Vedas as well as the Upaniṣads.16 Brahmā then instructed the lord of

the gods to put the science of drama into action but the gods confes-

sed their inability to do so and the task thus devolved on the sage

Bharata who instructed his hundred sons in the art and staged a play

based on the three vṛttis—Bhārati, Sāttvati and Ārabhati.17 At this

Brahmā asked him to include the Kaiśikī vṛtti also. Bharata received verbal instructions from Brahmā but saw the spectacle of Kaiśikī in the dancing Śiva and realized that with its delicacy and romantic origin it could not be produced without the help of female roles. Thus the apsarās were created by the will of Brahmā and with them were employed the sage Svāti, the creator of the orchestra, and the gandharvas with the sage Nārada at their head.18 Dancers and musicians, thus, helped to add the Kaiśikī vṛtti to nāṭya. With these preparations, the first play was staged on the occasion of the flag festival (dhvajamaha) of Mahendra.19 After the ceremonial Nāndi, the drama represented the struggle of gods and demons and the victory of the former. It is said that the form of the drama was a Dima or a Samavakāra or an Ṭhāṃṛga.20 Presumably it was the celebrated Dima Tripuradāha or the Samavakāra Amṛtamathana.21 The demons, however, were greatly incensed by the performance and proceeded to obstruct and undo the performance. As a means of protection against such obstructions Brahmā recommended the creation of a theatrical hall (nāṭyagrha).22 He then proceeded to mollify the demons by saying that the drama was intended to illustrate only the moral law, not to represent the deeds of the gods or demons as such. It was really the exemplification of the inner reality of the whole of life, its ideal being or pattern (bhāvānukīrtanam).23

This classic account of the origin of the nāṭya given by Bharata is itself mythical in nature, but in the manner of myths it gives expression to a number of traditional beliefs about the sources, nature and purpose of nāṭya. By attributing the origin of nāṭya to the Creator himself, it emphasises the natural and primaeval character of the human instinct of communicating and entertaining by dramatizing. It also brings out the role of creativity in the dramatist. The parallel between the Creator of the universe and the poet is a well-known one.24 This view, thus, traces the root of drama in the imaginative creativity latent in human nature itself. It is in contrast to the historical view of Aristotle who traces the origin of Greek tragedy to the dithyrambic chorus of satyrs and of comedy to the phallic song and dance. The inventiveness of Aeschylus and Sophocles in introducing the second and third actors led to the growth of tragedy.25 The earliest Indian drama, on the other hand, had the character of representing a myth celebrating the conflict of gods and demons (devāsura-saṅgrāma). As a consequence, it had a large number of characters from the start.

Again, this account while making nāṭya the natural outcome of the creative instinct as personified in the god of creation, also makes

it clear that this search for recreation through the imaginative re-creation of experience belongs not to the original golden age of human society but to a later and a more familiar age when men were less perfect. Human imperfection and the resultant vicissitudes of pleasure and pain, thus, are the source material which creativity fashions as an imaginative spectacle.26 This representation, however, is not a mere imitation of life but an illustration of the working of the moral idea operative in human nature in and through the inter-connections of actions and passions.27 Drama presupposes the role of passions and actions in human life, but it also presupposes the working of the moral law in shaping human destiny.

The connection of dramatic performances with the popular festivals of the gods, especially the festival of Indra's Flag, also comes out in this account. It may be recalled that Indra was the chief Vedic god of war and victory, the hero of the most celebrated mythical struggle between the gods and demons.28 This myth was really the myth of creation, of how the chaotic formlessness of darkness is overcome by the cosmos-revealing plasticity of light. It also symbolises the victory of good over evil. The connection of light and water in Vedic imagination and language helped the transformation of Indra into a rain god and the myth came to have a special meaning in the context of the fertilization of the soil by the monsoon rains. The abduction of the life-giving waters by the Demon and their recovery by the storming of his stronghold by the divine hero supplied a perennial motif for representation. The seriousness and magic of ritual, the joy and popularity of the festival and the creative vision of the artist seeking to reconstruct the ideal meaning of life out of the recurrent fragments and patterns of experience, all combined into the spectacle of theatrical performance.

Although mythical and philosophical rather than historical, this account of Bharata's NŚ indicates two developmental features. In the first place it tells us that the drama originally lacked female actors and the element of female grace, dance and music. These elements constituting the Kāiśikī vṛtti are supposed to have been added later. Similarly, we gather that originally the performance of drama was in an open-air stage. The use of a theatrical building was resorted to later to avoid unwarranted obstruction and interference.29

We may, thus, conclude that the origin of drama was attributed to divine inspiration, but human agency. It was the creation of Brahmā in its ideality but was produced by the seers belonging to the human world. Myths constituted its original thematic material, devā-surasangrāma being the primary myth. The production of dramatic

36 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

plays was closely connected with the Flag Festival of Indra, the great Vedic god. Female actors, dance and music were gradually added to the features of drama as was a characteristic kind of theatrical architecture. Apart from Brahmā and Indra, Rudra and Viṣṇu also came to be specially connected with the tradition of drama.

About the nature of nāṭya, it has been stated that Bharata regarded it as imitation and this has naturally invited comparison with Aristotle.30 It has further been said that the object of imitation in Indian drama was the emotional states of the mind while in Greek drama it was action and this would explain the relatively static, poetic and sentimental character of Indian drama as compared to Greek drama. On the other hand, Abhinavagupta is emphatic that the concept of imitation is altogether inapplicable to drama and that Bharata never intended it.31 For Bharata, the suggestive intimation of rasa is the common essence of drama and poetry, a theory which received wide acceptance in later times. Since Bharata was the original propounder of rasa, it does seem necessary to reconcile the concepts of rasa and anukṛti.

If we turn to the evidence we find that the NŚ clearly uses the term anukṛti or imitation for drama at several places. Thus “tadante’ nukṛtir baddhā yathā daityāḥ surair jitāḥ” (1, 57). At the end of the Nāndi the imitation was produced in which it was shown how the demons were vanquished by the gods. “Lokavṛttānukaranam nāṭyam etan mayākṛtam” (1,112)–I have created this nāṭya as the imitation of social life (or the ‘happenings of the world’); “Sapta-dvīpānukaranam nāṭyam etad bhaviṣyati” (1, 117)–this nāṭya will be the imitation of the seven continents; “yenānukaranam nāṭyam etad tad yan mayā kṛtam” (bracketed text in the GOS ed.). In the Kāvyamālā ed, this line is included in 1, 117 but the previous line Saptadvīpa etc. is bracketed. However, Abhinava comments on Saptadvīpānukaranam etc. but omits mentioning yenānukaranam etc.–“It is imitation that I have created as nāṭya.”

These references certainly make it clear that nāṭya was regarded by Bharata as imitation in some sense. The speech, gestures, manners, appearance and dress of actors did seek to conform to what was current in society. This conformity to social reality is what Abhinavagupta understands lokavṛttānukaranam to mean. It is not the reference to any specific actuality. When a person uses language in accordance with the current social idiom, he cannot be said to be imitating anyone. His conformity to social usage is merely a precondition of social communication. It is the same with the stage. Rules and conventions accepted in society are followed on the stage also so that the play

wright and the producer may be able to communicate with the audience. The drama is a set of visible and audible presentations which communicate a meaning (vākyārtha) which is ultimately nothing but rasa. Each presentation in the drama, thus, functions as a part of a composition (samyoga) which evokes an inner experience (anuvyavasāya) culminating in rasa. That is why Bharata describes nāṭya as bhāvānukīrtanam and this Abhinava regards as its real characterization.

That drama does not intend simply to represent or imitate the ways of gods or demons comes out clearly in the line “Naikānta-to'tra bhavatām devānām cānubhāvanam” (1, 107).

The theory of nāṭya as imitation must not in any case be confused with any kind of naturalism. Gods and demons, myths and miracles formed unquestioned parts of the ancient dramatic world. It was further clearly realized that dramatic representation was a mixture of conventionalism and realism.32 The purpose of ‘imitating’ reality was only to remove hindrances in the suspension of disbelief.

An Abhinavagupta points out, the spectacle of imitation produces a sense of ridicule. Besides, it assumes a pre-existing reality or model which has to be represented. It commits the same fallacy which those theories of language commit which identify ‘meanings’ with natural objects. Such theories miss the constructive and creative aspect of language or drama. What drama does is not to evoke one’s memory of some natural object, but to reveal an inner meaning ‘recollected in tranquility’. The concept of revelation is more relevant here than that of imitation.

The purpose of drama needs to be analysed in this context. Imitation or the naturalistic representation of some reality is in itself relevant only for giving information and such a spectacle would correspond to a mere factual description or narrative. Just as poetry is no history, drama cannot be a mere visual documentary.33 Doubtless, nāṭya has been called the fifth Veda and it is Nāṭyaveda which was created by Brahmā.

Nevertheless, such an appellation was metaphorical rather than literal because the Vedas were prescriptive with mandatory force, the nāṭya did not have such a character. Nevertheless the two agreed in not being merely descriptive and in seeking to draw their audience to a truth which is not normally realized in every-day life.

Drama, thus, is a source of wisdom, which throws light on the vicissitudes of life. As the same time it is the source of perennial delight and amusement. It instructs as well as entertains “Hitopadeśajananam dhṛtikrīdāsukhādikṛt” (1,113).

As later theorists explained, the instruction was not in the peremptory manner of the Vedas, but in the manner of a dear friend’s suggestion.34 Its

38 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyaśāstra

principal theme was the working of the moral law through the vicissitudes of experience: “...........śubhāśubhavikalpakam karmabhāvānyayāpekși nāṭya-vedo mayā kṛtah (1, 106). But it does not portray only the serious side of life, it portrays the lighter and amusing side equally “Kvacid dharmah kvacid kṛīdā kvacid arthah kvaccicchamah, Kvacid hāsyam kvacid yuddham kvacid kāmah kvacid vadhaḥ” (1, 108). Human activity in all its wide variety formed its subject matter. The pursuit of dharma, artha and kāma were all part of its world. “Dharma-rmo dharmapravṛttānām kāmah kāmopasevinām, nigraho durvinitānāṃ-vinitānām dama-kriyā (1, 109). Heroism and cowardice, folly and wisdom, pomp of power, fortitude in suffering, quest of gain, patience in affliction, all manner of mental states and changing fortunes are represented in drama—“Nānābhāvopasampannam nānāvasthāntrātmakam” (1, 112). Its appeal lay to all classes of society, high, low and middling and to the diverse castes. It was intended to give strength to thesuffering, relaxation to the weary and contribute to righteousness and social good—“Dharmyam yaśasyam āyuśyam hitam buddhivivardhanam/Lokopadeśajanānanam nāṭyam etad bhaviṣyati// In short, the scope of nāṭya is universal and encyclopaedic, it represents all sides of human life and thought—Na tajjñānam na tacchilpam na sā vidyā na sā kalā/Nasau yogo na tat karma nāṭye’ smin yan na dṛśyate (1,116). Drama, thus, is not merely a colourful spectacle accompanied by dance and music but a suggestive and meaningful statement which seeks to touch the heart and fortify the moral sense. While allowing full freedom to creative imagination and fancy it conforms to the socially accepted picture of reality—“Tasmāllokapramāṇam hi kartvyam nāṭyavokṛbhiḥ” (varient reading after 1,112, in the GOS ed). The intention was neither to create a naturalistic documentary nor to create a pure fantasia. The intention was to instil a moving insight into human nature and destiny in their diverse aspects, heroic or romantic, tragic or comic, amusing or humorous.35

Later theorists have analysed drama into three principal elements viz. vastu or plot, netā or hero and rasa or mood.35a If we add vṛtti and abhinaya, dance and music, lakṣaṇa and alamkāra to these we get the principal elements of drama as they figure in the NŚ. These are comparable with the six essential parts of tragedy as stated by Aristotle, viz., plot, character, diction, ideas, lyrical or musical element provided by the chorus, and spectacle.36 Abhinaya especially āhārya provided the spectacle. The lyrical or musical element is regarded as essential by Bharata and was provided both as a background as well as constituent. The orchestra or kutapa as a prominent feature of the stage, dance and music figure in the pūrvarañga as

well as during the main play. Gita, vādya and nāṭya were to be used

in quick succession as in the movement of an alātacakra. Nearly

seven chapters of the NŚ are devoted to music, four specifically to

dance and expressive acting involved in it, two to metrics and one to

the production of scenic effects. Diction is clearly connected with

vṛttis, alaṁkāra and kāku. Character-types are analysed as prakṛtis

and the plot or structure is called itivrtta under sandhyangas by Bha-

rata. The place of catharsis is taken by rasa.

Aristotle described plot as the most important element of drama.

Drama is the mimesis of action and plot its structure.37 Aristotle

wanted the plot to be a compact unity with definite and clear stages,

a beginning, a middle and an end. He emphasized the virtue of sur-

prise situations particularly of ‘reversal’ and ‘recognition’. It is well-

known that in western drama generally there is a significant difference

between tragic and comic plots in as much as the ‘complications’ are

‘resolved’ in the latter while there is an inexorable tendency from the

crisis towards to a ‘catastrophe’ in the former. In the NŚ, while the

importance of unity, logical compactness, clearly phased development,

and surprises is admitted and emphasized, the general development

of the plot does not admit the characteristic tragic sequence, but

rather follows the pattern of comedy in as much as the crisis in the

garbha and vimarsa sandhis, however serious, tends to be resolved in

the end. This, however, does not mean that the NŚ has no conception

of tragedy and has only comic plays in mind because the mood and

character of the play as a whole does not simply depend on the for-

mal structure of the play or the death of the hero but rather on the

seriousness of the theme, manner and emotions involved.38

In contrast to the Aristotelian conception, Bharata regards plot or

itivṛtta as the body rather than the soul of drama, as is made clear by

Abhinavagupta.39 Itivrtta literally means an account of heppenings,

that is to say, the ‘story’ of events. However, this story is not a mere

history or narrative but an artistically subdivided structure and is

consequently to be regarded as corresponding to ‘plot’ rather than

mere ‘story’. Bharata prescribes a division of the itivṛtta into five

joints or sandhis. He also classifies it into two types viz., principal

or ādhikārika and subsidiary or prāsaṅgika.40 The principal story is

the one in which the primary objective of action represented is attain-

ed. The remaining action sequence is to be held subsidiary. The

principal action sequence is the cause of the primary attainment

while the subsidiary one helps in the process.41 The distinction bet-

ween the principal and subsidiary ultimately depends on the discre-

tion of the poet subject to the cogency of the connection imagined

40 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

between the characters and the means they employ.42 That is to say different types of characters must act and aim at objects in conformi- ty with their natures although the poet is free to decide whom to treat as more important than others.43

As in Aristotle, so in Bharata the sequence of events plotted are sought to be governed by their proper causal connections. It is the sequence governed by causal operations which gives rise to five sta- ges (avasthās) “ ....... Vyāpārah kāraṇasya yaḥ/Tasyānupūrvyā viñjeyāḥ pañcāvasthāḥ prayoktrbhih//” (19,7). These five stages are Prāram- bha, Prayatna, Prāptisambhava, Niyataphalaprāpti and Phalayoga.

The first is the keenness of the heart to secure an important objective and is like the sowing of a seed. The second is the making of efforts for the realization of the object even when there are no signs of its attainment. In the third stage the discovery of a means and a fleeing glimpse of future success serve to establish the feasibility of atta- ining the object. In the fourth stage, the means already secured en- sure the definiteness of success. In the fifth stage the whole enterprise reaches final success.44

Corresponding to these five stages there are five sandhis or junc- tures viz., mukha, pratimukha, garbha, vimarśa and nirvahana.45 Mu- kha sandhi is characterized by the ‘birth of the seed’ (bijasamutpatti), that is by the activation of the desire in the hero to gain the primary objective. The introduction of the material relevant to the enter- prise falls within this sandhi which may roughly be described as the ‘beginning’ in Aristotelian terms. Bharata describes the ‘birth of the seed’ as ‘nānārtharasasambhava’. This describes not merely its pic- turesque diversity, as Abhinava explains, but also that the ‘seed’ fore- shadows the dominant mood and other moods associated with it.

Pratimukha sandhi shows the clear emegence of the seed. In the earlier sandhi, the seed is sown and in the process disappears from view and functions in a subterranean manner. Now it becomes visible overground. In the garbha sandhi, the seed sprouts up and blooms. The objective, while it appears to be within grasp yet recedes and produces further search. This corresponds to the stage of prāptisam- bhava. In the vimarśa sandhi, there are unexpected doubts or hind- rances which delay the conclusion.46 Whereas in garbha sandhi the predominance is of non-attainment, here the predominance is of attainment which is still incomplete. Abhinava says that some read avamarśa in place of vimarśa. Vimarśa has the sense of doubt and corresponds to the hypothetical reasoning called tarka. Avamarśa has been interpreted as obstruction. If vimarśa is favoured it would mean that some unexpected circumstance spurs the hero to renewed effort

Theory and Practice of Drama 41

This view of avasthās and sandhis as found in the NŚ and followed by all subsequent authors may be said to reflect the basic philosophy of life underlying ancient Indian drama. It is the moral philosophy of the law of karman which asserts that ultimately men get their deserts. It is an idealistic and optimistic outlook of life which prompts men to face tribulations and suffering in a confident and hopeful manner, persisting in righteousness and facing adversity as essentially transient. It is this philosophy which makes Sanskrit drama follow the rule of poetic justice. From a modern or rather rationalist point of view, one may call it sentimental or unrealistic and one used to harsh tragedies may find it insipid. However, the fact remains that good Sanskrit drama is neither sentimental nor unrealistic. It faces the uncertainties and vicissitudes of life quite firmly and portrays suffering, violence, errors and accidents realistically. That the play should end in a happy surprise is nothing more than a convention which reflects an accommodation of the popular as well as the philosophical expectation of the law of poetic justice. It does not turn all Sanskrit drama into comedies in the accepted western sense.

Although, generally, the five sandhis are to be observed, it is not treated as an invariable rule. Some dramatic types like Dima and Samavakāra have only four sandhis excluding the vimarśa sandhi. In vyāyoga and ihāmṛga, two sandhis, garbha and vimarśa are left out. In Prahasana, Vīthī, Aṅka and Bhāṇa, pratimukha, garbha and vimarśa sandhis are left out. Thus the beginning and the end, mukha and nirvahana are universally necessary, but the middle may be attenuated to a vanishing point in a quick and continuous development. In such a syncopated develcpment there is little scope for reversal. This happens in a pure comic play like Prahasana or a pure tragic play like Aṅka in which there is a quick unilinear movement.47 Abhinava points out that this suits the behaviour of characters who do not have sufficient depth and moral stature.48

Another list of five factors given by Bharata consists of the Arthaprakṛtis. These are Bīja, Bindu, Prakarī, Patākā and Kārya.49 Bīja is small in itself but becomes manifold by development and concludes in the phala. Bindu serves to give continuity to the diverse, and Bīja to the changing pursuits of the hero. Both Bīja and Bindu continue till the end but while Bīja comes at the beginning, Bindu comes later. It enables the dramatist to maintain the inner link in changing situations. Patākā is a subsidiary sequence which helps the main story while directly serving another. It has also been described simply as the story of the second hero (upanāyakacaritam). Prakarī serves only the main story without any distinct purpose of its own. Unlike Patākā

42 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyaśāstra

it may be incidental and discontinuous. Kārya is the object of the main story. We have, thus, three types of sequences, the principal one and two subsidiaries, Patākā and Prakari.50 Thus Sugrīva and Vibhīṣaṇa are Patākānāyakas in the Rāma story, Vāsudeva is the Prakari-nāyaka in the Venīsaṃhāra.

Four Patākāsthānas have been emphasized as significant elements adding to dramatic beauty. All of them contain elements of equivocation and dramatic irony. The first Patākāsthāna is produced when an action accidentally leads to a quite unexpected result. Here the situation is equivocal.51 The second depends on an equivocal response and the use of double entendre, the third on the intimation of a hidden meaning through ambiguity in dialogue, the fourth on poetic constructions depending on words having double meanings. Some kind of ambiguity in words, dialogues and situations is a generic feature of the Patākāsthānas and it produces a surprising turn.

The five sandhis are further subdivided into sixty-four aṅgas.52 These are constituents of the major divisions called sandhis and serve manifold purposes. They help the construction of the desired theme, maintenance of the story, the interlinking of the parts of the performance, concealing what needs to be concealed, producing surprise revelations and the discovery of things when due.53 Thus, there are twelve aṅgas in the mukha sandhi. The indication of the theme is called upakṣepa and is the first aṅga. Pratimukha has thirteen aṅgas and so has garbha sandhi. Vimarsa has thirteen and Nirvahana fourteen aṅgas. These lists and names became standard for subsequent writers.54 Since these aṅgas have not been derived in any logical manner, it may be presumed that they represent an empirical classification based on the available repertoire of dramatic works. They present an abstract summary of the types of incidents and situations which frequently occurred in these works and were distinctive enough to have been appreciated and noted by critics for formalization. The use of specific devices like dreams, letters, messages, recognition, sudden reversals, play within a play, repartee, parody etc., may be mentioned as of importance.55

The play was divided into several Acts or Aṅkas although it could be of one Act also. Aṅka is the basic unit of performance and functioned to further the theme and mood. Each aṅka completed one of the stages or avasthās but ended with continuity of the bindu. It was to represent the action of some leading character who was to be him-self directly present on the stage. It was compact and not too long, but it could have a variety of emotions. The action depicted in it was not to exceed one day and was to have unity of purpose. At

the end of the act all the characters were to leave the stage.56 As is stated succinctly in the Daśarūpaka, “Ekāhacaritaikārtham Pātraistricaturaiṅkam teṣām ante'sya nirgagam/.”57

What could or could not be represented directly on the stage was governed by conventions. Thus rage, pleasure, sorrow, curse, marriage, miracles etc. could by shown as part of the action and experience,58 but long journeys, killing, fighting, revolution, siege, eating, bathing, love-making etc. were not to be shown.59 What was not or could not be directly represented in the Act, could sometimes be intimated by means of ākāśabhäṣita, where information was to be given through the dialogue of secondary characters as an introduction or interlude. Such an interlude could be a Praveśaka or Viṣkambhaka. The former was constituted by the dialogue of servants and other characters from lower classes using Prākṛta. It served as a short connective recalling or foreshadowing of events. The Praveśaka was located at the beginning of an Act. The Viṣkambhaka could have a dialogue in Sanskrit only or a mixed one in Sanskrit and Prākṛta.60

Apart from Praveśaka and Viṣkambhaka, there were several other devices for intimating events to the audience. When at the end of an aṅka an intimation was given of further events, that is called aṅkāvatāra. Where the whole story is indicated in some dialogue, we have aṅkamukha. Where a speech or dialogue behind the curtain is used to give information we have cūlikā.61

The play began with a general Prologue, an idea which had impressed the German poet Goethe. After a number of song and dance items, the first dramatic item in the Pūrvarāṅga consisted of the Nāndī or a ceremonial prayer offered for the guarding of the play from obstacles.62 The Sūtradhāra recited the Nāndī in madhyama svara. The Nāndī was to be of twelve or eight padas and expressed a benediction for the gods, Brāhmaṇas and rulers. The Pūrvarāṅga had a large number of elements of which twenty-two have been mentioned. An important element was Prarocanā or Introduction. The Sūtradhāra and/or Sthāpaka, Pāripārśvika and Natī constituted the characters of the Pūrvarāṅga. Among other elements of Pūrvarāṅga, items of dance and music entered in complex patterns. The extent to which the elements and compilations of Pūrvarāṅga were actually followed varied with time and place. The Prologue appears to have been gradually simplified in practice.63

Dramatic representation is held to be rooted in the style or manner of department. “Style is the mother of Drama” - Vṛttayo nāṭyamātārah’. Abhinava says, “Although the movements of body, speech

44 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyaśāstra

and mind accompanied with picturesque diversity constitute the ‘styles’ (vrttis) and although pervading the whole living world, they flow together at the same time, even so joined to a characteristic inspiration (āveśa) of the heart (‘being possessed by the heart’) they assist dramatic performance. This inspiration or ‘possession’, which may be more or less, is two-fold– belonging to ordinary life or that lying beyond it. The heightened emotional state of everyday life caused by the gradation of pain and pleasure is not aesthetically enjoyable. The ‘transcendental’, heightened emotion although not really a state of emotion appears like one as is in the case of the poet or spectator. What flashes on special occasions to an aesthetically sensitive and emotionally attuned mind (hrdayāsamvādasarasasya) becomes the instrument of a peculiar function which forms the content of aesthetic experience in ‘normal’ representation. This was first demonstrated by Lord Vāsudeva at the beginning of Kṛtayuga.”64 The NS recalls the myth65 that once, when Lord Acyuta was asleep in his ‘snake bed’ and the entire cosmos had been reduced to the ocean of unmanifested being, the intoxicated demons, Madhu and Kaiṭabha, started a fight with the god and engaged in abusive shouts and violent movements. At the request of Brahmā, who was struck with wonder and awe, Madhusūdana reassured him, engaged in diverse movements, and killed the demons. With Brahmā as the first spectator Hari, thus, created the vrttis. His speech gave rise to Bhāratī, the steady twanging of his bow led to Sāttvatī, the tying of the hair accompanied by wonderful aṅgahāras led to the Kaiśikī, and the vigorous and violent movements of his fight with the demons led to the Ārabhaṭī. Bhāratī being the manner of dialogue was connected with the Ṛgveda, Sāttvatī being the manner of representation (abhinayapradhāna) was connected with the Yajurveda, Kaiśikī being the manner of singing etc., was connected with the Sāmaveda and Ārabhaṭī with its passion and vehemence was connected with the Atharvaveda.

Abhinava explains that since speech, thought and action are inseparably connected, the vrttis, too, are not independent. They are counted separately only because one or another out of them may acquire predominance on any given occasion.66 Bhāratī is verbal (vākpradhāna) used by men rather than women and connected with (dialogues in Sanskrit.67 Its four parts of special occasions are Prarocanā, Āmukha, Vīthī and Prahasana.68 Prarocanā indicates the subject of the drama and is, as stated before, a part of the Pūrvaraṅga. Āmukha is the same as Prastāvanā, and indicates the theme of the play through a dialogue between the Sūtradhāra and the Nati, Vidūṣaka or Pāripārśvika.69 It has five forms– Vighnātyaka, Kathodghāta, Pravṛtttiśaṃva Pra

vṛttaka and Avalagita. In the first, words used earlier are joined to different words; in the last they are employed in continuation by another for a different purpose. These two are also Vīthyāṅgas. In the Kathodghāta a character enters the stage using the Sūtradhāra’s sentence or its meaning. Where the Sūtradhāra himself joins an answering statement to his question and then the entry of the character takes place, we have an example of Prayogātiśaya. Where the character enters after the description of time, we have Pravṛttakam.70 The constituents of Vīthī and Prahasana would be mentioned below.

Sāttvatī vṛtti is distinguished by high-mindedness and cheerful exuberance.71 It includes vocal and bodily acting for representing mental states characteristic of heroism, nobility, enthusiasm and contest. It is suitable for the moods of Vīra. Adbhuta and Raudra, but not for Śṛṅgāra, Karuṇa, and Nīrveda. It belongs to contexts having bold heroes indulging in mutual disparagement.72 Its four varieties are Utthāpaka, Parivartaka, Sallāpaka and Saṅghātya.73 In the first an open challenge is thrown for rivals or enemies. In the second, there is an unexpected change of plan. Another explanation conceives Parivartaka as connected with three kinds of humour (trihāsasamyuktah). This, however, is ignored by Abhinava. In the Sallāpaka, there is denunciation or disparagement. In the Saṅghātyaka, diplomatic means or intrigue is used to break down a hostile alliance.74

Kāśikī is distinguished by grace and delicacy with a profusion of women characters, dance and music. Erotic and romantic situations abound and the dress, make-up etc. are delicate and diverse.75 Its four varieties are Narma, Narmasphañja, Narmasphoṭa and Narmagarbha. The first abounds in humorous dialogues and romantic interest. The mood of heroism is absent but jealousy, annoyance and sarcasm may be expressed or an attempt may be made to win over another’s heart. In the Narmasphañja, there is a meeting of new lovers, but it ends in the fear of discovery.76 In the Narmasphoṭa diverse other feelings serve to further manifest the basic mood of love. Where the hero acts secretly or under a disguise we have Narmagarbha.77

Ārabhaṭī is used in the situations involving bold and impassioned moods (uddhatarasa, dīptarasa). Its qualities are rage, violence etc. and it is also replete with deception, boasting and false words.78 Its varieties are Saṅkṣiptaka, Avapāta, Vastūthāpana and Sampheṭa.79 The first is so named because it brings together on stage many artificially produced devices and unusual make-up. Avapāta has rapid action on the stage with characters entering and leaving out of fear and joy, commotion caused by words, falling and jumping, and hasty

movements. Vastūthāpana indicates future developments, includes all kinds of moods briefly and may or may not depend on commotion caused by fire etc. Sampheṭa has violence, fighting, much use of weapons etc.80

From the above it would be clear that although the concept of vṛtti was held in high esteem, in the NŚ its delineation suffered from a confusion between style and manner on one hand, and theme and context on the other. Thus, the features used to characterize the vṛttis are sometimes stylistic, at others thematic and contextual. The stylistic distinctions are clear and basic. Bhāratī is a linguistic or verbal style or diction with emphasis on articulation as illustrated by the male use of Sanskrit. The other three styles are of representation primarily by acting and the use of accessories. Thus Kaiśikī uses female actors, dance, music and make-up. It is the essentially graceful or delicate style of acting and representation. Sāttvatī and Ārabhaṭī are both characterised by energy and vigour, but while the Sāttvatī is the style of high-minded heroism and nobility, Ārabhaṭī is characterised by violence, impetuosity and fighting. Thus Bhāratī, Sāttvatī, Ārabhaṭī and Kaiśikī vṛtti may be rendered as the eloquent, the noble, the martial and the graceful styles of dramatic representation. The predominance of any one of them was relevant to the expression of particular moods or rasas. Kaiśikī was prescribed for humour or romance, Sāttvatī for heroism and marvel (and an apparently later V.l. adds ‘peace’), Ārabhaṭī for rage or fear, and Bhārati for disgust and pity. It would be noted here that while the affiliations proposed for the first three cases have obvious justice, the affiliations proposed for Bhāratī has hardly any. Bibhatsa ought to have gone with Raudra and Bhayānaka, Karma too, is the consequence of Raudra, and should possibly be classed there. Bhāratī is, indeed, not a style characterized by any specific theme, context or mood, but the manner in which words are used. It would, therefore belong to all the rasas but would be coloured differently in different cases.81

The etymology of these names of the vṛttis is as obscure as is their origin. Bhāratī has been derived from Bharata meaning an actor—possibly Bharatas were not just any actors, but actors skilled in speech and eloquence. On the other hand, Bhāratī was one of the Āpr̥ devatās and formed a distinct group with Iḷā and Sarasvatī, and later came to be identified with Sarasvatī as the goddess of speech and learning. This suggests that in Bhāratī vṛtti, we have a meeting of two different sources viz. Bhāratī as speech and Bhāratī as the manner or style of actors skilled in speech. Sāttvatī has been derived by Abhinava from sat in the sense of light or consciousness—“Sātt-

vato gunah mānaso vyāpārah. Sat sattvam prakāśah tad vidyate yatra tat sattvam manah tasmin bhāvah. Elsewhere he says sat is cognitive or intuitive experience (prakhyārūpam samvedanam).82 As the same time we have to remember that Sāttvats were, like the Bharatas a famous clan with which Vāsudeva was connected and it is Vāsudeva who is declared in the NŚ to be the originator of the Vṛttis. Here, too, we seem to have a dual origin, from Sattva as well as Sattvat. Ārabhaṭī has been derived from ara-bhaṭa meaning ‘alert warriors’. The use of ara in this sense was common enough in the Vedas but bhaṭa seems to be a later word, perhaps a prākṛtism from bhṛta meaning a hired soldier. The Arthaśāstra distinguishes maula from bhṛta. It is possible that the old adjective ara continued to be used with bhaṭa as a popular stereotyped compound. Kaiśikī has been derived from keśa or hair. Perhaps hair played an important part in the style, either because male actors needed them specially to play female roles or in the case of female actors hair styles were a primary means of decoration. Kaiśi-ka also had the sense of ‘fine as a hair’ and could thus signify some thing subtle or delicate. It was also the name of a musical melody and later lexicons give ‘tone’ as one of its meanings. Most interestingly, it also refers to a Yādava clan. Thus Kaiśikī too seems to have had a dual source, literal and tribal.

The origin of the four vṛttis, thus, may be placed in the co-operation of different types of performances in the theatre. There were skilled locutionists, the Bharatas; there were dancers who skillfully displayed emotions and mimed tableaux well-known in myth and festival, the superior nartakas; there were acrobats, tumblers, wrestlers, mimics etc., the inferior actors or naṭas with physical rather than expressive skill, and there were the women singers, actresses, costumemakers, make-up artists, hair-dressers, decorators etc. Each group contributed a distinct aspect to the total performance and when emphasized could set its tone. The concept of vṛttis goes back to this early history of the theatre as an act of diverse and mixed skills.83 As the concept became gradually stereotyped, it ceased to be source of any further development, although lip-service continued to be paid to it.

Along with the four vṛttis, Bharata mentions four pravṛttis which reflect the diversity of regional usage and styles.84 It has been agreed that while vṛttis are principally concerned with expression, the pravṛttis are concerned with communication.85 Actually, however, it would be more accurate to think of pravṛttis as regionally fashionable styles of theatric representations. These styles are a mixture of social and linguistic usage with dramatic and theatric conventions. As men-

48 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

tioned before, abhinaya has been defined in the NŚ as the representa-tion of a meaning to the spectators by diverse histrionic means such as speech, acts, appearance etc., and has been described as four-fold — āngika, vācika, sāttvika and āhārya.86 The first uses bodily gestures and movements, the second speech and intonation, the third expressive manipulations of the body and the fourth costumes, make-up and scenic effects. Āngika uses the movements of six major and minor limbs. The former are the head, hands, waist, breast, sides and feet. The minor limbs are the eyes, eyebrows, lower lip, cheeks and chin. Śākhā, aṅkura and nṛtta are the three main varieties of āṅgika. The first two are flourishes of the gesticulating hand preceding and follo-wing the speech. Nṛtta or pure dance is composed of the definite sequences of the combined movements of hands and feet called aṅga-hāras. These are discussed in a separate chapter.

Speech is described as the body of drama and vācika abhinaya is central.87 The dialogue or recitation may be in Sanskrit or Prakrit and the author of the play as well as the actor used to pay due attention to the sounds, grammar, prosody and figures of speech of the language concerned. Equally important was the attention to be given to Kāku.88 Dramatic speech required not only the realistic rendering of natural speech in ail variety of situations but the manner in which speech was effected by sickness, old-age, childhood, death-bed, dream, fight, hurry etc., was also to be carefully represented. When long speeches or narrations were to be made they were to be rendered vivid, intelligible and effective by constant attention to gestures, movements and modulations of the voice. Conventional gestures were used to convey that the speech was a soliloquy (svagata) or a whisper (karṇe) or an aside (janāntika) or a secret shared by a character with the audience (apavāritaka). For the aside, thus, the gesture called tripatākā hasta was used. Ākāsabhāṣita meant a conversation with a character supposed to be invisibly present.89 The lāsyāṅgas and the vithyaṅgas were special contexts in which the use of words and their rendering contributed to beauty or to witty repartee, amusement and humour.

The representation of mental states through bodily and facial expression is sāttvika abhinaya. “It denotes that mode and an ability on the part of an actor whereby he concentrates his mind wholly on the mental state to be represented and renders it with convincing facial expression and physical manifestation as if the state is his own as in real life.”90 This is the real basis of the dramatic art—Sattve nāṭyam pratiṣṭhitam.91 Acting in which emotional expression predominates is held to be the most excellent—‘Sattvāti’rikto’ bhinayo jyeṣṭha ityabhi-

dhiyate.92 Sattva has been described by Bharata as the inner poise and concentration of mind.93 It has also been defined as the inner unmanifest source of emotion or bhāva.94 Still another definition identifies sattva with the body or rather physical vitality and declares that from sattva arises bhāva, from bhāva comes hāva, and from hāva arises helā.95 Abhinava explains that these emotions arise naturally and spontaneously in different types of persons, e.g. of love in cultured women.96 Sattva, thus, joins the psyche and the body as their vital link finding expression in their emotions. The psycho-physical nature of expression was well understood in the art of histrionic representation.

Apart from the five avasthās, five sandhis, five arthaprakṛtis, sixty-four aṅgas, four vṛttis, four pravṛttis and four abhinayas, drama is also characterized by thirty-six lakṣaṇas in the NŚ.97 These lakṣaṇas appear to be a miscellaneous collection logically since they include figures of speech and thought as also types of feelings and situations. Here again, the explanation presumably lies in the practical nature of the list as representing types of elements which were of frequent occurrence in and to be attended to in dramatic performance. Thus decoration or bhūṣaṇa is first in the list and refers generally to the beauties of ālankāras and guṇas. Later theorists elaborated a list of thirty-three nātyālaṅkāras.98 Akṣara-saṅghāta groups syllables to serve the purpose of equivocation. Śobhā, too, reveals an unexpected meaning through more familiar words. Udāharaṇa, Hetu, Saṃśaya and Dṛṣṭānta are well-known logical categories but here used as poetic figures or dramatic situations. Prāpti, Abhīprāya and Nidarśana refer to types of basic situations. So is Siddhi. Viśeṣaṇa, Atiśaya, Tulyatarka and Padoccāyā are figures of speech or diction. Guṇatipāta is a stylistic feature in sarcastic speech. Diṣṭa, Upadiṣṭa, Vicāra, Viparyaya and Bhrama are types of situations as indicated by their names. Ammaya, Dākṣiṇya, Garhaṇā, Pṛcchā, Manoratha and Priyokti are attitudes and their expression. Arthāpatti has resemblance to the logical figure so called. Mālā, Sārūpya, Saṅkṣepa, Guṇakīrtana and Anukta-siddhi are dramatic devices.

While drama may have arisen in festive-cum-ritual contests through the meeting of the theatrical and literary traditions and claimed to be as instructive as the Vedas, there can be no doubt that its heart was entertainment. This entertainment was, however, different from that provided by jugglers and acrobats where we admire the skill, but remain emotionally unmoved. Here was entertainment afforded by imaginative creation or representation. This distinctive kind of experience which was produced by dramatic spectacle was called rasa

50 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

by Bharata and remains the central focus of his dramaturgy. It distinguishes drama from mere instruction or mere amusement. While the nature of rasa or aesthetic experience is discussed in another chapter, it may be stressed here that the whole structure and classification of dramatic forms in the NŚ depends on the classification of the rasas and appropriately of characters and themes.⁹⁹ Thus the eight rasas which Bharata knew had a distinct group of dipta or glowing rasas of which Raudra is the exampler.¹⁰⁰ This leads to a distinction between tender (sukumāra) and harsh (āviddha) representation. The concept of rasa as enjoyment of the theatrical representation of emotive themes and situations was joined to the idea that what was represented should be relevant to the pursuit of some recognised human value or puruṣārtha.¹⁰¹ This emphasis on the concern of drama with the active search for values saved it from lapsing into mere sentimentality or vulgar amusement just as the emphasis on rasa saved it from lapsing into mere didacticism. Dramatic representation was required at once to be realistic, idealistic and imaginative.

About the characters of drama, it has been alleged that they were represented as types.¹⁰² The king, the queens, the ministers, the jester, the rake, the trader, the ascetic, the menials, gods and demons and others are said to be classified into neat categories of high, middle and low, noble or bold and to be no more than the images of fixed social or mythical types. This is held to rule out individual and rounded or developing characters such as may be found in Shakespeare. Unfortunately, this view misunderstands the purpose of the classification and prescriptions with respect to the characters in the NS and generalises from the practice of lesser writers. Types, especially social types, have a genuine place in any drama, but that does not by itself rule out individuality. Falstaff and Shylock represent types but are individuals nevertheless. The same is true of the Vidūṣaka in the Mṛcchakaṭikā. What is more, even in the representation of a real individual, singular and common features are inevitably mixed up. The heroine of the Śākuntalā is a highly individual person and at the same time a lovely lady. The NŚ lays down general prescriptions for the vivid representation of heroes and heroines drawn from life, legend and myth. If they donot appear alive, the representation would be unsuccessful. That the NŚ and the dramatists intended vividly alive characters in significant action can hardly be denied. But they can not be blamed for not taking into account the modern philosophy of social individualism in the analysis of drama.¹⁰³

The NŚ is heir to a vastly varied dramatic tradition. It describes

ten major types of plays, the daśarpūpakas. We are told that the first play staged by Bharata at the instance of Brahmā was the Samavakāra entitled Amṛta-manthana. The Dima Tripuradāha was similarly staged by him at the request of Brahmā as a spectacle before Śiva.104 This suggests that the more ancient dramatic forms had mythical themes and the atmosphere of conflict and commotion. They lacked the Kaiśikī vṛtti and the atmosphere of romance and humour. Spectacles of fighting, stampede and intrigue predominated. In the NŚ, infact, it is plainly stated that the Kaiśikī vṛtti and female characters were added later on. Perhaps myths relating to titanic conflicts were mimed on the occasion of the festival of Indra's Banner and these must have been replete with spectacles of strife, commotion, stampede and flurry and the air of martial violence and impetuosity. Erotic interest was not wholly ruled out and competitive struggle in its pursuit was permitted in some forms. The heroes were generally superhuman, olympian (devas) and titanic (asuras). Samavakāra, Īhāmṛga and Dima exemplify these mythic-heroic forms. Vyāyoga has a general similarity but it includes men as contenders and may be described as heroic-martial.

Bharata gives the following characteristics of Samavakāra.105 The story arises from the striving of devas and asuras for success (devāsurabijakṛtah), the heroes are eminent and sublime gods, there are three acts, three deceptions (kapāṭas), three commotions (trividravas) and three romances (triśṛṅgāra). There are twelve heroes. The duration of the action was limited to eighteen nāḍikas or nine muhūrtas. The first Act covered the action of twelve nāḍīs and represented spectacles of deception, commotion and successful erotic enterprise which included elements of wit and farce. The second Act depicted the action of four nāḍikas, the third of two nāḍikas. The themes (artha) were not closely knit (apratiṣambandham). The commotions (vidrava) could be due to war or flood, wind or fire, elephants or siege. The deception (kapāṭa) could be due to one's own course of action or due to another's or due to fate. Śṛṅgāra too, may be associated with virtue and religion, or money and means or erotic passion. There could thus be a diversity of rasas, but the grace of song and dance or delicate romance was absent. Abhinava has a contemptuous comment on this most ancient form of drama. “Thus devotees of gods are pleased by such performances on the occasions of the festive yāt-rās of these gods. It is the people with unimaginative hearts, women, children and fools who are attracted by such spectacles of commotion.”106

Īhāmṛga is similar, representing divine heroes engaged in strife

52 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

for a superhuman female (divyastrī). It has, unlike Samavakāra, a well knit theme. It has disputes, intrepid heroes, agitation, commotion, contest, abduction and carrying away of women by force. Like the Vyāyoga it has a dozen heroes in strife, but a few women, only one act and the duration of action is one day. In Vyāyoga, however, the heroes are not divine but human like sage-kings (rājarṣis) engaged in fighting and fisticuffs (niyuddha). In Īhāmrga actual fighting is postponed by some ruse.107

The Dima108 has eminent and noble heroes, mostly superhuman (devādayo bāhulyenātra) and sixteen in number. It has four acts, a well-known story, six rasas (i.e. all except Śrngāra and Hāsya). Its poetry has an impassioned air (dīptarasa), there are numerous emotions, spectacles of thunder, lightening, eclipses of the sun and moon, fighting, fisticuffs, duel, magic, much use of theatrical properties, and a plethora of gods, nāgas, rākṣasas, yakṣas and piśācas.109 Sāttvatī and Ārabhaṭī are the two prominent vṛttis employed.

Like Īhāmṛga and Vyāyoga a number of other forms had only one act. These were Aṅka, Prahasana, Bhāṇa and Vīthī. Aṅka had only human characters, its leading sentiment was Karuṇa with the wailing of women and a situation of despair and resignation following catastrophe. Prahasana110 or farce, too, was of one act but had two varieties, pure and mixed. In the former, the characters are ascetics, priests etc. who are not naturally the objects of ridicule but become its butt owing to the distortion of language and conduct. In the latter or mixed variety we have roles of prostitutes, slaves, the rake (viṭa), villain etc. In both the forms the theme is some social custom or hypocracy and the ambivalence of crooks masquerading as ascetics etc. The Prahasana included the diverse constituents of the Vīthī (Vīthyaṅga).111

The Bhāṇa not only had one act, but also a single character who spoke aloud conversing with others not actually presented on the stage. He spoke of his own experiences with proper histrionic representations. He could be a crooked rake (dhūrta viṭa) and his experiences could relate to similar knaves and prostitutes. The sentiments of the adventure could be heroic and romantic. In a way, it is the simplest and most elementary of the dramatic forms where a single actor is engaged in mono-acting and could be a historically primitive form also. An evidence of this is furnished by the fact that the ten constituents of lāsya (lāsyāṅgāni) have been intimately connected with Bhāṇa.112 These lāsyāṅgas are moods of delicate dance and music utilized as standard devices in dramatic situations and speeches. These are (i) Geyapada which Bharata defines as the “wordless singing

(śuṣka) of singers on the stage accompanied by the orchestra. Apparently, the singing was a background providing a tune with a relevant air. But later on it was defined as the singing of a song by the heroine to the accompaniment of lute. Abhinava also rejects the older interpretation of śuṣka as nirgīta. He interprets śuṣka as ‘bereft of imitation. (ii) Sthitapāṭhya is the singing of a Prakrit song by a lovelorn lady in separation. But Sāgarandin defines it as a kind of singing along with dancing. (iii) Āsina shows the heroine seated in a condition of anxiety and despondance without any orchestral support. (iv) Puṣpagandhikā is a mixed sequence of dance and song especially to elicit the feeling of men. Alternative definitions speak of a female character in male attire reciting in Sanskrit. (v) Pracchedaka has the heroine, even though aggrieved, turning to the lover as she is smitten by moonlight. (vi) Trimūḍha has three characters in a fix, viz., the hero for his fault, the first heroine for having been wronged, and the new heroine out of bashfulness and first love. (vii) Saindhavaka has speeches in saindhava Prakrta. (viii) Dvimūḍhaka brings out the confusion of the hero and heroine or of the two heroines. (ix) Uttamottamaka has a variety of rasas, and expressions of romance natural to youth. (x) Uktapratyukta has the heroine in the contrary moods of anger and pleasure, conversing with the hero in a real or imaginary manner, accompanied with music. The NŚ also mentions Citrapada where the heroine alleviates her sorrow of separation by looking at a picture and Bhāvika where she sees the lover in a dream. Abhinava rejects these as lāsyāṅgas saying that there are only ten of them. He argues that the ten aṅgas are drawn from lāsya to subserve rasa.113 This could be with respect to the principal mental state, or the vibhāva etc. or with respect to the accessories. Thus Saindhavaka was used in the vācika abhinaya such as kāku, dvimūḍhaka in āṅgika, āsinapāṭhya, in sāttvika, uktapratyukta in vācika, geyapada in the musical accessories, puṣpagandhikā in music as well as āhārya, sthitapāṭhya in lakṣaṇa, guṇa etc., trimūḍhaka in anuvṛtta114 etc., uttamottamaka in the vyabhicārīs and pracchedaka in the cittavṛttis. This exhausts all the ten and according to Abhinava all the aspect of nāṭya also !

Vīthī was another of the single act plays.115 Abhinava describes it as the source utilized by all the varities of drama from Nāṭikā to Bhāṇa since it displays diverse rasas and its constituents are universally useful.116 If Bhāṇa is a monologue recounting amorous adventures, Vīthī is above all a dialogue full of witty repartees and amusing sallies. It could have one or two characters belonging to any of the three types, high, middling or low. Its main feature was the use of thir-

teen constituents (Vīthyaṅgas): Udghātyaka, Avalagitaka, Avasapandita, Nālī, Asatpralāpa, Vākkelī, Prapañca, Mṛdava, Adhibala, Chala, Trigata, Vyāhāra and Gaṇḍa. In Udghātyaka the words of one character are completed by another. Abhinava explains it as a series of questions and answers. In the Avalagitaka the continuation of words in the response seeks to carry the action towards another end. Where an auspicious or inauspicious meaning is implied but another is uttered skillfully, we have Avaspandita which like the throbbing of eye-lids gives a sudden intimation. Nālikā is answering a riddle so as to hide the real answer in good humour. Where the real and well-intentioned meaning is missed but the apparent and pleasing meaning accepted in the answer we have asatpralāpā. In Vākkelī a single answer is given to a number of questions. In Prapañca there is a jocular lie about some relationship but it serves some purpose also of one of them. Mṛdava turns virtues into faults and vice versa out of a dispute. Adhibala has a series of verbal exchanges in which new meanings emerge. In Chala a clear remark causes anger to some, amusement to another, and at the same time serves its real purpose. Where several meanings may be constructed in a remark with or without humour, there is Trigata or multiple implication. Where a remark accidentally indicates some future spectacle, that is Vyāhāra. In Gaṇḍa there is commotion and agitation and an almost completed utterance gets linked and distorted by another with a dire meaning.

All these eight types of plays described above were devoid of the Kaiśikī vṛtti. They either presented violent spectacles of contest and commotion or exchanges of wit and humor. They tended either towards unbridled fury and pathos or towards equally unbridled laughter. In the case of Dima, Samavakāra, Vyāyoga and Thāmṛga. the dominant rasas are Vira and Raudra, which are connected with the pursuit of dharma or artha. Abhinava, therefore, regards them as having an inner value-constraint. Aṅka, Prahasana and Bhāṇa, however, tend to concentrate wholly on popular entertainment and sob-appeal—“Utsṛṣṭikaṅkaprahasanabhāṇāstu karuṇahāsya-vismaya-pradhā-natvād rañjakarasapradhānāḥ.117 Hence only an immature audience is likely to appreciate such pure comic or pure tragic spectacles. “Ata evātra strībalāmūrakhādir adhikārī”,118 Their story and theme, too, are extremely limited.

Despite their seriousness Dima, Samavakāra, Thāmṛga and Vyāyoga were deficient in human characters and lacked the delicate grace of Kaiśikī. Aṅka, Prahasana and Bhāṇa tended to lack high-minded seriousness. Hence the two forms which Bharata declares to be the proper paradigms of theatrical representation are Nāṭaka and Praka-

raṇa.119 They have been interpreted as heroic and bourgeois comedies respectively.120 This characterisation does not wholly fit these types. Since the denouement was required not to be unhappy and the death of the hero was excluded except in Aṅka, Nāṭaka and Prakaraṇa were not tragic in the sense which requires tragedies to end in death and gloom. However, both the Nāṭaka and Prakaraṇa observed all the five sandhis, which meant that the development of the plot has to pass through a serious crisis where things look bleak indeed. As a result, plays like Abhijñānaśākuntala, Mṛcchakaṭika, Uttararāma-carita or Veṇīsaṃhāra can hardly be described as comic. The fact is that the division of dramatic types into tragedy, comedy, melodrama etc., does not do justice to the actual configurations and richness of the drama as visualized by Bharata.121

Prof. Raghavan has argued that the Nāṭaka and Prakaraṇa represent two distinct basic types viz., the heroic play and the social play.122 There were two different lines of evolution. One line passed through the mythological and semi-mythological types such as Dima, Samavakāra, Īhāmṛga and Vyāyoga culminating in Nāṭaka where the heroes were exalted epic kings and the Kaiśikī vṛtti was added. The length of the play was extended to five or more acts, all the sandhis and vṛttis were to be introduced. The ruling sentiment could be heroism and romance, but other sentiments were not neglected.

The other line of development ran through the vīthī which was “a verbal affair, a series of witty exchanges”, the Bhāṇa a monologue recounting romantic adventures, and the Prahasana which presented “a slice of life” with humor and satire. The trend was perfected in the Prakaraṇa. The Nāṭaka deals with aristocracy and high ideals. The Prakaraṇa holds up the mirror up to nature and depicts “society as it is in its rank and file.” It “gives life’s medley” and a “variety of incidents and individuality of character.” It tended to be realistic and by reducing the Kaiśikī tended to present the tragic within the Indian context.

Despite their contrast, the Nāṭaka and Prakaraṇa tended to meet in the Nāṭikā which acquired a lighter and romantic character though within an aristocratic setting. On the other hand, the Prakaraṇa tended to acquire the idealism of the Nāṭaka and a form called Prakaraṇikā was known, at least later.

The reconstruction of Prof. Raghavan certainly presents a great development over the earlier views of such scholars as Prof. A. B. Keith. It agrees with the hypothesis mentioned earlier that the ancient dramatic forms had a dual origin viz., in the representation of mythical contests and in the humorous and satirical representation of

56 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

social manners and classes. This duality came to be reflected in the developed forms also. However, it stands to reason that the two remained connected throughout. The festive occasions when they were staged would have been similar. Such a connection existed, for example, in case of tragic and comic drama in ancient Greece.123 An element of satire cannot be ruled out of the mythic-heroic plays. The word dima suggests an etymology in terms of dambha which stood for pretence or hypocricy. The inclusion of kapata as an element in the Samavakāra could not have been intended to flatter the gods or only to conform to ancient myths. On the other hand, the Bhāna had an element of heroic adventure. Besides, both the types lacked the Kaiśikī and one cannot think of the Nāṭaka or the Prakaraṇa without it. It is the introduction of poetry, dance and music that transformed the ancient mythic mimes and social farces. Although Bharata does not list pure dance and music operas which were designated uparūpakaś in the later times,124 their existence at a popular level need not be doubted. It is the combination of musical operas and dances, and of heroic epic poetry with the older mimic tradition that presumably led to the complex forms of Nāṭaka and Prakaraṇa. Both, however, are representation of social classes, aristocratic, bureaucratic and bourgeois in different proportions and both contain a mixture of idealism and realism. The mere fact that the Nāṭaka had a famous epic king as the hero and a heroic legend as its story and that the Prakaraṇa has heroes from classes below the ruler—Brāhmaṇa, Vaiśya, secretary, priest, minister or merchant—and drew its story from a work of fiction or could invent it, did not demarcate them absolutely though it initialy did give the Nāṭaka a more conservative and the Prakaraṇa a more innovative air.

Footnotes

1 Daśarūpakam with the comy. of Dhanika (Bombay, 1927) p. 5.

2 Ibid., 1, 9.

3 NŚ, 7, 5-10.

4 Daśarūpaka, 1.c.

5 Cf. Dharmādipuruṣārtha-atuṣṭaye sādhye vāgan்gasattva-ceṣṭāsāmān-yam.” AB ( G O S ed. ), Vol. I, p. 20; Pravṛttirūpo netṛvyāpāras-vabhāvovṛttih”—Daśarūpaka, p. 88.

6 “Aśakyah puruṣaih sa tu prayokum strijanādṛte”—NŚ, 1, 46.

7 Cf. NŚ, 18, 4 “mātṛkā vṛttayah smṛtāh”—Sāhityadarpana, 6, 123. “Sarvanāṭyasya mātṛkāḥ.”

8 NŚ, 14, 2.

9 This is implied in the NŚ version of the origin of nāṭya in which

female actresses and Kaisiki are mentioned as later additions—

Athāha mām suraguruh Kaisikīmapi yojaya (NŚ, 1. 42).

10 Ibid., 1. 7 ff.

11 Ibid., 1. 8.

12 Ibid., 1. 9.

13 Ibid., 1. 10.

14 Ibid., 1. 11—Kṛdanīyakam icchāmo dṛśyam śravyaṁ ca yad bhavet.

15 Ibid., 1. 12.

16 Ibid., 1. 13, 16-18.

17. Ibid., 1. 10-41.

18 Ibid., 1. 42-53.

19 Ibid., 1. 55-56.

20 Dimasamavakārehāmṛgādīnām anyatamah prayogah prāstāvityarthah

—AB, Vol. I, p. 26.

21 NŚ, 4. 2-10 mention these two plays, one staged at the instance of Brahmā, the other before Śiva.

22 Ibid., 1. 64 ff.

23 Bhavatām devatānām śubhāśubhavikalpakah/

karma-bhāvānyayāpekṣi nāṭyavedo mayā kṛtah//

Naikāntato'bhavatām devānām cānubhavanam/

Trailokyasyasya sarvasya nāṭyam bhāvānukīrtanam//

—Ibid., 1. 106-107.

24 Cf. Kavir ekah prajāpatih—Dhvanyāloka, p. 498.

25 Aristotle's Poetics, Chap. IV; Lucas, Tragedy, p. 80.

26 Cf. Kṛtayuge sattvapradhāne svadharma-mātraniṣṭho loko na sukha-

duhkhe prati heyopādayatvā prayasyati. Tretāyān tu rājasatvā-

ddhukham jihasati sukham ca prepsati, rājasasyacalatvāt. Tadāsau

sāstrīyeṣu rājani yantranayā pravartyate. Tatra ca tādṛg upāyo nirū-

pyo yena svayāṁ eṣām bhavati pravṛttiḥ. Tacca nāṭyamevati.

—AB, Vol. I. p. 11.

27 karma-bhāvānyayāpekṣi nāṭyavedo mayā kṛtah—NŚ. 1, 106.

28 Macdonell, Vedic Mythology, § 22; G.C. Pande, Foundations of

Indian Culture, Vol. I, p. 27.

29 NŚ, 1. 79.

30 Keith, Sanskrit Drama, pp. 295, 355.

31 AB, Vol. I, pp. 36-37—Tadid amanukīrtanam anuyavasāyaviśeso

nāṭyāparaparyāyah. Nānukāra iti'bhramtavyam. He adds that imi-

tation produces ridicule. Besides imitation is impossible and there

is no proper object for it. “Anukāreṇa tu kim aparādham na kiñ-

cid asambhavād ṛte. Anukāra iti hi sadrśakaranam. Tat kasya. Na

tāvad Rāmādeḥ Tasyahanukāryatvāt.” Nor are the mental states

of Rāma etc., imitated by the actor because he does not have any

58 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

such feelings. He only exhibits the anubhāvas which from a generic class—Sādhāraṇarūpasya kaḥ kena sādrśyārthaḥ. Drama is thus an introspective or reflective or intuitive experience—Tasmādanuvyavasāyātmakaṁ kīrtanaṁ rūṣṭavikalpasaṁvedanaṁ nāṭyam

......................Na tvamukaraṇarūpam. If, however, one means by imitation a representation in conformity to social life, there is no harm—yadi tvevaṁ mukhyalaukika-karaṇānu-sāritayā anukaraṇam ityucyate tanna kaścid doṣaḥ.

32 see NŚ, 13. 72-74, on Lokadharmī and Nāṭyadharmī.

33 Cf. Dhvanyāloka (p. 336) — Na hi kaver itivṛttamātra nirvahaṇena kiñcitprayojanam.

34 Cf. Kāvyaprakāśa (1.3)—Kāntā-sammitatayopadeśayuje

35 Cf. NŚ, 19. 139:

Pañcasandhi-caturvṛtti catuhṣaṣṭhyāṅgascamyutam/Sattrimśallakṣaṇopetam guṇālankārabhūṣitam//

35a Cf. Daśarūpaka, 1.11 — Vastune tā rasasteṣāṁ bhedako vastu ca tridhā.

36 Aristotle, Poetics (annoted tr. V. Rai, Delhi, 1984): “Every tragedy, therefore, must have six parts, which parts determine its quality—namely, plot, character, diction, thought, spectacle, song.”

37 Ibid., l.c. “But most important of all is the organization of the incident. For tragedy is an imitation, not of men, but of an action and of life... Hence the plot is the end of tragedy, and the end is the chief thing of all.” The concept of ‘end’ may be compared with that of phala. For Aristotle, character determines qualities while action determines happiness and unhappiness. So far Aristotelian ideas are similar to Indian, but Aristotle believes in the intervention of fate, Anangke. which will act blindly. The conception of poetic justice as a ruling principle of the cosmos was not acceptable to Greek rationalism.

38 Aristotle’s definition of the tragedy does not include the death of the hero as a necessary part— Ibid., p. 83. “Tragedy, then, is an imitation of an action that is serious, complete and of a certain magnitude……” He describes reversal (peripeteia) and recognition as the most powerful elements of tragedy. Both of these are well illustrated in the Śākuntala, the Svapnavāsavadattā and the Mṛcchakaṭikā; cf. R. Vaghavan, The Social Play in Sanskrit, p. 5. “To regret again and again that the so-called tragedy is impossible in Sanskrit may be all right in writers whose minds are fed on the Hellenistic heritage, but within the Indian scheme, the Prakaraṇa does represent the tragic element in a conspicuous manner. Even theory recognises it.” He refers to the Nāṭyadarpana of Rāma-

Theory and Practice of Drama 59

candra and Gunacandra where rasa is sukha-duḥkhātmakā.

39 NŚ, 19. 1. Itivṛttam tu nāṭyasya śarīram prakṛtitam; Abhinava

comments : “itivṛtta-śabdavācyam tad vastu śarīram rasah punar-

rātmā” (AB, Vol. III, p. 1).

40 NŚ, 19. 1-2.

41 Ibid., 19. 2-4.

42 Ibid., 19. 5.

43 AB, Vol. III, pp. 4-5.

44 NŚ, 19. 7-13.

45 Ibid., 19. 37.

46 Ibid., 19. 39-43.

47 Ibid., 19. 17-18.

48 Ḍimādināyakāstvatyuddhātaprāyatvād nātiva vinipātam āśankante

……Prahasanādināyakāstu adharmaprāytavāditivṛttasya carvitapa-

riratvād upakramopasamhāramatre viśrāmyanti tyapiṛṇā avamar-

śāyah.

49 NŚ, 19. 20-21.

50 Ibid., 19. 22-29.

51 Ibid., 19. 30-34.

52 Ibid., 19. 57-67.

53 Ibid., 19. 51-52.

Iṣṭasyārthasya racanā vṛttāntasyānupakṣayah/

Rāgaprāptih prayogasya guhyānām caiva gūhanam//

Āścaryavad abhikhyānām prakāśyānām prakāśanam

Āṅgānām ṣadvidham hyetad dṛṣṭam śāstre prayojanam//.

54 Ibid., 19. 69-104.

55 Some of these are called sandhyantas which are 21. NŚ, 19. 107-

109. Duto lekhastathā svapnaścitram mada iti smṛtam—Ibid.

56 NŚ, 18. 18-32.

57 Daśarūpaka, 3. 36-37.

58 Ibid., 18. 20:

Krodhaprasādasokāḥ śāpotsargo'tha vidravodvāhau/

Adbhutasambhava-darśanam aṅke pratyakṣajāni syuh//

59 Ibid., 18. 38; Ibid., 22. 295-99.

60 Ibid., 18. 37, 54-55; cf. Sāgaranandī, Nāṭakalakṣaṇaratnakośa,

Varanasi, 1972, pp. 32-38.

61 NŚ, 19. 110-16; cf. Nāṭakalakṣaṇaratnakośa, pp. 41-45.

62 NŚ, 5. 104.

63 Bharata himself warns against spending too much time on these

preliminary dance and music rituals. Cf. G.K. Bhatt, Bharatanā-

ṭyamañjarī, pp. 68-69.

60 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

64 AB, Vol. III, pp. 83-84.

Yadyapi kāyavāṅmanasām ceṣṭā eva saha vaicitryeṇa vṛttayaḥ tāśca samastajīva-lokavyāpinyaḥ anidamprathamataḥpravṛttāḥ pravāheṇa vahanti tathāpi viśiṣṭena hṛdayāveśena yuktā vṛttayo nā-tyopakāriṇyaḥ. Āveśasca tāratamyalakṣaṇo dvidhā laukiko’nyaśca. Tatra laukika āveśaḥ sukhaduhkhatāratamyakṛto na rasāgamasvādyo hyasau.....alaukikastvanāveśaḥ-o’pyāveśamayāḥ. Kaver iva sāmā-jikasyeva. Kvāpyavasāne hṛdayasamvadasarasyaiva yo bhāṣate sa eva sādhāraṇe camatkāragocaravyāpāraviśeṣaḥ rasasyopakaraṇibhavati.

Tādṛśasca prathamataḥ kṛtayugārambhe bhagavato Vāsudevasyai va.

65 NS, 20. 2ff.

66 AB, Vol. III, p. 91.

67 NS, 20. 26.

Yā vakpradhānā puruṣaprayojyā

Strīvarjitā saṃskṛtapāṭhyayuktā/

Svanāmadheyair bharataih prayuktā

Sā bhāratī nāma bhavet tu vṛttiḥ//.

68 Ibid., 20. 27.

69 NS, 20. 28-35; ibid., 20. 36;

Prayoge tu prayogam tu sūtradharāḥ prayojayet.

— AB, Vol. III, p. 95 : sūtradhārā eva yatra prayoge prayogam samudgakalakāṣṭayugalavad yojayati. Sa prayogadvyāśleṣaṇāt prayogatisayaḥ; cf. Sāhityadarpaṇa (Varanasi, 1970), p. 176;

"Yadi prayoga ekasmin prayogo’nyaḥ prayujyate/

Tena pātraprveśaścet prayogātiśayastadā."

70 NS, 20. 37. But in Nāṭakalakṣaṇaratnakośa (verse 127) and Sahityadarpaṇa (6. 37) the term used is Pravartaka. In the Daśarū-paka (3. 10), however, the word is Pravṛttakam.

71 NS, 20. 41.

"Yā sattvataneha guṇena yuktā nyāyena vṛttena samantitā ca/

Harṣotkaṭā saṃhṛta-śokabhāvā sā sāttvatī nāma bhavettu vṛttiḥ//

Abhinava comments: Sāttvato nāma mānaso vyāpāraḥ.

72 NS, 20. 43.

73 Ibid., 20. 44.

74 Ibid., 20. 45-51.

75 Ibid., 20. 53 :

Yā ślakṣṇane pathyaviśeṣa-citrā

strīsanyutā yā bahuṇṛtta-gitā/

kāṃopabhoga-prabhavopacārā

Tāṃ kaiśikīṃ vṛttim udāharanti//

76 Ibid., 20. 56.

77 Ibid., 20. 75-61.

78 Ibid., 20. 64:

Arabhataprāyaguṇā tathaiva bahukapatavañcanopetā/

Dambhāṇṭa-vacana vati tvārabhaṭī nāmavijñeyā//

—Ibid., 20. 63 has“uddhatarasām ārabhatim”. Abhinava comments:

dīptarasā raudrādaya uddhatāḥ.

79 Ibid., 20. 67.

80 Ibid., 20. 68-71.

81 AB, Vol. II, p. 96.

82 AB on NŚ, 1. 41.

83 It may be recalled that the origin of the vṛttis is placed in Kṛta-yuga while the origin of nāṭya is placed in the Tretā. NŚ, first adhyāya.

84 Caturvidhā pravṛttiścā proktā nāṭyaprayoktṛbhih/

Āvanti dākṣiṇātya ca pāñcālī codramāgadhī//—NŚ, 13. 37.

85 Cf. NŚ, prose after 13. 37. “……vṛttisamśritaisca prayogair abhi-hitā deśāḥ yataḥ pravṛtticatuṣṭayam abhinirvṛttam prayogaścotpā-ditaḥ ”

—AB, Vol. III, pp. 205-06; “Pravṛttir bāhyārthe yasmān nivedane

niśśeṣeṇa vedanām jñāne pravṛttiśabdaḥ.

86 NŚ, 8. 8-10.

87 Ibid., 14. 2. “Vāci yatnastu kartavyo nāṭyaśeṣā tanūḥ smṛtā.”

88 NŚ, 17 is wholly devoted to Kāku.

89 Ibid., 25. 85ff.

90 G.K. Bhatt, Theatric Aspects of Sanskrit Drama, pp. 119-20.

91 NŚ, 22, 1.

92 Ibid., 22. 2.

93 Ibid., Vol. I, pp. 374-75. Iha hi sattvam nāma manahprabhavam

tacca samāhitamanasāṃvād ucyate. Manasaḥ samādhanu satvanisp-ttir bhavati.

The sattva enables the actor to indicate the signs of joy and sorrow even when he is not affected by them.

94 Ibid., 22. 3. Avyaktarūpam sattvam hi vijñeyam bhāvasaṃśrayam.

95 Ibid., 22. 6. Dehāmakam bhavet sattvād bhāvah samutthitah/Bhāvāt samutthito hāvo hāvād helā samutthitah// Cf. AB, Vol. III, p. 152.

“Tha cittavṛttir eva samvedanābhūmau saṅkrāntadeham api vyāpa-noti. Saiva ca sattvam ityucyate.” The idea seems to be that when mental attitudes become an emotional experience they affect the body in characteristic ways. This capacity of the mind is sattva.

A skilled actor is able to use this capacity even without undergoing real emotional experience.

96 AB, Vol. III, p. 154. Bhāvahāvelāstu sarvā eva sarvāsyeva

sattvādhikāsūttā maṅganāsu bhavanti.

97 NŚ, Ch. 16.

62 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

98 Eg. Nāṭakalakṣaṇaratnakośa. pp. 171 ff; Sāhityadarpana, 6. 195-98.

99 Cf. G. K. Bhatt, Bharata-nātyamañjari. Introd., p. xvii.

100 On the number of rasas, vide V. Raghavan, The Number of Rasas.

While Abhinava accepts the epithet diptarasa, he regards the rasa

as essentially pleasurable. But Rāmacandra and Guṇacandra

in their Nāṭyadarpana regard rasa as sukhaduḥkhātmaka. This lends

to the bifurcation of the rasas into pleasurable and painful.

101 Cf. AB, Vol. I, p. 7.

102 Eg. Keith, Sanskrit Drama, p. 282.

103 NŚ, Ch. 18.

104 Ibid., 4. 2-10.

105 Ibid., 18. 63-77.

106 AB, Vol. II, p. 441. Evam śraddhālavo devetābhaktāḥ tad devayā-

trādāvanena prayogānugṛhyante niranusanlhānṛtayāḥ stribāla-

mūrkhāśca vidravādināhṛtahṛdayāḥ kriyanta ityuktạḥ samavakāraḥ.

107 NŚ, 18. 77-82, 89-93

108 Ibid., 18. 83-88.

109 Ibid., 18. 93-97.

110 Ibid., 18. 101-06

111 Ibid., 18. 107-10.

112 Ibid., I8. 107-10.

113 AB, Vol. III, p. 77—alaukikakaiśikyupayogi-rasāṃśe sarvathopakāri

yad vaicitryam tad lāsyāṅga-dvāreṇāha.

114 The meaning of anuvṛtta is not clear. The Bharatakośa gives se-

veral meanings but they do not illumine this context.

115 NŚ, Vol. II, pp. 453 ff.

116 AB, Vol. II, pp. 452-53 : Nāṭikādi-bhāṇāntạ-samastarūpakopajīvya-

tvād vithim lakṣayati.

117 Ibid., Vol. II, p. 451.

118 Ibid.

119 NŚ, 18. 7. AB, Vol. II, p. 434 Tatra pradhānābhūtayoḥ sarvāru-

pakaprasaraṇakāriṇoḥ nāṭakaprakaraṇayoh.

120 Keith, op. cit., p. 345

121 See, supra, under fn. 38.

122 V. Raghavan, The Social Play in Sanskrit.

123 Both were originally connected with the Dionysian festivals.

124 Eg. Nāṭakalakṣaṇaratnakośa, pp. 287 ff.; Sāhityadarpana, 6. 273-

Chapter 4

Geographical Horizons and Material Culture

Geographical Horizons

The ancient Indian tradition of ‘geography’ was in fact a mixture of cosmography and geography, of myth, symbol and fact. The Vedas speak of a number of worlds, streams and mountains.1 The Buddhist tradition clearly conceived of a central mountain, Meru, and of several stretches of water and mountain ranges around it. Beyond the eight ranges are the continents, four in number. At the same time these mountain ranges are also called Islands (dvīpas), which would make their number seven.2 The Purāṇas also mention the Four Continents around Meru and then again Seven Continents without using the Buddhist terminology though two of the names viz. Uttarakuru and Jambūdvīpa3 find mention in the Purāṇas with some difference. When the Purāṇas conceive the world as a lotus, they place the Meru at its pericarp and the four continents around it as its petals. The four continents are Bhadrāśva, Bhārata, Ketumāla and Uttarakuru.4 Elsewhere the Purāṇas describe the earth as divided into seven dvīpas, Jambūdvīpa being the central one. Jambūdvīpa is divided into nine varṣas and Bhārata is one of them. Bhārata, again, is divided into nine dvīpas and Kumārīdvīpa is one of them.5 It has been argued by Prof. V.S. Agrawala that the Purāṇas had two distinct conceptions of geography viz., Catudvīpa and Saptadvīpa. He holds that the latter represents a later conception.6 The division of Bhārata into nine ‘islands’ is held to belong to the Gupta age. If this reconstruction if accepted, the different Purāṇic geographical conception could serve as chronological markers in the dating of other texts. Unfortunately the idea that the conception of seven continents is distinctly later than that of the four continents, cannot be said to be well established. Both the conceptions have ancient roots and the admixture of mythical with factual elements makes it impossible to regard the conception of seven continents as simply due to the growth of geographical information. As a result, when we find the geography of seven continents reflected in the Nāṭya Śāstra we are only entitled to speak of the general connection of the NŚ with the Purāṇic tradition without being more precise.

Dramatic representation may relate to events and characters located anywhere in the vast world. Bharata elaborates a system of dividing the parts of the stage into distinct ‘zones’ or ‘orbits’ (kaksyās) for the purpose of facilitating location in different spaces, so to say. In this context he gives in chapter XIII an idea of what was currently believed about the world in his times. When he speaks of varsāni sapta dvipāśca,7 ‘the word sapta seems to qualify ‘varsāni’ as well as ‘dvipān’ by the dehalī-dipaka-nyāya and it seems to be suggested that the ‘continents’ (varsas) as well as ‘islands’ (dvipas) may be regarded as seven. In a subsequent verse numbered 21 but placed within square brackets by the editor, we find the seven varsas mentioned as Bhārata, Haimā, Harivarsa, Ilāvṛta, Ramya, Kimppuruṣa and Uttarakuru.8 Of the dvipas only Jambūdvīpa finds explicit mention.9

The more realistic part of ancient geography related to the division of India into diverse distinct regions or Janapadas. A number of scholars have examined the lists of Janapadas found in the Epics and the Sūtras, the Purāṇas,the Bṛhatsaṃhitā, Buddhist and Jaina literature, foreign accounts etc.10 Here, again, we have to reckon with the fact that the whole of India was quite well-known in the epic-Purāṇic literature. The NŚ, thus, can only be expected to give more or less well-known and standardized information. The NŚ mentions seven great mountains where divine and semi-divine beings dwell.11 Thus on Kailāśa in the Himālayas dwell the yakṣas and the rākṣasas. They are called Haimavatas. Gandharvas and apsarases dwell on Hema-kūṭa. The nāgas dwell on Niṣadha, the gods on Mahāmeru, the siddhas on Nīla, the daityas on Śvetaparvata and the pitṛs (manes) on Śṛṅgavān. These mountains are called abodes of divine beings (divyāvāsas). Of these Hemakūṭa and Mahāmeru and possibly Śṛṅ-gavān appear to be mythical.

Coming to the human world (loka) it is held to consist of diverse countries characterized by their distinctive dresses, speech and manners (nānādeśaveśabhāṣācārah).12 Four basic regions and ‘styles’ (pravṛtti) based on them are recognized. These are Western (Āvanti), Northern (Pāñcālī), Southern (Dākṣiṇātya), and Eastern (Audra-māgadhī).13 The Southern region lies between the southern sea and the Vindhyas14 but it has also been described as consisting of the countries dependent on Mahendra, Malaya, Sahya, Mekala and Pāla-mañjara.15 Again, the southern people are enumerated as Kosala, Tosala, Kaliṅga, Yavana, Khasa, Dramiḍa, Āndhra, Mahārāṣṭra, Vainṇa and Vanavāsaja.16 Here Kosala obviously means southern Kosala, as in the Allahabad pillar inscription of Samudragupta. A Vākāṭaka inscription mentions Kosala and Mekalā together.17 An

Geographical Horizons and Material Culture

65

Aśokan edict mentions Tosālī as the head-quarters of Kalinga.18 Dhauli has been sought to be derived from Tosālī. Several Purāṇas mention Kalinga in the Dakṣiṇāpatha though some place it more accurately in the south-east.19 Abhinavagupta points out that on account of the dual status of Oḍra and Kalinga, in the south as well as in the east, they have been attributed two vṛttis.20 The mention of the Yavanas in the south is surprising because they are usually referred to in the north-west. The Khasas too are generally regarded as Parvatāśrayiṇah and placed in the north.21 The fact that Yavanas and Khasas are mentioned together suggests that perhaps the Śakas are intended as they are not mentioned otherwise in this list of janapadas. The rule of the Śaka Satrapas is well-known to have extended to the Dakṣiṇāpatha at one time. This reference thus could have an important bearing on the dating of the NŚ. It may also be recalled that Aśoka refers to the Yavana Tuṣāspha in Kathiawar. Perhaps there was some colony of the Yavanas there. Principally, however the Yonas are placed with the Kāmbojas.

The Dramiḍas are apparently the same as the Draviḍas whom some Purāṇas place in the south-west.22 It may be remembered that the term does not occur in the inscriptions of Aśoka, which nevertheless do refer to the people of the extreme south. But Aśoka fails to refer to the Āndhras whose name occurs as far back as the Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, Megasthenes and Manu.23 Perhaps Dramiḍa and Āndhra were more current in literary rather than administrative contexts. Mahārāṣṭra as such does not occur in the inscriptions of Aśoka. It has been suggested plausibly that the Rāṣṭrikas of Aśoka were probably the people of Mahārāṣṭra.24 Although some Purāṇas mention Mahārāṣṭra, it has been suggested that the earliest reference to them comes from Manimekalai in the fourth century A.D.25 This may, however, be doubted because some of the Purāṇic references could be earlier. This also disposes of D.C. Sircar's view that the mention of Mahārāṣṭra shows that the NŚ could not be earlier than the Gupta age.

The mention of Vainṇa as the name of a people is quite uncommon. Veṇṇa is usually the name of a river. A variant reading is Bhilla but the editor explains Vainṇa as Kṛṣṇapinākinitīravāsinah.26 The variant for Vānavāsaja is Vānavāsaka. Vanavāsī or Vaijayantī was situated in the interior on the banks of the river Varadā and there was a port on the west coast bearing the same name.27 It was the capital of the Kadambas.

In the west were situated the janapadas of Āvantikas, Vaidisikas, Saurāṣṭras, Mālavās, Saindhavas, Sauvīras, Ānartas, Arbudeyas,

66 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Daśārṇas, Traipuras and Mārtikāvatās.28 Avantī was one of the 16 mahājanapadas of the Aṅguttara Nikāya and is included in the Purāṇic list of janapadas. Ancient Vidiśā has been identified with modern Bhilsa. It was the ancient capital of Daśārṇa and was situated on the river Vetravatī. Mālavās are generally identified with the Malloi mentioned by the Greeks in the Punjab. They have been located in the Doab of the Chenab and Ravi.29 They appear to have migrated southward later to present-day Malwa. The Brahma Purāṇa, thus, locates Avanti in the Mālava janapada.30 Surāṣṭra is well-known as modern Kathia war and it is mentioned as far back as Pāṇini and the Arthaśāstra.31 Sindhu and Sauvīra are clubbed together in the Purāṇas.32 Elsewhere they are mentioned separately. The Sindhudeśa is placed to the west of the Indus by Vātsyāyana.33 In the Dīgha Nikāya Roruka is mentioned as the capital of Sauvīra.34 Roruka is identified with modern Rohri. Dvāravatī was mentioned as the capital of Ānarta. The Ārbudeyakas should obviously be located near Mount Abu. Daśārṇa was the river Dhasan and its surrounding territory. Tripura has been identified with Tawar in Jabalpur. It became the capital of the Kala-curis in later times.35 Mārtikāvata janapada has also been located around Mount Abu.36

The eastern janapadas mentioned are Aṅga, Vaṅga, Kaliṅga, Vatsa, Oḍra and Magadha. Paunḍra, Nepālaka, Antargiri and Bahirgiri, Plavaṅgama, Malada, Mallavartaka, ‘Brahmottara etc.,’ Bhārgava, Mārgava, Prāgjyoṭiṣa, Pulinda, Vaideha, Tāmraliptaka, Prāṅga, Prāvṛtis and “the other countries mentioned in the Purāṇas.”37

Aṅga with its capital Campā is well-known from ancient Buddhist, Jaina and epic literature. It was one of the sixteen mahājanapadas of the Aṅguttara Nikāya. The Jaina Bhagavatī Sūtra mentions Vaṅga by the side of Aṅga.38 Kālidāsa mentions the Vaṅgas with their naval forces.39 From the Gupta period onwards the Vaṅgas gained historical importance. Kaliṅga does not find place either in the Aṅguttara list or in the Bhagavatī list but its importance in the Nanda, Maurya and later periods is well-known from epigraphs. While Oḍra and Magadha were undoubtedly parts of the east, it is curious to find Vatsa mentioned in the east. Paunḍra obviously refers to the later Puṇḍravardhana bhukti. Nepāla, Antargiri and Bahirgiri were Himalayan and submontane regions.40 Their being placed in the east is a curiosity. While the Plavaṅgas are unknown, the Maladas have been placed to the south of the confluence of Gaṅgā and Yamunā.41 While Mallas and Maladas are known, Malla-vartaka appears new. Brahmottara is mentioned in the Purāṇas as one of the janapadas near the Gaṅgā.42 Bhārgava as a region is not

Geographical Horizons and Material Culture 67

known, though Mārgava finds mention. Prāgjyotiṣa finds mention in the Mahābhārata.43 Pulindas have been located in different parts of the country in different texts, including the east. Videha and Tāmralipti are well-known but Prāṅga and Pravṛti are not known at all. The clear reference to the Purāṇas—Ye Purāṇe samprakīrtitāḥ is here illuminating but the change from janapada to deśa is interesting.44 The northern or central region includes Pañcāla, Sauraseṇa, Kaśmīra, Hastināpura, Bāhlīka, Śākala, Madraka and Auśīnara, and the regions to the north of the Gaṅgā and upto the Himālayas.45 Abhinavagupta, belonging to a later date, notes the absence of Turuṣka, Āraṭṭaka, Daradaka, Khasa etc.46

Pañcāla was an ancient janapada of epic fame. The northern Pañcāla has been located between the Gaṅgā and the Gomaṭī and had its capital at Ahicchatrā.47 The southern Pañcāla was between the Gaṅgā and the Chambal and its capital was at Kāmpilya.48 Śūrasena was one of the sixteen mahājanapadas and the Jaina texts make Mathurā its capital. Mathurā was reckoned among the three chief cities of India.49 Some later texts, however, distinguish between the Śurasenas and the Māthurakas. Although Aśoka does not mention Kaśmīra, the Ceylonese chronicles mention a Buddhist mission to that country in the times of Aśoka.50 Kahaṇa includes Kaśmīra in the Mauryan empire.51 Hastināpura was the ancient capital of the Kuru kingdom. It was founded by Hastin and was on the bank of the Gaṅgā. The identification of Bāhlīka has been a matter of controversy. Some scholars have identified it with Bactria or Balkh; others with a region in Punjab. It has been suggested that perhaps the migration of some Bāhlīka tribals to Punjab may explain the duality of references.52 The country of the Madras has been placed between the Chenab and the Jhelum and Śākala is generally held to have been its capital. The separate mention of Śākala and Madraka is, therefore, a curiosity. Uśīnara has been coupled with Vāsa in later Vedic literature and placed in the central or northern region.53 It has been suggested that Vāsa and Vatsa are the same, the latter being the janapada of which Kauśāmbī was the capital; but Vatsa has already been included in the NŚ list of the eastern deśas.

In describing its janapadas the division of India into certain broad regions, four or more, was a common practice in the Bhuvana Kośa section of the Purāṇas as also in other texts dealing with geography such as the Bṛhatsaṃhitā. The basis of this division has not been spelt out in these texts. In the NŚ, on the other hand, we find a clear raison d'etre of the four-fold division. This is in terms of pravṛttis or

68 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

regional styles and vṛttis or dramatic styles, the two being so close as

to be indistinguishable in practical content. It may be recalled that

the pravṛttis are four, viz.

Avantī dākṣiṇātya ca tathā caivodṛa-māgadhī/

Pañcālamadhyama caiva vijñeyāstu pravṛttayah//

(NŚ, VI. 25). Their connection with the well-known vṛttis as described in NŚ, chapter XX, is explained in NŚ chapter XIII. Two questions are explicitly raised54 viz. : There are many countries in the

'world'; how, then, can there be a four-fold division of the vṛttis ?

Besides, the employment of the vṛttis has common features, so why

divide them into four ? The point is that different countries of the

world are distinguished by different modes of life. They differ in

their dress, artefacts, language, conduct, secular and religious, or

common and learned, mode of livelihood etc., and this distinctive way

of life is called vṛtti. When it is made known to others, it is called

pravṛtti.55 On what basis are these life styles to be classified into four ?

In particular, since the vṛttis have common features and help in aesthetic generalization through revealing universal psychic factors of love,

anger, infatuation etc. and thus supersede the reference to particularities of place etc.,56 why bring in such coordinates now ?

The answer given is that the differences of regions are generally

admitted and may be connected with broad psychic attitudes. Thus

the four dramatic modes or vṛttis may serve to represent regional

styles. The southerners are, thus, particularly fond of song and dance

and of clever, delicate and graceful gestures of the limbs. They have

an abundance of romance (śṛṅgāra). Such a style is called Kaiśikī.57

It may be recalled that Kaiśikī is the peculiar element of grace which

is characteristic of the fine arts. In the west, the vṛtti is designated

Avantī but on account of the predominance of dharma, it is also

regarded as Sāttvatī. Kaiśikī too may be admixed.58 The eastern is

Odṛa-māgadhī and is an admixture of Bhāratī and Ārabhaṭī. It is

marked by a bombastic use of words.59 The northern or Pāñcālī

mixes Sāttvatī and Ārabhaṭī. It has only a little of song and dance

but displays movements of force and violence.60

Since the dramatic styles could be mixed freely according to context,61 it is clear that they cannot really be considered as realistic or

representatives of regional styles. They can only be regarded as idealized and conventional.

Material Culture

Food and Drink

The preparation of food and drink was held to have a vital as

well as a spiritual significance in the Vedic age. Thus soma was

Geographical Horizons and Material Culture 69

divinized and anna was declared to be Brahman—Annāṃ brahmeti (Tai. Upā., 3.2). Food was held to determine the quality of the mind (Ch. Upā., 7.26.2). While prescriptions for mendicants took note of the spiritual relevance of different types of food and drink, medical treatises discussed their effects on health. At the same time the development of city life, mercantile wealth and the royal court led to the development of culinary arts. The Kāmasūtras (1.3.15) of Vātsyāyana detailing the mode of life of the affluent town-dweller (nāgaraka) mention the sixty-four arts and among them include vicitraśākayuşabhakşya-vikarākriyā and pāṇaka-rasa-rāgasava-yojanam. In commenting on these, Yaśodhara explains that food is of four kinds viz., bhakşya, bhojya, lehya and peya. The first of these or bhakşya has to be suitably treated with vyañjanās, which is a matter of art. The chief vyañjana is vegetable or śāka. Śāka is of ten kinds—mūla-patra-karīrāgra-phala-kāṇḍa-prarūḍhakam/ tvakpuṣpaṃ kaṇṭakam ceti śākam̉ daśavidhaṃ smṛtam. Peya or drink was of two kinds—boiled or otherwise. The former is called soup or yūṣa, bhojya includes sweets (khaṇḍa-khādya) etc. Unboiled drinks are also of two kinds, fermented and unfermented. Lehya could be a powder or liquid, tasting salty, sour and bitter and a little sweet. In the absence of really ancient texts on cookery, it is difficult to get a full picture of the culinary arts in classical times but there can be no doubt that these were recognized as important. In a famous story of the Daśakumāracarita (2.6), Daṇḍin narrates how a young girl wins the heart of a suitor through her expertise in the preparation of food and drink. What she prepared and served was simple enough viz., rice with pulses, ghee, curd, vegetable and some appetizers, but she did it with great taste and skill. In Somadeva’s Yaśastilaka we find a striking contrast between the food of the rich and that of the poor. Śrīharṣa’s Naiṣadhīya makes it clear that meat-eating was quite common at least among the princes.

Evidence from the NŚ

The NŚ mentions bhojya, bhakşya and pāna as the ingredients out of which offerings (bali) were to be constituted during raṅgapujā.62 Since ‘yadannaḥ puruṣo loke tadannā tāsya devatā,’ it follows that these were the three main types of food and drink current in the age of the author. Abhinava explains63 that bhojya is an eatable which contains clearly distinct parts of solid particles (khara viśadam). Examples are bread (śaṣkulīs) and solid round sweets now called laḍḍūs (modakas). This is clearly the chewable (carvya) kind of food. While modakas were ancient it may be noted that śaṣkulīs are not directly mentioned in the text of Bharata.64 The more ancient apūpa is not

70 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

mentioned here. It is mentioned, however, in the offering for Yama

and Mitra and for Kuvera and his followers in the NŚ.65 Bhakṣya is

illustrated by pāyasa (khīr in Hindi) and kṛsārā (khicrī in Hindi).66

Apparently it is the lehya variety of food. Pāna or drink is illustrated

by milk and juices of sugarcane, grapes etc. Since the occasion is ritua-

listic no reference is made to any intoxicating drinks. They are

mentioned in the NŚ, however, in the context of the offerings made to

bhūtasanghas and dānavas.67

Certain types of food were specially noted for their colours. Thus

white food (śuklānna) meant pāyasa (khīr), dark food (nīlānna) meant

kṛsārā (khicrī), yellow food (pīta) meant rice with clarified butter

(ghrtaudana), and red food (rakta) meant rice with guḍa (guḍau-

dana).68 Again, different types of food were offered to different castes.

Brāhmaṇas were offered ghee and khīr (ghrtapāyasaḥ) and Kṣatriyas

were offered madhuparka, the traditional offering for honoured guests.

Craftsmen (kaṟiṟs) were given guḍaodana (rice with guḍa).69 Again, the

Brāhmaṇas were to be given sarpiṣ (clarified butter) and pāyasa (khīr).

The Kṣattriyas were to be given red food as mentioned above. The

Vaiśyas were to be given yellow food and Śūdras dark food. The most

valued food was apparently madhupāyasa (khīr with honey) which was

to be offered to the chief priest and the ruler. Among the gods,

Brahmā was offered madhuparka, Sarasvatī pāyasa, Śiva, Viṣṇu, Indra

etc. modakas, Agni ghrtaudana, Soma and Arka guḍaodana, Viśvedevāḥ,

gandharvas and munis madhupāyasa, Yama and Mitra apūpas and

modakas, pitṛs, piśācas' and nāgas sarpihkṣīra.70

Among the grains yava and śālitandula find explicit mention,71

which has no negative significance since such mention is incidental to

ritual requirements. Non-vegetarian food was offered to bhūtasa-

nghas, rākṣasas and dānavas. Fish was offered to Varuṇa. Liquor was

often served alongwith meat.72 Meat juice was supposed to be invi-

gorating and given as part of military training and exercise.73

These references to food and drink in the NŚ are undoubtedly scanty

and, what is more, they are in a ritual context, which means that they

depend on a tradition coming down from ancient times. But then

there is hardly any reason to suppose that food habits in the age of

the NŚ differed radically from those reflected in the Arthasāstra, Kāma-

śāstra, and the early Smṛtis. Regional differences were probably more

significant. By the later Vedic age rice, barley, wheat, meat and milk

products constituted the staple diet.74 The Arthasāstra, specially rele-

vant for eastern India, specifies the standard food for men of the upper

or lower strata of society (āryāḥ, avarāḥ). For the former rice with

Geographical Horizons and Material Culture 71

to the sixteenth part of sūpa is prescribed. For the latter, the ava-

ras, the quantity of sūpa was to be only one-sixth while oil was to

be half.75 In some Jātakas (e.g., Mahāumagga) we hear of barley

gruel (yavabhattam) instead of rice and the NS mentions yavāgū.

Although diverse preparations of rice and milk products dominate

the scene in the NS, the use of barley and grain find mention

and that of wheat pulses may be presumed. Rice was prepared

with pulses, ghee, sugar-candy (guḍa), honey or milk. Meat and

rice were cooked together also from ancient times although no

specific reference is found in the NS. Cereal preparations included

gruel, cakes (apūpa), preparation of flour (piṣṭabhakṣya)76 and sweets

(modaka). Drinks and juices with variegated tastes and flavours were

held in high esteem.77 These involved the use of substances (dravya)

like guḍa etc., condiments (vyañjanās) with bitter, sweet, sour taste etc.,

and plant products like tamarind, wheat fragments, turmeric etc.78

The general picture of food and drink in the NS is comparable to

that in the Yājñavalkya Smṛti, which mentions kṣārā, samvāva, pāyasa,

apūpa and śaṣkulī’.79 Samvāva is explained by the Mitākṣarā as “kṣira-

guḍa-ghṛtādikṛtah utkarikākhyāh.” Now utkarika is also mentioned in

the NS though it is printed as utkarikā.80 From Manu and Yājñavalkya

it is also clear that meat-eating was now looked upon with disfavour

although it was current.81

Settlements, Dwellings and Furniture

The contrast of town and country was quite clearly perceived in

classical times as may be gathered from the works of the Sātavāhana-

Kuṣāṇa and Gunta-Vākāṭaka ages. Vātsyāyana describes the house,

furnishings, habits, tastes and manners of the sophisticated town-

dweller (nāgaraka) at length and declares that the sophisticated man

from the country or village should study and imitate the town-dweller

(grāmavāsica-nāgarakajanāsya vṛttain varṇayan śraddhām ca janayan ta-

devānukurvīta).82 He mentions four kinds of urban settlements viz.,

nagara, paṭṭana, kharvaṭa and mahat. Yaśodhara explains that the

first of these was a judicial centre situated within an area of eight

hundred villages. Paṭṭana was the capital town. Kharvaṭa was the

chief settlement within two hundred villages. Mahat or dronamukha

was the chief of four hundred villages.83 These terms are compara-

ble to those used in the Arthaśāstra84

If, as is generally believed; the lost Bṛhatkathā and the gāthās of

Hāla belong to the Sātavāhana age, we may see in them the contras-

ting images of town and country respectively. The Mṛcchakaṭikā of

Śūdraka and the Padmaprābṛtaka have also been placed in the same

age85 and attest to the high development of town-life. In the Śakun-

72 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyaśāstra

tala of Kālidāsa Śārngarava condemns city-life as full of confusion and bustle as if on fire.86 The Amarakośa, generally placed in the Gupta age, has a distinct Puravarga or section relating to the city. It begins with the name of the city and after detailing some of its parts and features ends with a reference to village, hamlet and tribal settlements.

The Nātyaśāstra distinguishes between the populace of the country and the town but it does not establish any formal connection between the town and the theatre.87 The reason obviously is that even though patronized by the rulers and wealthy merchants living in cities, the theatre never lost its connection with the folk at large and their festivals, mimes, and dances, nor with religious cults and the temple. Open air theatre was known and the stage properties used were relatively simple.88 The technical professionalism of the theatre was really exercised in the regulation of the histrionics etc., which accompanied it, apart from the basic literary art of drama itself. In other words, the ancient theatre by its nature was not essentially tied down to any elaborate building and sets, and thus to city life. Nevertheless, the developed professionalism of the actors, playwrights and musicians did imply an increasing dependence on distinct class of patrons which was formed by wealthy princes, ministers and merchants. Most of the forms of the drama catered as spectacles relating to the life of these classes. The theatrical architecture described in the NŚ certainly indicates a location in the city. The representation of cities is common enough within many of plays themselves. For example, the Mṛcchakaṭikā represents the city vividly. It is the uparūpakas which were plainly connected with folk life89 but the NŚ disregards them. Vātsyāyana mentions the presentation of dramatic spectacle (prekṣaṇakas) on the occasion of public festivals and entertainments in the cities.90 The troupes of actors who presented such spectacles could be either regularly hired ones or visiting troupes from outsides the city.

House building was specialized and ritualized art.91 The building plot was required to be ploughed, cleared and ritually purified before it was measured in accordance with the building plan. The laying of foundations, the construction of walls, roofs, pillars and openings was followed by brick work, wood work, plaster work and decoration. The elements connected with the pillars were ūha and prat-yūha, sañjavana, śālabhañjikā, niryūha and kuhara.92 Two varieties of lattice windows are mentioned—jāla and gavākṣa. Several types of floors are mentioned. Paintings adorned well-plastered and polished wall-surfaces. Men and women, creepers and dancing groups

etc., were pictured in these. Personal experiences (caritam cātmabhogajam) were also the theme of these paintings.93 In the Uttararāmacarita of Bhavabhūti we can find an example of this.94 Such ornate and elaborate buildings, however, belonged only to the rich or were for public use. The poor must have lived as ever in houses of mud and thatch. The Atharvaveda itself describes the construction of such huts.

For illumination the house depended on oil lamps, dipikā, and torches of inflammable material (ulkā).95 On the furniture of the houses the NŚ gives detailed information about the different types of seats which were used for different classes of persons.96 Thus for the crown-prince and commander-in-chief mundāsana was prescribed. For the ruling queens simhāsana and for the princes in general kuthāsana which apparently refers to a rug-seat. A cane-seat or vetrāsana was prescribed for the wives of the royal priest and ministers. AB says that some regard vetrāsana to refer to a blanket seat.97 For the mistresses of the king seats of cloth or leather were prescribed. For Brāhmaṇa women and women ascetics. paṭṭāsana was prescribed. For public women masūraka or a kind of pillow is mentioned. For other women the ground itself served as the seat. Buddhist monks or ancient seers sat on brusi.

Dress and Ornaments

While the NŚ gives details about hair styles and ornaments, it does not detail the dresses but only requires that they should be appropriate to the type, region and age of the character concerned—bhūṣanaiścāpi veśaiśca nānāvasthāśamāśraih (NŚ, 21.53); also adeśayukto veṣohi na śobhaṃ janayiṣyati (ibid., 21. 73). In the colder regions of the north and the north-west the use of upper garments, fuller coverings, woolen material and sewn clothes was commoner. The ‘northern dress’ or ‘udīcya veśa’ is an example.98 Expensive cloth and ornaments characterised the upper classes. Generally, the dress consisted of three parts viz., a piece of cloth (vāsas) to cover the lower body, a covering for the upper part (uttariya) often as a wrap, and a head-dress. Under-clothing was also used, though not habitually by women.99 In the Vedic age we hear of vāsas, adhivāsas and the uṣṇiṣa as the three main parts of the dress.100 Nīvi was some kind of undergarment, rasanā a girdle, drāpi and atka probably sewn clothes fitting the body.101 Shoes and sandals are clearly referred to in later Vedic literature.102 The use of wool and leather was common.

The Buddhist monks were allowed three robes or civaras viz., saṅghāṭī, uttarāsaṅga and antaravāsaka.103 The nuns were, however, also permitted a robe for bath (udakasatika) and a bodice (saṅkacchikam).

74 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

The robes were generally stitched out of smaller pieces of cloth patte-rned like the ‘fields of Magadha’, and dyed. Sandals (upohana) of one lining (ekapālāsikā) were permitted in the Majjhimadeśa, outside which they could have more than one lining. From prohibitions we know of numerous kinds of ornamental shoes and sandals current among the laity.

The Arthasāstra gives detailed information about the materials, manufacture and types of clothing.104 Vārabāna has been interpreted as a type of woolen coat and samputika as trousers of a king.105 The Arthasāstra also evinces a brisk trade in cloth with Central Asia which must have been fairly ancient. In the period of the NŚ the invasions from the north-west must have given added weight to such trade. From this very period we begin to get the the plastic representation of dress and ornaments and attempts have been made to connect these with the literary descriptions. This has also raised much controversy about the extent to which clothes were used to cover the upper part of the body or the use of sewn clothes.

Charles Fabri has argued that the dresses shown in art must be regarded as representing those actually worn by the people and hence that “Indian women of all classes went about bare from the waist upwards (as do the Balinese) for many hundreds of years.” “Anyone with eyes can see that in the whole history of Indian art, from the earliest times to approximately the 12th century A.D., women are invariably shown (with the sole exception of foreign fashions at one period) as wearing no garments to cover their breasts.”106 The argument that this may be only an artistic convention does not hold good at all. On the other hand, literary evidence is to be treated with caution because the meaning of words changes. Thus the sāri which Draupadi wore and which Duhśāsana sought to snatch - was probably only a small piece of cloth called ‘sāri’ wrapped round her waist only, and no upper garment.107 Where women appear with upper garments they are to be regarded as foreigners or as sporting a fashion of foreign origin.

This view overstates the fact that all women in ancient India did not habitually put on sewn bodices. The upper part of the body was generally covered by a portion of the sāri or by a wrap. This was commoner in Central and Southern India. However, despite the artists’ preference for revealing and modelling the breasts, there is enough evidence to show that the covering of the breasts was habitual. The Amarkosa describes bodices as cola and kūrpāsaka.108 The Buddhist monastic dress makes definite provisions for the covering of the upper part of the body especially of women; Kāidāsa describes Śakuntalā as having her breasts tightly covered by valkala,109 and refers to the

Geographical Horizons and Material Culture 75

breast cloth (stanāmśuka) of Urvaśī.110 Bāṇa describes the women of Sthāṇviśvara as abhujangagamyah kañcukīnyśca. The commentator explains kañcukam strīnām vāsaḥ vārabānākhyah.111 Fabri’s reference to Draupadī, in fact, conclusively disproves his theory because he has apparently argued without looking at the text. Draupadī is described as Ekavastrā adhonivī rodamānā rajasvalā.112 That is, that she had only one cloth was due to her being rajasvalā. She says adya rajasvalāsmi ekam ca vāso mama.113 It implies that having one cloth was not habitual but exceptional.114 Even so the upper part of the body was not left bare except when part of the sāṛī fell down owing to the snatching by Duḥśāsana—Prakirṇakeśī patitārdhavastrā Duḥśāsanena vyavadhūyamānā. She is described as srastottarīyam, which shows that part of the sāṛī was used to cover the upper part of the body and could then be described as uttarīya.115

As mentioned before, the NŚ takes the dresses for granted, but describes the ornaments in detail. They are said to be of four kinds—āvedhya which require piercing, bandhanīya which have to be tied, kṣepya which are worn around and āropya which are simply put on.116 Kundala or ear-ring is an example of āvedhya. Pearl-bands, arm clasps (aṅgada) and waist band (śroṇīsūtra) are examples of bandhanīya. Anklets (nūpura) illustrate the kṣepya and gold strings and necklace are āropya.117 The ornaments for men, whether kings or gods, are thus described118—cūdāmaṇī (crest jewel) and mukuta (tiara) for the head, kuṇḍala (ear-ring), mocaka119 and kīla120 for the ears, muktāvalī (pearl string), harsaka121 and sūtrakā (band) for the neck, vetikā and aṅgulimudrā122 for the fingers, valaya (bangle), rucaka and cūlikā123 were used on the wrist and forearm, keyūra and above that aṅgada were used on the upper arm, trisara (three strands of pearls) and hāra on the breast, pendant garlands and strings on limbs, talaka and sūtrakā124 on the waist. Women used a larger variety of ornaments. For the head they used śikhāpāśa, śikhāvyāla, piṇḍipattra, cūdāmaṇi, ma-karikā, muktājāla, gavākṣikā and śīrṣajalaka.125 Kandaka and sikhi-patra,126 veṇīpuccha and lalāṭatilaka were used for the forehead. For the ears there was a great variety of ornaments—karṇikā, karṇavalaya, pattrakarnikā, kuṇḍala,127 karṇamudrā, karṇotkilakā, dantapatra1.8 and karṇapūra. On the cheeks tilaka and patralekha was used. For the neck are mentioned muktāvalī and vyālapamkti, mañjari, ratnamālikā, ratnā-valī, sūtrakā, dvisara, trisara catuhsarika and śṛṅkhalikā. Aṅgada and valaya were used on the upper arm. Diverse necklaces and pearl netting (maṇi jāla) for covering the breasts are mentioned. For the arms kalāpī, kataka, śaṅkha, hastapatra and pūraka are listed, while mudrā and aṅgulīyaka adorned the fingers. On the waist were worn mekhalā,

76 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

kañcikā, rasanā and kalāpa. Kañci was of one string, mekhala of eight strings, rasanā of sixteen strings, kalāpa of twenty-five, sixty-four or hundred and eighty strands. On ankles nūpura kiṅkiniṅkā, ghaṇṭikā, ratnajālaka and kaṭaka were used.

A great deal of emphasis was laid on the hair styles which were distinctive of different classes of female characters. The hair could be tied in a top-knot with pearl braids or tied in a single plait, or part of the hair could be tied in a knot encircled by a net and the rest allowed to descend in a braid. Ābhīra women tied their hair into two plaits.

The women of Avanti had curled forelocks, those of Gauḍa had forelocks with a top bun and a hanging braid. North-western women wore a high top knot. The women of the South wore their hair in the style called ullekhya in which the hair was tied in the kumbhī knot and curls on the forehead.

The kind of material culture reflected in the NŚ is distinguished by its aesthetic taste rather than by much affluence or poverty. It certainly presupposes an economic order in which agriculture flourished and handicrafts included not only useful but ornamental industries.

As is known from other sources the handicrafts were organised in a highly professional and socially influential guilds. Trade and transport covered the whole country and went to other lands. In the NŚ, the traders along with the princes, priests and ministers form the leading class.

The hierarchical social order and the growth of industry, trade and taxes clearly show an ample surplus over and above the immediate needs.

However the NŚ does not shed any light on economic organisation except negatively in as much as while it speaks of mahāmātras, it does not mention any feudal lords. Its picture is nearer to that of the epics and Sūtras. What it recaptures for us is the structure of taste and beauty in the rituals, conventions and styles which the people effected in their social life and feminine graces which lent it charm.

Footnotes

1 Vedic Index, II, p. 424; G.C. Pande, An Approach to Indian Culture and Civilisation, pp. 101ff.

2 Abhidharmakośa, 3rd Kośasthāna; G.C. Pande, op. cit., pp. 111ff.

3 M.R. Singh, Geographical Data in the Early Purāṇas, Chap. I; V.S. Agrawala, Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa—ek Sāṃskṛtika Adhyayana; Matsya Purāṇa—a Study.

4 Mahādvīpāstu vikhyātāḥ cattvāraḥ pattrasamsthitāḥ/ tataḥ karmīkāsamsthāno Merurnāma mahābalāḥ// —Vāyu Purāṇa, 1. 34. 46; Ibid., 1. 41.84-85. Mārkaṇḍeya, 52. 20-21

Geographical Horizons and Material Culture 77

and Matsya, 113. 43-44 give the names of the four continents.

5 E.g., Mārkandeya, 51.5. 7; Vāyu, 1.34. 9-34; V.S. Agrawala, Matsya

Purāna, p. 184. For an attempt at a scientific interpretation of the

Dvīpas, see S.M. Ali, The Geography of the Purāṇas, New Delhi,

6 V.S. Agrawala, l.c.

7 NŚ, XIII. 5.

8 Ibid., VIII. 21.

9 Ibid., XIII. 33.

10 S.B. Chaudhuri, Ethnic Settlements in Ancient India, 1955; Schaefer,

Ethnography of Ancient India (Wiesbaden); Motichandra, Geogra-

phical and Economic Studies in the Mahābhārata, Upāyanaparvan,

1945; Cunningham, Ancient Geography of India; B.C. Law, Histo-

rical Geography of Ancient India, 1954; D.C. Sircar, Studies in the

Geography of Ancient and Medieval India; V.S. Agrawala, Mārkan-

deya Purāṇa; Matsya Purāṇa; M.R. Singh, Geographical Data in the

Early Purāṇas.

11 NŚ, XIII. 28-32.

12 NŚ, Vol. II., p. 206 (prose text after verse 37 of Chapter XIII).

13 Cf. Abhinavabhāratī, NŚ, Vol. II, p. 207—loko hi dakṣiṇāpathaḥ

pūrvadeśaḥ paścimadeśa uttarabhūmiriti caturdhā vibhāgosti.

14 NŚ, XIII. 41.

15 Ibid., XIII. 30. Of the names here Palamañjara is not known

elsewhere.

16 Ibid., XIII. 40.

17 Balaghat Inscription, EI, IX, p. 267.

18 Cf. D.R. Bhandarkar, Aśoka, pp. 46-47.

19 M.R. Singh, op. cit., p. 227.

20 AB, II, p. 210.

21 M.R. Singh, op. cit., p. 366.

22 Mārkandeya, 58. 30-32.

23 Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, VII. 18; McCrindle, Ancient India (cf. R.C.

Majumdar), pp. 140-41; Manu, X. 48.

24 R.G. Bhandarkar, Early History of the Deccan, p. 20.

25 M.R. Singh, op. cit., p. 274.

26 NŚ, Vol. II, p. 208 to 5da.

27 Raychaudhuri, quoted, M.R. Singh, op. cit., p 277.

28 NŚ, XIII. 42-43.

29 McCrindle, Invasion of India, p. 357.

30 Brahma Purāṇa, 41. 28.

31 Arthasāstra, 11. 4.

32 M.R. Singh, op. cit., pp. 149ff.

33 Kāmasūtras, 2.5.25.

34 Dīgha, Vol. II, p. 235 (P.T.S. ed.).

35 M.R. Singh, op. cit., p. 346.

36 Pargiter, Anct. Ind. Hist. Trad., p. 279.

37 NŚ, XIII. 45-48.

38 J.C. Jain, Life in Ancient India as Depicted in the Jaina Canons, p. 250.

39 Raghuvamśa, 4. 36.

40 Cf. G.C. Pande, Foundations, Vol. II, p. 12.

41 Cf. Rāmāyaṇa, 1. 24. 12-18.

42 M.R. Singh, op. cit., p. 30.

43 Mahābhārata, quoted in S.B. Chaudhari, Ethnic Settlements in Ancient India, p. 170.

44 NŚ, XIII. 48.

45 Ibid., XIII. 49-50.

46 AB, Vol. II, pp. 209-10.

47 Raychaudhuri, PHAI, p. 22.

48 Cf. Mahābhārata, 1.137. 73-74.

49 Cf. Milindapañho, (P.T.S. ed), p. 331.

50 Cf. B.C. Law, Historical Geography of Ancient India, p. 97.

51 Rājatarangiṇī, 1. 101ff.

52 M.R. Singh, op. cit., pp. 123-27 fully discusses the problem.

53 Aitareya Brāhmaṇa, VIII. 14.

54 NŚ, XIII, prose after verse 37—“Yathā prthivyām nānādesāḥ santi katham asmin caturvidhatvam upapannam samānalakṣaṇāśca pravṛt-tayah.”

55 Ibid., l.c. “Prthivyām nānādeśaveṣabhāṣācara vṛttāḥ khyāpayatīti vṛttịḥ pravṛttiśca nivedane.” AB on this (NŚ, II, p. 205)—Deśe yeṣveva veṣādayo naipathyam bhāṣā vā ācāro lokaśāstravyavahā-raḥ vārtā kriyāsupālyādijīvikā ceti tān prakhyāpayanti prthivyādi-sarvaloka-vidyāprasiddhim karoti pravṛttirbhyārthe yasmān nivedane niśśeṣena vedane jñāne pravṛttiśabduḥ.

56 AB, Vol. II, p. 206—Tathā ca lobhakrodhamohaistu sadhāraṇikṛta-jagaccintādyāsu pradeśaḥ parākriyate tathā prakṛtepi.

57 NŚ, Vol. II, p. 207—Tatra dakṣiṇātyāstāvad bahuṇṛttagītavādyāḥ kaiśikiprayāḥ caturamadhura-lalitāngābhinayāśca. AB on this—Dākṣiṇātyeṣu śṛṅgārapracuratayā kaiśikyāḥ sambhavah.

58 NŚ, XIII. 43-44; AB, Vol. II, p. 207.

59 AB, l.c. “Prācyām ghaṭātopavākyādambaraprādhanyo bhāratyārabhaṭiyogah.”

60 NŚ, XIII. 51.

61 Ibid., 55-57.

62 NŚ, I. 121; Ibid., III. 44-46.

63 AB, Vol. I, p. 45.

64 Śaśkulī is, however, mentioned in Yājñavalkya Smṛti, 1.7.173. The Mitākṣarā explains “śaśkulī snehapakvagodhūmavikāraḥ (ad Yājña, l.c.)

65 NŚ, III. 39. 45. Mitākṣarā explains apūpa in the same terms as śaśkulī quoted above.

66 NŚ, II. 41. 59; Ibid., III. 38; Ibid., II. 60. Mitākṣarā explains kṛsarā as tilamudgasiddha odanaḥ and pāyasa as payasā śṛtam annam (l.c.).

67 NŚ, III. 40. 42.

68 Ibid., II. 39–40.

69 Ibid., II. 41–42.

70 Ibid., III. 37–45.

71 Ibid., III. 20.

72 Ibid., III. 37–45.

73 Ibid., X. 100; AB, II. p. 116—rasakam iti māṃsarasaṃ seveteti sambandhaḥ.

74 Vide Vedic Index, passim.

75 Arthaśāstra, 2.15.43-46—Tandulānāṃ prasthah caturbhāgaḥ sūpaḥ sūpaśodaśo lavaṇasyāṃśaḥ caturbhāgaḥ sarpisastalāsya vā ekam āryabhaktaṃ ṣadbhāgraḥ sūpaḥ ardhasnehamavarāṇām pādonam strī-nāṃ arhaṃ bālānām.

76 NŚ, X. 97; AB, II, p. 116—Yavagūryavānnnam.

77 NŚ, III. 43.

78 Ibid., VI, prose on pp. 287–88 (Vol. I) and Abhinava on it.

79 Yājñavalkya, 1.7.173.

80 NŚ, III. 42.

81 Yājñavalkya, 1.7.179–81; Manu, 5.48–56.

82 Vātsyāyna, Kāmasūtras, 1.4.

83 Ibid., l.c.

84 Cf. Arthaśāstra, 2.1.4.

85 Cf. V.V. Mirashi, Sātavāhanon aur Paścimi Kṣatrapon kā Itihāsa evam Abhilekha, Chap. VI; Cf. Warder, Indian Kāvya Literature, Vol. II, pp. 165, 285.

86 Śākuntala, Act V.

87 NŚ 3.94.

88 NŚ, 13. 65–68.

89 Cf. V. Raghavan, Bhoja’s Śṛṅgāroprakāśa.

90 Kāmasūtras, 1.4.16.

91 Vide Chap. on Ancient Indian Theatre.

92 NŚ, 2.75–78.

80 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

93 Ibid., 2.85.

94 Uttararāmacarita, Act I.

95 NŚ, 3.83, 3.90.

96 Ibid., 12.216ff.

97 AB, II. p. 172.

98 Cf. Udicyaveṣam uttarāpathaveṣam kuryāt udagveṣam ityarthah. Bhaṭṭotpala on Brhatsaṃhitā, quoted Dr. L.P. Pandey, Sun Worship in Ancient India, p. 180.

99 Cf. Amarakośa, 2.6.115-19.

100 Vide Vedic Index, passim.

101 Moti Chandra, Bhāratīya Veṣa Bhūṣā, p. 19.

102 E.g. Tai. Saṃ, 5.4.4.4; AV, 20. 133. 4.

103 Vide Dr. Upasaka, Dictionary of Early Buddhist Monastic Terms, passim.

104 Arthasāstra, 2.11.

105 Ibid., 2.11.98, 101. Cf. Medinikośa—Kañcuko vārabāṇe syānnirmoke kavacepi ca vardhāpakagrhitāṅgashṭitavastre ca colake, quoted, L.P. Pandey, op. cit., p. 181.

106 Charles Fabri, Indian Dress, pp. 3ff.

107 Ibid., p. 7.

108 Amarakośa, 2.6.118—Colaḥ kūrpāsakostriyām.

109 Abhijñānaśakuntalam, 1. preceding verse 18.

110 Vikramorvaśīya, 4.7.

111 Harṣacarita, p. 98.

112 Mbh., 2.60.15.

113 Ibid., 2.60.25.

114 Ibid., 2.60.28.

115 Ibid., 2.60.47.

116 NŚ. 21, 12.

117 Ibid., 21.13-14.

118 Ibid., 21.15-21.

119 Cf. kuṇḍalaṃ adharapālyāṃ macakaṃ karṇaśaṣkulyā madhyachhidre kṛtam (AB on NŚ, 21.16.).

120 Kīlā ūrdhvachchhidre uttarakarniketi prasiddhā. Ibid., l.c.

121 Harṣakam samudgakam sarpādirūpatayā prasiddham. Ibid., l.c.

122 Veṭiketi sūkṣmakataṭakarūpa aṅgulimudrā pakṣipadmādvākarenopetā. Ibid , 21. 17.

123 Rucaka iti karagalaka-vitataḥ ūrdhve cūliketi prasiddho nikuñcakaḥ. Ibid., 21.18.

124 Talakaṃ nābheradhah tasyāpyadhaḥ sūtrakam. Ibid., 21. 20.

125 According to Abhinava on the top of the head, a snake-like ornament of gold and precious stones was used and was called Śikhā-

vyāla. Around it circular leaves were fashioned as pindīpattra. Cūḍāmaṇi was in the middle, then came makarikā or makarapatra. At the edge of the forehead was the pearl net (muktājāla) called ‘archway’ (toraṇa) or ‘lattice’ (jālikā). Ibid., 21. 22.

126 According to Abhinava śikhipattra was a bejewelled ear pendant of the shape of the peacock’s tail.

127 There are several references to kuṇḍala in literature (e.g. Buddhacarita, 1, 2.7; 1, 3. 18; 1, 5.41; Saundarananda, 10.20; Raghuvaṃśa, 9.51). Kuṇḍalas of gold (pravarakāñcane kuṇḍaleṣu) are referred to in the Ṛtusaṃhāra (3.19). There are references to ratnakuṇḍalas (Buddhacarita, 1, 5.53; Saundarananda, 4.16; cf. Harṣacarita : eka Sanskritika Adhyayana, pp. 44, 47, 56, 60). Kādambari and betelbearer are said to be wearing makarakuṇḍalas. Cf. Kādambari : eka Sanskritika Adhyayana, p. 247.

128 The dantapura seems to be a popular ear ornament and is referred to in several texts.

Chapter 5

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions

and Values

In the Introduction to his Social History Trevelyan has remarked

that at bottom the appeal of history is imaginative. “Our imagination

craves to behold our ancestors as they really were, going about their

daily business and daily pleasure.”1 As we read old texts “they take

form, colour, gesture, passion, thought.”2 This is particularly true

of the study of the Nāṭyaśāstra. From it we learn how men and

women in that age dressed and appeared, moved and spoke, what

their characteristic pursuits and emotional responses were. The whole

spectacle of shapes and sounds of a vanished age lies implicitly in the

theatrical prescriptions of Bharata. While it is a tempting pasture for

the social historian in one sense, in another it would be a disappointment. For obvious reasons what is emphasized in the NŚ is the

human spectacle, not the legal-institutional framework of constraints.

For the reconstruction of social conditions, thus, the evidence of the

NŚ needs to be analysed in the context of relevant evidence from

other sources. Its unique virtue lies in the fact that it illumines some

aspects of social life over which other sources are quite naturally

silent.

Social representation (lokānukarana) was an acknowledged primary

object of drama, although it intended to communicate an inner experience through its medium.3 The practical constraints of the stage

necessarily made this representation a mixture of realistic and conventional elements. This was clearly recognised and the aspects of representation were called lokadharmin and nāṭyadharmin.4 Lokadharmin

consists of natural feelings and conditions (svabhāvabhāvopagatam),

social usage and behaviour (lokavārtākriyopetam) and natural acting

(svabhāvābhinayopetam).5 Loka or society is here understood as an

order based on human nature (svabhāva) and established usage (vārtā).6

The general presumption was that the constituents of human nature

are universal, though each individual has a specific character formed

by his own actions.7 It is recognised, however, that social position

also reflects the level and quality of a person’s conduct, but this quality is cultural rather than ethical.8 Social usage or action patterns

(lokavyavahāra) depend on natural drives (kāma) as well as the norms

of moral law (dharma).9 Human nature, thus, is not considered to be intrinsically constituted or determined by social development.10 Although the specificity of Indian social order was well recognised it was not understood in terms of any socio-historical determinism.11 It was believed to be the result of a unique and timeless tradition.12 The fact is that in ancient India as in medieval Europe, human society

was understood in terms of cosmic and moral constraints rather than in terms of ephemeral historical and economic relations.13 For this reason, the theme and practice of drama tended to be, on the whole, conservative, taking the social order for granted and concentrating mainly on the psychic and moral roots of human conduct. In picturing the loka the NŚ also took for granted the other śāstrās dealing with dharma, artha and kāma.

In representing society, drama did not intend to present a documentary, but to create a suggestive image and for this reason no attempt was made to develop elaborate realism. The stage-craft depended on the extensive use of signs, symbols, and purely conventional representation called nāṭyadharmi.14 If lokadharmi meant ‘belonging to the world’, nāṭyadharmi meant ‘belonging to the stage’. The latter, thus, meant not only conventional but creative innovation of the theatre also. Dance and music came under this category. Speech and emotions were rendered with much natural realism, but mountains, vehicles, aerial cars, celestial weapons etc., could be shown by personification or by signs and suggestions.15 The chariot, thus, could be indicated by the charioteer appearing to hold the reins, its motion by gestures suggestive of the sensation of the breeze flowing past. Instead of concentrating on mechanical contrivances and material reconstruction of things and detailed sets containing the exact replicas of social scenes the NŚ concentrates on the elaborate language of gestures and symbols which dancers and actors had developed.

The two dharmis or dramatic modes, thus, briefly correspond to Nature (svabhāva) and Image (vibhāva), the latter subsisting only in a dramatic spectacle.16 The real world exists in a natural mode leading to experiences of pleasure and pain but it can become the occasion of pure enjoyment (rasa) only when it is transformed into a spectacle.17

The broad divisions of society in the NŚ may be said to comprise of classes, castes and professions. The general picture of these in the NŚ is more complex than that of the Vedic age. Thus, the Vedic janas find no mention in the NŚ; on the other hand, its structure of varṇas and jātiś is more detailed. Also, it has no trace of any kind of feudal hierarchy. The term sāmanta does not occur, nor does the term

84 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

kṣatrapa. Slaves are known, but there is hardly any difference between slave and servant. Merchants, caravan leaders and trade with distant places are known, but market places, bargaining, and the profit motive receive hardly any attention. The emphasis is on royal and aristocratic adventure, heroism, war and romance. Ministers and merchants pursue adventures of love. Ascetics of all kinds flit across the stage but they do not occupy its centre. The society of the NS may be seen as a link between the epic society where merchants hardly figure and the society of the Brhatkathā where the desire for gain at least rivals that for honour. This society is glimpsed by us in terms of its leading sentiments, ideal character types and stock themes as formalised for the Daśarūpaka. The NS like all ancient works viewed society as a hierarchical organisation in which men were grouped in different strata and ranked as high and low. This was done in several ways, according to prakṛti, varṇa, jāti and śilpa, that is to say, culture, character (nature), caste and profession were the principal scores on whice social ranking depended.18 It is notable that wealth as such is not so recognised formally, although in practice it must undoubtedly have played a prominent part just as the formal ranking of the Brāhmanas by varṇa must have been in practice often superseded by the actual position of royalty.19

The most characteristic division of men and women in the NŚ is on the basis of their nature or prakṛti. "Briefly, the nature of men and women is recognised to be threefold, superior, inferior and middling."20 The superior nature (prakṛtiruttamā) is known for its self-control, wisdom, skill in diverse crafts, consideration, lofty objectives, reassuring those in fear, knowledge of different sciences (śāstras), depth and magnanimity and for the virtues of firmness and sacrifice.21 The middling nature is known for its proficiency in conducting social business (lokapāra), skill in practical arts (śilpasūtras), professional knowledge and pleasing manners (vijñānamādhuryayutā).22 The inferior type of men are of harsh speech, bad character, bad constitution, (kusattvāh), dull, irascible, hurting, disloyal to friends, fault-finding back-biting, aggressive in speech, ungrateful, lazy, lacking discrimination between those who deserve and those who do not deserve respect, flirtatious, quarrelsome, infamous, sinful and snatching other people's wealth.23 Thus these three types are distinguished by their character (śīla).24 In the case of women, the superior type is noted for its gentleness, steadiness, smiling speech, compassion, service to elders, modesty, courtesy, natural qualities of beauty, noble descent and sweetness.25 The middling women have these qualities in a limited manner and only slight blemishes. The inferior women are similar

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions and Values 85

to the inferior men.26

It is noteworthy that in this description the inferior men and

women are alike characterised by their lack of moral virtues. They

are at the mercy of their passions, lack all discipline. The two higher

types, on the other hand, are distinguished not only by their moral

virtues but also by their knowledge and practical skills. The women

also have in addition the feminine virtues in an ample measure. So

far the distinction rests only on moral and cultural qualities, but in

the case of superior women it is clearly stated that they have a noble

descent (abhijana). Although that is not explicitly stated in the case

of men, it may be supposed that it is implicitly meant there also. This

converts a typology of 'character' into a social hierarchy. 'High',

'middle' and 'low' are not merely moral and cultural standards but

also social ranks, that is to say, they came to signify the norms of

behaviour expected of or imputed to the different rungs of the social

hierarchy.

From the dramatic point of view the high and middling types of

heroes may be bold (dhīrodhata), graceful (lalita), noble (dhīrodātta),

or tranquil (dhīraprasānta).27 The gods exemplify the first, the kings

the second, the chief of the army and the ministers the third, and the

Brāhmaṇas and the merchants the fourth.28 This means that only

kings are to be represented as heroic and graceful, gods as only bold

heroes, ministers and commanders as noble heroes only, while Brāh-

maṇas and traders are to be represented as tranquil heroes only.29

Here, too, we have an implicit social hierarchy; below the gods we

have the ascetics, then the rulers and their dependents followed by

high military and civil officials. Below them we have the Brāhmaṇas

and merchants. These different groups constitute the high and midd-

ling classes. If gods and ascetics are left out of consideration, for they

were not accepted as heroes in the principal forms of classical drama,

we have the kings, officials, Brāhmaṇas and merchants as the upper

class of society. The kings could be the heroes of the Nāṭaka, the rest

of the Prakaraṇa. The heroes of the latter could be Brāhmaṇas and

priests, merchants and caravan leaders, ministers and officials.30 They

are collectively the householders or kuṭumbinah.31

As for the lower classes from which high culture was not expected,

we have labourers, despised professions, barbarians, parasites and cri-

minals. The NŚ does not have much to say about them because they

did not play any important part in the drama.32 In the society which

the drama represented these classes could only have had a marginal

position.

The division according to varṇa was the most ancient. The NŚ

86 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

uses the word cāturvarnya to indicate the whole universe of characters, or the concourse of the four varṇas as is the usual meaning.33 Various kinds of Brāhmaṇas are mentioned. The highest apparently were the sages, ṛṣis or purodhases and the teachers especially of the Vedic lore. The Brāhmaṇas could be found among ministers and officials advising and assisting the king, among ascetics and among the householders in different professions. Their characteristic roles which drama represented were those of teachers, priests and counsellors. The potrayal of the Vidūṣaka or jester possibly represents a satire on Brāhmaṇical dependence on royal patronage, interest in food, keen with and philosophical humour. But the Vidūṣaka was a real counsellor to the king and himself the real satirist.34 While kings, warriors and officials are prominently represented on the stage, the Kṣatriyas as such find little mention. In the Vedic and Epic ages the Kṣatriyas or Rājanyas constituted the ruling class, but the situation changed drastically from the 4th cent. B.C. Mahāpadmananda not only founded a non-Kṣatriya dynasty but is said to have uprooted the ancient Kṣatriya ruling families.35 The Brāhmaṇas questioned the Kṣatriya status of the Maur-yas36 and in the post-Maurya period we have the Brāhmaṇas assuming royal power in the Śuṅga, Kāṇva and Sātavāhana dynasties. Besides, there was a flood of barbarian rulers—the Śakas, the Yavanas, the Pahlavas and the Kuṣāṇas. The Brāhmaṇical authors of the Smṛtis indeed, liked to give them a position within the orthodox social order37 but in the period between 2nd cent. B.C. and 2nd cent. A.D. it would have been hazardous to presume or proclaim the identity of the rulers and the Kṣatriyas on the stage. This was probably why the NŚ emphasizes royalty and the warriors and the officials but not the Kṣatriyas as such. The ruler is expected to fit the role of a just and romantic hero. He is not directly satirized as boastful, ambitious, tyrannical or lustful, but this image is regularly attributed to the Śakāra who is a despised ‘brother-in-law’ of the king.38

It has been noted earlier that the Vaiśyas as such figured more in Brāhmaṇic theoretical and legal works than in records dealing with actual social usage.39 Thus Buddhist writings and even Aśoka refer to the common people by other names.40 The Vaiśyas included house-holders engaged in agriculture as well as business.41 In the NŚ a prominent role is recognised for shopkeepers, long-distance traders and bankers, vanij, sārthavāha and śreṣṭhin respectively. They are represented as mild-mannered but capable of heroism, fortitude and magnanimity. They are wealthy but not satirized for inordinate greed, miserliness or extortionate money-lending. While the satirical images of the priest and the ruler may be seen in the Vidūṣaka and the

Śakāra, it is curious that no image of this kind is available for the mercantile class. There is, of course, the Viṭa, who is adventurous and clever but a not too scrupulous man about town. His caste or profession are not determinate but he has a ready wit, urban polish and aesthetic taste and vices such as gambling, duelling, associating with public women etc. He represents the image of the depraved bourgeois but is hardly intended satirically. He represents the typical qualities and vices of city life; its refinement and artistic taste as also its unprincipled search for pleasure and adventure.42

The Śūdras are mentioned as one of the four varṇas who constituted the spectators in the theatre.43 In the north-eastern sector of the theatre the pillar named after the Śūdras was to be placed and was to be blue in colour. Kṛṣarā or a food of rice and pulses was to be given away in the fixing of the pillar and iron was to be placed at its base. The obvious symbolism of the procedure is quite instructive. Associated with the Brāhmaṇas are ghee, white colour, gold at the base and the gift of pāyasa (i.e. khīr). These obviously suggest purity and wisdom. With the Kṣatriyas our text associates red colour, copper at the base, and the gift of rice cooked with guḍa. These suggest energy, authority and substantial food. With the Vaiśya were associated yellow colour, silver at the base and rice cooked with ghee. These suggest mildness and wealth. The associated items of the Śūdras as mentioned above would suggest ignorance, poverty and hardihood.44 The four varṇas are symbolised by the four pillars which support the theatre. Each had a distinct contribution—wisdom, energy, wealth and hardihood respectively. Rice is common to all but its further ingredient is different. The Śūdra’s ignorance symbolised by the blue colour is constituted by his being banned from the Vedic study. This did not debar him from reaching the same truth through the itihāsa-purāṇa and now especially through the fifth Veda of the Nāṭya. Nor were they debarred from the practice of the arts and crafts, useful or fine. Indeed, the entire profession of the actors was condemned as being of the Śūdras.45

The problem of adjusting diverse social and ethnic groups within the scheme of the four varṇas had been solved by the Sūtras and the Smṛtis by elaborating the concept of jāti and miscegenation. The Manusmṛti gives it a systematic and elaborate exposition.46 In the NS, hardly any reference is to be found to these mixed jātiṣ, from which it may be concluded that they did not constitute any distinct and prominent element of the social spectacle. Apparently, their dress, appearance, speech and manners approximated to those of the primary varṇas. On the other hand, the NS does mention a number

88 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

of these ethnic groups as jātiś which included frontier or immigrant peoples or refer to specific janapadas. Thus, we have mention of the Kirātas, Barbaras, Āndhras, Drāviḍas, Kaśi-Kośalans and Pulindas who were all to be represented as dark in complexion.47 Again, there is mention of the Śakas, Yavanas, Pahlavas and Bāhlikas who were to be represented as fair.48

The bulk of the society was described as consisting of house-holders or kuṭumbinaḥ who would be distinguished from the kings and the religieux49 on the one hand and the slaves and barbarians on the other. This concept of the kuṭumbinaḥ is reminiscent of the Vedic viśaḥ and the Buddhist and Jaina householder—gaḥapati or gāhāvai. The real division amongst them was in terms of professions. It is the characteristics of these that the producer has to study carefully. “Anekaśilpajātāni naikakarma-kriyāṇi ca / Tānyaseṣāṇi rūpāṇi kartavy-āni prayoktrbhih.”50

The professions as found in the NŚ may be broadly divided into two categories viz., the service of the king in the palace (antaḥpura) or outside (bāhya), and diverse arts and crafts. ‘Outside Service’ under the king includes several distinct offices of diverse levels. The king stood at the head followed by the commander-in-chief, the priest, the ministers and secretaries, the judges and the princes. At the bottom were the officials generally who were divided into various grades. “Rājā Senāpatiścaiva purodhā mantrinaśca/Sacivaḥ prāḍvivā-kṣca kumārādhikrtatasthāḥ//”51 Abhinava Gupta, however, explains that rājā here stands not for the king, but for the heir-apparent (yuvarājia).52

This is plausible because the list of eight offices in this verse would then describe public offices (bāhya-parivāra) of the king as distinguished from the eighteen offices of the palace (antaḥpura). The rājā or yuvarāja was expected to have high moral and intellectual qualifications, practical ability and tact. He was to have the virtues of truth, persistence, foresight, enthusiasm, care and insight. He was to take the vow of protecting the people like the Lokapālas, understand the minds of others, have heroic qualities, practical knowledge and efficiency, self-control and a mild temper with a sweet tongue. He was to follow the elders, patronize the arts, and have the knowledge of the Arthaśāstra, Nītiśāstra and Dharmaśāstra.53 He was to be free from addictions and vices and above all he was to have love for the people, a quality which the Arthaśāstra describes as the source of royal virtues (anurāgo hi sārvagunyam).54 The priest and the minister or counsellor were to be highborn, but not of foreign birth, intelligent, learned in the diverse śāstras, loyal, cautious, free from greed, disciplined, pure and virtuous.55 The qualities of the secretary were similar. The

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions and Values 89

commander-in-chief was expected to be intelligent, proficient in policy, sweet-spoken but having an insight into the weaknesses of the enemy and the timing of a campaign, knowledge of the Arthasastra, loyal, scion of a noble family and proficient in the knowledge of the right time and place for the execution of a policy.56 The judges were to be knowledgeable in the principles of law, intelligent and well-read, neutral, righteous, endowed with firmness and discrimination between right and wrong, forbearing, disciplined, having vanquished anger and acquired an impartial vision.57 Such judges were to be placed on the bench (dharmasana). They were to follow the school of Brhaspati in determining the number and nature of assessors (sabhya).58

Abhinava interprets 'kumrādhikrta' as 'kumārānām rājaputrānām raksartham adhikrtah'.59 The term is reminiscent of the Gupta term kumārāmātya. However, Abhinavagupta's interpretation is doubtful, since the description here is of public offices, not palace offices. The qualities of these seem to be taken out of the list for the judges. This would suit interpreting them as senior executives rather than as the companions or attendants of the princes.

The mahāmātra apparently described the high officials at the level of the senāpati and yuvarāja.60 They were represented on the stage with a hali crown on their head. Amātya was apparently a lower office meriting only a turban but similar to the banker or sresthin in this respect.61 A more general designation was 'royal servitor' or rājasevaka which may be compared with the yukta of the Arthasastra or the yukta or purusa of the Aśokan epigraphs.62

Of the professional arts and crafts we have an interesting list in the members of the panels of the judges or jury (prasnikas) to whom the relative evaluation of a theatrical production was referred in the event of a competition.63 This panel included one member each of the following—ritualist priest (yajñavit),dancer (nartaka),painter (citrakrt), hetair (veśyā), expert in metres (chandovit), linguist or grammarian (śabdavit), expert in arms (śastravit), musician (gandharva) and royal servant (rājasevaka). The clerk (lekhaka) gave support to the committee. Among other arts and professions we hear of the soldiers (yodhā), gamblers (divyat), ranchers (ghosaka). undertakers, (pulkasa), charcoal burners (angārakāraka), hunters (vyādha), makers of wooden machines (kāsthayantropajivin), foresters (vanaukas), excavators of mines (surangākhanaka), joiners (sandhikāra), grooms (aśvarakṣa), charioteers (sūta).64 To these we may add architects, carpenters, masons, brick-layers, rope-makers, stone-cutters, sculptors, metal-workers and workers in precious stones as these are implied in the descriptions of architecture, weapons, armaments and metals. So are spinners, wea-

90 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

vers, tillers, herdsmen, and cooks in the descriptions of clothes and food. Craftsmen were generally designated kāruka or śilpin and recognised as a distinct class.65

Additional information is available in the NŚ about the professions of women especially in the context of the establishment of the royal palace. Even apart from the palace we hear of the female slaves (dāsī), craftswomen (kāruśilpinī), nurses (dhātrī), actresses or those engaged in show-business (raṅgopajīvinī), tale-tellers (kathinī), singers and hair-dressers.66 Liṅginī according to Abhinava meant painter but it might simply mean one living as a religieux. In the palace women were employed in a variety of jobs and corresponding skills must have existed outside the palace also.67 Thus we have crafts women (śilpakārikāh) of various types (nānāśilpavacakṣaṇāḥ) and those skilled in the art of perfumes and flowers (gandhapuṣpa-vibhāgajñāḥ) and arranging of seats and beds (śayanāsana-bhāgajñāḥ). They were expected to be clever, sweet, adroit, mild, clear, smooth and quiet. Another class of jobs was performed by stage performers or Nāṭakiyās. They were to be skilled in music, portrayal of moods, sentiments and acting. They were to be quick in improvisation and young and beautiful. The dancer was a class apart. She was to be able to display skill in musical instruments, with all limbs fully trained, acquainted with the sixty-four arts (catuṣṣaṣṭhikalāvitā),68 clever, courteous, bold, free from the typical feminine faults, industrious, knowledgeable in diverse arts (nānāśilpaprayogajñā) and perspicacious in dance and music. She was also to be gifted with a voice which was to be at once delicate, sweet, smooth, reasonant and marvellous. She was expected to be outstanding among other women by the glow of her beauty and youth.

Women attendants in the royal palace were divided into three classes viz. anucārikā, paricārikā and samcārikā.69 The anucārikās were constant attendants like a shadow, never leaving the king. The paricārikās included bed-room attendants (śayyāpālī), umbrella-bearers, fan-bearers, shampooers, mixers of perfumes, dressers (prāsādhikās) or those who helped in the putting on of ornaments or prepared garlands. Samcārikās kept watch over different halls, gardens, temples, pleasure-palaces, and also kept time. They were also used as messengers.

Elderly women (mahattarāḥ) were used to look after the security of inner apartments and also to utter benediction and welcome.70 Pratihārīs were employed to report matters arising from treaty, war and other public business.71 Young girls as well as old women worked in the palace. Given the charge of diverse offices they were called āyuktikās. Thus they looked after the stores (bhāṇḍāgāreṣu), the armoury (āyudhāgṛhāḥ), supervised fruits, roots and plants, gave thought

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions and Values 91

to perfumes, decorations, dresses and garlands.72

It is worth noting that in the detailed description there is no refe- rence to the employment of yavanis or women body-guards, nor to the betel-bearers (tāmbūlavāhini).73 This tends to confirm the relative antiquity of the tradition on which the NŚ is largely based.

Thus service with the king included service within the palace and outside. The former, called antaḥpura, had eighteen constituents of which twelve have been detailed above.74 To these were added the five types of women in the palace who were not servitors, but the objects of love, affection or patronage of the king. These were the chief queen (mahādevī), the other queens (devyaḥ), the daughters of the officials residing in the palace (svāminyaḥ), royal mistresses (sthā- pitāḥ) and those who were given grants and patronage (bhoginyaḥ). To these have to be added three types of eunuchs—kāruṇka, kañcukīya, and varṣavara constituting a single class to complete the number eighteen.

Structured by prakṛti, varṇa, jāti and śilpa the society of the NŚ was divided into a hierarchy of ranks. This can be seen most clearly by attending to the modes of address which are prescribed in the NŚ.75 At the top are placed the sages who are the gods of the gods them- selves. They are to be addressed as bhagavān or ‘Lord’. Gods, ascetics and great scholars are to be similarly addressed as bhagavān. The Brāhmaṇa is to be addressed as ārya or noble person. The ruler is to be addressed as mahārāja ‘or great king’. The teacher should be called upādhyāya and older people tāta. The Brāhmaṇas could address the king by his name or as just king. This should be acceptable to the kings because the Brāhmaṇas are superior.76 The minister or sañiva is to be addressed by the Brāhmaṇas as amātya or sañiva, but

the others of lower rank (hinaiḥ) must address him always as ārya. Among equals the address is to be by name; the superior is to be addressed with the surname joined to the name. Where men and women hold offices, they are to be addressed by their office. Artisans and craftsmen are to be addressed by their profession. These modes of address are indicative of a socially egalitarian sense. Those who are a little inferior are to be addressed as mārṣa or bhāva. An equal may be addressed as friend or vayasya. An inferior may be addressed as haṃho, handā. The charioteer is to address the passengers as āyuṣ- man. Ascetics are to be addressed as such viz., tapasvin or sādho. The heir-apparent is to be addressed as svāmin, other princes as bhaṭṭāraka. The ascetics of the Buddhist and Jaina orders are to be addressed as bhadanta. The other ascetics are to be addressed according to their respective sects. The king is to be addressed by the people as deva,

but the emperor (sārvabhauma) is to be addressed as bhaṭṭa.77

The husband was to be addressed by the wife as āryaputra when young, and ārya otherwise. The wife was to be called as āryā or the daughter or mother of such and such. Women ascetics and goddesses were to be addressed as bhagavati. Ladies were to be called bhadra (good women) and elderly ones ambā (mother). Queens were to be addressed as bhaṭṭim, svāminī and devī. Maidens were to be addressed by servants as hartdārikā. Women were to address each other as halā and their maids as hañjā.

This system of social addressing reaffirms the general principles of hierarchy emerging earlier. The sages and ascetics enjoyed the highest status, the Brāhmaṇas came next and then the kings. Below them came the officials, traders and bankers. Artisans and craftsmen were given due respect except when they happened to be menials or servants.

It is curious that the NŚ does not refer to the guilds at all. This could be due to the fact that their belonging to a guild probably made no difference to the representation of traders and craftsmen on the stage.78

Social differences were reflected in speech, dress, hair-style etc., also. The rules were supposed to speak in chaste Sanskrit termed āryabhāṣā, but the spoken language of the common people was called jāṭibhāṣā and could be either of the bordering areas which have many barbarian words (mlecchaśabda) or of the Bhāratavarṣa.79 This jāti-bhāṣā itself could be Prakrit or Sanskrit.80 The heroes were to speak in Sanskrit normally but could use Prakrit for some reason. Ascetics of diverse kinds including mendicants and the Bhāgavatas, women and those belonging to low jātiṣ were to speak in Prakrit. So also those who did not have the opportunity of studying on account of poverty or were sunk in poverty or were spoilt rich people or were uneducated people of the upper class.81 Educated ascetics, queens, hetairas and women versed in arts and crafts82 could speak in Sanskrit.

It follows, thus, that Sanskrit was primarily the mark of education, high social position and office. The people, especially when uneducated, extremely poor or of low social strata spoke dialects called Prakrit. These dialects differed according to regions and the NŚ mentions seven bhāṣās and seven vibhāṣās, the former being well-known varieties of Prakrit while the latter were dialects of non-Aryan languages.83

In appearance the upper two varṇas were represented as fair in complexion while the Vaiśyas and Śūdras were represented as dark.84 Brahṃacārins, mendicants, amātyas and priests shaved their beard completely while kings, princes and those dependent on the kings trimmed their beard in diverse ways. Those in trouble or engaged in austerities let the beard grow even though it had been shaved earlier.

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions and Values 93

Sages and ascetics engaged in long vows kept long beards.85

Kings had gorgeous dresses, but old men, Brāhmaṇas, śreṣṭhis, amātyas, purodhas, traders (vanijah), chamberlains (kañcukīyas) and ascetics donned clean clothes.86 Both the garments, the lower (vāsas) and the upper (ūrdhvambarāṇi), were to be either pure (white) or red.87 This choice of colour could only be a theatrical convention. Or else, rakta probably meant a ‘pleasing’ or ‘striking’ colour. The mendicants put on ochre-coloured robes. The servitors in the inner apartments of the palace wore ochre-coloured coats (kañcukapataṭa).88 The warriors donned armour, quiver and bow. Kings wore a crown, the half crown (ardhamukuṭa). The ministers, chamberlains, bankers and priests donned turbans. In fact, this can be seen in the sculptures of Bharhut and Sanci.89

Apart from romance and fun, politics was the principal theme of drama, and we thus get a glimpse of political ideals and realities as presupposed in the NŚ. Heroic epics, and the history and legends of Udayana formed the basic source material for themes of dramatic works, especially of the earlier period. The Brhatkathā and the exploits of some other famous rulers were added to this stock repertoire in later times. The Arthāśāstra describes the king as vijigiṣu, the would-be conqueror and the state as surrounded by a number of other states as part of an international system or mandala in which diplomacy was well-developed. Within the state the king had a well-organised administrative machinery for his assistance. This picture generally holds true of royalty and polity as glimpsed in the NŚ. In the āviddha type of drama with diptarasa, the commotion, tumult and stampede of war, personal combat and siege figure prominently. Intrigue and revolutions occur and so do diplomatic parleys and challenges.90 But despite the accepted norm of waging war to show royal prowess or gain some specific end, the overall purpose of political life was to ensure peace, prosperity, culture and justice for the people. Peace required firm authority, prosperity depended on people attending to their work and reasonable luck with respect to rains, culture depended on the royal patronage of learning, religion and art, justice on the integrity of the kings and the soundness of his choice of judges. High moral, intellectual, martial and practical qualities were expected of the king as mentioned before. He was to be an adept in the śāstras dealing with dharma and artha, heroic and noble, and above all motivated by love for the people. A verse of the NŚ praises the virtues of the king thus : “The earth worships you with its happy janapadas and burgeoning grains and mines, the Vindhyas and other mountains

94 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyaśāstra

bow to you with the elephants romping in palm forests, the oceans

bow to you with their wavy arms full of pearls released by splitting

shells, the great rivers celebrate your renown while cheered by frolick-

ing water-animals.91 In this verse, apparently of some poet from the

Deccan, the general notion of what constitutes the success of the ruler

is expressed.

The king was regarded as setting the standard of conduct for the

people and was thus looked upon as a leader in the true sense.

"Whatever the things which the king does through pleasure or pain in

diverse spheres of conduct, all that is imitated by the people (yān yān

prakurute rājā tān stān loko'nuvartate).92 This agrees with the elitist

view expressed in the Gītā—Yadyad ācarati śreṣṭhastattadevetaro janah/

Sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute lokastadanuvartate//93 The NŚ specially ad-

monishes the kings not to use force or authority where gaining the

affection of a woman was concerned.94

The king is declared to have a human nature tinged with divinity—

prakṛtiḥ rājñāṁ vai divyamānuṣi. The kings are born of a divine por-

tion (devāmśajāstu rājāno) as has been declared in the Vedas and

Vedānta (vedādhyātmāsu kīrtitāḥ).95 Hence they could imitate the

gods without any blemish.

For the assistance of the kings there were diverse officials, the

higher grade being of the mahāmātras, the lower of adhikṛtas and

āyuktas. At the bottom were the servants. There is no direct reference

to the mantripariṣad, but an incidental reference does remind one of

the Arthaśāstra in this context—Parṣadam deśakālau cāpyarthayuktim

avekṣya ca.96 The yuvarāja or crown-prince has a special importance

and this reminds one of the Aśokan set-up.97 The royal household

was polygamous but the king did not as yet require constant armed

protection.

The ancient drama gave full recognition to the fact of strife in the

society and cosmos. The strife of gods and the titans constituted

the central theme of the more ancient types of drama98 and mythically

symbolised the conflict of right and wrong. In the purely human

drama as represented in the nāṭaka and the prakaraṇa, this element

of conflict is retained. In the heroic plays this is quite clear and gene-

rally takes the form of a war between rival heroes. War plainly

emerges as a significant fact of political life and fighting is accepted as

a part of the heroic way of life. In the war of gods and titans decep-

tion was accepted as legitimate, but in the war between human heroes

honour and truth were to be fully preserved.99 War was not a species

of deception but the performance of a duty placed on the ruler or

warrior in the spirit of heroic idealism.

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions and Values 95

While the king was expected to participate in the war personally, the head of the army, the senāpati was one of the higher officials or mahāmātras of the state. There was an armoury or āyudhāgāra in the palace with a separate official in charge of it.100 The soldiers or yodhās were supplied with a special dress—sāngrāmika veśa. It included a protective armour, a head-dress, bow and quiver. Chariots, elephants and horses were used in the battle.101 A variety of weapons are mentioned—bhindī, kunta or javelin, śataghnī, śūla, tomara, śakti, bow and arrow, gadā or club, vajra, sword, cakra or discus, prāsa, paṭṭiśa, danda and kheṭaka.102 The significance of śataghnī is not certain but it seems to indicate some engine which threw out stones or pellets at the enemy. Tomara might have been a heavy club and similar to gadā.103a Kunta, śakti, śūla and prāsa apparently were javelins of different kinds which could be thrust or flung from a distance. The bow was to have a length of two hastas while the sword was required to have a length of forty angulas.103b

A verse quoted by the NŚ describes the army in battle as crowded by diverse horses, elephants, chariots and warriors, with numerous weapons such as hundreds of arrows, javelins, swords and sticks, with prancing horses and fear and agitation all around owing to the clang of weapons.104 But the troops were not an untrained crowd. The soldiers were drilled in the use of arms. The striking of weapons required specific stances and movement-sequences called cāris which were used in dance also—Cāribhiḥ śastra-mokṣāśca cāryo yuddhe ca kīrtitāḥ.105 Six different kinds of stances or sthānas have been recognised for striking with weapons (śastravimokṣaṇa).106 Regular training and exercise was prescribed.107 Co-ordinated movements forming mandalas were recommended in battle108

Apart from the use of weapons, unarmed combat and fisticuffs were given special importance. They were called miyuddha and the special ‘approaches’ adopted in these were called nyāya.109 Four of these are described. Indeed the very birth of the ṛttis is ascribed to the beautiful style of moving the limbs which Viṣṇu adopted in his fight with Madhu and Kaiṭabha.

The standard of the army was the symbol of its honour. The conch and the drum were regularly associated with military marches.110

The picture of religion in the NŚ resembles that of the post-Vedic but pre-classical times. It may be compared to that found in the early strata of the Epics before the deification of the heroes as generally recognised incarnations of God. Indeed, the NŚ largely reflects the popular polytheism of the Vedic era where gods are worshipped in their plurality and picturesqueness and have yet not been overshad-

96 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyaśāstra

owed by the emergence of the one God at the popular level. However, while a multiplicity of Vedic gods are mentioned, it is clear that the trinity of Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Śiva is tending to emerge, which is a post-Vedic feature. Though the rise of the trinity is visible it is not yet conceived as the triune expression of one god. Nor is the conception of incarnation given any importance.111a The gods are conceived in a fully anthropomorphic manner as in the Epics and Purāṇas and their mythical contests with the asuras form a prominent theme in festivals as well as drama. Nevertheless, the iconography of gods has not developed yet and they appear to have been represented on the stage very much like human heroes. Although sacrificial ritual is still preserved in worship, it is simplified and mixed with the new aesthetic elements of music, dance and flowers.111b The ascetic sects of the Buddhists, Jainas, the Bhāgavatas and the Pāśupatas are familiar and distinguished from Brāhmaṇical mendicants, asectics and hermits. However, except for Brāhmaṇical seers and hermits, the NŚ does not appear to regard the other varieties of ascetics with any real respect. In fact, it visualises hypocritical and false ascetics as involved in intrigues and as suitable subjects for satire.112

Among the Vedic gods we find mention of Brahmā, the Creator, who is the special patron of the sage Bharata and thus of the Nāṭyaveda. Mahendra is the chief of the gods. His festival is celebrated as flag festival and provides the occasion for the putting up of dramatic productions.113 Viṣṇu is a great god and the source of the vṛttis.114 The myth of his resting on the śeṣaśayyā after the deluge is referred to. Among his names Acyuta, Hari, Nārāyaṇa and Madhusūdana are mentioned. His fight with Madhu and Kaiṭabha and the fear and prayer of Brahmā are reminiscent of the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa. Śiva is easily the most prominent god of the NŚ since he is the source of dancing.115 He is addressed as Trinetra, Deveśa, Mahādeva and Bhuvaneśvara. He dwells in the Himālayas, is surrounded by the bhūtagaṇas and asks Taṇḍu to teach the tāṇḍava form of dance to Bharata to be used properly in the pūrvaranga.116 Pārvatī illustrates the graceful or sukumāra form of dance. The myth of the destruction of Dakṣayajña is also referred to.117

Although iconographic representations of the gods are not referred to, characteristic symbolizations in dance for their worship are known as piṇḍis.118 We hear of the piṇḍis or worshipful dance-symbols of Śiva in the form of the linga, of Nandi in the form of the Trident, of Caṇḍikā in the form of Siṃhāvāhinī, of Viṣṇu in the form of Garuḍa, of Brahmā in the form of the lotus, and of Indra in the form of the elephant Airāvata. Kāma, the lord of love, has fish as his dance sym-

bol (piṇḍī), Kumāra has the peacock, Lakṣmī has form (rūpa), Gaṅgā has dhārā or the stream, Yama has the noose, Varuṇa a river, Kuvera a yakṣī, Balarāma a plough, the nāgas a snake and Rudra, the lord of the ganas and destroyer of the Dakṣa sacrifice, the Trident. Abhinava explains that the gods were to be pleased by the performance of a suitable dance.119 For each god one would exhibit a characteristic dance figure or movement which would relate to his or her weapon (āyudha), vehicle (vāhana), deed (karma) or attitude (bhāva). Thus the karaṇa called Talapuṣpapuṭa could be used to please the goddess, Garuḍaplutaka could indicate the Garuḍa, Gaṅgāvataraṇa for the Dhārāpiṇḍī etc. Bharata says that the piṇḍibandhas were to be used as flags or emblems. This also confirms that the representation of gods was still primarily symbolic, not iconographic.

The gods and their emblems are mentioned in the context of their contributions to the sages who performed the nāṭya.120 Indra gave his standard (dhvaja) which was his popular emblem. Brahmā gave his crooked staff (kuṭilaka) which was adopted by the jester (Viḍūṣaka). This connection between Brahmā and the Brāhmaṇa jester is not without significance. Varuṇa gave his pitcher (bhrṅgāra) which was adopted by the pāripārśvikas, the companions of the Sātradhāra. The Sun gave the umbrella which was a royal insignia, Śiva success, Vāyu the fan, Viṣṇu the lion-seat, Kuvera the ocean and Sarasvatī the quality of proper audition.121

The gods are mentioned again as the protectors of the theatre in its different parts and aspects.122 The moon god protected the pavilion (mandapa). The Lokapālas protected the theatre in the quarters, the Maruts took care of the intermediate quarters, Mitra of the green room, Varuṇa of the sky, Fire of the vedikā, and all the gods of the orchestra (bhāṇḍa). The four orders (varṇas) were appointed to the pillars, the Ādityas and the Rudras were placed between the pillars, the bhūtas in the dharaṇīs, the apsarās in the halls, the Yakṣinīs in all the rooms and the ocean to the floor. The Destroyer (Kṛtānta) and Time were appointed to the gateways, the Chief Nāgas were put on the doors, the staff of Yama on the threshold of the door and Fate and Death were made the gatemen. Indra himself stood by the side of the stage, Lightning was placed on the Mattavāranī, while Brahmā was positioned on the stage itself. The allocations of gods to parts of the theatre for its protection is reminiscent of the later Tāṇtric practice of nyāsa. Whether any particular significance attaches to specific locations is hard to tell. Probably it represents only an imaginative effort to connect the gods with the theatre and invoke them for safety. It may be recalled that in the śilpaśāstras gods were similarly connected.

98 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

ted with the different squares of the plans for cities and buildings.123

Apart from the various picturesque gods mentioned above, the

formless Oṅkāra is also referred to.124 Indra was to protect the hero,

Sarasvatī the heroine, Oṅkāra the jester and Śiva the other characters.

Here, again, the jester is seen to be a key character and connected

most closely with the primeval creative force itself.

When all the gods are to be recalled for obeisance, the list goes

thus—Mahādeva, Pitāmaha, Viṣṇu, Indra, Guṇa or Kārttikeya, Saras-

vatī, Lakṣmī, Siddhi, Medhā, Dhṛti, Smṛti, Soma, Sūrya, Maruts,

Lokapālas, Aśvins, Mitra, Agni, Svar(?), Varṇas, Rudra, Kālá, Kālī,

Mṛtyu, Niyāti, Kāladanḍa, Viṣṇupraharaṇa (cakra), Vāsuki, Vajra,

Vidyut, Samudras, gandharvāpsarās, munis, bhūtas, piśācas, yak-

śas, guhyakas, maheśvaras, asuras, nāṭya-vighnas, daityarākṣasas,

nāṭyakumāris, mahāgrāmaṇī and others. Here old Vedic gods,

popular deities and spirits are all mentioned together in a remarkably

eclectic spirit. The reference to nāṭyakumāris and mahāgrāmaṇis is

intriguing because they are not mentioned elsewhere.115 Mahāgrāmaṇis

might be the equivalent of grāmadevatās. After the initial obeisance

in a comprehensive manner worship proceeded in the early morning

invoking the gods, and by utilizing the following substances—red

bangles made of thread, red sandalwood, red flowers, red fruits, bar-

ley, uncrushed or parched rice grains, the powder of nāgapuṣpa and

unhusked priyaṅgu. With these substances the places for the gods

were to be drawn in a maṇḍala on the stage itself.126 Brahmā was

to be placed in the centre. To his east were to be placed Śiva, Nārā-

yaṇa, Skanda, Sūrya, Aśvins, Moon, Sarasvatī, Lakṣmī, Śraddhā and

Medhā. To the south-east were to be Fire and Svāhā, Viśvadevāḥ,

gandharvas, Rudras and nāgas, to the south Yama, Mitra, pitṛs, piśā-

cas, Nāgas and guhyakas, to the south-west rākṣasas and bhūtas, to

the west ocean and Varuṇa, to the north-west the seven Vāyus along-

with Garuḍa and the birds, to the north Kuvera, the nāṭyamātṛs, yak-

śas and the guhyakas, to the north-east the gaṇeśvaras like Nandī

etc. From this description it emerges that the maṇḍala for worship

was to be in the form of a lotus with nine petals (navapadmamana-

ḍala).127 The actual placement or invocation was to be by meditation.

Then suitable offerings of flowers, food and drink were to be made to

them.128 The gods were to be offered white garlands and sandal

paste, the gandharvas, Fire and the Sun were to be offered red gar-

lands and paste. Brahmā was to be offered madhuparka or the honey

mixture, Sarasvatī milk pudding (pāyasa), Śiva, Viṣṇu, Mahendra etc.,

modakas; Fire, Sun and Moon rice cooked in ghee (clarified butter),

Viśvadevāḥ with the gandharvas rice cooked with guḍa, the sages

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions and Values 99

honey, milk and rice, Yama and Mitra apūpas and modakas, pitṛs and piśācas milk and ghee, fried food, meat, fermented and unfermented drinks and bhūtaśaṅghas caṇakas. The dānavas were to be offered meat and liquor, the other gods rice with condiments, Varuṇa fish and piṣṭabhakṣya, Vāyu diverse bhakṣya, nāṭya-maṭṛs and Kuvera apūpa, parched rice and bhakṣya.

After this the different gods were to be addressed by different mantras or versified formulae and offerings made to them. For example, for Brahmā the verse to be uttered is Devadeva Mahābhāga Sarvaloka-pitāmaha/mantrapuṭam imāṁ sarvāṁ pratigṛhṇīṣva me balim//129 Śiva was to be addressed as Devadeva Mahādeva Gaṇeśa Tripurāntaka.130 Viṣṇu as Nārāyaṇāmitagate Padmanābhasurottama.131 Sarasvatī is to be addressed as Haripriyā. In several of these formulae the offering is said to be prompted by devotion or bhakti— Bhaktyā mayodyato deva balīḥ sampratigṛhyatām.132 After this, a pot filled with water and decorated with flower garlands with a piece of gold was to be placed in the centre of the stage.133 The jarjara was to be worshipped for the destruction of obstructions. The king and the dancers were to be illuminated by lights and sprinkled with water purified by mantras and benediction expressed for them and for the theatre.134

It would be clear from this that religion for the NŚ means largely popular ritual and myth, to which it added its own quota of ritual and mythic representations. It did not regard tranquility (sama) or devotion (bhakti) as capable of being treated as rasas. The drama consequently remained essentially secular. All religious elements in it are treated as elements only in entertainment. However, while popular religion is only an entertaining spectacle, in the NŚ it does have a more serious and philosophical vision which may be said to reflect the prevailing philosophy of life of its time. The basic principle which is held to govern the vicissitudes of one's life is that of karman.135 A man's fortunes depend ultimately on the moral quality of his deeds and it is this underlying law which the dramatic production seeks to bring out. A strict causal process governs human actors and experiences.136 It is based on character and circumstances. The former represents the man himself as he has made himself by his own past actions. Circumstances do not remain the same and show surprising ups and downs. It is the mark of a heroic character to face them undeterred when they are adverse. A spirit of idealism pervades the NŚ in its conception of heroes and heroines. The villains are ultimately not allowed to succeed.

Philosophically, the point of view is one of reconciliation with the cosmos and society and is in sharp contrast with that of ancient

100 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Greece or some modern western drama. Greek or Elizabethan tragedy depicts a cosmos which is blind or hostile to human fate.137 Noble characters prove to have devastating infirmities, circumstances make for the inexorable destruction of human personality; a sense of waste and pity pervades the whole. Similarly the old Attic Comedy is primarily satirical and exposes social evil pitilessly.138 The spirit of the NŚ, however, is different. The cosmos is accepted as torn by the strife between Light and Darkness, which is paralleled by the struggle of Right and Wrong in human society. However, it is man's duty to side with the Light and Right and there is no reason for him to be pessimistic. Ultimate victory is bound to be with Truth. Drama should not make out particular episodes of failure and sorrow as ultimate. Similarly, although social evil may be satirized and made fun of, it should not make the social order itself appear ridiculously and thus erode established social values.139

A most important aspect of the NŚ is the classic tableau which it has created of social values and ideals in the form of recognised dramatic sentiments, characters and themes. This constitutes a lasting and influential formulation of social attitudes and sentiments for Indian literature and cultured society. Of the four Puruṣārthas the first three, generally called the Trivarga, are accepted in the NŚ as the basis of human adversity relevant to the production and enjoyment of its spectacle. The vīra, raudra and śṛṅgāra have been connected with dharma, artha and kāma respectively.140 There is no mention of mokṣa or of the śānta rasa with which it could be connected. Similarly bhakti has not yet been recognised as a major or significant sentiment. Indeed the two principal values and sentiments recognised are heroism and romance. Heroism had been connected with strife, fighting, bravery and prowess but came to be connected more with the inner qualities of enthusiasm and nobility in character.141

Determination of the objective without confusion or passion, right policy, power, capacity, image and influence were recognised as its distinctive expression.142 It was associated with the feelings of constancy, self-esteem, excitement, force, indignation etc. Abhinavagupta explains that it is the rational determination of the object of enthusiasm and energy which distinguishes heroism from all other kinds of natural enthusiasm.143 Heroism belonged to the fearlessly, righteous person. Although the king was expected to exemplify it ideally, even the high officials and traders were accepted as fit subjects of heroic conduct although it was not conceived in terms of war and fighting. They were expected to be dhīra, endowed with mobility and fortitude. Later theory conceived the vīra in a wide variety of situations other

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions and Values 101

than those of war and politics also.144

Unlike martial heroism, love and romance were conceived as universally available values. Characters of all the three grades, high, middle and low, pursued the third Puruşārtha.145 All mental states ultimately arise from kāma in the sense of desire (icchā). This desire could be for dharma, artha or mokṣa, but kāma proper is the mutual desire among the sexes.146 This sexual love is seen universally and is the cause of happiness and unhappiness. It is indeed welcomed as pleasure even when it leads to trouble : “Sarvasyaiya tu lokasya sukhaduhkhanibarhanah/Bhūyiṣṭham dṛśyate kāmaḥ sa sukham vyasanẹ-vapi//”147 It is this love between the sexes when expressed in appropriate emotionally sensitive behaviour and pertaining to superior characters that is called śṛṅgāra or the romantic sentiment.—Yaḥ strī-puṃsasamyogo ratisambhogakārakaḥ/Sa śṛṅgāra iti jñeyaḥ upacārakṛtaḥ-subhaḥ//148 Abhinava explains “upacāro̕ nyonya-hṛdayagrahanocitair vyāpāraiḥ paripūrṇaḥ. Iha cottamaprakṛtir yadi bhavati tadrasādhyāyok-tadrśā śṛṅgāra ityucyate.”149 In the chapter on rasa, it is explained that śṛṅgāra arises from the basic feeling, sthāyibhāva, of rati which is love between high-minded youthful persons of opposite sexes (uttama-yuvaprakṛtiḥ).150 Abhinava comments that youthfulness refers to the consciousness, not the body.151 The essence of śṛṅgāra is the consciousness of union—aviyuktasamvitprāṇastu śṛṅgāraḥ.152

Ten stages of love were recognised.153 The first is desire (abhilāṣā), the second thinking of the object of love (cintana), the third remembrance (anusmṛti), the fourth reciting the praises of the object of love (gunakīrtana), the fifth anxiety and distress (udvega), the sixth lamentation (vilāpa), the seventh intoxication (unmāda), the eighth illness (vyādhi), the ninth dullness (jādatā) and the tenth death (maraṇa).

Again, eight types of heroines have been described154—waiting for the lover, pining in separation, in full command of the lover, estranged by a quarrel, wronged by the infidelity of the lover, neglected after an appointment, one whose lover has gone abroad, one who goes to meet the lover on a rendezvous.

From this brief account of what may be called the ‘phenomenology’ of love, it would be clear that the conception of love is idealistic in the sense that it places high value on fidelity and constancy in love but it is naturalistic and humanistic in the sense that it accepts the natural relation of the sexes as an eminently good thing. It is untinged by any trace of the ascetic disparagement of women, love or enjoyment. At the same time it recognises the vast variety and gradation of love in which numerous types of heroes and heroines participate in various stages and levels. The psychological nature of love is empha-

102 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

sized more than the merely physical one. Above all, social proprieties and institutions are given due respect. There is no attempt to appreciate or recognise love out of wedlock. On the other hand, high praise is bestowed on the good wife. She is loved because she is devoted to gods and friends, affectionate towards relations and kinsmen and fond of liberality.155 Nevertheless, the focus of romantic sentiment rests on youthful love. The very constitution (sattva) of the superior maiden love manifests itself in multifarious graces and procedures, beauty and charm.156 These in turn produce admiration, fascination, yearning, striving, union, separation, and all the diverse stages of romantic experience in a variety of relationship and stages. This course of love is not merely an ideal psychological history but also a pattern which may be legitimately and properly followed.

But romance was not connected only with heroic enterprize, risky conflicts and dangerous complications of suffering intoxication and even death. It was also visualized in the context of playfulness, wit and humour. The NŚ closely associates śṛṅgāra and hāsya.157 This association could function at various levels of sophistication. The various lāsyaṅgas and vīthyaṅgas illustrate the diverse types of situations which could develop. The aṅgas like trimūḍhaka and Dvimūḍ-haka, for example, not only show amusing but ironical situations.

Heroism emphasized nobility, bravery and duty. Romance emphasized enjoyment, amusement, wit and humour. These were accepted by the NŚ without reservation as constituting the prime patterns of social behaviour which it could represent and idealize. Undiluted pity, fear and laughter as occur in pure tragedies or comedies were, however, regarded as essentially of minor significance for the cultured and mature populace.158 This represents a strikingly distinctive value attitude differentiating it from Greek theatre and social outlook.

Abhinava clearly distinguishes popular entertainment (rañjaka rasa) from aesthetic enjoyment. It is true, of course, that in the absence of the survival of definitely pre-Bharatan drama, it is difficult to judge how far Abhinava’s opinion reflects earlier opinion. Nevertheless, the fact that Bharata makes the Nāṭaka and the Prakaraṇa central and lets Aṅka and Prahasana remain only one-act plays does suggest that the latter group was regarded by him as essentially marginal. The later history of drama in any case bears out that the opinion of Abhinavagupta did reflect the critical outlook which came to prevail.

Apart from the government, the family and the diverse professions specializing in arts and crafts and basic economic activities like farming, animal husbandry and trade, education was, as befits a cultured society, a highly organized and valued institution. It rested not on

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions and Values 103

the impersonal provision of discretionary facilities by the state or private patrons but on the personal context of the teacher and the taught regulated by age-old norms. This system obtained not only for Vedic study and other literature but also for the diverse practical arts and crafts.159 The teacher was to be addressed in a respectful manner even by the king. For the teacher of drama six qualities have been mentioned viz. knowledge of singing, dancing and instrumental music, the knowledge of rhythm and steps, and the ability to train the student.

If the teacher was expected to have six qualities, the student was required to have the following nine qualities viz. ūhāpoha, mati, smṛti, medhā, rāga, saṅgharṣa and utsāha.160 Ūha meant the ability to think out what had not been explicitly said, while apoha meant the ability to work out the implications of what had been said.161 Mati is talent , smṛti memory, madhā retention, rāga or guṇa-ślāghā-rāga the love of excellence and celebrity from which arises competitive keenness, and utsāha enthusiasm and energy. Of the branches of literary study we hear of the Vedas, grammar and phonetics, prosody and poetry. The study of Ānvikṣikī may be presumed from the reference to the Pramāṇas.162a Adhyātmavidyā is implicitly referred to.162b These were, it may be recalled, the two ancient divisions of philosophical study.163 Gāndharvaveda is referred to in the musical chapters. The chapters on arms-training apparently imply the Dhanurveda. Practical arts are called śilpa and kalā while theoretical disciplines are calld vidyā and jñāna. Arthaśāstra and Nītiśāstra are directly mentioned while Dharmaśāstra and Kāmaśāstra are implied.

Briefly, then, society or loka is conceived as a moral order at once human and cosmic in which nature or svabhāva is regulated by revealed and immemorial ideal norms. Men are ranked as high, middling and low on the basis of character, caste, social position and profession. The superior person is held to set a standard for the rest. A secular and humanistic qutlook pervades social life although a picturesque religion of diverse gods, rituals and superstitions serves as a background. Asceticism and devotionalism play only an extremely limited part. Activity motivated by duty, gain and romantic desire is held to be the stuff of social life. While tradition is respected, innovation is valued. Adventure is at a premium. Kings, priests, ministers and traders are the most prominent classes. There is a vast and complex palace life. Slaves are known, but slavery is a minor feature. Nor is there any evidence of feudal hierarchy. Trade and urban life are prominent. Numerous skilled professions can be seen flourishing.

It can also be seen from the emergence of a new style of music and

104 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

the new emphasis now placed in some forms of drama that a percep-

tible change is gradually coming over society, which would be perfect-

ed in the classical Gupta age.

Footnotes

1 G.M. Trevelyan, Illustrated English Social History, Pelican, 1960,

Vol. I, p. 12.

2 Ibid., p. 13.

3 NŚ, chap. I. In NŚ IV. 10 the substance of nāṭya is thus summa-

rized—

Rasā bhāvā hyabhinayā dharmī vṛttipravṛttayāh/

Siddhiḥ svarāstathātdodyaṁ gānam raṅgas 'ca saṅgrahaḥ//

The element of representation is part of abhinaya and lokadharmī.

But rasa is described as the sine qua non of the entire dramatic

enterprise—Na hi rasādṛte kaścid arthah pravartate.—NŚ Vol. I,

p. 272.

4 NŚ, 13. 70-86.

5 Ibid., 13. 71-72. Abhinava explains—Yadā kavir yathā-vṛttavastu-

mātraṁ varṇayati nāṭaśca prayuṅkte na tu swabuddhikṛtam rañjanā-

vaicitryaṁ tadā tāvān sa kāvyabhāgāśca prayogabhāgaśca lokadharmā-

śrayah tatra dharmī. (AB, II, p. 215). Lokadharmī follows the

facts as given and does not introduce innovative and entertaining

variations. Drama and poetry may indeed follow either social

reality or imagination—Kāvyanāṭyayoḥhi lokānusāritvaṁ vā vaicitrya-

yayogitvaṁ vā dharmah. (Ibid., l.c.).

6 ‘Vārtā’ usually has two meanings viz, livelihood and news or social

currency. Cf. Amarakośa, 1. 6 .7; 2. 9. 1; 3. 3. 75. (vārtā vṛttau

janaśrutau). Here as Abhinava says—lokavārtā lokaprasiddhiḥ.

—AB, II, p. 214).

7 In the language of Yoga, karman, vipāka and āśaya are specific.

8 This is the implication of the doctrine of svadharma. Cf. the

remarks of fisherman in Śākuntala, in the Viṣkambhaka between

the 5th and 6th Acts.

9 Cf. Manusmṛti, 2.2-5; Kullūka on Ibid., 2.5—Nātṛeccā niṣidhyate

kintu śastrokta-karmasu samyag vṛttir vidhīyate.

10 According to the BG social relations are based on nature and func-

tions—Cāturvarṇyaṁ mayā sṛṣṭaṁ guṇakarmavibhāgaśah.

11 The Purāṇas recognise the distinctive feature of India to be Cātur-

varṇya. Cf. Vāyu 45. 82-86; Matsya, 114. 5-7; Mārkaṇḍeya, 56.

1-2. That is why Bhārata is said to be karmabhūmi—NŚ, 18. 100.

12 The timelessness is with respect to ordinary empirical history. The

cosmic history of the yugas does transform human nature and

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions and Values 105

dharma.—NŚ, 1.8.

13 Cf. F.W. Maitland (tr.), Gierke’s Political Theories of the Middle Age, pp. 7-8.

14 Cf. AB, Vol. III, p. 213 — Yadyapi laukikadharmavyatirekeṇa nāṭye na kaścid dharmosti tathāpi sa yatra lokagataprakriyākramo rañjanā-dhikyaprādhānyam adhirohayitum kavinoṭavyāpāre vaicitryam svī-kurvan nāṭyadharmītyucyate. Although there is nothing in drama which lies outside social reality, nevertheless imaginative variations introduced for the purpose of entertainment constitute nāṭyadharmī.

15 Ativākyakriyopetamaitisattvātibhāvāvakam/līlāngahārābhinayam nāṭyalakṣaṇa-lakṣitam// Svarālankārasamyuktamasvastha-puruṣāśrayam/ yadidṛśam bhaven nāṭyadharmī tu sā smṛtā//

—NŚ, 13. 73-74.

Abhinava explains ativākyakriyā to mean an incident invented by the dramatist. Atisattvātibhāvakam is explained to refer to extraordinary modes of action and speech.

Śailayānavimānāni carmavarmāyudhadhvajāḥ/ Mūrtimantaḥ prayujyante nāṭyadharmī tu sā smṛtā//

—Ibid., 13. 77.

16 NŚ, 21. 203 : Svabhāvo lokadharmī tu vibhāvo nāṭyam eva hi.

17 The vibhāvas are regarded as alaukika.

18 Brāhmaṇical works on law used only the criteria of varṇa and jāti, but Buddhist works refer to varṇa, jāti and śilpa; see G.C. Pande, Foundations of Indian Culture, Vol. II. The introduction of prakṛti as a major criterion is peculiar to the NŚ but corresponds to the use of ‘high’ and ‘low’ in common usage with reference to quality of character.

19 The Pañcatantra gives expression to the social recognition of wealth—The superiority of the Kṣatriyas was upheld by the Buddhists and even the BG exalts the king over other men.

20 NŚ, 24. 1.

21 Jitendriya-jñānavatī mānāśilpavicakṣaṇā/ Dakṣiṇādhamahālakṣyā bhītānam pariśāntvanī// Nānāśāstrārthasampannā gāmbhīryaudarayaśālinī/ Sthairvatyāgaguṇopetā jñeyā prakṛtiruttamā//

—Ibid., 24. 2-3.

22 Lokopacāra-caturā śilpaśāstra-viśāradā/ Vijñānā-mādhuryayutā madhyamā prakṛtiḥ smṛtā//

—Ibid., 24. 4.

23 Rūkṣavāco’tha duḥśīlāḥ kusattvāḥ sthūla-buddhayaḥ/ Krodhanā ghātakaścaiva mitraghāścidra-mānināḥ//

piśunāstūddhatair vākyair akṛtajñāstathālasāḥ/

mānyāmānyā-viśeṣajñāḥ strīlolāḥ kalahapriyāḥ//

Sūcakāḥ pāpakarmāṇaḥ paradāravyapahāriṇaḥ/

ebhir doṣaistu sampannā bhavanti hādhamā narāḥ//

—Ibid., 24. 5-7.

24 NŚ, 24. 15 : vidhānam śilasamāśrayam. Ibid., 24. 8 : Evam tu śilato

nṛṇām prakṛtistridhā smṛtā.

25 Mṛdubhāvā cācapalā smitbāśiṇiṣṭhurā/

gurūṇām vacane dakṣā salajjā vinayānvitā//

Rūpābhijana-mādhuryair guṇaiḥ svābhāvikair yutā/

gāmbhiryadhairya-sampannā vijñeyā pramadottamā//

—Ibid., 24. 9-10.

26 Nāṭyukṛṣṭair anikhilair ebīḥ evāntitā guṇaiḥ/

alpadoṣānuviddhā ca madhyamā prakṛtiḥ smṛtā//

Adhamā prakṛtir vā tu puruṣāṇām prakṛtitā/

Vijñeyā saiva nāriṇām adhamānām samāsatāḥ//

—Ibid., 24. 11-12.

27 Ibid., 24. 17.

28 Ibid., 24. 18-19.

29 This is the interpretation which Abhinava puts on these statements

of Bharata. See AB, Vol. II, p. 414.

30 NŚ, 18. 48—Vipravanikṣacivānām purohitāmātyasārthavāhānām/

Devānāmasurāṇām rājñām atha kuṭumbināṃ/

Brahmarsīnāṃ ca vijñeyam nāṭyam vṛttāntadarśakam//

—Ibid., 1. 118.

32 References to them are scattered. Eg. NŚ, 24. 13-14; Ibid., 12.

127ff.

33 NŚ, 19. 82; Ibid., 1. 86.

34 R.C. Hazra has traced the Vidūṣaka to the Vedic age. See his

'The Professional Jester in the Vedic Age', IHQ, 1962.

35 Cf. Pargiter, Dynasties of the Kali Age.

36 Cf. Shastri, The Age of the Nandas and Mauryas; R.K. Mookerji,

Chandragupta Maurya and His Times.

37 Manusmṛti, Chap. X on Varṇasaṅkaras and Vrātyas.

38 Cf. NŚ, 12. 150; Śakāra appears to be derived from Śaka, Aṣṭādhy-

yāyi, 4. 1. 130. It has been used in its derivation in the Kāśikā;

cf. AB, Vol. II, pp. 161-62 : Śakārabahulā yasya bhāṣā sa Śakāraḥ.

Śakāropalakṣita-Śakādijanapadavāsītyanye. Hīnasya uttamapade'-

bhiropitah Śakāra ityanye.

39 Cf. Fick, Social Organisation in North-Eastern India in the Time of

Buddha, p. 252; G.C. Pande, op. cit., Vol. II, p. 213.

40 E.g. Vinaya quoted by G.C. Pande, op. cit., Vol. II, p. 242. D.C.

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions and Values 107

Sircar, Select Inscriptions, Vol. I.

41 Cf. Arthasāstra, 1. 3. 7. Vaiśyasyādhyayanam yajanam dānam kṛṣi-pāśupālye vanijyā ca; Manusmrti, 1. 90; 10, 79. It may be noted that Manu has added money-lending.

42 Cf. NS, 12. 110-11; Kāmasūtra, 1.4.32 : bhuktavibhavastu........... gunavān viṭaḥ. Cf. ibid., 1.5 for viṭa and vidūṣaka as nāgarakas.

43 NS, 2. 49-50, 52.

44 Ibid., 2. 46-55; 21. 113.

45 Ibid., 37. 38-40.

46 Manusmrti, Chap. X.

47 NS, 21. 108-09.

48 Ibid., 21. 110.

49 Ibid., 1. 118.

50 Ibid., 19. 148.

51 Ibid., 24. 74.

52 AB, III, p. 259 : yuvarājo'tra rājaśabdenoktaḥ.

53 NS, 24. 76-79. The rājā is described as arthasāstravit, nītiśāstrār-thakuśalaḥ and dharmajñaḥ.

54 AB, Vol. III, p. 260 : anurāgavān iti prajāsu prajāswayatnānuraktaḥ anurāgo hi sārvagunyam iti Kauṭalyah.

55 Kulinā buddhisamppannā nānāśāstravipāścitāḥ/Snigdhāḥ parairahāryāśca na pramattaśca deśajāḥ//Alubdhāśca vinitāśca śucayo dhārmikāstathā/

— NS, 24. 80-81.

It may be noted that the primary emphasis here is on high birth, loyalty, integrity and the knowledge of the śāstras.

56 Pararandhra-vidhijñāśca yatrakālaviseṣavit/Arthaśāstrārthakuśalo hyanuraktaḥ kulodbhavaḥ//

— Ibid., 24. 82-83.

57 Madhyasthā dhārmikā dhirāḥ kāryākaryavivekināḥ/Snigdhāḥ śāntā vinitāśca madhyasthā nipunāstathā//Nayajñā vinayajñāśca ūhāpohavicakṣaṇāḥ//

— Ibid., 24. 84-87.

Abhinava says, Prāḍvivāka it pracchati vivādapade nirṇayamiti...... prajānām mātsyanyāyaśca vivādanirṇayena rakṣate. Tatra ca prad-vivāka eva pradhānam. Tathā ca prāḍvivāko rājasthāniya iti loke prasiddham.

— AB, III, pp. 261-62.

Prāḍvivāka questions and gives decisions in legal disputes. It is the duty of the king to protect the people from anarchy (mātsya-nyāya). In the performance of this duty, the Prāḍvivāka plays a pre-eminent part. Hence he is popularly known as the king's

108 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

deputy. Abhinava also explains Naya as Arthasāstra and Vinaya as Dharmaśāstra. l.c.

58 NŚ, 24. 88-89.

59 AB, III, p. 262,

60 NŚ, 21. 148. Cf. Arthasāstra, 2. 4. 5.

61 NŚ, 21. 149.

62 NŚ, 27. 64-67; Ibid., 24. 64 refers to āyuktikā which suggests the existence of āyuktakas. Āyukta is used for an officer in the Arthasāstra—1.15. 10; 13. 2.6-20.

63 NŚ, 27. 64-65.

64 Ibid., 17. 53-57.

65 Ibid., 21. 214 mentions ayas (iron) and tamrapatṭa (copper plates), abhraka (mica) and vāṅga (tin or lead).

66 Ibid., 23. 9-10.

67 Ibid., 24. 30ff.

68 Yaśodhara in his commentary on the Kāmasūtras (1.3.15) lists the 64 kalās. These include singing, dancing, instrumental music, knowledge of scripts, eloquence, painting, modelling, leaf-cutting, garland-making, tasting, examination of gems, serving, stage-craft, instrumentation (upakaraṇa-kriyā), weights and measures, science of livelihood, veterinary sciences (tiryagyonikitsitam), hypocritical or deceitful knowledge of heterodox sects, skill in games, vaikṣanya, massage, bodily decoration, viśeṣakauśala and twenty arts connected with erotic enterprise. The list in the Kāmasūtras (l.c.) is similar in many respects. It adds perfumes, jugglery, sleight of hand, preparation of strange dishes, mixing of drinks, riddles, reading of books, theatrical and literary arts, textiles, carpentry, architecture, examination of coins, metallurgy, knowledge of precious stones, science of the health of trees, fighting of rams, cocks, etc., training birds to sing, knowledge of dialects, of omens, mechanics (yantramātṛkā), metrics and athletics. These lists include industrial and fine arts along with minor decorative arts, games and erotic arts. The last ones include the arts of the professional hetairæ catering for their royal and bourgeois patrons.

69 NŚ, 23. 53-58.

70 Ibid., 24. 58-59.

71 Ibid., 24. 59-60.

72 Ibid., 24. 62ff.

73 Cf. S.P. Tiwari, Royal Attendants in Ancient Indian Literature, Epigraphy and Art, pp. 30ff., 77ff.

74 Mahādevī tathā devyaḥ svāminyaḥ sthāpitā apil/ Bhoginyaḥ śilpakāriṇyo nāṭakīyāḥ sanartakāḥ,

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions and Values 109

Anucārikāśca vijñeyāstathā ca paricārikāḥ/

Tathā sañcārikāścaiva tathā preṣaṇakārikāḥ//

Mahattaryah pratihāryaḥ kumāryaḥ sthavirāpi/

Āuyktikāśca mpaterayam antahpuro janaḥ//

—NŚ, 24. 30-32.

Abhinava adds—Mahādeviprabhrtyāvuktikāntah saptadaśakah strī-

ganaḥ napuṃsaka-vargo'ṣṭādaśa. (AB, III, p. 252).

75 NŚ, 17. 66ff.

76 Ibid., 17. 70—yasmāt pūjyā dvijāḥ smṛtāḥ.

77 Deveti ṇrpatirvācyo bhṛtyaiḥ pratibhiḥ tathā/

Bhaṭṭeti sārvabhaumas tu nityam parijana tu//

—Ibid., 17. 80.

78 Ibid., 17. 91.

79 Ibid., 17. 28-30.

80 Jātibhāṣāśrayam pāthyam dvividham samudāhṛtam//

Prākṛtam Saṃskṛtam caiva cāturvarṇyasamāśrayam/

—Ibid., 17. 31-32.

81 Dāridryādhyavanābhāvādayaccādhībhireva ca/

Aiśaryeṇa pramattānām dāridryeṇa plutātmanām//

Anadhītottaamānām ca Saṃskṛtam na prayojayet/

-- Ibid., 17. 34-35.

82 Ibid., 17. 39. Śilpakāryāstathaiva ca.

83 Ibid., 17. 49-50.

84 Ibid., 21. 113.

85 Ibid., 21. 115-20.

86 Ibid., 21. 125-27.

87 Ibid., 21. 129. Śuddhāraktavicitāni vāsāṃsyūrdhvāmbarāṇi ca.

88 Ibid., 21. 134 : kāṣāyakañcukapaṭāḥ kāryāstepi yathāvidhi.

89 Veṣaḥ sāṅgramikāścāiva śūraṇām samprakartitah/

Vicitra-sastra-kavaco baddhatūṇo dhanurdharaḥ//

—Ibid., 21. 135.

90 Ibid., 18. 65ff.

91 Muditajanapadākulā sphītāsasyākarā bhūtadhātṛ bhavantam samabh-

yarcat dviraḍa-karavilupta-hiṅtāla-tālīvanāstvām namasyanti vindh-

yādayaḥ parvatāḥ/Sphuṭtitakalaśa-śukti-nirgīrṇa-muktā phalairūrmiha-

stairnamasyanti vah śagarāḥ mudita-jalacarākulāḥ samprakīrṇāma-

lāḥ kīrtayantiva kīrtim mahānimgāḥ//

—Ibid., 15. 154.

92 Ibid., 22. 203.

93 B.G., 3. 21.

94 NŚ, 12. 27.

95 Ibid., 12. 28.

96 Ibid., 13. 55. Cf. Arthaśāstra 1.15 which speaks of the mantripari-

110 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

ṣad and of the importance of deśakālavibhāga. Arthayukti is also spoken of (Ibid., 7. 18. 35; 8. 1. 59).

97 D.C. Sircar, op. cit.

98 Dīptarasakāvyayonirnānābhavopasampannah// yuddhāniyuddhādharṣāṇa-sampheṭa-kṛtaśca kartavyah//

— NŚ. 18. 85-86

So in Vyāyoga, but without divine heroes—Ibid., 18. 92-93. Īthamṛga has divyāstrikāraṇopagatayuddhaḥ (Ibid., 18. 78). Samavakāra has three vidravas and three kapaṭas (Ibid., 18. 63). The first celestial drama was a representation of the victory of the gods over the asuras and it was sampheṭavidravakṛtacchedyabhedyāhavātmikā (Ibid., 1. 58).

99 Thus kapaṭa was an integral part of samavakāra but in the Nāṭaka, the hero was to be udātta (noble or sublime) (NŚ, 18. 10) and of a family of saintly kings (rājarṣivamśa). Cf. A B. Vol. II, p. 412.

100 NŚ, 24. 62. Bhāṇḍāgāreṣvadhikṛtaśca yudhādhikṛtastathā.

101 Ibid., 12. 89-90, 107-108; Ibid., 21. 206.

102 Ibid., 21. 165-70; Ibid., 9. 58-60; Ibid., 15. 123-24.

103a Amarakośa 2.8.93 has sarvalā tomaró striyām. Monier Williams regards tomara as a kind of lance or javelin.

103b Cf. G.N. Pant, Indian Archery.

104 Vividhaturaganagāgaratha-yodhasaṅkulamalami balam samuditam sara-ṣaṭaśaktikuntaparighāsiyāṣṭivitatam bahupraha­raṇam/ripuśatamuktasastrāravabhītasankitabhaṭam bhayākuladṛśam kṛtamabhivikṣya samyugamukhe samarpitagunam tvayāśvalalitām//

— NŚ, 15. 139.

105 Ibid., 10. 5.

106 Ibid., 10. 51.

107 Ibid., 10. 97ff.

108 Ibid., Chap. 11.

109 Ibid., 20. 14, 18-19.

110 Ibid., 21. 9.

111a NŚ, 22. 154 seems to refer to the Narasiṃha incarnation of Viṣṇu, although it does not use the word avatāra.

111b Thus the rāṅgapūjana in Chap. III is traditionally ritualistic, but the worship in the Pūrvaraṅga is through. music, dance and flowers.

112 NŚ, 12. 84-86. Here the superior (uttama) ascetics are distinguished from the others who are vibhrānta such as Pāśupatas. The two words used generally are liṅgin and pāṣaṇḍin. Ibid., 2. 37, 38 : Utsāryāṇi vaniṣṭhāni pāṣaṇdyāśramiṇastathā// Kāṣāyavasanāścaiva vikalāścaiva ye narāḥ/

It may be recalled that Asoka uses pāṣaṇḍa as a word for ‘sect’

Aspects of Social Life : Structure, Institutions and Values 111

of which the Greek translation was ‘diatribe’ (Romila Thapar,

Aśoka and the Decline of the Mauryas).

113 NŚ, 1. 54. Ayam dhvajamahah śrīmān mahendrasyā pravartate//

Ibid., 1. 56 ‘mahendra vijayotsave’.

114 Ibid., Chap. 20.

115 Ibid., Chap. 4.

116 Ibid., 4. 17-18.

117 Ibid., 4. 250.

118 Ibid., 4. 252-59.

119 Cf. Ya kācid devatutyucate tasvāḥ paścān nṛttenā paritoṣaṇam kāryam. Tan madhye ca tādṛśayudhavāhanakarmabhāvād anukārī angaprayogo vidheyaḥ. (AB, I, p. 168). Dhvajabhūtaḥ prayoktavyaḥ piṇḍībandhāḥ sucihniṁtāḥ/ (NŚ, 4. 259).

120 Ibid., 1. 59-61.

121 Ibid., 1. 61. Śravyatvam prekṣanīyasya dadaśu devī Sarasvatī.

122 Ibid., 1. 83-98.

123 E.g., Śilparatnam, Vol. I, pp. 26-31.

124 Nāyakam rakṣatindras tu nāyikām ca Sarasvatī/

Viḍūṣakamathāumkāraḥ śeṣāstu prakṛtiraharaḥ//

—NŚ, 1. 97.

125 Ibid., 3. 4-9.

126 Ibid., 4. 19-20.

127 AB, I, p. 75. Navapadmamaṇdalam ityuktam bhavati.

128 NŚ, 4. 35-45.

129 Ibid., 4. 47.

130 Ibid., 4. 48.

131 Ibid., 4. 49.

132 Ibid., 4. 56-57, 59.

133 Ibid., 4. 72.

134 Ibid., 4. 83-85.

135 This follows from the nāṭya being the representation of the world

and at the same time of karma and the states of being (karmabhā-vān vayāpekṣi nāṭyavedo mayā kṛtaḥ—NŚ, 1. 106).

136 Cf. NŚ, 19. 7.

137 Aristotle, Poetics; Bradley, Shakespearean Tragedy.

138 Aristophanes illustrates this.

139 It is for their ridiculing of society in general and the sages in

particular that the Bharatas were condemned to be Śūdras. NŚ,

37. 32-40.

140 AB, Vol. I, pp. 333, 341; Ibid., II, p. 451.

141 NŚ, Vol. I, p. 324. Atha virṇāmottamāprakṛtir utsāhātmakaḥ.

142 Ibid., l.c. Sa cā sammohādhyavasāya-nayavinayabalaparākramaśakti-

112 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

pratāpaprabhāvādibhir vibhāvairutpadyaṭe. Also Cf. Ibid., 7. 21.

143 AB, Vol. I, p. 324. Tatra sarvo jana utsāhavān eva. Kintvaviṣaya ityanupadeśya-caritatā...... ucitatvam avasarasyā asammohādi-sampattiritī saiva vibhāvavtenopadiṣṭa.

144 Cf. Sāhityadarpana, 3. 234, which speaks of four types of vīra, viz. Dānavīra, Dharmavīra, Yuddhāvīra and Dayāvīra.

145 Iha kāmasamutpattir nānābhāvasamudbhavā// Strīṇām va puruṣāṇām vā uttamādhammādhyamā// —NŚ, 22. 157.

146 Prāyeṇa sarvabhāvānām kāmānniṣpattiriṣyate// Sa cecchāgunasampanno bahudhā parikalpitah// Dharmakāmo'rtha-kāmaśca mokṣakāmastathaiva ca// Stripumsaṃsayostu yogo yaḥ sa tu kāma iti smrtaḥ// —Ibid., 22. 95-96.

147 Ibid., 22. 97.

148 Ibid., 22. 98.

149 AB, Vol. II, p. 187.

150 NŚ, Vol. I, p. 301.

151 AB, Vol. I, p. 302. Tatrottamayuvaśabdena tatsamviducyate na tu kāyaḥ.

152 Ibid., l.c.

153 Ibid., 22. 158ff. However, Bhaṭṭatauta declared Kāmāvasthā na śṛṅgāraḥ. Kvacid āsām tadangatā. —AB, Vol. III, p. 199.

154 Ibid., 22. 100ff.

155 Priyadaivatā-mitrāsi priyasambandhibāndhavā// priyadānarata pathyā dayite tvam priyāsi me// —NŚ, 15. 163.

156 NŚ, 22. 6-11; Ibid., 22. 26-29; śobhaḥ, kānti, dipti and mādhurya are distinguished.

157 Ibid., 6. 39. Śṛṅgārāddhi bhaved hāsyaḥ.

158 AB, Vol. II, p. 451 : utsṛṣṭikāṅka-prahasana-bhānāstu karuṇa-hāsya-vismaya-pradhānatvād rañjaka-rasa-pradhānāḥ tata evatra strī-bāla-mūrkhādir adhikārī.

159 The guilds promoted an apprentice system which is not directly referred to in the NŚ.

160 NŚ, 26. 35-37.

161 Cf. Amarakośa, 1.5.70 : 'adhyāharastarka āhaḥ......'

162a NŚ, 25. 120 : 'Loko vedastathādhyātmam pramāṇam trividham smrtam.'

162b See supra, fn. 95.

163 Cf. Vātsyāyana's Nyāyabhāṣya : 'Imās tu catāro vidyāḥ yāsām caturthīyām nyāyavidyā. Tasyāḥ prthakprastānāḥ samśayādayah padārthāḥ. Teṣām prthag vacanamantareṇādhyātmamvidyāmatram iyam syāt yathopanīṣadah.' (ad. Nyāyasūtras 1.1.1.).

Chapter 6

Dance and the Language of Gestures

Concept of Dance

Classical Indian dance has two distinct facets – nrtta and nrtya.

Nrtta is a pure dance in accordance with rhythm and tempo. The

technique of nrtta consists of a series of movements culminating in

some characterstic pose or stance or a total impression of a fludity

ending in a cadence of momentary motionlessness. The position of

the body is fixed with reference to a number of horizontal and vertical

axes and the movement of each part of the body is described with

reference to these axes. Unlike western classical ballet, which is pri-

marily occupied with the problem of covering space-continuous mo-

vement in an endless expanse, Indian dance is confined to a limited

location in which movements do not depart from the governing axes.

Indians are not so occupied with th: problem of space as that of time.

The concept of the still point in time—the ultimate in spiritual praxis

—is reflected in all the other arts too, which imparts to them an inner

or meditative quality. In western music, the concept of harmony is,

again, basically that of covering space. In Indian music we have the

limited spatial movement, a sequence of notes revolving round the

tonic. Similarly, in dance the emphasis is on the pose, the stance.

The dancer is constantly preoccupied with capturing the perfect pose

which will convey a sense of timelessness. This perfect pose has an

almost sculpturque quality. The technique of nrtta, we thus find, is

integrally connected with sculpture.

Nrtya is dance with mime. It can also be called abhinaya which is

the term popularly used by practising dancers for the mime aspect

of dance—Rṣaya ūcuḥ—yadā prāptyarthamarthānāṁ tājjñairabhinayaḥ

kṛtah (NŚ, B.H.U. ed., 4.266). It involved gesticulations, facial exp-

ressions and acting. The purpose was the enactment of rasa by some

narrative theme or lyrical literary composition.

In chapter four is raised the question. “What is the purpose of

nrtta ? What is its nature ?”—Kasmānnṛttaṁ kṛtaṁ hyetatkam svabhā-

vamapekṣate ? (NŚ, 4.266). Dance as an independent performing art

is understandable. What is questioned here is its role in drama.

Bharata answers thus—Firstly, to generate splendour and beauty

—kim tu śobhāṁ prajanayedit nṛttaṁ pravartitam (ibid., 4.268). Nrtta

114 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

is dear to the people and also regarded as auspicious--prāyeṇa sarva lokasya nṛttamiṣṭam svabhāvataḥ/ maṅgalyamiti kṛtvā ca nṛttametat-prakīrtitam // (ibid., 4.269). Dance is often used in all festive and cultural occasions, hence used here too—vivāhaprasavāvāha-pramodā-bhyudayādiṣu / Vinodakāraṇam ceti nṛttametatpravartitam //—(ibid., 4.270). It releases one of the tensions and worries that afflict the mind—“ataścaiva pratikṣepādbhūtasamghaiḥ pravartitāḥ / Ye gītakādau yujyante samyagnṛttavibhāgakāḥ // (ibid., 4.271). Hence dance is an integral part of drama. In fact, Abhinava says that nṛtta is the very essence of the prastāvanā—nāṭyasya prastāvanāprāṇasya pratibimba-kalpam nṛttam (AB on NS, 4.268).

Tandava, Lasya and Pindibandha

Three types of dance forms have been described in the NS viz. Tāṇḍava, Lāsya and Pindībandha.

Tāṇḍava is the dance taught to Bharata muni by Taṇḍu at the orders of Lord Śiva.1 It was to be performed during the pūrvaraṅga, i.e. the preliminaries of the play. Such a pūrvaraṅga was to be called citra as contrasted with the śuddha pūrvaraṅga, which was to be performed without any dance.2

Abhinavagupta describes tāṇḍava as uddhata and the sukumāra pūrvaraṅga, as one with anuddhaṭa aṅgahāras.3 But he does not over-emphasize this fact, nor does he term the two forms of tāṇḍava and lāsya as masculine or feminine like the later texts of medieval times.

The NS uses the word tāṇḍava as a generic term. From its description it is clear that tāṇḍava did not connote a form of dance that was just vigorous or performed exclusively by men. In fact, Bharata’s description of the tāṇḍava as performed during the pūrvaraṅga definitely has women dancing in it.4 Tāṇḍava was performed during the pūrvaraṅga, to be staged alongwith the devasṭuti that was sung5 and was based on the vardhamānaka6—a complicated beat-structure of gāndharva music. Quoting an authority Abhinava states that recita aṅgahāras were greatly used in tāṇḍava.7

Lāsya was the sukumāra or gentle form of dance dominated by śṛṅgāra rasa. It was comprised of lalita karaṇas and aṅgahāras which were graceful and beautiful such as talapuṣpapuṭa etc. In chapter 31, Bharata describes the lakṣaṇas i.e. characteristics and prayoga or use of lāsya (NS, G.O.S. ed., 31.330). Ten elements of lāsya are described.

Geyapada8—After the curtain has been drawn, the drums are played and tuned, so also the vīṇā. The geyapada comprises mainly a song in the form of a dialogue between a male and a female. The song is actually a form of maṅgala and comprises primarily pārameś-

Sthitapāṭhya9—Abhinava says that this corresponds to the Nandi, and in this singing is to be combined with acting and dance.

Āsinapāṭhya10—In this a verse of four padas or a catuspada was to be sung.

Puṣpagandikā11—Abhinava says that puṣpagandikā is so called because it is like the threading of a garland.

A line is sung and is illustrated by dancing and enacting which are thus threaded into it.

The song has 4 padas.

Puṣpagandikā is, however, concluded with vigourous cārī and angahāra.

Pracchedaka12—This has three aṅgas.

The first is called prakridita.

In this, a song is sung in which a woman, seeing the image of the beloved in moonlight, wine, water or mirror, expresses her joy and dances.

Abhinava says that praccheda really means pratibimba or image.

The idea is that the lover is standing beside the beloved, seeking to know her mind.

The nāyikā sees the reflection and describes the effects of love.

Its first part is prasāda or the abandoning of pride, māna-bhaṅga.

The second aṅga is toṭaka.

Abhinava says it has a deep import.

The third aṅga is nārācaka.

This is based on kaiśikī jāti.

Trimūḍha13—Abhinava quotes his teacher to explain the name.

Here, three feelings are conjoined—īrṣyā or jealousy, praṇaya-bhaṅga or disregard of love, and lajjā or bashfulness.

It consists of soft words and gāndhārī jāti.

Elaborate aṅgahāras are not to be used.

Saindhavaka14—This is in the Saindhavī language.

Abhinava explains that it is devoid of all softness.

It is popularly known as spectacles (prekṣanīya) designated ḍombikā, bījaka prasthāna etc.

(It seems that this was a sort of an uparūpaka enacted out in the local Sindhi dialect).

Abhinava says that here there is not the slightest pāṭhya or recitation (this perhaps must be only song and dance).

Dvimūḍha15—Abhinava says that the hero and heroine both are confused here.

It is similar to trimūḍha except that it is more brief.

Uttamottamaka16—In the beginning there is a narkuta verse, then a dvipada (a dhruvā song with two padas) which has a tāla of 24 kalās.

Uktapratyukta17—Here there is much dialogue expressing anger and conciliation.

Classical Indian dance has hitherto generally been discussed under the two aspects of tāṇḍava18 and lāsya.19

However, there is a distinct third form viz. piṇḍibandha mentioned in the Nāṭyaśāstra of sage Bharata.

The origin of the piṇḍibandha dance form has been described thus in the Nāṭyaśāstra :

While Lord Śiva and his consort Pārvatī were dancing, the formation of piṇḍis was observed by the troupes of Śiva viz.

Nandi, Bhadramukha etc. and they created the piṇḍiban-

116 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

dhas with their distinct characteristics.20 Abhinavagupta, the foremost commentator of the Nāṭyaśāstra, explains piṇḍibandha as being created by the simultaneous combination of asukumāra (vigorous) and sukumāra (gentle) i.e., tāṇḍava and lāsya ṇttas (dances) respectively.21

The term piṇḍibandha is explained in the text as piṇḍinām bandha i.e. formation of piṇḍis. The fundamental question, therefore, is, what are these piṇḍis ? Piṇḍis are said to represent well-marked emblems (weapons, vehicles, flags etc.) of the various gods.22 Bharata clearly says that the piṇḍis are named either after the gods themselves or their emblems. He has enumerated the piṇḍis of the different gods.23

Abhinavagupta states that piṇḍibandha is a complex formation using three elements viz. ādhāra, aṅga and prayoga.24 The term ādhāra would mean basis, i.e. the basis of representation itself. This representation of the emblems of the different deities was apparently done within a framework of cosmic symbolism. Thus, it was limited not only to the emblems, but perhaps also accompanied with the representation of cosmic dimensions of space and time. The emblems served to symbolise the deities, and cosmic space and time imparted a befitting context to them.25 The latter are therefore known as ādhāra or basic constituent and are ten in number. These are as follows—the seven worlds, and time with its three divisions of past, present and future. The medium of representation consists of the seven limbs or aṅgas which are enumerated thus—two hands, two feet, two eyes and the head. Prayoga or rendering is the third constituent and is of four types. It could be executed by one or many dances, either uniformly or in a diversity of ways.26

Now, coming to the point of the rendering itself, the question that arises is, how were these piṇḍis to be actually exhibited in dance ? This is answered by Abhinavagupta. Each god had his piṇḍī which was to be formed by making the body take the shape of that karaṇa27 or aṅgahāra,28 that was able, by its name or form to symbolise (by representing the emblem or cosmic symbolism) the deity concerned.29 For example, the piṇḍī of Lord Viṣṇu is Tārkṣya i.e., Garuḍa. Hence this is to be shown by forming the garuḍa plutaka karaṇa. The piṇḍī of Jāhnavī or Gaṅgā is dhārā, so that is to be displayed by the gaṅgā-vatarana karaṇa. The sarpa or snake piṇḍī is indicated by the nāga-sarpita karaṇa. Showing the body like a trident symbolises the piṇḍī of Śiva. Similarly Śikipiṇḍī is said to be indicated by mayūralalita karaṇa. Karaṇas like Viṣṇukrāntā, cakramaṇḍala etc. indicate the piṇḍis of Viṣṇu. The Niśumbhita karaṇa is said to please Śiva and the talapuṣpapuṭa karaṇa is for appeasing Pārvatī.30

Dance and the Language of Gestures 117

Four styles of rendering the pindībandha dance have been described in the Nāṭyaśāstra, viz. Pindī Śṛṅkhalikā, Latābandha and Bhedyaka.31 Bharata says that from the term pindī is derived pindībandha, śṛṅkhalā betokens a gulma or cluster, the latābandha suggests a net or jāla formation and bhedyaka is with dance.32 Kapila Vatsyayana has connected the gulma with the pindī. Since gulma means a cluster, she has taken the first to denote a collective dance where a closed cluster would be made by the dancers.33 But a close perusal of the verse in the NŚ makes it apparent that gulma is connected not with the pindī style, but with śṛṅkhalā. Abhinavagupta’s commentary, too, makes it clear that from pindī is derived pindībandha and gulma or cluster is connected with śṛṅkhalā. He also says that the Pindī, Śṛṅkhalikā, Latābandha and Bhedyaka were executed by one, two, three, and four dances respectively.34 Then, again, it may be argued that during the pūrvaranga or the staging of the preliminaries of a play, the pindī style was danced with the kanisṭha āsārita, and we also know that only one dancer performed this first āsārita.35 How would a cluster formation be possible with one single dancer ?36

According to M.M. Ghosa37 and Kapila Vatsyayana38 the śṛṅkhalā was a chain formation. This can be readily accepted. It makes it easy to understand how the śṛṅkhalā would denote a gulma. Cluster-dancers holding hands (a chain formation) perhaps form a circle, and such concentric circles give the appearance of a closed cluster. Latābandha is the form where the dancers put their arms around each other.39 Bharata says that it had a jāla or net formation. Perhaps the dancers, with arms round each other stood in horizontal rows bisected by vertical rows giving the impression of a net. Bhedyaka is the form where group formation is broken up and dancers perform individual movements.40

Abhinavagupta has described sajātīya or homogeneous and vijātīya or heterogeneous dancing of pindībandha. Of the four modes of rendering (prayoga) the first two, executed by one or many dancers, are clear. The latter two, sama (uniform) and viṣama (multiform) modes, can be connected with the sajātīya and vijātīya pindībandhas. Where the different dancers display generically connected pindīs (for example where they show different pindis of the same deity) that would be sajātīya pindībandha. Where they exhibit heterogeneous forms of pindīs (pindīs relating to different deities) that would be vijātīya pindībandha. This distinction is to be seen in the śṛṅkhalā and latābandha styles.41

In the pūrvaranga of a play the tāṇḍava along with the pindībandha dance forms, was executed.42 After the placement of the orchestra,

118 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

commence the āsāritas43 and the upohana44 is rendered. Stringed instruments like vīṇā and percussion instruments are played. Assuming a proper pose (sthāna), the first dancer enters, performs the recakas (i.e., rotatory movement of waist, hands and feet) and offering flowers to the gods pays obeisance to them. The basic idea is that initially she is to dance the paryastaka. This has been described as one of the aṅgahāras. Percussion instruments are to be played while she performed the paryastaka, and the vīṇā was played in a fast tempo. Thus she danced till the conclusion of the first āsārita. With the commencing of the second āsārita and upohana entered the second dancer. The first dancer now performs the piṇḍibandha, while the second or the newcomer, the paryastaka.45 With the commencing of the third āsārita and upohana, enters the third dancer dancing the paryastaka, while the first two now perform the piṇḍibandha. The same procedure is repeated with the entrance of the fourth dancer during the fourth āsārita, and now three dancers execute the piṇḍibandha. When the fourth dancer too, has executed the paryastaka then all four perform the piṇḍibandha and make their final exit from the stage.46 Thus, four dancers enter with the four āsāritas. They enter one by one, perform the paryastaka, and on the entrance of the other execute the piṇḍibandha, and finally all leave47 the stage together.

Three different versions of the performance of piṇḍibandha performed during the pūrvaraṅga have been taken up viz. that of Nandikeśvara described by Kīrtidhara and cited by Abhinava48 and the version given by Kumbhā as found in the Bharatakosa.49

The description given by Abhinava is simple and clear and has already been discussed. In the tradition of Abhinava, piṇḍibandha was accompanied by only the four āsāritas and the vardhamānaka and is associated with the tāṇḍava.

The Nandikeśvarnata for the pūrvaraṅga and that of Kumbhā is a long and complex one and quite different from the tradition of Abhinava. Piṇḍibandha, here, is performed through three stages as it is accompanied by āsāritas, vardhamānaka and dhruvā in that order. Bharata has said that an āsārita has three vastus50 and four aṅgas or limbs viz. mukha, pratimukha, deha and samhāraṇa. But, apparently to match the piṇḍibandhas and aṅgas, a fourth vastu also gets mentioned here. Vastu denotes a unit of musical composition including both meaningful and meaningless words. These are brought in different stages in the gītakas, āsāritas etc. The dances here illustrated the meaning of the songs. Different piṇḍibandhas correspond to different vastus. Different dancers performed the different vastus. There was generally an alternation of solo and group performances. The performance

comprised dance--nrtta i.e., pindibandha here and other angahāras, and nrtya i.e. abhinaya and music--vocal and instrumental.51 Since the Nandikeśvaramata and the version of Kumbhā are too complicated and obscure, a mere description of the various steps as given in the text does not bring out the whole where progression, repetition and alternation are important elements of the structure. Hence, they have been sought to be represented below by a chart so that the steps may be viewed in clearer perspective and a pattern traced therein.

Āsārita

Illustrative dance (both nrtta and nrtya) with pindibandha formation; alternative solo and group

I. First Āsārita

(i) (a) 1st upohana (b) 1st vastu

upohana--singing and acting puspapindi-pindi form sūcā52 -ābhinaya vartita karana-nrtta vaisākharecita karana and angahāra first vastu abhinaya angahāra pindibandha upohana

group solo 1st dancer group

(ii) (a) 2nd upohana (b) 2nd vastu

upohana 2nd vastu-abhinaya paryastaka53-nrtta : Illustrative dance (both nrtta and with pindibandha formation nrtya) alternative solo and group

Āsārita

śrñkhalā upohana 1st vastu by 1st dancer angahāra by 2nd dancer upohana in pindibandha

group repetition solo repetition group

(iii) (a) 3rd upohana

upohana 3rd vastu latāpindi-group 1st vastu by 1st dancer 2nd vastu by 2nd dancer upohana-pindibandha upohana-śrñkhalā

solo 3rd dancer repetition solo repetition group

120 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyaśāstra

(iv) (a) 4th upohana 4th vastu bhedyaka-group. solo

(b) 4th vastu 1st, 2nd, 3rd vastus by 1st, 2nd, 3rd dancers respectively latā, śṛṅkhalā, piṇḍibandha repetition solo repetition group

In his commentary, Abhinava mentions a number of uparūpakas. These compositions are not dramas in the strict sense of the word, but have more of dance and song. Abhinava terms them as ṇṛttātmaka prabandhas—Ete prabandhāḥ ṇṛttātmakā nāṭyātmakānātakādivi-lakṣaṇāḥ.54 In fact, Abhinava is the first person to mention such compositions, which were later termed uparūpakas. He enumerates a number of them. The last two mentioned are Hallīsaka and Rāsaka, which refer to the piṇḍibandha style of dancing. The Rāsaka has been described by him as containing many nartakīs or dancers—sixty-four pairs are mentioned—and containing both uddhata (vigorous) and an-uddhata (gentle) elements.55 In fact, Bhoja in his Śṛṅgāra-prakāśa says that Rāsaka is a group of dance by the nartakīs executing the patterns of the piṇḍīs. He speaks of sixteen, eighteen or twelve nartakīs in such Rāsakas.56 Similarly, the Nāṭya-rāsaka, also called Carcarī, the last uparūpaka mentioned by Bhoja, also has the piṇḍibandhas constructed with latās, bhedyakas and gulmas.57 This dance, to be performed in spring time is a pure dance of the piṇḍī, bhedyaka and other group movements and patterns. Initially a pair of nartakīs enter, strew flowers, dance and exit. Then two others enter, and thus groups are formed which execute the gulma, śṛṅkhalā etc. There are percussion instruments, accompanied by recital of rhythmic syllables, beating of sticks and songs. Some details of tāla are also given by Bhoja. The whole performance is to conclude with a maṅgala śloka which says that Rāsaka, full of piṇḍī, śṛṅkhalā etc. and danced to the accompaniment of various instruments, was originated by gods when they danced with joy on getting amṛta or nectar after churning the Kṣīrasāgara or milky ocean.

Śāradātanaya takes Rāsaka as being three-fold viz. Daṇḍa-rāsaka, Maṇḍala-rāsaka, and Nāṭya-rāsaka. The Karpūramañjari of Rājaśekhara describes the Daṇḍa-rāsaka as being performed by numerous nartakīs wheeling round and forming wonderful patterns.58 In the Sanskrit-Tamil text called the Śudhananda-prakāśa, the patterns of piṇ-dibandha are said to be formed with hexagonal or octagonal designs—ṣaṭkonai-rasṭakonaiśca piṇḍibandhairmanoharaiḥ. The Hallīsaka has been described as the form where there were several nāyikās and one nāyaka and the women danced in circles.59

Dance and the Language of Gestures 121

We may conclude that pindībandha has two aspects corresponding to the two-fold derivation of the word itself. On the one hand, the word pindībandha meant the constitution of a pindī or divine emblem, and stood for a special ritualistic dance used for worship, especially in the worship of gods in the pūrvaranga. It abounded in cosmic symbolism. On the other hand, pindībandha meant 'the formation of a pinda or 'lumping' of the dancers together in a cluster. In this sense, pindībandha was a group dance, derived from folk origins. This aspect became clearer in the uparūpakas, like the Rāsaka and the Hallīsaka. Thus, one aspect of pindībandha constituted its earlier and original phase60 within the tradition of major drama. The other aspect dominated in the popular or folk dance dramas. It is just possible that the tradition of the uparūpakas represented an ancient folk tradition which received some standardisation only in later times.61

The present day term for the word dance is nrtya. However, this had a different connotation in Bharata's Nāṭyaśāstra. Though an integral part of dance, nrtya would be more properly termed as abhinaya. Pure dance was termed nrtta. Abhinaya is so called because it leads up to the main theme of dance and suggests its idea to the audience.

Nrtta or pure dance in the NS consists of the following elements—

1 Nrttahasta

—These have been described alongwith the samyuta and asamyuta hastas

2 Sthāna

—posture

3 Cārī

—bhaumī and ākāśikī

4 Movements of hands and feet

—karaṇas

5 Sequence of karaṇas

—aṅgahāras

Sthana, Cari and Karanas

Six sthānas or postures to be assumed by men are enumerated in the NS. They are Vaiṣṇava, Samapāda, Vaiśākha, Maṇḍala, Pratyālīḍha and Ālīḍha.62

Vaiṣṇava63—The feet are kept two and a half spans (tāla) away. One foot is in the natural or sama position, the other foot in pakṣa-sthita, is kept in tryasra. i.e. the toes pointing obliquely outwards. The shank is slightly bent and the limbs are kept in sauṣṭhava64 i.e., when the limbs are in complete equilibrium. Its presiding deity is Viṣṇu. This sthāna is used in the śṛṅgāra, vīra, adbhuta and bībhatsa rasas. It is used by men of uttama (superior) prakṛti and madhyama (medium) type in natural conversation while engaged in various activities. It should also be used in the releasing of cakras or in slinging a bow. This posture is also assumed by the Sūtradhāra.65

Samapāda66—Where both the feet are kept in a sama position at

122 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

a distance of one tāla from each other and the limbs are kept in sauṣ- thava, such a sthāna is termed samapāda. Brahmā is it presiding deity.

It should be used where there is staging of accepting the blessings

given by the Brāhamaṇs. Other occasions of its usage are flying birds,

people belonging to various sects like Śaivas etc., those practising

vows, those in aerial vehicles and those in chariots.

Vaiśākha67—The two thighs are kept motionless at a distance of

three and a half tālas from each other.68 The two feet are kept in

tryasra. Its presiding deity is Skandha. It is used in the performance

of Recakas. It is also employed for the gazing of big birds, throwing

of arrows, fighting, riding horses etc.

Mandala69—The two feet are kept 4 tālas apart.70 The feet are

tryasra and the kaṭi and jānu in natural position. Its presiding deity

is Indra. It is employed is the staging of weapons like bow and vajra,

riding on elephants and looking at big birds.

Ālidha71—The same position as the mandala sthāna, but the right

foot is placed 5 tālas apart. Its presiding deity is Rudra and it is used

in heroic (vīra) or furious (raudra) rasas. By Ālidha one should repre-

sent wrangling arising from jealousy, increasing anger, fight of wrest-

lers, enemies, their escape from battle and releasing of weapons.

Pratyālīḍha72—Contrary of ālīḍha; the right foot is in kuñcita

position and the left leg is extended. The weapons aimed at (at the

target) in the ālīḍha sthāna, are actually to be thrown now in assum-

ing the pratyālīḍna sthāna.

In Chapter 12 of the NŚ are enumerated the sthānas for women.

They are Āyata74, Avahittha and Aśvakrānta.73

Āyata74—Where the right foot is in sama or natural position and

the left foot is tryasra at a distance of one tāla. The face is cheerful,

one hand in latā pose, the other on the hip. This sthāna is used for first

entering the stage, offering flowers, anger arising out of desire or jea-

lousy, in cracking fingers, in negation, in assuming anger due to jealous

love, profundity. invocation, dismissal, for observing the sky etc.

Avahittha75—This is the same as āyata but with the feet reversed—

i.e. the left foot sama, right tryasra. The arms are again on the hip

and in the latā pose. This sthāna should be used in deliberation, satis-

faction, natural conversation, in looking at one’s own śṛṅgāra, to-

wards the path of a lover etc.

Aśvakrānta76—One foot is kept in the sama position—the other in

sūci pose. The agratalasañcara is also mentioned. This sthāna should

be used in stumbling, holding up clothes which slip down, receiving

bunches of flowers, taking hold of a two branch, and in lalita.

Cārī is the movement of lower limbs. The harmonised and co-

ordinated actions of the feet, calf, thigh and waist are known as cārīs.

The importance of cārī is summed up thus in the NŚ—

Yadetatprastutam nāṭyam taccārīśveva samjñītam/

nahi caryā vinā kiñcinnāṭye'ngam sampravartate//—NŚ, 10.6.

Cārīs are of two types earthly (bhaumi) and aerial (ākāśikī). There

are 32 cārīs—16 bhaumi cārīs77 and 16 ākāśikī cārīs.78

Samapāda79—The two feet close together, toes at one level facing

front and samapāda posture.

Sthitāvarta80—One foot in agratalasañcara dragging on the ground

moves across the side of the other foot to form a svastika.

Šakaṭāsya81—The upper part of the body is held firmly, one foot

in agratalasañcara is stretched forward, and the chest is

kept in udvahita.

Adhyardhikā82—The left foot is placed near the heel83 of the right

foot. The right foot is drawn to its own side and placed

obliquely.84

Cāṣagati85—Bharata defines it thus—the right foot is put forward

and then taken back, the left foot back and front similarly. But

since this is not too clear Abhinava explains thus—The right

foot is put forward by a span (tāla), then drawn by two spans,

then simultaneously with jumping movements both the feet

approach each other a little and separate, (or) separate and

approach each other. This is termed cāṣagati and is used

in frightened movements etc.86

Vicyava87—From the samapāda position the feet are lifted up and

the foreparts are brought down (nikuṭṭana) on the ground.

Edakākriḍita88—Agratalasañcara foot, jump and then dropping

on the ground; such a movement is observed by each foot

turnwise.89

Baddha90—The two thighs make the valana movements and the

shanks are crossed in svastika.

Ūrūdvrtta—Bharata91 describes it thus—agratalasañcara foot-heel

facing outwards, thigh añcita and udvrtta. Abhinava explains

thus92—The heel of one foot in agratalasañcara is placed facing

the back of the other foot. One of the shanks with the knee

bent and turned inward faces the other shank. Then it is

called Ūrūdvrtta cārī. It is employed to indicate shyness,

jealousy etc.

Āḍḍita93—One foot in agratalasañcara alternately rubs against the

forepart and back of the other foot94

Utspandita95—The foot moves slowly in the manner of the Recāka.

Abhinava says that according to some the Recaka nṛtta hasta96

is also used here.

Janitā97—One foot is in agratalasañcara; one hand is kept in the muṣṭi pose on the chest and the other extended out. Abhinava98 says that agratalasañcara movement is important here. The other movements (i.e. of the hands) are only secondary. In fact he goes so far as to say that this is the basis of all the cārīs. Hence the name Janitā.

Syanditā99—When there is a distance of five tālas between the 2 feet it is Syanditā.100 Abhinava explains that when the foot (left) is in sama position, thigh is motionless and right foot is extended to five tālas it is Syanditā.

Apasyanditā101—This is explained by Abhinava as a reverse of Syanditā.102

Samotsaritamattali103—Both the feet in, where agratalasañcara is kept behind the other foot making a svastika at the shank. Then the other foot is made agratalasañcara and in this fashion the feet make circular movements, This cārī, says Abhinava, is used to indicate moderate intoxication.104

Mattali105—Apasarpana of feet in a circular fashion. Abhinava explains thus—The feet with the sole touching the ground are crossed in svastika at the shanks and slightly oblique. Then with a circular movement they either come together or move away from each other. It is used to indicate slight intoxication.106

Atikrāntā107—The kuñcita foot is raised and then extended and put forward. Abhinava explains thus—The kuñcita foot is taken to the base level of the other foot and then dropped forward by 4 tālas.108

Apakrāntā109—From a valana of the thighs the kuñcita foot is taken and dropped to the sides. Abhinava says that the valana of thighs indicates baddha cārī.110

Pārśvakrāntā111—The kuñcita foot is lifted up on its own side and dropped by the heel112 on the ground, and thus by the udghāṭita113 movement the Pārśvakrāntā is formed.

Ūrdhvajānu114—The kuñcita foot is raised, the knee is level with the breast, the other leg is motionless. This movement is repeated by both the feet.

Sūci115—The kuñcita foot is raised, the knee is level with the chest, the shank is stretched fully116 and then dropped to the ground on its forepart.

Nūpurapādikā117—An añcita foot is lifted, touches the sphik hips (? or back of the thigh ?) with its heel118 and then toes touch

the ground.

Dolāpāda119—A kuñcita foot is lifted, swayed from side to side and then comes down on its heel, i.e. as an añcita foot.

Ākșiptā120—A kuñcita foot is lifted to the height of three tālas, brought to the other side, and then crossing the shank (with the other) in svastika falls to the ground on its heel.121

Āviddhā122—The initial position is the svastika, then stretched as a kuñcita foot and brought down on the heel i.e., as an añcita foot. Abhinava elaborates thus –from svastika made without the shanks touching each other, kuñcita foot is stretched, brought to its own side and made to fall on its heel in the region of the other heel.123

Udvṛttā124—Derived from the āviddha cārī, slight jump, turning round and the foot falls to the ground. Abhinava says this is related to the āviddha cārī. The heel is kept in the region of the other thigh. Then jumping up, and turning round the foot is made to fall on the ground. Then the other foot is raised and performs the movements.125

Vidyutbhrāntā126—The foot is taken back, touches the head, is turned round in all directions then stretched.

Alāta127—A foot is stretched backwards, then it is turned round and its sole faces the other thigh128 and then its heel is brought down to the ground on its own side.

Bhujangaträṡitā129—Abhinava explains thus—A kuñcita foot is raised, taken to the joint of the other thigh, then due to the vivartana of the waist i.e. turning the trika and the knee, the heel of this foot faces the other hip, then the thigh in this oblique position is turned (vivartana); thus the knee moves to its own side, the sole of the foot facing upwards. It is, used in showing the gait of a man afraid of a snake nearby.130

Hariṇapluta131—A kuñcita foot is raised as in the atikrānta cārī, and after a jump is dropped on the ground. Then the other shank is kept taken back132 and kept añcita and finally brought back to the ground. Abhinava says that this cārī was done by vidūṣakas or jesters. Sārṅgadeva has termed it as mrgapluta.133

Daṇḍapāda134—A kuñcita foot as in nūpura-pāda is extended forward. Thigh, knee and shank are straight as a staff.

Bhrāmarī135—As in the atikrānta cārī a kuñcita foot is raised and as in the bhujangaträṡitā the thigh, which is oblique, is twisted around. The whole body turns round through the turning of the sole of the other foot and the vivartana of the trika.136

126 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

KARANAS

Name

1. Talapusputa137

2. Vartita

3. Valitoruka139

4. Apaviddha140

5. Sama-nakha142

Hand Movement, Puspapuṭa Svastika Vyāyartana-parivartana138 (hands dropped as Uṭṭāna Vyāyartana-parivartana Avartana of right (thighs) Valita (thighs)

Feet Agratala-saṃcara agratala-saṃcara Uṭṭāna

Sthāna

Cārī Adhyardhika

Head

Shoulders Chest Sides

Samnata

Aksipta141 Aksipta141

body in natural position

Samanakha (i.e. the feet touching each other with the toes placed level

Avartana of right hand, then drops on thigh; left hand śukatunda on chest Lata143

Dance and the Language of Gestures 127

6. Lina144

Urdhva-maṇḍala (on ground)

Urjitā Aviddha-(nṛtta-hasta) aṃjali on chest

(samyutahasta)

Recita Svastika vakaṛa Svañcita145

Pakṣavañcita Pakṣapradyota

7. Svastika

Recita

8. Maṇḍala

Svastika146

9. Nikuttaka-

Catutra-

Alpadama (nikuṭṭana

is done)

10. Ardha-nikuttakam148

Pallava

11. Katicchinna149

12. Ardha-katakamukha

Kaṭakamukha

13. Vaksah-

Recita150 Svastika151

14. Unmatta-

kam152

shoulders raised

bent neck

Chinna (i.e. valana waist)

Somnata

shoulders añcita

Nikuñcita

Vicaya

Bhramāri

Maṇḍala

Maṇḍala

Maṇḍala

Maṇḍala

Udghaṭṭita

Nikuṭṭita

Svastika

Añcita

Aviddha158

128 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

15. Svastika154

Svastika

Svastika

Svastika

16. Prastha- Svastika156

17. Dik- Svastika158

Turning157

of trika Svastika

karaṇa,

executed on all

sides159

Jump155

Apakrānta

Sūci

18. Alata160

Nitambaka-

Caturasra

Alatakām

Vaiṣṇava

Alata

urdhva-

jānu

Akṣipta

Apakrānta

19. Svastika Ardha-

Katisama161

candra khaṭakā-

mukha

Nata

Udvāhita162

20. Akṣipta-

Recita then

akṣipta

Vyāvartana-

Añcita

Sūci

Vikṣepa-

Akṣepa

Svastika

21. Kṣiptakam164

Ardha-

parivartana

right hand

karihasta, left

hand at chest

(Khaṭākāmukha)166

22. Svastika165

Vyāvartana-

parivartana

23. Añcita167

Alpallava168

Dance and the Language of Gestures 129

oblique turning of waist-170a

Bhujanga-trāsita Urdhvajānu (circular movement) derived from Maṭicāri

Vyāvartana-parivartana, Dolā- upa-kuñcita having lifted a kuñcita foot, the thigh is obliquely turned

Khaṭakamuṣṭa foot Kuñcita raised and is knee is level with the breast Viṭaśsika174

Arāla. Khaṭaka- mukha172

AB-2 views at Arāla-side of head I. Arāla-brought from region of nose to chest

Sūcimukha, Parāka Udvṛṣṭita- Nitamba, Aveṣṭita crossing at ankles

Recita-left hand, right hand on hip177

24. Bhujanga Trāsita169

25. Urdhvajānu171

26. Nikuñcita178

27. Maṭali175

28. Ardha- maṭṭali176

130 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

turning of trika

turning of trika

Apakrānta

Bhrāmarī

Ūrdhvajānu

Bhujanga-trāsita

Bhrāmarī Nūpura-pādika188

29. Recita-right hand nikuttita. i.e. dola-left udghaṭita- right foot

Khaṭakamukha180 hands at navel brought in contact with the other foot thus viddha or pierced.

Sūcimukha

Dola-left hand Swastika turned round- right hand and then

Karihasta-left Nikuttiita (i.e. udghaṭita movement)

Vivartita-right184 (movement)

Lalita183

Latā

Danda185

Viksipta

Bhujangapaksa185

Trasita-recitam186 then Recita, then brought to left side

Latā Recita

Nupura187

30. Padāpavid-dhaka179

31. Valita181

32. Ghurniita182

Dance and the Language of Gestures 131

37. Vaisākha-recita189

38. Bhrama-rakṣita190

39. Caturañcita191

40. Bhujanga-recita193

41. Danda-recita194

42. Vṛścikakutti- Nikuiṭita or takutti- Alapallava196

43. Kati- Bhrānta198

44. Latā- Vrścika199 left

45. Chinna- Alapadma201

46. Vṛścika- Svastika Recita202

47. Vṛścika203 Karihasta204

48. Vyamsita205

Recita Akṣipta Svastika Nikuttiṭa (right)

Udveṣṭita Añcita- catura-right Latā-left Dandapakṣa195

Recita Vṛścika197 Apavidha Vṛścika-right on ground- left200

Añcita i.e. Recita hands at chest-one Recita hand facing

Recita neck

Vaisākha Bhujonga- Dandapāda trāsita

Sūcī Bhrāmarī

Vaisākha

Recita- turning kaṭi of trika

turning of hip

waist chinna

bent back

Aliḍha

132 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

body bent slightly bent

49. Parsva-Nikuttita206 Nikuttita

up, the other down wards Svastika at sides

foot is taken back as Viśṭika and then the toe touches the back of forehead kuñcita

50. Lalatātilaka207

51. Krantaka208 Vyāvartana-parivartana, Khatakamukha nata or Kuñcita i.e. uttāna bent210 Alapallava; uttina bent211 at left side

52. Kuncita209

53. Cakra212 mandalā213 apaviddha

54. Uromandalā215

55. Akṣipta217 Khatakamukha foot at the side raised and facing up

56. Talavilasita219 two patākā219 two hands joined and facing up together220

57. Argala221 Alapallava-left feet two and a half tālas apart left hand

Ādita214

Sthitāvartā216

Ākṣipta218

58. Viksipta222

Udvestita- apavesita

movement in

same direction

Vidyutbhrānta

Dandapāda

Cāgati224

turning of

trika

59. Avarta223

Udvestita- apavesita,

Dolā

Dolāpada225

turning of

trika

60. Dolāpada225

61. Vivartta227

Vyāvrtta-

pravartita,

Recita

Recita

Urdhvavajānu226

Dolāpada

Samata

chest

62. Vivirtta229

Sūci,

Baddha

Pārśvakrānta

Ākṣipta

Bhramari228

63. Pārśvakrānta230

64. Nistam-

bhitam-

hand at

forehead

65. Vidyutbhrānta232

foot taken back

touches the head

turned round in

all directions

the

stretched

Ākṣipta,

Recita

66. Atikrānta233

67. Vivarti-

tā234

Ākṣipta

turning of

trika

Dance and the Language of Gestures 133

134 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyaśāstra

nata turning of trika

unnata i.e. held up.

Dolāpada or Dantapādā238

Aatikrānta

Recita Latā

One at chest,241 other at cheek242 alapallava243 Ūrdhvamaṇḍalī

Sūcī Vrścika240 Sūcī extended back asin

Parivrtta244 sama-one

Parśvajanu245 Muṣṭi-near chest, ardhā candra246 at waist.

Gṛddhra-valinaka247 extended stretched backwords, the other i.e. Latā248

Latā-right, Añcita or karihasta left236 Patākā hastas used for clapping

Gajakri-dita235

96. Talasams-photita237

97. Garuḍaplu-taka239

98. Gandaśuci241

99. Parivrtta244

100. Parśvajanu245

101. Gṛddhra-valinaka247

other placed at the back of the thigh of the above leg

One foot stretched

Dance and the Language of Gestures 135

75. Sanmata249

Sannata

Dolā250

foot slightly bent

Svastika of feet

jump by Hariṇapluta251 cāriṇī

Sūci252

76. Suci cāri255

No hands specified253

77. Ardha-suci254

Alapadma hand near head with leg right

78. Suciddhā256

One hand at waist (pakṣa or vañcitaka or ardhacandra), at the other chest (Khaṭākamukha)257

One Sūci foot is kept the heel of the other

Foot Vrścika

79. Apakrānta258

Apakrānta

Bhrāmarī260

80. Mayura-Recita259

Mayura-Recita

81. Lāṭita261

Recita then Parivartita i.e. bent on the side262

Sarpita261

Nūpurapādika

82. Dandapadā263 Āviddha

Dandapāda

Āviddha move away

136 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

turning

of trika

Hariṇapluta266

No hands specified265

83. Hariṇa-

pluta264

84. Prenkholi-

taka267

Dolāpada

(with one foot ) jump then with other foot

Bhrāmarī268

Baddha Dolāpada

Nitamba270

Recita, ghāṛṇita

One hand at chest,273 the other performs

the Udveṣṭa movement and

Añcita foot

85. Nitamba269

86. Skhalita271

87. Karihas-

taka272

forms the tripatākā hastā near the ear281

Gharṣaṇa

i.e dragging movement on the ground

Alāta

88. Prasarpitā275

Recita Latā

Vrścika281

89. Simhavikridita276

Simhakarna-

sita277

Nikun̄citā i.e. explained by Abhinava as

Dance and the Language of Gestures 137

91. Udvṛtta279

Padmakośa

Ūrṇamābha

Udvṛtta

Ākṣipta

side bent

92. Upasṛtaka280

Vyāvartana

parivartana

93. Talasamgha-ttita282

Arāla281

Patākā-both

then

94. Janita284

Recita-left

One hand at285 chest-Muṣṭi

other extended

agratalasāñcara

i.e. Latā

95. Avahit-thakat-286

gradual lowering

of hands from

the forehead

downwards to

the chest287

on chest289

96. Niveśa288

not specified291

97. Elakṛditā292

Elakṛditā

98. Urudvṛtta293

Maṇḍala

Urudvṛtta

chest

body bent

and then

twisted

99. Madaskha lita295

Parivahita

(turned to

the side)

Āviddha296

Arāla Khaṭākamukhī294

Vilitā

extended i.e.

Dolā

Urdhvārytta

Nilbhugra

Janita

Vaiṣṇava283

Janita

Dolāpada

138 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

100. Viṣṇu-kranta297

Recita

Kuñcita foot extended forward

101. Sambhranta298

Vyāvartana-parivartana movement rest as Alapallava on back of thighas Nikuttiṭa on chest-left

102. Viṣkambha301

Udghattita hands clapping.

103. Vrsabhakri-dita303

Recita, Añcita Alapallava i.e. on shoulders304

104. Lolita305

Recita, Añcita Alapallava

106. Nagasar-pita306

Svāstika then moves away

107. Śakaṭāsya307

Khaṭākamukha at chest309

108. Gangavata-rana310

Talasañcara lifted up with sole Adhomukha tripatākā facing upwards

nata or bent

Aviddha300

Śūci

Alāta

Vaiśākha

Udvahita body motionless

rolls around and rests (while rolling) at the sides Parivahita307

bent

Śakaṭāsya

Nrtya and Abhinaya

Abhinaya or mime is four-fold—Āṅgika. Vācika, Āhārya and Sātvika.311 Āṅgika relates to the movement of major limbs (aṅgas) and minor limbs (upāṅgas), their use (viniyoga) for the expression of sentiment (rasa) and of dominant (sthāyī bhāva) and transitory moods (sañcāri bhāva). Vācika relates to speech, i.e. the prose and vérse part of the play, words of songs etc. Āhārya is related to costumes, make-up, etc. Sāttvika relates to the natural condition of man.

Āṅgika abhinaya is integrally connected with dance. The three basic kinds of āṅgika abhinaya are—

(i) Śārīra—that which relates to the body.

(ii) Mukhaja—that which originates in the face. Mukhābhinaya is, in fact, the index of rasa.

(iii) Ceṣṭā—that which is produced by the movement of limbs and includes the cāris, aṅgahāras etc.

Bharata has given a detailed description of the movements of upāṅgas and aṅgas. The six aṅgas are head (śiraḥ), hands (hastas), kaṭi (hip), vakṣaḥ (chest), pārśva (sides) and pāda (feet).312 The six upāṅgas are eyes (netra), brows (bhru), nose (nāsā), lips (adhara), cheek (kapola), and chin (cibuka).313

Eyes—Taking up the upāṅgas first, Bharata mentions thirty-six dṛṣṭis or glances which he classifies into 3 types. Glances expressing rasa are eight in number. These are Kāntā, Bhayānakā, Hāsyā, Karuṇā, Adbhutā, Raudrī, Vīrā, Bībhatsā.314 Glances expressing sthāyī bhāva or dominant mood are eight in number too. These are Snigdha, Hṛṣṭa, Dīna. Kruddha, Dṛpta. Bhayānvitā Jugupsitā, and Vismitā.315 There are twenty glances relating to Vyabhicārī bhāva or transitory moods. These are Śūnyā, Malinā, Śrāntā, Lajjāvitā, Glānā, Śaṅkitā, Viṣaṅnā, Mukulā, Kuñcitā, Abhitaptā, Jihmā, Lalitā, Vitarkitā, Ardhamukulā, Vibhrāntā, Viluptā, Ākekarā, Vikoṣā, Trastā and Madurā.316

Brows—There are seven movements of the brows.317

Utkṣepa—Raising the brows.

Pātana—Lowering the brows.

Bhrkuṭi—Knitting the brows.

Catura—Extending the brows in a charming fashion.

Kuñcita—Contracting the brows.

Recita—Graceful up and down movement of brows.

Sahaja--Natural position of brows.318

Nose—There are 6 types of movements of the nose.319

Nata—Frequent depressing and dilating of nostrils.

Manda—Gentle or slow movement of inhaling and exhaling.

Vikiṣṭa—Extremely dilated nostrils.

140 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Socchvāsa—Inhaling of air by nostrils i.e. deep breathing.

Vighūrnita—Contracted nostrils.

Svābhaviki—Natural.320

Cheeks—These are of 6 types too.321

Kṣāma—Sunken cheeks.

Phulla—Full blown cheeks.

Pūrṇa—Raised (cheek muscles probably).

Kampita—Throbbing.

Sama—Natural position.322

Lips—There are six types of lip movements:323

Vivarita—Twisting of the lips in an awry fashion.

Kampana—Tremulous lips.

Visarga—Protruding lips.

Vinighuṣa—Drawing the lips inside.

Sandaṣṭaka—Lip bitten by the teeth.

Samudga—Pouting of lips.324

Chin—The chin or rather its various types are indicated by actions of tongue, teeth and lips. Hence Bharata describes325 actions or types of actions of teeth. These are:326

Kuttana—Chattering of teeth.

Khanḍana—Frequent touching and separating (probably with force) of teeth.

Chinna—Tight interlocking of teeth.

Cukṣita—Keeping the two rows of teeth wide apart.

Lehana—Licking by teeth.

Sama—Slight contact of teeth. This is accepted as the natural state.

Daṣṭa—Biting of lower lip with teeth.327

Mukha—Besides these, Bharata also mentions 6 movements of face (mukha):328

Vivṛtta—Open with lips apart.

Vidhūta—Face lengthened obliquely.

Vinivṛtta—Face turned sideways.

Nirbhugna—Lowering of face.

Bhugna—Somewhat longdrawn face.

Udvāhī—Upturned face.329

The colour of the face explains the states of the mind which are expression of rasas. As they are useful in expressing rasas, the colours of the face have also been described by Bharata. These are of four kinds—Svābhāvika (natural), Prasanna (clear), Raktā (red) and Syāma (dark).330 Svābhāvika being the natural colour is used to express unexcited state. Prasanna is used in comic (hāsya) erotic (śṛ

gāra) and marvellous (adbhuta) rasas. Raktā represents the heroic (vīra), furious (raudra) etc. and also pathetic (karuṇa). Śyāma is used to represent the odious (bībhatsa) and fearful (bhayānaka) rasas.331

Neck—Finally Bharata describes nine movements of the neck:332

Sama—Natural position.

Nata—Bent low.

Unnata—Thrown up.

Tryasra—Bent obliquely.

Recita—Shaking and moving around.

Kuncita—Slightly bent.

Añcita—Inclined to a side and stretched.

Valita—Turned sideways.

Nivṛtta—Return to its original position after having faced something.333

Head—There are 13 types of head movement.334

Akampita—Up and down movement of head.

Kampita—Same movement in a fast speed.

Dhūta—Slow rotation of the head.

Vidhūta—The same in quick tempo.

Parivāhita—Movement of the head to the side.

Ādhūta—Head lifted obliquely upwards once.

Avadhūta—Head bent down once.

Añcita—Head with a slight sideways bent.

Nihañcita--In which the shoulders are raised and brows kuñcita.

Parāvrtta—Head turned backwards to indicate looking backwards.

Utkṣipta—Head turned upwards.

Adhogata—Head turned downwards.

Lolita—Turning of head on all sides.335

Chest—There are five positions of the chest :336

Abhugna—Relaxed chest with sunken shoulders.

Nirbhugna—Straight and erect torso.

Prakampita—Where the torso is thrown upwards and slightly shaken.

Udvāhita—Torso thrown forward (as when taking a deep breath).

Sama—Caturaśra pose and sauṣṭhava of limbs. Indicative of natural position.337

Sides—There are five positions of the sides too.338

Nata—Bending to the side (the body seems to bent forward slightly since the abhugna position is mentioned here).

Samunnata—Raising a side (this is said to be the reverse of

142 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

the former).

Parsārita—Stretching of both sides.

Vivartita—Turning of trika or sacrum.

Apasṛta—Reversion of trika from the nivartita position, i.e. turning around from the sideways position.339

Hips (Kati)—There are 5 types of movements of the kati:340

Chinna—Valana of the middle i.e. turning of the middle (of the body) obliquely on the sides.

Nivṛtta—Facing the front while the body is twisted sideways.

Recita—Rotating the hip on all sides.

Kampita—Quick movement of hip from side to side.

Udvāhita—When the hip is raised slowly from one side to the other.341

Thighs (Uru)—There are five type of movements of the thighs :342

Kampana—Repeated toe-heel movement; as a result the up and down movement which indicates the gait of low-class people.

Valana—Bharata describes valana as the movement of knee inwards. But from its description in the 108 karanas and from Abhinava’s commentary it becomes apparent that valana is actually the crossing of the thighs.

Stambhana—Motionless thigh.

Udvartana—Valana and Apaviddha movement of thigh (probably crossing of thigh, then uncrossing and motionless thigh).

Vivartana—Turning of heel inwards343 (porsibly in circular movement ?).

Shanks (Janghā)—The movement here is of five types :344

Āvartita—When the left foot moves to the right, and right to the left. Svaśtika of shanks too has been mentioned. Indicates jesters’ walk.345

Nata—Knee is bent.

Kṣipta—Throwing the shank outwards; used in tāṇḍava.346

Udvahita—Raised shank. (Actually Bharata mentions 3 movements—bending of knees, throwing of shanks outwards, and then raising them upwards).

Parivṛtta—Crosswise movement of shanks.

Feet (Pada)—Five types of foot movement have been enumerated by Bharata:347

Udghaṭṭita—Standing on the balls of the feet and bringing the heels down to the ground.

Sama—The foot rests on the ground in a natural way.

Dance and the Language of Gestures 143

Agratalasañcara—When the heel is raised, the big toe stretches and the other toes curves down, i.e. when only the big toe touches the ground and rest of the foot is lifted up. Used in various recaka movements.

Añcita—When the heels are on the ground, the balls of the feet lifted up and toes stretched.

Kuncita—Toes bent, heel raised, arch bent i.e. the toes and ball of the feet touch the ground and the heel is raised. Besides these Bharata also mention the tryasra foot and the sūcipāda.

Tryasra—The foot is kept on the ground as sama, but the heel points inward and the toes sideway i.e. sama foot with the toes kept obliquely.

Sūcipāda—Left foot kept naturally and of the right foot only the tip of the toe touches the ground, the rest is raised.

Hands—Bharata enumerates four basic movements or karanas of the hands 1.348

Āveṣṭita Hand—If the fingers beginning with the forefinger point inwards gradually, then it is known as the Āveṣṭita hand i.e., the fingers, commencing with the forefinger and ending with the little finger, are gracefully turned towards the palm.

Udveṣṭita Hand—Fingers beginning with the forefinger open outwards (i.e. away from the body), i.e. fingers bent in Āveṣṭita are opened out in the same order.

Vyāvartita Hand—The fingers beginning with the little finger point inwards gradually i.e. the fingers are bent as in Āveṣṭita, but commencing with the little finger and ending in forefinger.

Parivartita Hand—The fingers, beginning with the little finger and ending with the forefinger open outwards.

Hand poses or movements have been classified by Bharata into three types. These are Asaṃyuta-hasta, Saṃyuta-hasta and Nrtta-hasta. The first is performed by a single hand, the second by both the hands and third is frequently used in nrtta.

Asaṃyuta Hastaṣ—The Asaṃyuta-hastas are twenty-four.3.49

Patāka

Nature : The palm and fingers are outstretched, the fingers pressing against one another. The thumb is kuñcita, bent, touching the root of the forefinger.

Use : Administering a slap to indicates flames, rain, an aerial shower of flowers—to be indicated with slightly moving patākā

fingers; small ponds, a gift of flowers, new grass to be indicated by patākā hands crossed in Svastika then uncrossed; svastika, uncrossing then adhomukha (i.e. palm facing down) indicate closing and disclosing. Patākā fingers moving down and up indicates movement of wind and waves; one patākā hand placed on the other and rubbed quickly indicates washing.

Tripatakā350

Nature : Patākā hand with the ring finger bent.

Use : Calling, salutation, a turban (tripatākā hand at the head).

The tripatākā hand moving upwards from below indicates fast flying of birds, fast moving stream, movement of serpents, whirlpool etc. Wiping of tears by the bent ring-finger, tilaka (auspicious mark) on forehead, touching of curls on forehead; tripatākā hand is svastika, i.e. thin crossing should be done in touching the feet of elders. Also used in the presence of the king, hermits, bridegroom etc.

Kartarimukh351

Nature : The forefinger of the tripatākā is put behind the middle finger.

Use : To indicate falling, death, activities of deer, buffalo, elephant etc.

Ardhacandra352

Nature : The fingers are pressed close to one another and bent i.e. the fingers are bent to resemble a bow (the thumb too is bent on the other side, the whole resembling the form of the crescent moon).

Use : Indicates the crescent moon, ornaments of ladies etc.

Arala353

Nature : Fingers are separated from each other and slightly bent, the forefinger is curved down like a bow and the thumb bent.

Use : Represents benedictions, gathering of a woman's hair into a knot or loosening it marriage etc., calling, wiping of sweat, etc. Women use the Arāla hasta for enacting situations of the tripatākā.

Sukatunda354

Nature : The forefinger and ring-finger of Arāla are very much bent.

Use : Used to indicate anger due to jealousy between lovers, exchange of hot words, dismissal, contempt etc.

Musti355

Nature : The finger-tips rest compactly in the middle of the palm. Thumb is pressed against the middle finger (resembles a closed

fist).

Use : Used to represent holding of a spear, sword, stick and also fighting, exercise, etc.

Śikhara356

Nature : The thumb of muṣṭi pointing upwards.

Use : Holding the reins, hurling the javelin or spear, grasping a bow, arrow or goad, adorning of lips, of feet with lac-dye, rearranging curls etc.

Kapittha357

Nature : Tip of forefinger of the Śikhara touches the tip of the thumb.

Use : Employed in the holding of various weapons.

Khaṭakamukha358

Nature : Ring finger and little finger of the Kapittha are thrown upward, separated and bent.

Use : Holding the chatra i.e. canopy, reins of horses, of a mirror, a long stick; putting on strings of pearls or garlands of flowers, plucking of flowers, churning.

Sucimukha359

Nature : The forefinger of the Khaṭakāmukha is stretched upwards.

Use : Indicates cakra (discus), lightening, flag, ear ornaments, crooked gait, young of a snake, etc.

Padmakosa360

Nature : In Padmakośa the fingers and also the thumb are separated from each other, bent like a bow, but facing upwards and the finger tips remain unattached.

Use : Employed to represent bilva kapittha, lemon and other fruits, breasts of women, worshipping of god, and making of offerings.

Sarpasiraś361

Nature : All the fingers joined together and the thumb bent—when such a hand (i.e. the Patākā) is curved in the middle, it is the sarpaśiras.

Use : Offering of water, movement of a serpent, stroking the temples of an elephant, wrestlers in a contest.

Mrgasiraśaka362

Nature : All the fingers (except little finger) are joined to each other and are adhomukha i.e. face downwards. The thumb and the little finger project upwards (i.e. of the sarpaśiras hand the litle finger and thumb extend upwards).

Use : Signifies today, here, how; used to wipe off perspiration from cheek, forehead etc.

146 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Kangula363

Nature : The ring finger is bent, the little finger points upwards and the thumb, forefinger and middle finger are held upwards in a triangular position like that of the three sacrificial fires—Tretāgni.

Use : Used to represent small fruits, angry words spoken by women, also beautiful flowers.

Alapallava364

Nature : The vyāvartita movement is made and then the fingers are arranged sidewise along the palm (in the vyāvartita movement the palm faces upwards −uttāna) and closed, the little finger pointing towards the body. Now to get the Alapallava hand the palm opens out, forefinger first (almost horizontal), then open the middle finger, ring finger and little finger respectively, each successively a little higher than the previous one; the thumb too opens out to its own side.

Use : In negation, ātmopanyāsa (?) of women.

Catura365

Nature : The three fingers (the little finger excluded) are extended (in a slanting position, i.e. not projected vertically) the little finger points upwards and the thumb touches the middle of the three fingers i.e. the middle finger.

Use : Used to represent reasoning, modesty, discipline, skill and also for indicating some abstract things like happiness, character, sweetness, mind, memory, youth, forgiveness, purity, generosity etc.

Bhramara366

Nature : The tips of the middle finger and thumb joined together, the forefinger bent and the ring finger and little finger extended upwards.

Use : For holding flowers with long stalks; also indicates ear-rings, conversation of children, scolding somebody etc.

Hamsapakṣa367

Nature : The three fingers beginning with the forefinger are slightly bent at their roots, the little finger bent up and thumb bent.

Use : Used for ācamana (ceremonial sipping of water), anointing with sandal-paste, embracing, touching, pressing the legs, a huge pillar; also indicates various rāsaṡ in śṛṅgāra; used for keeping the breasts of women; is indicative of supporting the chin in sorrow, etc.

Samdansa368

Nature : The tips of the thumb and forefinger touch each other

and the middle of the palm is made slightly hollow. It is of

three types : Agraja i.e. facing forward, Mukhaja i.e. towards

the face, and Pārśvaja i.e. facing sideways.

Use : Agraja saṃdamsa--plucking of flowers and gathering of a

blade of grass, leaf, hair, thread etc. Mukhaja saṃdamsa--

removing flowers from their stalks, saying angrily ‘Fie (upon

you)’ etc. Pārśvaja saṃdamsa--threading of pearls or pier-

cing them. wearing of the yajñopavita or sacred thread, to in-

dicate sentences of anger, contempt, jealousy and blame. The

left hand forms the saṃdamsa and its tip is slightly whirled

around. Women form the saṃdamsa hand to indicate various

things--painting a picture, applying collyrium to the eye, in

argument and for preparation of lac-dye paste.

Mukula369

Nature : All the fingers are held compactly together, and pointing

upwards are joined to the tip of the thumb.

Use : Worship of gods, offering oblations, bud of a lotus, vitat kiss

(i.e. a flying kiss), eating, giving, haste and counting gold.

When opened out and then restored to its normal pose it indi-

cates some contemptible action.

Urnanabha370

Nature : When the five fingers of the Padmakoṣa are bent, it is

termed ūrṇanābha.

Use : Grasping somebody's hair, a stealthy grasping, scratching

one’s head, beasts like lion, tiger etc., lifting up a stone etc.

Tamracuda371

Nature : The tips of the middle finger and the thumb are pressed

against each other, the forefinger is bent and the little finger

and ring finger rest on the palm. (i.e. the Bhramara pose), but

the difference lies with the ring finger and little finger which

rest on the palm. According to another definition372 when the

little finger of the Muṣṭi is stretched out it is known as Tāmra-

cūḍa.373

Use : Beckoning a child, rebuke, measuring time, inspiring confi-

dence.

SAMYUTA HANDS

Anjali374

Nature : Placing together of two Patākā hands.

Use : Salutation of deities--añjali hands at head, salutation of

preceptors and elders, salutation of friends, añjali hands at

chest. Thus the añjali hands are used by men in three ways;

but by women they can be used in any manner.

148 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Kapotaka375

Nature : Two hands (aṅjali) touch each other only at the side.

Use : When facing forward, it is used in saluting or in conversing

with the preceptor and for expressing modesty. A slightly

shaking kapotaka hand kept at the chest is used by women to

express cold or fear. The fingers rubbing against the palm and

then left is used to represent sentences expressing unhappiness.

Karkata376

Nature : Fingers of the two hands interlocked with each other.

Use : Indicative of one who is aroused by passion, yawning, stret-

ching one’s body, holding the chin, holding a conch etc.

Svastika377

Nature : Where two hands, with one wrist placed over the other,

face upwards (uttāna) at the left side of the body that is called

Svastika. Bharata’s injunction is that it should be used mostly

by women.

Use : Crossing the hands in svastika and then uncrossing them

indicates directions, clouds, sky, forest, sea, seasons, earth

and vast stretches of water and the like.

Khatakavardhamānaka378

Nature : The hands assume the Khaṭakāmukha pose and form a

svastika at the wrists.

Use : It indicates Śṛṅgāra or love, salutation, lily, holding an umb-

rella etc.

Utsaṅga379

Nature : When two Arāla hands are crossed in svastika380 and face

the body,381 then the hands are called Utsaṅga.

Use : Indicative of touch, jealousy of women, refusing to be pla-

cated by the hero etc.

Niṣadha382

Nature : Four alternate definitions and usages of Niṣadha have

been given by Bharata. Firstly, when kapittha encircles Mu-

kula, this is known as Niṣadha.383

Use : Indication of collection, accepting, not forsaking the truth,

that which is well established, etc.

OR

Nature : When the Śikhara hand is pressed by Mr̥gaśīrṣa, that is

termed as Niṣadha.

Use : Indicative of one who is gripped with fear.

OR

Nature : When the right hand, being gripped at the elbow by the

left, rests on the left hand forming the muṣṭi, this is termed

as Niṣadha.

Use : Indicative of patience, arrogance, beauty, curiosity, the immobility of pillar.

OR

Nature : When Hamsapakṣa hands face away then this is known as Niṣadha.

Use : Used for indicating the breaking of a net or window.

Dola384

Nature : Two Patākā hands hang down with loose fingers and relaxed shoulders.

Use : Indicative of intoxication, fainting, dejection, hurry, illness, being wounded by weapons etc.

Puspaputa385

Nature : Two Sarpaśiras hands with their external sides brought together.

Use : Used for holding and giving away of grains, flowers, fruits etc. and also water.

Makara386

Nature : Two adhomukha (facing down) Patākā hands with thumbs extended upwards are placed on top of the other.

Use : Used to represent crocodile, shark, fish, tiger, serpent and other carnivorous animals.

Gajadanta387

Nature : Two Sarpaśiras hands are placed between each others’ shoulder and elbow.

Use : Indicates the carrying of the bridegroom to the place of marriage,388 lifting massive weights, holding pillars etc.

Avahittha389

Nature : Two Śakatunda hands facing each other and kept at the chest are turned downwards and are gradually lowered.

Use : Indicates weakness, breathing out, thinness of the body, eagerness etc.

Vardhamana390

Nature : There are two definitions of Vardhamāna given by Bharata. They are the same as the two (of the four) definitions of the Niṣadha hasta.391

Use : Their uses too, are identical. Sārngadeva, however, has given a different definition. Two Hamsapakṣa hands in svas-tika which are turned away are termed vardhamāna392

NRTTA HASTA

Caturasra393 — Two Khaṭakāmukha hands level with the elbow and shoulders face forward in front of the chest, and are at a

150 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyaśāstra

distance of eight inches from it.

Udvṛtta or Tālavṛntaka394— Vyāvartana of Hamsapakṣa hands.395

Tālamukha396— When two caturasra hands form themselves into

the Hamsa pakṣa, and are placed on their sides obliquely with

palms facing each other, they are termed Tālamukha.

Svastika397— Tālamukha hands crossed on the wrist.

Viprakīrṇaka398— The same; suddenly separated.

Arālakhaṭakāmukha399— One hand is Arāla, and the other khaṭa-

kāmukha.400

Āviddhavakra401 — The foreparts of the arms, elbows and shoul-

ders are turned around sportively, and the palms not facing

each other are joined, i.e., the back of the palms are joined

together.

Sūcimukha402— The thumb and the middle finger403 of the Sarpa-

śiras hands are joined together and kept obliquely.

OR

The thumb of the Sarpaśiras hand is kept in the middle of

the palm and crossed in Svastika.

Recita404— Two hands extended palm upwards, are called Recita.

Or, two Hamsapakṣa hands making a quick circular movement

are said to constitute Recita.

Ardha-recita405— Left hand is Caturasra and right hand Recita.

Uttānavañcita406— Hands are in Tripaṭākā kept obliquely and sho-

ulders and elbows are slightly bent.407

Pallava408— Two Paṭākā hands are crossed in svastika on the

wrist.

Nitamba409— The Paṭākā hands which from the region of the

shoulder extend outwards and fall on the hip.410

Keśabandha411— Movement of hands from side to the region of

the head (hair, literally) and back.412

Latā413— Arms extended obliquely at the sides.414

Karihasta415— One hand in Latā is swung from side to side, while

the other is Tripaṭākā at the ear.

Pakṣavañcitaka416— The tip of a Tripaṭākā hand touches the hip

and the tip of the other hand, which is in Tripaṭākā too, tou-

ches the head.

Pakṣapradyotaka417— The aforesaid hands kept with a parivartana

movement.

Garudapakṣaka418— Bharata's definition does not make this at all

clear. Abhinava's419 exposition gives a better picture. Two

hands placed near the hips with palms facing downwards, then

having, being joined at each other's bases, suddenly move up.

Dandapaksa420.—Hamsapaksa hands, vyāvartana-parivartana movement, then arms extended.421

Ūrdhvamandala422.—Hands perform the vivartana movement in the ūrdhvadesa i.e. they are circled above.

Pārśvamandala423.—Such aforesaid hands when placed on their respective sides are termed Pārśvamandala.

Uromandala424.—One hand performs the Udvestita and the other the Apavesṭita movement and then are circled425 at the region.

Uroḥ Pārśvārdhamandala426.—An Arāla and an Ālapallava are circled near the chest427 and then perform the āvartana movement at the sides.

Muṣṭikasvastika428.—Both hands at wrist, one is kuñcita i.e. Arāla,429 the other aṅcita i.e. Ālapallava.430 Then they form themselves into Khatakāmukha and finally Svastika.

Nalinipadmakosa431—Vyāvartana and Parivartana of Padmakosa hands.

Ulbana432—Alapadma hands with fingers quivering above.433

Lalita434—Two Ālapallava hands near the region of the head.

Valita435.—Two hands which are in Latā, when crossed in Svastika at the elbows.

Footnotes

1 The Abhinayadarpana (3-5) and SR clearly ascribe tāṇḍava to Taṇḍu. Kapila Vatsyayana, too, holds that according to the NŚ tāṇḍava was composed by Taṇḍu (Vatsyayana, K. Classical Indian Dance in Literature and the Arts, Ch. 2, p. 29). NŚ* 4 265 says the same—Taṇḍunāpi tataḥ samyagganaṇābhaṃvasamvṛtaḥ/ nṛttaprayogah sṛṣṭo yaḥ tāṇḍava iti smrtoh// But from a perusal of NŚ 4.13-19 it seems that the dance itself (not just the recakas, aṅgahāras etc.) was composed by Lord Śiva himself and he merely instructed his protege Taṇḍu to teach it to Bharata—mayā pidaṁ smrtaṁ nrttam sandhyākāleṣu nrtyatā/ nānākaraṇasamyuktairaṅgahārairvibhūṣitam// NŚ, 4.13. Again NŚ 4.274 has tasyā taṇḍuprayuktasya tāṇḍavasya vidhikriyām i.e., tāṇḍava was 'used' by Taṇḍu, not 'created' by him.

2 NŚ, 4. 15-16. Bharata had performed a Dima (i.e. a type of a play) named Tripuradāha before Lord Śiva, the pūrvaraṅga of which had no nrtta. Hence, the concept of nrtta in the pūrvaraṅga was introduced by Lord Śiva and this was called 'citra pūrvaraṅga', pro-

• The B.H.U. ed is used in this Chapter uptil fn. No. 61 (except fn. 8 to 17 where G.O.S. ed. is used).

152 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyaśāstra

bably because it gave a picturesque quality.

3 Tvatprayuyukṣitaprayogocitoddhatapūrvarangavidhau. Tatprayuktā

ime karaṇāngahārāḥ. Sukumārapūrvarange tu devyā kṛtā anuddhatā

aṅgahārā ityabhiprayāyāt. AB on NŚ, 4.14; also cf. commentary on

NŚ. 4.273.

4 NŚ, 4.274-95 make this quite plain. “Tāṇḍava has been translated

by some as ‘wild dance’ (Hass. Daśarūpa, p. 5), but the adjective

seems to be misleading. From the present chapter of the NŚ it

appears that the word meant ‘class dance’ which has been codified.

It is to be distinguished from folk dance mentioned in the later

texts. Tāṇḍava was not exclusively a male dance. for the illustra-

tions of the karaṇas taken out of old bas reliefs and printed in

the Baroda ed. of the NŚ show that these were performed by wo-

men as well. These karaṇas were evidently elements of tāṇḍava;

lāsya performed by women was only a gentle form of tāṇḍava.”

Ghosh, M.M., translation of the NŚ, p. 68 fn.

5 Prāyeṇa tāṇḍavidhirdevastutyāśrayo bhavet/ NŚ, 4.273.

Devastutyāśrayakṛtam vadan்gam tu bhavedathal

Māheśvarāṅgahārairudāhṛtāstat prayojayet// Ibid., 4.320.

6 For details of Vardhamānaka see under tāla of gāndharva music.

7 Recitenākṣiptarecitena ca samastānāmmuktānāmanuktānām cādhārād-

yanantabhedānām niṣpattịḥ. Tathā ca Nandimata uktam—Recitākh-

yoṅgahāro yo dvidhā tena hyaśeṣataḥ/ tuṣyanti devatāstenā tāṇḍave

tam niyojayet// AB on NŚ, 4.263.

8 NŚ, 31. 332-38; AB, ad NŚ. l.c. (G.O.S. ed.).

9 NŚ, 31. 339-41; AB. ibid. (G.O.S.).

10 NŚ, 31. 342-44; AB. ibid. (G.O.S.).

11 NŚ, 31. 345-48; AB, ibid. (G.O.S.).

12 NŚ, 31. 349-54; AB, ibid. (G.O.S.).

13 NŚ, 31. 355-57; AB, ibid. (G.O.S.).

14 NŚ, 31. 358-60; AB, ibid. (G.O.S.).

15 NŚ, 31. 361-62; AB, ibid. (G.O.S.).

16 NŚ, 31. 362-67; AB, ibid. (G.O.S.).

17 NŚ, 31. 364-67; AB, ibid. (G.O.S.).

18 In the Nātyaśāstra, the tāṇḍava is described as the dance taught

to sage Bharata by Taṇḍu at the orders of Lord Śiva. NŚ, (B.H.U.,

ed. 1971, Vol. I), Ch. 4.

19 The lāsya form of dance is said to have been created by the god-

dess Pārvatī. NŚ, 4. 256.

20 Piṇḍībandhāṃstato dṛṣṭvā Nandibhadramukhā gaṇāḥ/

Cakruste naṃma piṇḍīnaṃ bandhamāsām salakaṣaṇam// —NŚ, 4. 257. A later

work, the Śṛṅgāra Prakāśa of Bhoja, says that Brahmā is the author

of the pindībandhas—pindyādyā brahmaṇongajāḥ (Vol. II, pp. 425-426).

21 Dvayoḥ prayokṛtayā sukumārasukumāranṛttayoḥ samakālaprayogena pindībandhaniṣpatttim sūcayati-Nandibhadramukhā gaṇā iti. AB on NŚ, 4. 257.

22 Evamanyasyāpi tathā devatāsu yathākramam dhvajabhṛtāḥ prayokta-vyāḥ pindībandhāḥ sucinhitāḥ/. Kumbhā described pindībandha as having the form of piṇḍa and rendered by imitation of the form of one's chosen deity. Sa ceṣṭa-devatārūpānukaraṇena smṛto budhaiḥ lāsye cehānukāreṇa. Vidheyā cavispaṣcitā pindīkāreṇa vijñeyāḥ pindībandhāstadā punah. Kumbhā as quoted in Bharatakosa, p. 886

23 NŚ, 4. 258-62.

24 Tatraite pindībandhā ādhārāṅgaprayogasādhakatamanabhedādbahuprakāram bhidyante. AB (B.H.U. ed., Vol. I), p. 401.

25 …………. ādhāre svavapuṣyake ca vividhaṃ sṛṣṭim samāsūtrayan/ trailokyasthapatistvameva bhagavanviśvākṛtirjṛmbhasi. Quoted by AB, p. 402.

26 Tatra deśaḥ kāla iti ādhāradvyabhedātsapta lokāḥ trayaḥ kālā ityā-dhārabhedāḥ daśa. Hastau pāḍau akṣiṇī śira ityaṅgabhedā api saptateti saptadaśa. Ekoneko vā prayoktā, so’ pi samaprayogo viṣamaprayogo veti caturdhākaraneṇa sampadyate aṅgahāreṇa veti pūrvāṇi caturbhiḥ paścāt saptadasena ca guṇanādāsṭādhikacatuḥśatyadhikaṃ dvisahasraṃ pārameśvarāḥ pindībandhāḥ. AB, p. 401.

27 Karaṇa is a sequence of dance movements culminating in pose.

28 Aṅgahāra is a sequence of karaṇas.

29 Piṇḍī ādhārāṅgādisamghātaḥ tayā bādhyate buddhau praveśyate ta-nubhāvena sakalāya vā vyomādirūpāyeti pindībandha ākṛtiviśeṣaḥ…… Ākāro bādhyate sampadyate punaraneneti pindībandhaḥ karaṇāṅga-hārādih. Ibid., p. 403.

It is pertinent to quote here a note given on pindībandha in the Tāṇḍavalakṣaṇam (Appendix F) :

"The term pindī is explained in a long note in the commen-tary. The word literally means the cavity in the plinth of an idol into which the latter's lower portion fits smugly for stability. The connotation of the expression seems to have expanded through successive stages until in the end it came to embrace such abstract concepts as 'the prime attribute', 'the root cause' etc.

"Pindībandha meant at first the concrete symbol, which was created in the course of a deity's dance (for example, the ecstatic dance of Śiva) and thereafter came to be associated with and signify that deity. We may cite here as an example the linga. This form

was created by Śiva when he danced his impassioned aṅgahāras,

and it emphasises the unified masculine-faminine nature of the

supreme God-head. Śiva is formless and the liṅga, which is the

nearest approach to the formlessness of a concrete symbol, repre-

sents his masculine aspect, and the pedestal which receives this

liṅga represents the feminine aspect.

"Piṇḍī may also mean the aṅgahāras and karaṇas introduced in

the dance to signify a particular deity. The meaning now expands

to include the consort, the vāhana, the weapon, and other imple-

ments of that deity.

"Piṇḍī also means the favourite karaṇa of a deity with which

he is appeased. Iśvarī, for example is pleased when talapuṣpapuṭa

karaṇa is danced. Iśvara is propitiated by the niṣumbhita.

"Whenever any deity is to be indicated the dances apppopri-

ate to his nature are to be performed. In the intervals between one

such dance and another the dance appropriate to his piṇḍī are to

be danced.

"Finally, piṇḍī appears to stand for any characteristic attribute

of a deity (for example, personal beauty of Lakṣmī, continuous

flow of Gaṅgā, etc.)."

30 ......talapuṣpapuṭa-karaṇena karmaviśeṣasūcakena Bhagavatyāḥ pa-

ritoṣaṇam sampadyate. 'Tilaka ca karaḥ sthāpyal' ityabhinayena

Bhagavataḥ paritoṣaḥ. 'Nikṛttitau yadā hastau' ityanena triśūlā-kṛt-

iryā kāyasampattịh. Garuḍaplutakena tārkṣyākaragatisūcanam. Gaṅ-

gāvatāreṇa dhārāpiṇḍī. Nāgāpasarpiteṇa bhogipiṇḍī. 'Prasāryotk-

ṣipya ca karau' ityaṅgahāreṇa ākāri̇yabhasmatriṣūlaśivalingādipiṇḍī-

niṣpattịh. Ibid. p. 405.

31 Piṇḍīnām vidhyaścaiva catvāraḥ samprakṛttitāḥ/

Piṇḍī śṛṅkhalikā caiva latābandho' tha bhedyakạḥ// NŚ., 4.292.

32 Piṇḍībandhāstu piṇḍatvāt gulmaḥ śṛṅkhalikā bhavet/

jālopanaddhā ca latā sanṛtto bhedyakaḥ smṛtaḥ// NŚ., 4.293.

33 Vatsyayana, K., op. cit., pp. 33-4.

34 Tatra viśeṣantarahitam hṛdyamekaprayojyam

ekah prakāroviśeṣāmadhyavirāhātsāṃyaśabdenoktạḥ Tadāha-

piṇḍibandhaḥ piṇḍatvāditi. Nartakidvayayojyaḥ paraspara-samban-

dha eva piṇḍībandhādvyapakāraḥ sajātiyo vā ekanālāvabaddhakama-

layugalavat vijātīyo vā haṃsavadānaparigṛhītānālaninavat gulmaḥ

śṛṅkhalikāśabdavācyaḥ. Nartakītrayaprayojyāstu tato'pi vaicitrya-

sahiṣṇutvājjālāvadvicitratāṃ gacchatpūrvavatsajātīyavijātīyātmala-

tābandhāḥ. Nartakīcatustayaprayojyāstu...... jñāto bhedyakaḥ. AB, pp.

462-3. 'They are done by one or more nartakīs.....That done by

one is a simple piṇḍī. The pattern executed by two looks like two

lotuses on a stalk, or a swan holding by its beak a lotus stalk with the lotus. This pindi by two is called a gulma or sṛṅkhalikā, the pattern formed by three is jāla, by four latābandha." Raghavan, V., Bhoja's Śṛṅgāra Prakāśa, p. 588.

35 Piṇḍibandhaḥ kaniṣṭhe tu sṛṅkhalā tu layāntare/ Madhyame ca latābandhaḥ jyeṣṭhe caivātha bheḍyakaḥ// NŚ. 4.294.

For meaning of āsārita see fn. 43. For details Chapter on tāla.

36 Ekā tu prathamam yoijā dve dvitīyam tathaiva ca/ Tisro vastū tṛtīyam tu caturthakastu caturthakam// NŚ, 4.291.

"Of these the gulma is a general collective dance, the sṛṅkhalā is the dance in which partners hold one another's hands, the latā is the dance of two putting their arms around each other, and bheḍyaka is the dance of each one separately away from the group." Ghosh, M.M., translation of the Nāṭyaśāstra, p. 71.

38 Vatsyayayana, K., op.cit., p. 34.

39 L.c.

40 L.c.

41 For sajātiya and vijātiya piṇḍibandhas see fn. 34.

42 NŚ, 4. 276-94.

43 Āsāritam gītam, Kavi, Ram Krishna, Bharatakośa, p. 64. Āsārita is a kind of music in many parts and with a fixed and elaborate tāla or beat structure for each part. Its parts, mukha, pratimukha, deha aad saṃharaṇa were compared with udgītha, prastāra, prati-hāra and nidhaṇa respectively of sāman singing. Some compare a further āsārita component, the śiṣaka with the Sāmic part called upadrāva. L.c. Four āsāritas with different tāla-structure have been described in the NŚ. These are in order the Kaniṣṭha, Layāntara, Madhyama and Jyeṣṭha respectively. These were distinguished by the number of beats they required. (The connection of piṇḍibandha with āsārita is mentioned elsewhere too. Prayogastu yadā tveṣām piṇḍibandhairvikalpyate/ pratyekam hyāṅgavinyāsastadā teṣām prat-thak-pṛthak// — NŚ, (G.O.S. ed.), 31. 77.

44 Upohana was rendered in the first few initial kalās or beats of the mukha part of the āsārita. NŚ (G.O.S. ed.), 31. 79.

45 Prayujya gītavādye tu niṣkrāmennartakī, tataḥ/ anenaiva vidhānena praviśantyaparāḥ pṛthak// — NŚ, 4. 283. Anyāścānukramenātha piṇḍim badhnanti yāḥ striyaḥ/ tāvatparyastakaḥ kāryo yāvatpiṇḍi na badhyate// — NŚ, 4. 284. Abhinava explains that niṣkrāma here does not mean that the dancer will totally leave the stage, but simply that she will follow another. Sā niṣkrāmedapasaret, na tu sarvathaiva nirgacchet. Dve dvitīyamiti Vakṣyamāṇatvāt. Aparāḥ kim yugapat-praviśanti netyāha. Pṛthak ekaikakramena praviśedityar-yugapat-praviśanti netyāha. Pṛthak ekaikakramena praviśedityar-

156 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

thah. AB on NŚ, 4. 279.

46 Tathā hi ekam tu prathamamityatra prathamōsāritamabhinayati.

Tato Dvitīyam dvitīyasāritam. Tatsamakālam tu prathamā kevalam-

aṅgahāram karotīti. Evam tṛtīyasāritārthamabhinayati. Tadā dve

aṅgahāram prayuñjate. Caturthī caturthāsāritābhinayaṁ yadā karoti

tisṛ’ oṅgahārāṁ rañjayanti. Anye tvabhinayaprayoga pi sahitatāmā-

huh. AB on NŚ 4. 294.

47 Piṇḍiṁ badhvā tataḥ sarvā niṣkrāmeyuḥ striyastu tāḥ/

piṇḍibandheṣu vādyam tu kartavyamihā vādayaiḥ// —NŚ, 4. 285.

48 AB on NŚ, 29. 112. Cf. Kavi, Ram Krishna, Bharatakośa, p. 416.

49 Ibid., pp. 588-89.

50 NŚ, 31. 188.

51 Ibid., 31. 188.

52 Sūcābhinayah

Bhaviṣyadarthānugamādvākyārtho vākyameva tataḥ/

Sūcābhinayano nāṭye vedibhiḥ pratipāditah//

—Vemabhūpala quoted by Kavi, Ram Krishna, Bharatakośa, p.

969. I.e. that is known as sūcābhinaya where vākya or meaning

connected with future events is indicated first by āṅgika and then by

vocal acting.

53 Sequence of ten karaṇas.—Kavi, Ram Krishna, Bharatakośa,

p. 310; ŚR, Vol. IV, pp. 806-7.

54 AB (B.H.U. ed.), Vol. I, pp. 435-37.

55 Anekanartakīyojyaṁ citratālalayānvitam ācatusṛaṣaṣṭhiyugalādrāsa-

kaṁ masṛṇodhatam. Ibid., p. 437.

It may be noted that piṇḍibandha arose out of sukumāra and asu-

kumāra ṇṛttas.

56 Ṣoḍaśadvādas’ astau vā yasminnṛtyanti nāyikā piṇḍibandhādivinyā-

saiḥ rāsakaṁ tadudāhṛtam.—Bhoja’s Śṛṅgāra Prakāśa, Vol. 1, pp.

57 Latākhyabhedyakaiḥ gulmaiḥ nānāpravṛtta-pradarśakaiḥ pātraire-

katva-saṁyuktam piṇḍibandham tu kārayeta. Ibid., p. 427.

58 Paribhramantyāḥ vicitrabandhaiḥ ima dviśa’ sanartakyāḥ khelanti

tālānugatapādāḥ tavāṅgaṇe dṛśyate daṇḍarāsaḥ—Karpūramañjarī,

4.10.

59 Maṇḍalena tu yannṛttam hallīśakamiti smṛtam ekāstratu netā

syāḍgopasṛṇīnāṁ yathā hariḥ. AB (B.H.U. ed., Vol. I), p. 437.

60 The use of piṇḍibandha in the pūrvaraṅga appears to have become

obscure by the time of Abhinava, although he clearly knew the

practice. It is possible that it had fallen out of use in the dramatic

tradition but continued in the folk tradition. This is suggested by

these lines—

Nanu sarvo'yam piṇḍibandhaprakāra ihopayogī vā na vetyāśaṅkyāho ......na cāyam piṇḍibandhaprakāra lakṣye vicchinnah. Kevalamṛttṛ-ṇa-kakṣayoh patitamahauṣadhivad anavasthitairabhyuddharitum na śakyate sāvadhanatayā tu śakyata eveti nātrālasyam śrayitavyam anyathā katham prayogamāhuḥ. AB on NŚ, 4. 295.

61 It should be remembered that in folk culture full creativity is not standardised per se. While standard forms are created out of it, in itself the folk tradition varies continuously. The relationship of the dialects to the standard language illustrates the relationship of folk forms to classical forms in arts.

*62 NŚ, (G.O.S. ed.) 10. 51.

63 Ibid., 10. 52-58.

64 Ibid., 10. 90-93.

65 AB on NŚ, 10. 53.

66 NŚ, 10. 58-61.

67 Ibid. 10. 61-65.

68 How Kapila Vātsyaayana (op. cit., p. 78) holds that the two feet are “two tālas and half apart” is not understandable.

69 NŚ, 10. 65-67.

70 According to Sārṅgadeva the feet are at the distance of only one tāla from each other. But he further says that according to some the feet are kept at a distance of four tālas probably hinting at Bharata. SR (Adyar ed.). Vol. IV, 1046.

71 NŚ, 10. 67-70.

72 Ibid., 10. 70-72. Bharata has not named the presiding deity for the Pratyālīḍha and Sārṅgadeva has given it as Rudra, the same as that of Ālīḍha. SR, Vol. IV, 1052-53.

73 NŚ, 12. 160. Sārṅgadeva besides enumerating these three gives four more, Gatāgata, Valita. Moṭita and Vinivartita. that is seven in all. He also gives the presiding goddesses for each, which Bharata does not.

74 NŚ, 12. 162-67. Sārṅgadeva seems to be stressing on the fact that this sthāna is to be assumed on entry to stage i.e. in the pūrvaraṅga and even quotes Abhinava’s view on it. SR. Vol. IV, 1057-62.

75 NŚ, 10. 167-72.

76 Ibid., 10. 172-75.

77 Ibid., 10. 8-10.

78 Ibid., 10. 11-13.

79 Ibid., 10. 14.

80 Ibid., 10. 15.

• From this point the references are to the G.O.S ed. unless otherwise stated.

158 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

81 Ibid., 10. 16.

82 Ibid., 10, 17.

83 Prṣṭhata iti pārṣṇipradeśṭ—AB on NŚ 10. 17.

84 Tasyeti dakṣiṇasyāpasarpaṇe svapārśvārdhatryaśritatayā sthitih Ibid.

85 NŚ, 10. 18.

86 Atha cāṣagatih savya iti savyopasatpatyeva sarvatra. Prasārita iti dvitālāmātram paścānī-talamātramagrataḥ punah sa evāpasarpito dvitālāmātram paścānī-tah, vāmaḥ savyena sahāpasarpati. Kiñcidutplutya savyavāmāpasar-pataḥ ślisyataśceti tatraṣamāpasarpaṇādau cāsyyeva gatih cāṣaga-tih, savyopasarpicetyanye paṭhanti tatra savyosarpaśabdayoḥ śliṣṭatvamapasarpaṇam cārthaḥ AB on NŚ, 10.18.

87 NŚ, 10.19.

88 Ibid., 10.20.

89 Abhinava says that since this is like the movement of a goat, it is termed thus, for elaka means goat. AB on NŚ, 10.20.

90 NŚ, 10.21.

91 Ibid., 10.22.

92 AB on NŚ, 10.22.

93 NŚ, 10.23.

94 The other foot is in sama position says Abhinava—athādditā....... tena samasthita eko'gratalasañcāraḥ pādaḥ dvitīyah. AB on NŚ, 10.23.

95 NŚ, 10.24.

96 Recakam ṛttahastamātram kecidāhuḥ. AB on NŚ, 10.24.

97 NŚ, 10.25.

98 AB on NŚ, 10.25.

99 NŚ, 10.26.

100 AB on NŚ, 10.26.

101 NŚ. 10.26.

102 AB on NŚ, 10.26.

103 NŚ, 10.27.

104 AB on NŚ, 10.27.

105 NŚ, 10.28.

106 AB on NŚ, 10.28.

107 NŚ, 10.30.

108 Athatikrānta .....kuñcitam tad dvitīyagulphakṣetre kṛtvā kiñcit pur-ataḥ prasārya prakṛtibhedena catustalāntaramutkṣipyāgreṇa bhūmau nipātyata iti gantavyā tikramādikrāntā. AB on NŚ 10.30.

109 NŚ, 10.31.

110 Athāpakrāntā ūrubhyāṃ valanalakṣitam (baddhnam) pūrvam kṛtvā tataḥ pādamuddhṛtya pārśve kṣipeditvāpakramaṇādapakrāntā. AB on NŚ, 10.31.

111 NŚ. 10.32.

112 Atha pārśvakrāntā kuñcitam pādam svapārśvenopari nitvā bhūmau pārśnyā pātayediti. AB on NŚ, 10.32.

113 Having just stood in agratalasañcara, the heel is dropped to the ground, i.e. talasañcara-añcita movement. NŚ, 9.266.

114 NŚ, 10.33.

115 Ibid., 10.34.

116 Atha sūci-jānūrdhvaṁ janūparyantaṁ jaṅghāṁ prasārayet, yadi vā janorūrdhvamūruparyantāṁ jaṅghāṁ sakalāṁ prasāryāgrayogenapāt-ayediti. AB on NŚ, 10.34.

117 NŚ, 10.35.

118 Atha nūpurapādikā......añcitam kṛtvā tam prṣṭhato sphikapārśni-śleṣaparyantaṁ nītvā svapārśvegrataleñcitam jaṅghāyāṁ pātayediti AB on NŚ, 10.35.

119 NŚ, 10.36.

120 Ibid., 10.37.

121 AB on NŚ, 10.37.

122 NŚ, 10.38.

123 AB on NŚ, 10.38.

124 NŚ, 10.39.

125 AB on NŚ, 10.39.

126 NŚ, 10.40.

127 Ibid., 10.41.

128 AB on NŚ, 10.41.

129 NŚ, 10.42.

130 AB on NŚ, 10.42.

131 NŚ, 10.43.

132 AB on NŚ 10.43.

133 SR, Vol. IV. pp. 948-49.

134 Ūru-jānu-jaṅghasya stabdhatvena daṇḍākāvataṁ daṇḍapādā. AB (G O.S. ed.), Vol. II, p. 105.

135 NŚ, 10.45.

136 AB on NŚ, 10.45.

137 NŚ, 4.61. Abhinava explains – The right foot is extended through the Adhyardhikā Cārī, the two hands are brought to the right side with the vyāvartana movement and then with the parivartana to the left side. Then beneath the left and right breasts is formed the puṣpapuṭa karaṇa through the combination of talasañcara foot and puṣpapuṭa hand. The limbs are in sausṭhava. He also gives the purpose of the karaṇa. AB on NŚ, 4.61. Essential part of the dance is the pūrvaraṅga. This karaṇa is connected with Pārvatī and is used for appeasing the Goddess. Ata

160 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

eva “pādāgrāsthitayā” ityatra talapuṣpaputakaraneṇa karmaviśeṣa-sūcakena bhagavatyāḥ paritoṣaṇam sampādyate. AB on NŚ, 4.263.

138 Bharata simply mentions the svastika at the wrists and the vyāvar-tana and parivartana movements, NŚ, 4.62.

Abhinava explains thus—After having formed the svastika (i.e. hand crossed at the wrists) in front of the chest but separate from it, the vyāvartita and parivartita movements should be made, and the hands made to fall palm on the thigh. If two uttāna pa-tākā hands are made to fall it represents jealousy; patākā hands with palms turned down and rubbed indicate anger. Thus, in this karana there can be other poses too like kaṭakamukha, śukatunda etc. in accordance with different applications. According to some there is agratala-sañcara. AB on NŚ, 4.62.

139 NŚ, 4. 63. Bharata mentions the vyāvartana. parivartana and śuka-tunda of the hands and the valita inward position of the thighs.

Abhinava says—The hands make the vyāvartita and parivartita movements simultaneously from the chest and with the ākṣiptā cārī are brought together through the parivartana movement and placed there (i.e. on the chest adopting the śukatunda pose with the palm facing down. The movement is by ākṣipitā cārī and stasis by baddhā cārī. (It may be noted that there is valana of the thighs in baddhā cārī). This karana is used to represent the bashfulness of a shy and artless girl. AB on NŚ, l.c.

140 NŚ, 4. 64.

141 Abhinava mentions the ākṣiptā cārī. He also says that this karana is used to indicate jealousy and anger.

142 NŚ, 4. 65.

143 Abhinava explains that the ‘pralambita’ arms of Bharata mean latā pose-i.e. the arms are extended obliquely. pralambitau karāviti latāhastau mantavyau nā tu dolāhastau. AB on NŚ, 4. 65.

144 NŚ, 4. 66. Abhinava says that the ūrdhvamaṇḍala (nṛtta hasta) movements is first made and then the aṅjali pose (which Bharata mentions) on the chest. He says that this karana is used in indicating the entreaties of a lover. It is not used for praṇāma to the gods, because that is done by the aṅjali pose of hands near the head. AB on NŚ, 4.66.

145 After taking the caturasra pose the hands form the recita move-ment, i.e. haṃśapakṣa hasta making a quick circular movement, then āviddhavakra i.e, with vyāṛtta movements, arms are brought down and up from the region of the head, then from svastika (at the chest). Then they are separated and form the pakṣavañcita

and pakṣapradyota nrtta-hastas at the hips. AB on NŚ, 4.67.

146 NŚ, 4.68. Abhinava expounds thus—Having adopted the caturasra pose of the hands, whilst performing the vicyavā cārī, the hands should make the ūrdhvamandala gesture preceded by the udveṣṭita movement, and then make the svastika. The sthāna adopted should be mandala. This karaṇa is used for indicating scorn or contempt. AB on NŚ, 4.68.

147 NŚ, 4.69. Bharata simply states that there is nikuṭṭana of the hands and feet. Abhinava explains thus—Nikuṭṭana of the hand is the falling and rising of the little finger in the ālapadama hasta. Nikuṭṭana of the feet is the same thing as udghaṭṭita feet (i.e. toe heel movement). Thereafter he explains the sequence—Assuming the mandala sthāna and standing with the caturasra nrtta hastas, the right hand is brought with an udveṣṭita movement to the hump of the right shoulder, and nikuṭṭana (with the little finger of the ālapadama hasta) is done there. The right foot does nikuṭṭana by the udghaṭṭita action. Then, the left hand is made to do the āvid-dhavakra movement, once again the caturasra nrtta hastas are formed and nikuṭṭana done. Similarly the left foot does the udghaṭṭita movement. This is employed to indicate self-adulation. AB on NŚ. 4.69.

148 Nikuṭṭana of only one side. NŚ, 4.70.

149 NŚ, 4.71. Bharata simply mentions the chinna kaṭi or waist and the pallava hands. Abhinava explains—Loosely formed pātākās hastas at the waist are called pallava. Thus the shadow both of patākā and alapallava. Valana of the waist is a chinna kaṭi. Thereafter he explains the karaṇa—Having executed the bhrāmarī cārī (on either side) the mandala sthāna is assumed, and the pallava-hasta is formed at the shoulder. The same is done on the other side. This has to be repeated three or four times. This karaṇa is used to express wonder. AB on NŚ, 4.71.

150 NŚ, 4.72. Abhinava expounds thus—Having assumed the mandala sthāna one hand as is held near the chest, and the other moves away and then forms the sūcimukha near it. The foot performs the nikuṭṭana movement and side is sannata. Indicates bemusement. AB on NŚ. 4.72.

151 NŚ, 4.73. Abhinava explains—After the caturasra hands are placed at the chest, they (the hands) execute the recita movement. Then with the vyāvartita movement they are brought to the chest which is bent forward (abhugna) and the hands are crossed in svastika. The legs are also crossed in svastika. This karaṇa is used to indicate bashfulness and repentence. AB on NŚ, 4.73.

162 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

152 NŚ, 4.74.

153 Abhinava prescribes the āviddhā cārī—āviddhā cāryā cāsya prayo-

gaḥ It is used for indicating pride born of wealth—etasyātisaubhā-

gyādi-janitagarvaviṣayaḥ prayogaḥ. AB on NŚ, 4.74.

154 NŚ, 4.75.

155 There is a jump and then svastika of the hands and feet are for-

med—yugapadeva hastapādāsya svastikam racayet.... AB on NŚ,

4.75.

156 NŚ, 4.76. Abhinava expounds—While the two arms are extended

in udveṣṭita movement, the apakrāntā cārī is executed. While the

apaveṣṭita movement is performed the other foot performs the sūci

cārī. Then the svastika is formed with the feet and hands. Due to

the turning of the trika, the svastika is at the back and hence this

is called prṣṭha svastika. AB on NŚ, 4.76.

157 Amara defines trika as ‘the lower portion of the spine where it

meets the pelvic bones’.

158 NŚ, 4.77.

159 AB on NŚ. 4.77.

160 NŚ, 4.78. Abhinava explains—the alātā cārī is performed with the

right foot and the right hand executing the nitamba nrtta hasta

(the extending of hands from the shoulder) the caturasra nrtta

hastas are assumed. The left leg performs the ūrdhvajānu cārī. This

karaṇa is employed in lalita nrtta i.e. the lāsya style of dancing.

AB on NŚ, 4.78.

161 NŚ, 4.79. The text of Bharata does not at all give a clear picture

of this karaṇa. Since it is named kaṭisama, there should be a

movement of the waist; but how ? This is explained by Abhinava.

He says that after performing the ākṣiptā and apakrāntā cārīs and

having formed a svastika with the hands. the two hands are placed

thus—One on the navel as khaṭvākamukha hasta, the other an ardha-

candra hasta is placed on the other side of the waist. This side of

the waist is in the nata pose and the other is raised. When accom-

pained by the vaiṣṇava sthāna, this is called kaṭisama. It is used by

the sūtradhāra at the consecration of the jarjara in the pūrvarānga.

AB on NŚ. 4.79.

162 Abhinava takes udvāhita to betoken a raised side and not udvāhita

chest as usually interpreted. Cf. Kapila Vatsyayana, op. cit. p.

141. Udvāhita chest here seems to be irrelevant. In fact, Abhinava

describes here the nata and udvāhita of the waist which seems a

more appropriate interpretation for the karaṇa termed kaṭisama.

163 NŚ 4.80. Abhinava expounds thus—The two hands placed near

the heart make a vyāvrtta movement all around i.e. high up and

and are thrown down at the sides. Then, one hand forming the recita movement i.e. hamsapakṣa hasta with a quick circular movement is brought downwards to the chest. The other hand in a recita movement too, is taken away (from the body). The feet are añcita and sūci. This is used in representing a series of giving and receiving. AB on NŚ, 4.80.

164 NŚ. 4.81. While one hand performs the vyāvrtta movement, the foot on the same side is stretched out (vikṣepa). The other hand is in the caturasra pose. Then the former hand makes the parivartana movement, and the foot is brought back (ākṣepa). This karaṇa is used to represent going and coming. However, Abhinava says that the application of this karaṇa is to be in between pieces of abhinaya, in moving about, in the course of cārīs and sthānakas which are used while fighting is being shown and for indicating arrangement for keeping time i.e. tāla AB on NŚ, 4.81.

165 NŚ. 4.82.

166 Abhinava says that the left hand is khaṭakāmukha vāmiti khaṭakasyaṃ.... pādabhyāmevastikayogārdhasvastikam. AB on NŚ, 4.82.

167 NŚ, 4.83.

168 Sa eveti yo’rdhasvastikkaraṇe karihasta uktaḥ sa eva vyāvartitakaranena yadā nāsākṣetre ālapallavakṛtitvā-dañcita-sāraṇānukārī tadañcitam. AB on NŚ, 4.83. Abhinava says that when with the vyāvrtta and parivartita movements the karihasta (which as used in ardha svastika) is brought near the nose and forms the ālapallava hasta, then it is the añcita karaṇa. Kapila Vatsyayana has classified this karaṇa alongwith the pāda or feet karaṇas. Neither Bharata nor Abhinava mentions the añcita-foot. Bharat clearly says, añcito nāsikāgre... i.e. añcita at the nose-tip. It is obvious that the añcita foot cannot be brought near the nose. Obviously therefore it refers to the hand. From the AB it is clear that this means the ālapallava hasta. The SR (Vol. IV, pp. 591-5), too, mentions the ālapadma hasta and has not mentioned the añcita foot anywhere. It may be noted that in karaṇas 9, 71, 104, 105 where the añcita hand has been mentioned it denotes the ālapallava hasta. The svastika foot which Dr. Vatsyayana refers has not been mentioned anywhere (op. cit. p. 143).

169 NŚ, 4.84.

170 ... hastau tu pādayośdvyāvartitaparivartitau bhavatah Kramenāiko dolāhastau parah khaṭakāsya iti, AB on NŚ, 4.84.

170a In fact. there is an oblique turning of the entire body specially knees, thighs and waist.

164 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

171 NŚ, 4.85.

172 The hand movement has not been specified in the NŚ. But Abhinava says one hand forms the arāla above the knee, the other is a khaṭakāmukha hasta near the chest—eko hastaḥ kuñcitastanasamajānūparivodhvamukhorarālo vā. tatrāparastu vakṣasthah khaṭakāmukhaḥ. AB on NŚ, 4.85.

173 NŚ, 4.86.

174 Vrścikākhyē karanē yah pādo vakṣyatē pādaḥ prṣṭhāñcitastathā iti (NŚ, 4.108); sa vrścikaśabdenahocyatē. Tena paścātprasāritam caranam kṛtvā tadēkam ca caranam kṛtvā tadēkam ca hastam śiraḥ pāśvakṣētrē' rālam dvitīyam ca nāśāgrakṣetrānuṣāri vakṣasyarālāmēva kuryāt.—AB on NŚ, 4.86.

175 NŚ, 4.87. The mattallī cārī is used here. Abhinava expounds thus—Having made a svastika with the ankles, the feet move away. Simultaneously with the svastika movement the feet is the udveṣṭita movement of the hands and the forming of the nitamba nṛtta hasta. At the time of the upasarpaṇa or moving away of the feet. the āveṣṭita of the hands is executed. This karaṇa is used to represent intoxication. AB on NŚ, 4.87.

176 NŚ, 4.88.

177 SR, Vol. IV, 631-32 mentions nitamba and keśabandha nṛtta hastas in context of the right hand.

178 NŚ, 4.89.

179 Ibid., 4.90.

180 Kapila Vatsyayana takes this to be sūcividdhā cārī (op cit., p. 143). It may be pointed out that firstly there is no single cārī of such a name—sūcī and āviddha are two different cāris. Secondly, a close perusal of the verse in the text will show that it is grammatically not possible to break up 'sūcividdhāvapakrāntau (NŚ, 4.90) into sūcividdhau and apakrāntā. It is sūcividdhau and apakrāntāu. Sūcividdhau is clearly explained by Abhinava as one foot sūcī and the other vidhha i.e. pierced by it and thereafter apakrāntā cārī—sūcākhyēna pādena dvitīyam padam viddham vidhāya sa eva sūcīpādopakrāntacāriyuktaḥ kāryah. AB on NŚ, 4.90. This fact is again emphasized when he clearly defines the sūcī as a foot movement not sūcī or sūcividdha (?) cārī. Abhinava says—Uṭṣkriptā tu bhavetpārśniraṅgēnā samsthitāḥ.

181 NŚ, 4.91.—Abhinava explains—The hand indicated here is the sūcīmukhaḥ. That is moved away from the body. Simultaneously the sūcī foot which had been formed is also moved away. Then by the bhrāmarī cārī, there is turning of the trika. ......Sūcīmukho hastaḥ, sa dehakṣetrādapasṛtaḥ kāryaḥ. Tasmākṣālām sūcīpādo' py-

aśritah Tato bhrāmarikām cārīm kṛtvā......tadidam trikvanadva-litām. AB on NŚ, 4.91.

182 NŚ, 4.92.

183 Ibid., 4.93.

184 Abhinava mentions the nitamba and keśa-bandha ṇṭta hastas in context of vivartana of the right hand (AB on NŚ. 4.93). So does Sāriṅgadeva—‘nitamba-keśabandhādivartano dakṣiṇaḥ karaḥ. SR, Vol. IV, p. 634.

185 NŚ, 4.94.

186 Ibid., 4.95.

187 Ibid., 4.96.

188 Abhinava mentions the bhrāmarī cārī in context of the turning of the trika—tena bhrāmarikayā cāryā trikvanam kṛtyā tato nūpūra-pādikām cārim yena padena karoti. Taddikenaiiva hastena recitam. Dvitīyo latāhastah. AB on NŚ, 4.96.

189 NŚ, 4.97.

190 Ibid., 4.98. Kapila Vatsyayana mentions the bhrāmarī cārī for this karana (op. cit., p. 125). The turning of the trika and the name of the karana itself do suggest the bhrāmarī cārī, but neither Abhinava nor Sāriṅgadeva have mentioned the bhrāmarī cārī. Instead, they refer to the ākṣiptā cārī here. The ākṣipta and svastika feet have been mentioned by Bharata, and it is true that the ākṣiptā cāri uses both the ākṣipta movement and finally svastika of the feet. Perhaps, the bhrāmarī cārī was performed after that. According to Abhinava, udveṣṭita indicates ulbaṇa ṇṭta hastas. The technique as explained by Abhinava seems to be thus—The foot is in the ākṣirtā cārī. Simultaneously the udveṣṭita hand movement is performed. The lower part of the spine is curved and the feet form svastika. The same is performed on the other side. The hand assumes the udveṣṭita that is ulbaṇa ṇṭta hastas—Pādamakṣiptacāri-kam tadaivodveṣṭitam karam, SR, Vol. IV, p. 641-42. Tenaiva yojanā-svastikānantaram pādamakṣipya ratsamakālamudveṣṭya.....udve-ṭitamekam hastam kṛtvā punardvitīyenāṅgena tathaiva cakarāntādva lanāntaram svastika eva pādaḥ. AB on NŚ, 4.75.

191 NŚ, 4.99.

192 Abhinava explains that añcita should be taken to mean ālapallava —añcita ityālapallava. AB on NŚ, 4.99. He further says that this karana is used to represent the actions of the vidūṣaka that produce wonder—etadvidūsakāsya savismayasūcyabhinnayādat. I.c.

193 NŚ, 4.100.

194 Ibid., 4.101.

195 Abhinava explains that the hands indicated by Bharata in this

166 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nātyaśāstra

karaṇa are daṇḍapakṣa and the cārī daṇḍapādāṇḍavaddhastavikṣepeṇa recanena ca daṇḍapakṣau sūcyete. Pādavikṣepaṇa tu daṇḍapā-dā cārī. AB on NŚ, 4.101.

196 NŚ. 4. 102.

197 Abhinava explains the vṛścika foot as thigh rotated backwards and the sole of the foot turned upwards. Hands are ālapallava. It is used to represent wonder, desire for aerial movement, etc. Pṛṣṭha-bhāge recitajñghamuttānatalam vṛściko’ palakṣitam karaṇam kṛtvā dvāvapi hastau svabāhuśirasyālapallavau. AB on NŚ, 4. 102.

198 NŚ, 4. 103. Abhinava expounds thus – Having performed the sūcī cārī, the left foot quickly moves away. The right foot is placed on the side. Simultaneously with the twisting of the back, the recaka movement is made with the hips. Or, the bhrāmarī cārī is executed and the vyāṛtta and the parivartita movements made with the hands which finally form themselves into the caturasra hastas. It is used in moving about and also to fill up the pauses in music in between the tālas i.e. various time measures in music. AB on NŚ, 4. 103.

199 NŚ, 4. 104.

200 Vāmaṁ karaṇam bhūmau. AB on NŚ, 4. 104.

201 NŚ, 4. 105. Abhinava explains that in kaṭiccheda the raising and lowering of the heels as also the sides is performed. AB on NŚ, 4. 105.

202 NŚ, 4. 106.

203 Ibid., 4. 107.

204 Añcita has been explained here as karihasta by Abhinava –Hastasya bāhuśirasyañcanena karihasta-prayogah sūcyate. AB on NŚ, 4. 107.

205 NŚ, 4. 108.

206 Ibid., 4. 109.

207 Ibid., 4. 110.

208 Ibid., 4. 111. The ākṣipta hands, which Bharata mentions, are explained as vyāṛtta and parivartita movements and finally khaṭakā-mukha hasta at chest. They are used in vigorous movement. AB on NŚ. 4. 111.

209 NŚ, 4. 112.

210 Abhinava explains that kuñcita indicates ālapallava—dakṣiṇahas-taśca kuñcitah uttānālapallavarūpo vāmapārśve vidheyaḥ. AB on NŚ, 4. 112.

211 Abhinava explains the nata or bent foot as the right knee bent on the ground in a half kneeling position—adya nata iti jānuagamanena bhūtalasañcāro laksyate. L.c.

212 NŚ, 4. 113.

213 Śārṅgadeva says that the hands are dolā hastas—the body is bent inwards, the arms touch the ground and a wheel like spinning movement is performed.—Yatra kṛtvāḍḍitām cāriṁ dolābhyāṁ cakravadbhamet anarnatena gātreṇa tadūcūscakramandalam. SR, Vol. IV, pp. 671-672. The wheel-like spinning suggests an acrobatic and not a dance movement. The sculptural representation of Chi-dambaram, too, suggests this.

214 Abhinava mentions the additā cāri here—additā cātrādau cāri. AB on NŚ, 4. 113.

215 NŚ, 4. 114.

216 From Abhinava's commentary we know that the svastika and apa-sṛta (i.e. moving away) movement of feet mentioned by Bharata indicates the sthitāvartā cāri—Ityanayā (sthitāvartayā) cārya' pasa-ranam svastikasya kāryam. AB on NŚ, 4. 114.

217 NŚ, 4. 115.

218 Abhinava says that the ākṣipta foot indicates the ākṣiptā cāri and the hand is khāṭakamukha. It is used in the movement of the vidū-ṣaka—ākṣiptayā pādacāryā pārśvasya kiñcinnamanena hastasya ca-turasrasya khāṭakāmukhsya kṣepah iti. AB on NŚ, 4. 115.

219 NŚ, 4. 116.

220 Patākau hastau parśvaparśamśliṣṭāviti AB on NŚ, 4. 116. used in context of sūtradhāra. I.c.

221 NŚ, 4. 117. Abhinava explains thus—The right foot kept with the thigh made stiff is kept at a distance of two and half tālas from the left foot. Simultaneously the left arm kept stiff at the side is formed into the ālapallava hasta with the tip slightly spread out. AB on NŚ, 4. 117.

222 NŚ, 4. 118. Abhinava—The vidyudbhrāntā and dandapādā cāris having been performed the hands moving around in the same direction by udveṣṭita and apaveṣṭita movements, are bent and thrown backwards sidewards. Tena vidyudbhrāntādandapādābhyāṁ cāri-bhyāṁ udveṣṭitāpaveṣṭita recakavartanayā parśvayoh pṛsthe'gre ca hastapādavikṣepah. AB on NŚ, 4, 118,

223 NŚ. 4 119.

224 Cāśagatyā cāryā prayogaḥ hastau ca kiñcidudveṣṭitāpaveṣṭitarūpau dolāvevati. Ā iṣat vartanam hastapādāsya vatratadidamāvṛttam karanam. AB on NŚ, 4. 119.

225 NŚ, 4. 120.

226 Abhinava says that the dolāpādā cāri is preceded by the ūrdhva-jānu cāri—pūrvamūrdhvajānu tato dolāpādā AB on NŚ, 4. 120.

227 NŚ. 4. 121.

228 Ākṣiptayā cāryā vāmopādāmakṣipya svadakṣetrādasārita-vṛttyā-

vartya hastam ca vyāvartitaparivartitābhyām tathaivākṣipya trikam

bhrāmarikayā valayet. AB on NŚ, 4. 121.

229 NŚ, 4. 122. Abhinava explains the karaṇa thus—With one foot in

the sūci, a svastika is made at the ankle with the other foot. With

the vyāṛtta and parivartita movement the waist should be twisted

around and back on one side. Then the baddhā cārī is performed

and hands perform the recita movement. AB on NŚ, 4. 122.

230 NŚ, 4. 123.

231 Ibid. 4. 124. Abhinava explains thus—The left foot is in kuñcita

near the heel of the other foot. The chest is raised high. The

hand at forehead is the khatakāmukha. Abhinava further says

that according to some the foot here is the vṛścika type. This

karaṇa is used in tāṇḍava for the appeasing of Maheśvara. AB on

NŚ, 4. 124. According to Sāriṅgadeva the vṛścika karaṇa does not

pertain to the foot here but to the hand, i.e. (according to some)

the hand should be as in the vṛścika karaṇa—yadvā vṛścikahastah

syādabhineyo māheśvarah, SR Vol. IV pp. 682–93. Tilaka cā karaḥ

syaya “ityabhinayena bhagavataḥ paritoṣaḥ AB on NŚ, 4. 263.

232 NŚ. 4. 125

233 Ibid., 4. 126.

234 Ibid., 4. 127.

235 Ibid., 4. 128.

236 Abhinava explains añcita as karihasta. AB on NŚ, p. 128.

237 NŚ, 4. 129.

238 Abhinava says that either the atikrāntā or daṇḍapādādā cārī is indi-

mutkṣipyākṣiptam kṛtvā tathaivāgre nipātayet. AB on NŚ, 4. 129.

239 NŚ, 4. 130.

240 Vṛścikavacacāraṇam. AB on NŚ, 4. 130.

241 NŚ, 4. 131.

242 Sāriṅgadeva says that the hand at the chest is khatakāmukha—SR,

Vol. IV, pp. 690–92. Abhinava mentions this hand pose, but does

not specifically say that this was vakṣasthali.e. hand at the chest.

243 Abhinava himself considers that it is the ālapallava hand near the

cheek, but opines that some others think that it is the sūcimukha

nṛtta hastas—añcita ālapallava yo gaṇḍakṣetra.. anye tu sūcimukham

nṛttahastam gaṇḍāncitam punah kriyāviṣṭamāhuḥ. AB on NŚ, 4.131.

This karaṇa was used in the adorning of the cheek and hence must

have been used in lāsya.

244 NŚ, 4. 132. Abhinava expounds thus—The hands perform the

ūrdhva-mandala movement. One foot a sūcipādā, with the baddhā

cārī makes a vivartana. (the thighs are twisted). The trika is turned

by the bhrāmarī cārī – Ūrdhvamaṇḍalīnastavūrdhvādeśavivartanāt. Sūcilakṣaṇaśca. (NŚ. 10.34). Pādo baddhacāriṃaśritya vicitrarūpatayā dviṭīyapāde vartitaḥ anyonyajaṅghāsaṃvedhāditi tatopi bhramarikayā trikaṃ parivartitamāhuḥ. AB on NŚ, 4.132.

245 NŚ, 4.133.

246 Abhinava mentions the ardha-candra hand – Kaṭyāmardhacacandra iti pārśvajānu. AB on NŚ, 4.133.

247 NŚ. 4.134.

248 Abhinava explains that the extended hands refer to latāhasta at the sides–latāhastam ca pārśvagau. AB on NŚ, 4.134.

249 NŚ, 4.135.

250 Abhinava explains that sannata hasta means dolā hastas – sannatau ca dolāhastau. AB on NŚ, 4.135.

251 Abhinava also says that there is a slight jump with the hariṇaplutā cārī and svastika of feet formed thereafter–(hariṇaplutayā) itayanayā cāryotplutyāgradeśe pādam svastikam kuryāt. AB on NŚ, 4.135.

252 NŚ, 4.136.

253 Bharata does not specify the hand movements, nor does Abhinava. But Śārṅgadeva does. One hand is khaṭakāmukha at chest, the other ālapadma at head – Khaṭakākhyāśca taddiko hasto vakṣasyathaparah. SR Vol., IV, 698.

254 NŚ, 4.137.

255 sūci pāda here does not denote the sūci foot but sūci cārī, sūcicāryā eva pādaḥ. AB on NŚ 4.137.

256 NŚ, 4.138.

257 Ekaḥ koṭisthitaḥ pakṣavañcitako’ ardhacandro vā dviṭīyaḥ khaṭakāmukha eva vakṣasi. AB on NŚ, 4.137.

258 NŚ, 4.139.

259 Ibid., 4.140.

260 Abhinava mentions the bhrāmarī cārī. AB on NŚ, 4.140.

261 NŚ, 4.141.

262 Samakālameva tatpārśvagam siraḥ. AB on NŚ, 4.141.

263 NŚ. 4.142.

264 Ibid., 4.143.

265 Bharata and Abhinava both do not specify the position of the hands. However, Śārṅgadeva does. He mentions the dolā and the khaṭakāmī kha hastas – Hariṇaplutayā cāryā dolākhaṭakāhastam hariṇaplutākhyatam nāmoktaviniyogakam// SR. Vol. IV, 702.

266 Compare this karaṇa with sannata, i.e. karaṇa 75. Both are derived from the hariṇaplutā cārī, but the ultimate position in the latter is the svastika of the feet.

267 NŚ, 4.144.

170 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

268 Abhinava mentions the bhrāmarī cārī too - Tameva kṛtvā dvitīye-notplutyā bhramarikām kuryāt. AB on NŚ, 4.144.

269 NŚ, 4. 145.

270 The complete arm movement of nitamba hastas is described by Abhinava. AB on NŚ, 4.145.

271 NŚ, 4.146.

272 Ibid., 4. 147.

273 Śārṅgadeva specifies that the hand at the chest is the khaṭakāmukha. SR, Vol. IV, 710.

274 Prodveṣṭanakriyayā karaḥ karṇasthastripātakah. AB on NŚ, 4.148.

275 NŚ. 4.148.

276 NŚ, 4.149, used in raudrā gati...simhavikriditam raudragativiṣayam. AB on NŚ, 4. 149.

277 NŚ, 4.150.

278 Abhinava explains that the foot moved back means the vṛścika foot. Nikuñcita hands means Padmakosa and ūrnānakha. This hand and foot movement is to be performed on both sides. AB on NŚ, 4.150.

279 NŚ, 4.151.

280 Ibid., 4.152.

281 Kuñcitam padmuktṣipyetyākṣiptām cārīm vāmato vyāvrtya karapari-vartanena gātramānamya dakṣiṇamarālatām nayet. AB on NŚ, 4.152.

282 NŚ 4.153.

283 Abhinava explains the karaṇa thus—While performing the dolāpadā cārī, simultaneously the hands kept in patākā are clapped. Then the vaiṣṇava sthāna having been assumed the right hand is placed on the hip and the recita movement is made by the left hand. This karaṇa is used for indicating sympathy. AB on NŚ, 4.153.

284 NŚ, 4.154.

285 Vakṣasi muṣṭihastah pralambito latākhyah janitā cārī. AB on NŚ, 4.154.

286 NŚ. 4.155.

287 Abhinava explains in detail the hand movement. After executing the janitā cārī, the arāla and ālapallava hastas are placed on the forehead and chest (respectively). Thus with the udveṣṭita movement, they are brought to the sides and then again with the apave-ṣṭita and parivartita movement to the chest with the hands facing each other. It is employed to indicate the secret meaning of sentences. Others consider avahittha as the gradual lowering of śuka-tuṇḍa hastas. AB on NŚ, 4.155.

288 NŚ, 4.156.

289 Śārṅgadeva mentions that the hands on chest are khaṭakāmukha.

Dance and the Language of Gestures 171

SR, Vol. IV, 724.

290 NŚ, 4.157.

291 Bharata and Abhinava do not specify the hands, but Śārṅgadeva does. He says that the hands are the dolā and khaṭakāmukhā—Elakākṛditā cārī ceddolākhaṭakau karau/ Sannatam valitam gātramela-kākṛditam tadā/ adhamaprakṛti-prāṇigatigocaramisyate// — SR, Vol. IV, 725-26.

292 Bharata simply mentions talasañcara feet, jump and dropping to the ground. This, as Abhinava says, indicates the elakākṛditā cārī, which is indicated by the name of the karaṇa itself—Evam nāmika-rūpā cārī. AB on NŚ, 4.157.

293 NŚ, 4.158.

294 Anayā (ūrūdvṛttayā) cāryā saha vyāvartitakaraṇena nārālam khaṭa-kāṁ corodeśe pṛsthe ca kṣipet. AB on NŚ, 4.158. It is employed to indicate jealous anger born out of love, or request etc. L.c.

295 NŚ, 4.159.

296 Abhinava explains the foot position as first bent or nata, then svastika, and then moving away. AB on NŚ, 4.161.

297 NŚ, 4.160.

298 Ibid., 4.161.

299 L.c.

300 Apaviddhāyām cāryām satyāmūrustathā taccāriprayogakāle ca vyā-vartitakaraṇenālappallavamūrupṛsthe nyaset, sambhramparikrama-viṣayametat. AB on NŚ, 4. 161.

301 NŚ 4.162. Abhinava gives the full details of this karaṇa. The right hand forms the sūcimukha ṇtta hastas and the left moves away from it and is kept on the chest. The same i.e. left foot does nikuṭṭana. Then the process is repeated by the other side. Then the sūcī cārī and ālapallava hastas. Śārṅgadeva explains that this is performed by the right foot and right hand. AB on NŚ, 4.162; SR, IV, 737-39.

302 NŚ, 4.103. Abhinava says that this karaṇa was used to indicate rejoining. L.c.

303 NŚ, 4.164.

304 AB on NŚ, 4.164.

305 NŚ, 4.165. Abhinava explains thus—The vaiṣṇava sthāna is assumed in the beginning. Then one hand makes the recita movement, while the other forms the añcita or ālapallava at the chest. The head is rolled around and rests while rolling at the sides. AB on NŚ. 4.165.

306 NŚ, 4.166.

307 Abhinava explains that the head is alternately bent on each side.

172 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

It is called nāgasarpita because of its chequered movement. It is used to indicate light intoxication—Parivāhitam paryāyaśah pārśvagatam śirah …tarunamodaviṣayam. AB on NŚ, 4 166.

308 NŚ. 4.167. No clear picture of this karana emerges from the description of Bharata. The explanation of Abhinava too, is not very helpful. The Chidambaram sculpture represents this karana more as a gymnastic exercise, rather than a dance pose.

309 Abhinava mentions the khaṭakāmukha hands at chest—Tatsahito’pi hasto dvitīya vakṣasi khaṭakah. AB on NŚ, 4.167.

310 NŚ, 4.169. The Chidambaram sculpture depicts this too as a gymnastic karana. The description of Bharata suggests uplifted feet and Abhinava too mentions the vṛścika foot here. If both feet are lifted up, then the hands and head should rest on the ground, and this is perhaps suggested by Bharata when he mentions the nata hands and head—Śirasasca sannatatvāttena prathamah pudoddhārah Sthitvā pādamūrdhvam vidhīya tadupari. AB on NŚ, 4.168.

311 NŚ, 8.9.

312 Ibid., 8.12.

313 Ibid., 8.13.

314 Ibid., 8.40.

315 Ibid., 8.41.

316 Ibid., 8.42-44.

317 Ibid., 8 119-20.

318 Ibid., 8.120-23.

319 Ibid., 8.130.

320 Ibid., 8.131-32.

321 Ibid., 8.137.

322 Ibid., 8.138.

323 Ibid., 8.142-43.

324 Ibid., 8.143-44.

325 Śārṅgadeva mentions eight. Of these grahaṇa is mentioned instead of lehaṇa and niṣkarṣaṇa is not an additional one mentioned by him. SR, Vol. IV, 496-97 (Adyar ed.).

326 NŚ, 8.148.

327 Ibid., 8.149-50.

328 Ibid., 8.154-55.

329 Ibid., 8.155-56.

330 Ibid., 8.163.

331 Ibid., 8.163-65.

332 Ibid., 8.171.

333 Ibid., 8.172-76.

334 Ibid., 8.17-18.

335 Ibid., 8.19-36.

336 Ibid., 9.224.

337 Ibid., 9.225-34.

338 Ibid., 9.236.

339 Ibid., 9.237-40.

340 Ibid., 9.246.

341 Ibid., 9.247-49.

342 Ibid., 9.252.

343 Ibid., 9.253-57.

344 Ibid., 9.259-62.

345 Ibid., 9.263.

346 Ibid., 9.264.

347 Ibid., 9.266-80.

348 Ibid., 9.214-19.

349 Ibid., 9.18-27.

350 Ibid., 9.28-38.

351 Ibid., 9.39-42.

352 Ibid., 9.43-45.

353 Ibid., 9.46-52.

354 Ibid., 9.53-4.

355 Ibid., 9.55-6.

356 Ibid., 9.57-8.

357 Ibid., 9.59-60.

358 Ibid., 9.61-64.

359 Ibid., 9.65-79.

360 Ibid., 9.80-83.

361 Ibid., 9.84-85.

362 Ibid., 9.86-87.

363 Ibid., 9.88-90.

364 Ibid., 9.91-92.

365 Ibid., 9.93-100.

366 Ibid., 9.101-05.

367 Ibid., 9.106-09.

368 Ibid., 9.110-16.

369 Ibid., 9.117-19.

370 Ibid., 9.120-21.

371 Ibid., 9.122-24.

372 Ibid., 9.125-26.

373 Śārṅgadeva does not accept this definition as, he argues, it is not found in usage. SR, Vol. IV, 181-84 (Adyar ed.).

374 NŚ, 9.127-29.

375 Ibid., 9.130-32.

376 Ibid., 9.133-34.

377 Ibid., 9.135-36.

378 Ibid., 9.137-38.

379 Ibid., 9.139-40.

380 Abhinava explains that vipryāsta means the svastika form—Vipar-yastāviti svastikarūpau. AB on NŚ, 9.139.

381 Abhinava explains that uttāna means facing the self—uttānāviti svasāmukhau. Ibid

382 NŚ, 9.141-47.

383 This is the definition of niṣadha that has been accepted by Śārṅga-deva. SR, Vol. IV, 209-11.

384 NŚ, 9.148-49.

385 Ibid., 9.150-51.

386 Ibid., 9.152-53.

387 Ibid., 9.124-25.

388 Abhinava explains udvāhau as the carrying of the bride and bride-groom to the marriage place—Vadhūnāṁ varaṇam ca vivāhasthānā-nayane. AB on NŚ, 9.155.

389 NŚ, 9.156-57.

390 Ibid., 9.158-60.

391 Ibid., 9.147 and 147.

392 SR. Vol. IV, 214-16.

393 NŚ, 9.185.

394 Ibid., 9.186.

395 Abhinava explains this in detail thus—Two hands are first made to caturasra and then haṁsapakṣa. Of these, that which faces upwards is lowered and the other facing downwards reaches the chest—Ādau caturasrau tat udveṣṭitavartanyā haṁsapakṣaḥ kṛta iti kṛtaśabdenāha vidhim. Eko vivartata uttānaḥ sa tu, aparastvadhomu-khaḥ sannāvartate vakṣasthānamityarthah. AB on NŚ, 9.186.

396 NŚ, 9.187.

397 Ibid., 9.188.

398 L.c.

399 NŚ, 9 189.

400 Abhinava explains the process in detail thus—Two hands in patā-kā are made to cross in svastika, then they perform the vyāvartana-parivartana movement as ālapallava hastas. Then having formed the uttāna padmakośa they finally form themselves into an arāla and a khaṭakāmukha hasta. AB on NŚ, 9.189.

401 NŚ, 9.191.

402 NŚ, 9.192-93.

403 Here Abhinava explains madhyasthānguṣṭhakau. of Bharata as the

Dance and the Language of Gestures 175

thumb and the middle finger joined together—madhyamānguliniviṣṭānguṣṭhau kṛtau. AB on NŚ 9.192.

404 NŚ, 9.194.

405 Ibid., 9.195.

406 Ibid., 9.196.

407 Abhinava explains in detail thus—Two tripatākā hands are placed over the cheeks, shoulder, forehead slightly cross-wise palms facing each other, the shoulders and elbows are slightly shaken and at the same time the palms which now face upwards (uttāna) move out. AB on NŚ. 9.196.

408 NŚ, 9.107.

409 L.c.

410 Abhinava says that two patākā hards first face upwards, then downwards proceeding from the shoulder region to the hips. AB on NŚ. 9.197.

411 NŚ, 9.198.

412 Abhinava explains thus—Two hands rise upwards from the sides, reach the head, and as in nitamba, emerge from the region of the hair separately and repeatedly, the one proceeding out as the other moves towards it. AB on NŚ, 9.198.

413 NŚ. 9.199.

414 Abhinava says that these are patākā hands, though he opines that according to some they are tripatākā. AB on NŚ, 9.199.

415 NŚ, 9.200.

416 Ibid., 9.201.

417 Ibid, 9.202.

418 L.c.

419 Adhomukhaṃ nitambakṣetre bhūtvā talanāviddhau ūrdhvagamanam. AB on NŚ. 9.202.

420 NŚ 9.203.

421 Abhinava explains thus—One haṃsapakṣa hand approaches the chest and the other executes the parivartana movement and is extended out. AB on NŚ, 9.203.

422 NŚ, 9:204.

423 Ibid.

424 Ibid., 9.205.

425 Abhinava says that if ‘urasah’ of this verse is governed by the Ablative case then it would indicate a movement from the chest—i.e. from the chest to the sides. In fact, Abhinava describes a movement in which two hands move simultaneously from the chest to the sides in a circular motion. But, if, ‘urasah’ is taken to be governed by the genetive case, then ‘urasah sthāne’ would mean in the

176 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

region of the chest—Athoromandalina-u-dveṣṭita iti, cakārasaṃniyogena yaugapadyamāha urasa iti pañcami tata ārabhya pārśvakṣetre bhramitavekāsya gamanāsya parasya gamanamiti vartanayā śaṣṭhītyanye vadantaḥ tatraivāsthānamityāhuḥ. AB on NŚ. 9.205.

426 NŚ, 9.206.

427 Abhinava explains thus—One hand is placed on the chest and then assuming the ālapallava form performs the vyāvartita movement. Simultaneously, the (other) hand is extended to the side. Then this other hand forming the arāla, executes the udveṣṭita movement and reaches the chest. Thus the movement of the hand at the chest or side is repeated by each. AB on NŚ, 9.206.

428 NŚ, 9.207.

429 Abhinava explains kuñcita as arāla here, and añcita as ālapallava—Ekaḥ kuñcitorālavartanayā aparoniitālapallavavartanayā punarañ-gaparyāya ityeva vartanāntaram khatakāmukhābhyāṃ svastika iti. AB on NŚ, 9.207.

430 L.c.

431 NŚ, 9.208.

432 Ibid., 9.209.

433 Abhinava explains this in detail—Hands performing the udveṣṭita movement move from the chest to shoulders where they are extended and forming the ālapallava hands with slightly quivering fingers. AB on NŚ, 9.209.

434 NŚ, 9.210.

435 L.c.

Chapter 7

Development of Musical System : Gāndharva

and Gāna

Abhinavagupta states that “out of Sāman arose Gāndharva and

out of Gāndharva arose Gāna”.1 The word gāndharva sometimes stood

for music in general, but also had the technical sense of a particular

system of music. Thus says Abhinava : “It is to be noticed that just

as the word nāṭaka so the word gāndharva is used in two senses, in

popular usage as well as in the Śāstra. It is sometimes used in a

general sometimes in a special sense…If mere singing was gāndharva,

then the singing of children, cowherds, cranes, herons, etc. would

also be termed gāndharva.”2 The idea here is that, gāndharva some-

times connotes music in general, but it also has a special sense in

which it is distinct from other types of music. It is in this special

sense that the word gāndharva invariably occurs in the Nāṭyaśāstra.

What was the nature and purpose of gāndharva ? Gāndharva may

be understood as the classical music of Bharata’s time—elaborate,

complex and governed by rigid rules—Gāndharvamiti tajjñeyam svara-

tālapadātmakam3 i e. gāndharva consists of svara, tāla and pada. Svarā

is here related to the elements of both the śārīrī vīṇā (i.e. the human

throat or vocal music) and the dāravī vīṇā (i.e. the wooden lute or

harp).4 This parallel between the human body and the wooden vīṇā

is quite frequent in the NŚ. Thirteen constituent elements are related

to svara viz, svara, grāma, mūrchanā, tāna, sthāna, vṛtti, śuṣka, sādhā-

raṇa, varṇa. alaṃkāra, dhātu. śruti and jāti.5 All these pertained to

the dāravī vīṇā, but only seven related to the śārīrī viz, svara, grāma,

alaṃkāra, varṇa, sthāna, jāti and sādhāraṇa.6

The distinctive feature of gāndharva music was its elaborate pat-

terns of tāla or time-measure. Even the basic unit for measuring time

consisted of not less than five short mātrās (termed kalā). Twenty-one

basic elements related to tāla viz dhruvā, āvāpa, niṣkrāma. vikṣepa,

praveśana, śāmyā, tāla, sannipāta, parivṛtta, mātrā, vastu, prakaraṇa,

aṅga, vidāri, pāṇi, yati, laya, gīti, anvaya, mārga and pādamārga.7

Pada or the words of the song had a subsidiary role in gāndharva. Pada

served only as a prop for svara and tāla. Indeed the musician would

often distort the words by stretching or splitting them and by singing

only a particular syllable. Svarā and tāla are primary (svaratālānubhā-

178 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

vakam),8 pada is useful only in so far as it forms the base.9 This ten-

dency was perhaps inherited from sāman singing. The sāman singers

did not attach much importance to the intelligibility of the hymns,

but distorted the words freely. This was done in six ways viz. vikāra,

viśleṣaṇa, vikarṣaṇa, abhyāsa, virāma, and stobha.10 In present-day

classical music, too, it is svara and tāla that are primary and domi-

nate over pada. The words of the composition are necessary only so

far as they help develop the svarālapa, which is turn are fundamental

for the unfoldment of the structure of the rāga. The exigencies of

svara and tāla often cause the word to be quite distorted. Dattila

adds a fourth factor to the definition of gāndharva viz. avadhāna.11

Bharata has ignored avadhāna. Abhinava, apparently to justify Bha-

rata, says, “avadhāna is yogarūpam (the nature of meditation) and

hence is not applicable here.”12 The word avadhāna, it seems, stood

for a meditative idea, a certain psychic concentration and attitude

required for the proper singing of gāndharva.

Bharata states that gāndharva music was exceedingly dear to the

gods (atyarthamiṣṭam devānām).13 The singing of gāndharva was, in

fact, treated as a yajña or sacrifice by means of which the gods were

appeased and by this transcendental merits accrued to the performer.

Abhinava, giving a detailed interpretation of this verse, says : ‘Now,

the gods govern the senses, the mind, sensations etc. These senses etc.

function when impacted or vibrated and are like celestial musical ins-

truments by offering the external objects such as sound etc. and thro-

ugh their transcendence (in pure apperception) one achieves a trans-

cendent sacrifice (atyarthamiṣṭam). It leads to the attainment of sup-

reme inward beatific consciousness (parasanvit) * In this way is

illustrated the attainment of the fruit of emancipation, since the expe-

rience thus attained approximates the blissful state proper to eman-

cipation. Thus, this is a sacrifice of the gods (devānām yajanam) which

is transcendent and independent of wealth etc. As has been said, Śiva

is more pleased by gāndharva, then by ancient ascetic practices etc.

(or, by the recitation of purāṇas and ascetic practices; or, by devotion

to purāṇas-purāṇayogādibhiḥ).

• Abhinava interprets ‘atyarthamiṣṭam’ not as ‘excessively desired’ but as ‘tran-

scendentally sacrificed’. The offering in the sacrifice would consist of sense

objects, such a musical sounds, spectacles etc. When something is offered

through the fire it is sublated. Nevertheless, there is a transcendent effect,

both for the gods as well as for the one who is performing the sacrifice Simi-

larly here too, the offering of musical sounds etc is likened to a sacrifice pro-

ducing transcendent effect. Cf Kāldāsa who terms dance as a ‘visual sacri-

fice’ in the Mālavikāgnimitram.

Development of Musical System : Gāndharva and Gāna 179

" 'Of gāndharvas' in the text indicates the performers. Thus, the singer obtains the result by attaining to a deep immersion in consciousness (samvit). So it has been said that nandayanti (jāti) performed even once in accordance with prescriptions, purifies the slayer of a Brāhmaṇa. Thus, the result accruing to the performer is primary.'14 As already mentioned, according to Abhinava, from sāman came gāndharva. The gāndharva form was apparently intermediate between later sāman forms and the gāna form of music (theatre singing) described in the Nāṭyaśāstra. Verse 10 of Chapter 28 describes the origin of gāndharva thus - Asya yonirbhavedgānam viṇā vamiśastathaivaca, eteṣām cai va vakṣyāmi vidhim svarasamutthitam.15

Abhinava comments saying that "song or gāna here is the name applied to the gītis or songs which are the matrix of sāman (i.e. it does not indicate dhruvā gāna.) Viṇā means the audumbarī viṇā used in mahāvrata (ceremony). Vamśa is in accordance with the tradition of teachers like Nārada. These constitute the source of gāndharva." Again "Some others say that the intention of the verse is to make out the source of gāndharva to be the songs sung by singers in the popular social stream (lokapravāha) within the brahmagīta. The commentator (ṭikākṛta) holds that gāna is primary while the lute and flute are secondary."16 The mention of a popular tradition of songs within the brahragīta is highly intriguing. Actually, it must be remembered that rites and festivals must have been concurrent in the remote past as they are now with the result that there would be a kind of culture counterpart in the folk singing of the festival to the ritualistic and formal singing of the sāman. The mention by Abhinava of the audumbarī used in mahāvrata ceremony is significant and connotes folk influence.17 In fact percussion music, too, it seems was the offspring of the popular percussion music of the Vedic times. Percussion music was then incorporated into the gāndharva form, wherein it was developed and elaborated into complex tāla structures. It may be noted that sāman chanting shows no evidence of tāla. Thus, though sāman music must have given the basic structure (the formal, rigid, ritualistic aspect) to gāndharva, folk music too, must have helped its development.

From gāndharva was born gāna. Generally speaking the word gāna means 'song', but the reference here is to a special type of singing—the singing of dhruvās (songs connected with the theatre), dhruvā gāna. This was the music played in the background during the staging of ancient dramas. Abhinava distinguishes carefully between the gān-dharva form of music and the gāna system. In fact the entire commentary on the thirty-third chapter is devoted to distinguishing between

180 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

gāndharva and gāna. Gāndharva was essentially the musician's music,

while the purpose of gāna was rakti or pleasure, the pleasure it gave

to the audience watching the drama. Freed from traditional and ritu-

alistic restrictions it developed into a great variety. Gāna included

forms like grāma-rāga, bhāṣā-vibhāṣā etc. These derivative forms were

born through mixing and combining elements taken from two or more

jātis in various ways and were hence called hybrid or saṅkara forms.

These forms when moulded to the theatrical context were called gāna.

In gāna, much permutation and combination was permissible as re-

gards both svara and tāla.

The Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata deals with only the gāndharva and

gāna systems of music. However, the history of Indian music does

not end here. Till about the 13th century when Śārṅgadeva wrote

his Saṅgītaratnākara, Indian music grew through a continuous process

of popularization and standardization. There was a continuous effort

to retain ancient conventions but also to bring lakṣaṇa and lakṣya

together. In the course of time, with the efflorescence of gāna and its

musicological elaboration, a difference came to be perceived between

the classical and the regional or folk dimensions of music. On the

basis of texts like Bṛhaddeśī and Saṅgītaratnākara Dr. Lath has rightly

pointed out that this distinction was termed mārga and deśī which

may be roughly rendered as classical and popular.18 'Mārga' according

to Mātaṅga, is the name for deśī forms, albeit of those which were

comparatively more regulated or rule-bound than the others. By

Śārṅgadeva's time, the notions of mārga and deśī seem to have under-

gone development. For him, mārga and deśī signified two distinct

forms of music and he distinguishes between them on the lines of gān-

dharva and gāna of the NS. Compared to gāndharva, the gāna system

of music appeared relatively popular, but in the course of time, within

the gāna system too, a distinction was made between the compara-

tively regulated and standardized singing on the one hand and free

improvization on the other which led to the evolution of the rāga-

rāgiṇī system of later times.

Summing up, it can be stated that the history of Indian music re-

flects fully the dialectic common in the history of art of continuing

conflict and resolution between convention and innovation, tradition

and creation.

Footnotes

1 Gāndharvam hi sāṃabhyastasmādbhavam, gānam. AB on NS, 28. 9.

2 AB on NS, 33. 1.

3 NS, 28.8.

Development of Musical System : Gāndharva and Gāna 181

4 Dvayādhiṣṭhānāḥ svarā vaināḥ śarīrāśca prakīrtitāḥ. NŚ, 28.12.

5 Ibid., 28. 13-14.

6 Ibid., 28. 15.

7 Ibid., 28. 18-20.

8 Ibid., 32.27.

9 L.c.

10 Vikāra : simple distortion of word.

Viśleṣaṇa : splitting of the syllables of the word and singing individual syllables.

Vikarṣaṇa : could change the quantity of mātrās.

Abhyāsa : a sudden break in the pada and repetition.

Virāma : pause.

Stobha : addition of new. but quite meaningless syllables.

11 Padāsthasvarasaṅghātāstalena sumitastathā

Prayuktascāvadhānena gāndharvamabhidhīyate. —Dattilam, 3.

12 AB on NŚ, 28.11-12.

13 NŚ, 28.9.

14 Yasmād yadrupācca devānāmiśvarānāmindriyamandassamvedanāprabhṛtīnām, ātodyamānātvena vyavahāreṇa gacchatāneti devavādyānāṃ atyarthamarthātikrameṇa bāhya-śabdādiviṣayollanghanena......

miṣṭimicchāyajanam ca parasumvitsamgatilābhalaksanāmupalakṣaṇaṃ tathā tena prakāreṇa pratiterapavargacitānandasvabhāvaviśeṣeṇavarjitamityapavargaphalatvamdarśitam. Tathātikrātnaṃ dhanādi-nirapeksaṃ cedam devānāṃ yajanam yathā purāṇayogādibhyo'dhikā

pritirgāndharvāccankarasyeti. 'Gāndharvvanamiti' prayoktṛupalakṣaṇaṃ, tena hyatyantam samvitpraveśalābhena tu gātuh phalayogo gāndhatvāt. Tadāhasākṛt prayuktatāpi hi nandayanti yathāvidhi brāhmaṇaṃ punāti, iti prayokṛgamatamātra mukhyam phalam. AB on NŚ, 28. 9-10.

15 NŚ, 28.10.

16 Gānamiti sāmayanigiṣu sāmakhyā, vineti mahāvratopayogini audu-mbariḥ, vamsa iti nāradādigurusamtānānuyāyīti gāndharvasya prabhavah. AB on NŚ, 28.9-10.

17 The Mahāvrata ceremony pertained to the preparation and offering of soma, and constituted a festive albeit holy occasion. Maidens bearing pitchers did a circular dance the foot-movement of which was in concordance with the rythm of songs known as gāthās. Such folk songs are mentioned by name—Hillika, Himbini, Hastāvārā, Samvatsaragāthā, Jhillukā etc. in the Śrauta-sūtras.

—Lāṭyāyana-śrauta-sūtras, 4.3., 17-23; Kātyāyana-śrauta-sūtras, 13.3.24ff.; Taittirīya-saṃhitā, 7.5,10.

18 See, Lath, M., A Study of Dattilam, pp. 165-70.

Chapter 8

Musical System : Elements and Structure

Śruti

Abhinava says, "Śruti, indeed means that (minimal) sound through which is produced a distinct audible impression."1 He again reinforces the fact that the śruti is a distinct audible unit by saying that even though there is an atomic or infinitesimal (paramāṇumātra) change of location, there does occur a change in sound, which may be observed by the concentration appropriate to the yogins.2 Thus, śruti was a cognisable musical microtone; however, it was not sung or played per se. A śruti was a musical interval; it functioned as a unit of measurement of svara or note, and a svara was supposed to consist of a specific number of śrutis. The octave was divided into twenty-two equal parts termed śrutis.

Abhinava says, "Some have objected that śrutis should have been mentioned first because the svaras are manifested in the order of the śrutis." He indicates the view of Bharata by saying, "The answer that is given to it is that this would be so if the śrutis called dhvani and nāda were to be themselves perceived as svaras at definite intervals. But this is not so because even high or low śrutis appear dependent on the svaras. As Bhaṭṭamaṭṛgupta has said, the whole detail of the śrutis arises along with the svara spontaneously. It assumes its nectar-like essence for the ear by depending on the svara."3 Thus Bharata and following him Abhinava hold svara to be primary. The other school of thought, led by Dattila believed śruti to be the basis of svara. Certain specific śrutis out of the twenty-two attained the status of a svara,4 thus making the svaras dependent upon the śrutis.

It may be noted that Bharata does not mention śruti in connection with the śārīri vīṇā, but instead relates the dāravī. Abhinava explaining this, says that "śrutis are useful only in the vīṇā (i.e. dāravī), because they are based on the tightening and loosening of the strings in tuning."5 Again "The śrutis are clearly illustrated on the vīṇā."6 "The śrutis are described only to divide the grāma,"7 says Abhinava. The purpose of śrutis was to subdivide the octave into twenty-two micro-intervals and thus it could be of help in instrumental music. It is significant that the most fundamental aspect of śruti viz. the pramāṇa śruti or the standard śruti is described in the context of the tuning

Musical System : Elements and Structure 183

process of the vinā. In fact, that is how it could be discerned, for it

was not conceived in terms of any mathematical ratio. Bharata thus

explains the pramāna śruti. Pañcama in the ṣadja grāma consists of

four śrutis, in the madhyama grāma, it is lowered by one śruti. It is

this difference of one śruti that Bharata terms as pramāna śruti. “The

difference which occurs in Pañcama when it is raised or lowered by a

śruti and when consequent slackness or tenseness (of strings) occurs,

that indicates a standard (pramāna) śruti.”8 This is illustrated by the

procedure of comparing two vinās first tuned to ṣadjogrāma and then

differentiated so as to yield the requisite śruti differences. This has

been given in detail.9 Abhinava’s exposition of the pramāna śruti

runs like thus : ‘ Now the question may be, what is this śruti ? The text

(says), thus the lowering or raising by one śruti creates an interval by

laxity or tightening. That measure is śruti.” “Laxity (mārdava) means

relaxation of the string. The opposite of that is tension. The raising

(utkarṣa) of the śruti that is audible sound signifies higher pitch (tīv-

ratā), lowering (apakarṣa) means lower pitch (mandatā). On this acc-

ount relaxation and tension, (of strings) both have been mentioned as

above. Thus, on account of relaxation and tension which are the cau-

ses of higher and lower pitch, there is an interval which is perceived

distinctively and is the measure or determinant (pramāna-niścāyaka)

of the śruti That is to say, that measure by which whether decrea-

sing or increasing in terms of the accentuation or lowering of the

pitch, a new sound, distinct from the earlier one is noticed, that is

śruti.’”10

A host of questions rise in the context of śruti. Firstly, whether

śrutis represent a purely abstract notion intended for theoretical analy-

sis or whether they describe the actually used musical tones and inter-

vals. Secondly, if śrutis stand for actual musical tones, are they still

used ? Thirdly, if they are not descriptive of actual tones but repre-

sent some kind of abstraction, what exactly was their theory ? Four-

thy, how far is that theory scientific ? Finally, what was the relation-

ship between śruti, svara and grāma ?

While many modern interpreters like Strangways, Clements, Dai-

nelou and Ācārya Bṛhaspati hold that śrutis are actual musical tones,

some hold that they are merely ideal constructs.11 The ancient posi-

tion, as explained by Abhinava, seems to be that the tones actually

produced are svaras, not śrutis but śrutis present a theoretical concept

for understanding the relationship between the notes. The notes may

be conceived as representing certain positions or intervals on an ideal

scale consisting of śrutis. Since the notes have not been given any

absolutely and objectively fixed positions, they will themselves oscillate

184 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

within a certain range even normally. In different melodic contexts, they will vary appropriately. Besides, they also varied by becoming lower or higher occasionally as required by grāmas, jātiṣ and rāgas. Thus, noticing the variability of the exact pitch of the svaras and yet a kind of permanence in their relative order, it was natural to think of certain ideal positions and intervals which the notes could or could not assume. Śrutis represent these ideal positions and intervals. When the note, more or less coincides with some such position or interval, the śruti may also be held to be more or less manifested in the notes. Thus, the two positions, namely, the ideality and the actuality of the śruti cannot be rigidly separated.

There was an unavoidable search for perfection, which would have liked to clarify and objectify as much as possible perfect standards for the musicians to follow. The concept of śrutis developed in this search for an ideal measure of standard for actually used tones and intervals. The two could not obviously be identified. At the same time, they could not be wholly separated either. The situation arose because the nature of the musical tone was conceived mainly in terms of aesthetic quality. This necessarily meant a certain amount of vagueness and relativity, but it does not render the conception useless.

Many western and modern musicologists have tried to conceive musical tones wholly in acoustical terms and have sought to define them in terms of purely objective and mathematical relations. Three such perspectives are well known viz. (a) Just intonation, (b) Pythagorean intonation and (c) Harmonic intonation. Beside, there is the perspective of equal temperament. All these derived the series of musical notes in terms of fixed mathematical relations.

Clements describes the twenty-two śrutis as identical with actually used tones. Śrutis belong to harmonic intervals. Some of the harmonic intervals have been traced as śrutis. Like many other modern theorists, he correlates Bharata's 4, 3 and 2 śruti intervals with the major tone (9/8), minor tone (10/9) and semitone (16/15) of just intonation respectively.12 Danelou accepts 53 basic intervals in an octave. He regards the śrutis as minimal, audible and musically relevant intervals of which the basic are only 22.13 The basis of fixing the śrutis is their relationship with the tonic, not the mutual changing relationship of the harmonics. Indian music is distinguished by constant reference to the tonic.

Mark Levy argues that the ancient theory of the śrutis cannot be connected with any consistent acoustical theory. He also argues that the present musical practice gives a picture of tones which cannot be fitted into the śruti theory. He has tried to measure the variation of

the musical notes and feels that their variations do not conform to the śruti intervals. Mark Levy opines that there is a widening gap between old theory and current musical practice.14 The concept of śruti is controversial and in any case not found in modern music—the śrutis appear to have given place to twelve notes. Since empirical observations show that the notes used reveal no such standard relationships, hence, apparently, even if the śruti system were prevalent, it was no more than a confused theoretical idea and has long since been abandoned. What is found in practice is a considerable variation in intonation according to melodic context. Such a severe criticism of the śruti theory is uncalled for. Ancient śruti theory was not conceived explicity as mathematical theory. It is for mathematical theorists to build a suitable formula for śrutis. If the formula correctly applies it would not prove that the derivation of śruti implied the knowledge of such a formula. It would only prove that the śrutis were reached intuitively, though by nature musical notes follow mathematical relations. And hence, what was reached intuitively may yet be amenable to some complex mathematics. Hence Levy's criticism of interpreters like Strangways or Kolinsky is ill-conceived.

Again, the variability of notes sung today does not disprove the theory of śrutis. On the contrary, it strengthens it. Clement, Danielou and others are able to identify śrutis in contemporaray music. Levy's criticism does not allow enough flexibility to the śruti theory, nor does it take into account the fallibility of the measurement and the very limited character of the sample. Even the statistics is defective for its (1) neglect of mode, (2) neglect of randomisation of the sample, and (3) the extremely limited sample, which cannot be considered in any sense as representative of the universe.

Now, as aforesaid, the traditional Indian theory does not recognise such purely accoustical and mathematical principles as the primary source for deciding what was aesthetically admissible for the musician. Hence, the attempt to define śruti in terms of any one of these systems of intonations, or to build a consistent, mathematical accoustical system out of the śrutis whether as depicted in ancient texts or whether as supposedly practised today or yesterday must remain imperfect and hypothetical.

The ancient theorists did perceive some simple proportions and tried to express them in terms of three types of intervals—namely intervals of 2, 3, 4 śrutis as constituting the intervals of the standard notes. They also noticed that 9 and 13 śrutis were particularly pleas-. ing. What is more, it was admitted that occasionally notes may vary from these positions by another śruti. An attempt was even made to

186 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

define the standard śrutis in terms of the audible differences, between the pañcamas of the two grāmas. Other intervals were held to be perceived in the catuṣsaraṇa of two similarly tuned vīṇās. Thus, the śrutis were held to be audible and practically useful, particularly in the case of instrumental music and more so when vīṇās of the harp type were used. Nevertheless, no strict mathematical measures were relied upon. The tuning itself depended on the tension of the strings rather than the control of their available length. Hence, it may be said that while the concept of śruti does not represent a mathematically precise system, it did represent a useful framework for analysis and description of actual musical practice.

Since śrutis had a practical use (both as ideal tangents for actual tones as also as points on an ideal scale in the description and standardisation of tones), their usefulness cannot be said to have ceased. Present day musicians are generally not fully acquainted with traditional musicology. They may not be able to use the intellectual tools of the latter, but that would be like the bourgeois gentilhome of Moliere, who spoke prose without knowing it. Thus Clements has argued that modern musicians do use ancient śrutis though they call them by such names as atikōmala, taratīvra etc. The mere fact that the drone is used constantly, that string instruments have frets now, and that a system of twelve notes is common does not mean that the definition of these notes are to be in terms of the equal tempered scale or any other scale within the limits of toleration, nor does it mean that the notes do not occupy intermediate positions in actual melodic passages.

It is true that just as the decline of theoretical knowledge among the practitioners of northern music in medieval times has led to the obsolescence of the concept of śruti among many practitioners, similarly the growing vogue of western instruments with tempered scales and of western theories oriented in accordance with mathematical accoustics, have created a fluid situation in which musical sensibility is subjected to diverse pulls. Musical theory, consequently, is in a state of doubt. The situation is made worse by insufficient attention being paid to ancient texts and theories in musical education and research.

The ancient theory of śrutis has a clear outline, though its subtleties have been disputed. The śruti theory, as also its relationship with svara has already been discussed. The theory of 4, 3 and 2 śrutis of notes, samvāditva of 9 and 13 śrutis and of the relationship of śrutis with grāma will be taken up later.

The theory is aesthetic, not primarily accoustical. A scientific theory will give an infinity of tones and intervals, such as are produced

Musical System : Elements and Structure 187

in the harmonic series. Which of these, in which order and combination will be picked up for a given musical sensibility is an essentially aesthetic question. It is not necessary that the aesthetic and cultural choice of a tradition should constitute a coherent scientific system of sounds.

From the preceding discussion it follows that we must avoid equating modern and western musicological terms with ancient Indian terms. Thus, śruti cannot be identified either with microtones of any tempered scale, nor with the actual divisions of the harmonic scale. In fact, they cannot be simply conceived of any physical measure such as cents, savarts, nor as fixed harmonic ratio. This is because they have not been conceived in terms of any fixed physical measure either of length or vibrations. Like the varṇas, they are cognisable musical sounds. Their search arose in the context of noting the vibrations and relations among the notes, not in the search for physical causes and measures of musical sounds. The source of music was held not to be in the eternal sound called anāhata. Physical sound manifests the musical charm which belongs to the anāhata in the suṣumnā or inner ākāśa. When a material medium like air, or a string, or a column of air are struck, they vibrate producing sound. Under certain conditions, these sounds manifest musical charm and thus become transient images of anāhata nāda, giving to its universality and infinity, a specific individuality and character. Traditional Indian music is always attuned to this inner source, which cannot be fully defined in objective terms but can be clearly recognised. The concept of śruti was developed as that of an essentially subjective unit of measure for specifying the relations of notes—śrūyate iti śruti, the ear is the judge.

Similarly, the concept of svara is not exactly the same as that of the note or tone, because the number of vibrations of tones and notes vary—western notes are defined in terms of absolute pitches or fixed relations, but notes as sung by Indian musicians keep varying within a variable range according to the melodic context as interpreted by the particular singer. The Indian musician is not a mere performer, but a creator too.

Samvāda has been generally translated as consonance or harmony, but then again this translation is not a pleasing one, because samvāda was always conceived of in terms of melodic passages. For example, in the ṣadja grāma, ma and ni are not called samvādins by Bharata, although there is a difference of nine and thirteen śrutis (which is the number of śrutis between two notes to produce samvāda between them). It is explained by Abhinava in terms of the theory of Sama Śrutikatā. This means that the Indian musician looked upon the notes in a very

188 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

• concrete manner. In determining samvāda, he not only considered the

interval between the samvādins, but also to the immediate intervals

leading to the notes. This is not a part of the western theory of

consonance.

We can thus see similarities and parallelisms, but can hardly seek

to identify the two systems. The western perspective is one of mathe-

matical relations as the definition of musical notes and scales. It also

tends to emphasize the harmonics. The Indian perspective, on the

other hand, is of expressiveness, seeking to relate musical notes to

inner states. The fact is that lakṣaṇas or technical terms in music are

not purely scientific or physical, but rather conventional and pscho-

physical, embodying a whole tradition of taste, judgement and creati-

vity and functioning as standards.

Svara

Svara is the first topic to be expounded by Bharata.15 Bharata,

unlike Dattila and Matanga, places svara before śruti as he believes

śrutis to be secondary demarcations and subservient to svara.

Abhinavagupta gives the etymology of the word svara. Thus, he

says, "the word svara is derived from the root svr meaning to sound

or afflict, or from svar in the sense of ākṣepa i.e. blaming or attrac-

ting. Hence, it has been said that svaras are so called because they

afflict the mental state constituted by the perception of sound (śabda-

svabhāva cittavrtti) by making it abandon its normal state of indiffe-

rence, and at the same time on account of their excessive charm super-

impose and affirm their own nature. Thus they are called svaras."16

The idea is that in hearing, the mind is absorbed in sound and assu-

mes its form. Normally, this state of sound perception does not affect

the emotional state of the mind. Musical notes destroy this neutrality

and draw the attention of the mind to their own specific beauty.

In gāndharva, svaras or notes are of three types—those which con-

sist of four śrutis, those which have three śrutis and those which

have two śrutis. No svara can ever have more than four śrutis, or

less than two. Thus, Abhinava says. 'It may be objected that notes

may have intervals of more than four śruti. What is more, from

ṣadja to niṣāda an interval of eighteen śrutis may be used. This is not

so. When so many śrutis are in question, the element of musical

sound (nāda) produced by the impact of air touching these locations

is utilised. Hence there is the rule of the number of śrutis in the

notes. Hence, if one hears a series of continuous or immediately conti-

guous pitches (dhvanyamśa) then the note is heard as deformed or dis-

cordant. Hence ṛṣabha consists of three śrutis. It is not the third

śruti."17 What Abhinavagupta is arguing, in effect, is that to reach one

Musical System : Elements and Structure 189

note from another, the voice must jump fixed intervals of 4, 3, 2 śrutis, neither more nor less. Thus, if ṛṣabha has to be articulated after ṣadja, there can only be one jump of three śrutis, because there is no intervening note of two śrutis. These intervals thus become like musical quanta. Further Abhinava quotes Bhaṭṭatauta saying "So Bhaṭṭatauta has said 'the self experienceable śruti is svara' ...... The svara is not (perceived or constituted) by parts. Nor is it a collection. since there is no simultaneity (in the parts). Even though there is succession on account of continuity caused by quick happening (āśubhāvikṛtād) there is a sense of simultaneity. The continuing mental impression produced by the successive śrutis up to the śruti-sthāna is the svara ensemble.'"18 Though couched in somewhat obscure language Abhinava's meaning is plain enough. The svara is a partless and integral unity not a compound of simultaneous or successive parts. In the śrutis there is undoubtly a succession of units. But on account of the quick process of transition their succession appears continuous and the last śruti where the svara is reached acquires its character from the continuous growing impression produced by the successive śrutis on the mind. In this sense, the svara may also be regarded as a whole or an ensemble which is reached through a successive and ordered process, but within which no parts can be distinguished. Thus while the passage from one note to another constitutes quantum leap in terms of musical interval. in another sense it is constituted by a continuous wavelike passage where only the last effect can be self consciously apprehended.

Abhinava qualifies the nature of svara. "Some say that the note or svara is that which gives a specific form to its basic śruti and has the property of being smooth or pleasing at a particular position of the śrutis within a given and fixed interval, produced by a light touch of breath."19 Here, the svara is defined as arising from a transformation of a śruti. There is an interval consisting of a fixed number of śrutis within this interval. At a fixed point, the śruti is magnified through a light touch of breath, and the resultant note is smooth and pleasing.

But the essence of svara is not just its smoothness or sweetness, but the fact that it is characterised by resonance (in fact, this is what śruti lacked and hence could not be sung or played per se). Abhinava says, "We ourselves hold that svara is the smooth and sweet sound constituted by the resounding and produced by the sound arising from impact upon a śruti-sthāna."20 The śrutis have fixed places. When some out of them are struck by an impact and a particular pleasing and continuous resonance is produced then we have svara. Svarā,

thus, is of the nature of resonance (amurananātmaka) which has continuity and sweetness and is produced from the magnification of specific śrutis at the end of particular intervals. Abhinava elsewhere says, "After impact is produced the sound, and after this, another sound is produced and this is characterised by resonance. This secondary sound (i.e. svara) has a naturally fluent and charming form."21

Then again, Abhinava raises the objection. "That since sound is produced by a different cause, the resonance should also belong to a different class. But this objection should not be made, because there is no such rule about causation. Thus, even though fire may be produced by a variety of causes such as iron, crystal, wood, lightening etc. even then, the smoke arising from it is of the same class..........

One can distinguish the note of the vīṇā from that of the mallaka although the note may be ṣadja. That is why the impact (abhighāta) of non-singers does not produce resonance (gātr of the text should apparently be āgātṛ and ghātṛ should be ghāta). For that reason, although they equally produce sound, they are called imperfect. The intensity of the resonance corresponds to that of the sound produced by the impact and it is correspondingly sharp, harmonious or the opposite. The sounds produced by the impact on air on sixty sthānas produce (in turn) the sound consisting of the musical note of which the essence is anusvāra or resonance."22

Abhinavagupta is arguing that the true musical property belongs not to the sound consisting of any kind of mere physical vibration, but rather to a characteristic kind of resonance The physical sound seems to manifest the musical property of which the immediate locus or form is resonance. The physical sound is produced, while the musical property is manifested. The musical property has a necessary psychological aspect. It can be recognised by the mind as an ideal form even when the sounds manifesting it are different. In this sence, Abhinava's conception of svara may be expressed as dhvani vyangyadharma-viśeṣa and readily reminds one of the grammatical notion of sphoṭa.

In fact, Abhinava declares svara to be resonanse and compares it with anusvāra. M usical property, thus, becomes a supervenient ideal quality.

Vikrta Notes

According to Bharata, svarasādhāraṇaṃ kākalyantarāsvarau. Tatra dviśrutyutkrṣṭo niṣādah kākalisamjño bhavati. Tadvadgandhārontarasvaro samjñī bhavati23—i.e. Svarasādhāraṇa is of kākalī and antara svaras. There the raising of niṣāda by two śrutis is known as kākalī.

In the same way gāndhāra (i.e. when it is raised by two śrutis) is known as antara svara.

As aforesaid, the gāndharva system of music admitted of only seven

Musical System : Elements and Structure 191

notes. Apart from these seven the only others that were permissible were kākalī niṣāda and antara gāndhāra. Both had the nature of being slightly sharpened notes,24 being two śrutis higher than their regular intervals. As these were modified forms of the regular gāndhāra and niṣāda, they did not have the same status as the seven pure or avikṛta notes, and were subsidiary to the latter. Abhinava points out that the two terms kākalī and antara were only a matter of convention. As a matter of fact, either could be termed kākalī or antara.25 These two notes were also collectively known as svara sādhāraṇa.26

Kākalī niṣāda and antara gāndhāra could not be employed as amśa in any jāti, since these were only modified notes—vikṛtatvāccanam-saḥ".27 The amśa was the chief note in a jāti, whereas the sādhāraṇa svaras were to be used very sparingly.

The sādhāraṇa notes were thus to be used in some specific jātis, and there too in a limited fashion. Bharata states, "Madhyama, Pañcama and Ṣadja-madhyama, these three should be known as the jātis in which sādhāraṇa svaras occur. The amśas in these jātis are ṣadja, madhyama and pañcama; as regards pañcama. its employment is to be made alternative to or in exchange of the extremely weak note."28

Abhinava explains in detail thus only when the three jātis had sa, ma, or pa as the ruling amśa29 could the kākalī and antara svaras be used. In the seven amśa jāti, ṣadja-madhyama where ga and ni were the amśas, the sādhāraṇa notes could not be employed. They were applicable only when sa, ma and pa were acting as the amśas. Madhyama, too, had five possible amśas, but again it was only on the occasion of sa ma and pa acting as amśas that the antara svaras could be used.30 In the pañcama jāti. sādhāraṇa notes were employed only when pa was acting as amśa (this jāti had two amśas - ri and pa). This jāti was rendered ṣādava by the lopa of ga and auduva by ihe lopa of ga and ni.31 Abhinava says that when pañcama acts as the amśa of the jāti and it is to be rendered ṣādava, then in place of the weak gāndhāra (it was not necessary that a note be totally omitted in ṣādavita or auduvita, but could be rendered as a weak note) an extremely weak antara gāndhāra could be used. Similarly, in the auduva form instead of a weak ni, the kākalī niṣāda could be employed.32

Grama

The concept of grāma is rather difficult for the modern mind to comprehend, for the notion is long since extinct. The gāndharva seven-note octave had a basic two-fold division on the basis of somewhat differing number of śrutis contained by certain notes. These two divisions were the ṣadja and madhyama grāmas33

In the ṣadja grāma, arrangement of svaras and śrutis was thus :34

192 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

ṣadja — 4 śrutis

Rṣabha — 3 śrutis

Gāndhāra — 2 śrutis

Madhyama — 4 śrutis

Pañcama — 4 śrutis

Dhaivata — 3 śrutis

Niṣāda — 2 śrutis

In madhyama-grāma, pañcama was lowered by one śruti35 becoming triśrutikā. Consequently, dhaivata gained one śruti becoming ca-tuśśrutikā. The śrutis of the rest of the notes were the same. The arrangement of the madhyama grāma thus becomes :

ṣadja — 4 śrutis

Rṣabha — 3 śrutis

Gāndhāra — 2 śrutis

Madhyama — 4 śrutis

Pañcama — 3

Dhaivata — 4 śrutis

Niṣāda — 2 śrutis

In gāndharva system the śruti interval between notes can only be 2, 3 or 4. The śruti interval can neither be less than 2 or more than 4. Thus says Abhinava, "Beyond that with an interval of four or more (śrutis) on account of excessive effort, there is discordance in the notes (vaisvarya). Hence there cannot be notes with five śrutis."36

Why two grāmas only ? Abhinava says that ṣadja and Madhyama being ca-tuśśrutika are 'full' notes (pūrṇa), hence he gives one to understand that this is why the two grāmas are constructed on these two notes. He further questions as to why should not several ca-tuśśrutikas then be predominant ? 'On account of fullness'. Pañcama (varies) as two notes, because of the ceasing of the ca-tuśśrutika nature of pañ-cama (it cannot be treated as a pūrṇa note). The ca-tuśśrutika nature of kākalī and antara is accidental, not essential. The permanence or indispensability is equal in the two cases (i.e. with ṣadja and madh-yama). Hence there are only two grāmas."37 What Abhinava means is that although pañcama is ca-tuśśrutika in the ṣadja-grāma, it has a variant in the madhyama-grāma where it is not ca-tuśśrutika. That is why pañcama is said to have two forms; hence, it is not a pūrṇa or perfect note in that sense. Similarly for kākalī and antara notes. Ṣadja and madhyama are invariably the only two notes which are full and permanent; hence the two grāmas, ṣadja and madhyama.

Abhinava states that the arrangements of the śrutis in the two grāmas could be clearly represented by diagram ...... "He remarks "now a bare note may be perceived or unperceived somewhere. But

they are relevant only as the part of a group. Such a group of notes is called a grāma."38 What Abhinava is saying in effect is that just a single note sung somewhere in itself does not have meaning. A note acquires significance only in relation to other notes. It should be remembered that we do not have any fixed pitches for notes as in western music, nor were there any tuning forks in those days. Tuning was done, as now too, by the ear. This being the case, how could any scale be fixed, without relation to some tonic note or how could any instrument be tuned without beginning from some particular note and relating other notes to it ? It was not a tonic in the modern sense that it was the centre around which all the other notes revolved or that during the rendering of the melodic pattern one kept returning to it. It was the note in relation to which the other notes were established. This seems to be the role of the ṣadja in the ṣadja grāma and madhyama in the madhyama grāma. It has been pointed out that ṣadja was lopya in many jātiṣ of the ṣadja grāma. But this does not negate the tonicness of the ṣadja here. It is the idea of ṣadjatva that it important. Even now, in modern classical music we could try singing 6 notes without singing ṣadja. Even though not actually singing it, the idea of ṣadjatva is definitely there in our mind and the rendering of other notes is in relation to it (which otherwise would cease to have meaning).

Concepts of Vādi, Samvādi, Vivādi and Anuvādi

Vādi, samvādi, vivādi and anuvādi, were the four terms for four different kinds of notes to be found in the jāti singing of gāndharva music.39 Bharata equates the vādi with the amśa. i.e. the predominant note in a jāti - tatra yo yadamśaḥ sa tadavādi.40 Abhinava commenting on this, says, "Then he defines the vādi. Vādi is known in performance by its vivid shining out. It is also frequently articulated and indicates the determination of tara and mandra. Others say that amśa is a synonym …. Dattila etc. say that amśa is the vādi. It should be stated there that a separate definition of amśa is not necessary."41 As stated by Abhinava, Dattila too regards vādi and amśa as synonymous,42 Mataṅga43 and Śārṅgadeva,44 giving an analogy for the vādi, have called it the ruler among other notes. Nanyadeva terms it as the note which is prolific.45 Siṁhabhūpāla46 and Kalli-nātha47 also term vādi to be the most recurring note and synonymous with amśa. As Kallinātha explains, vādi was the main amśa of a jāti. The remaining amśa notes were the paryāyāmśas.48 He also says that any amśa note of a jāti could be made vādi and graha alternately.49

Bharata says that the notes which have an interval of nine or thirteen śrutis between them are mutually samvādi or that they have a natural harmony.50 He enumerates the pairs of samvādis in both the

grāmas.51 These are namely ṣadja-pañcama, ṛṣabha-dhaivata gāndhāra-niṣāda and ṣadja-madhyama samvāda in the ṣadja grāma. In the madhyama-grāma. the ṣadja-pañcama samvāda does not obtain, and is replaced by ṛṣabha-pañcama samvāda.52 Now Bharata, Dattila53 and others have spoken of nine-thirteen śruti interval samvāda, i.e. dha is located on the thirteenth śruti from ri, ni is on the thirteenth śruti from ga; and so on. But the actual interval existing between these notes is eight and twelve. Perhaps this is why Śārṅgadeva says, "samvādi svaras are those between which are eight or twelve śrutis."54

Abhinava, however, quoting his teacher, attempts to clarify this by saying that antara here does not mean interval, but form (i.e. of the svara). He says, "then he (Bharata) gives the definition of samvādi. Those which have an interval of nine and thirteen śrutis. This is naming the svaras. Others say eight or nine is called nine. Similarly, the interval of thirteen means where there are twelve śrutis in-between. They are called samvādis. But the Upādhyāyas say that antara does not mean interval (antarāla). It means nature. Hence the reference to the note of which the nature consists of nine śrutis Similarly, that of which the nature consists of thirteen śrutis, such notes are mutually samvādis".55

Abhinava states that there is no samvāda between madhyama and niṣāda even though the interval is of nine and thirteen śrutis.56 He cites the example of ṣadja-madhyama jāti, where in its śāḍava form, even though madhyama is the aṃśa, there is lopa of niṣāda. Bharata Abhinavas. He says—samānaśrutīkatvena samvādānatsamvādinau,57 i.e. samvāda will accrue when two notes are formed with an equal number of śrutis (besides of course, the fact that there should be an interval of nine or thirteen śrutis between them). Now madhyama has four śrutis and niṣāda has three, so there will be no samvāda. Similarly in the madhyama-grāma where dhaivata becomes catuḥśrutīka, there will be no samvāda with ṛṣabha which is triśrutīka—madhyamagrāme ca na ṛṣabhadhaivatayoh.58 Abhinava here cites the example of kaiśika-jāti where in its śāḍava from the elemination of ri, where dha is an aṃśa is not an exception.

Thus, the two conditions for samvāda were, firstly, there should be an interval of nine or thirteen śrutis between two notes and, secondly, the two notes should be formed with an equal number of śrutis.

The meaning of vivādi in the context of present-day Indian music is that note which is omitted in a certain rāga, or that which brings about discordance. The concept of vivādi in gāndharva seems to have been different. As regards vivādi, Bharata says that "those which have

Musical System : Elements and Structure 195

two śruti intervals are termed vivādis, such as ṛṣabha and gāndhāra,

dhaivata and niṣāda.59 Thus particular notes have not been singled

out and described as vivādis to particular jātis. Instead two pairs of

notes, ṛṣabha and gāndhāra and dhaivata and niṣāda, are described as

vivādis to each other, gāndhāra being at a two-śruti interval from ṛṣa-

bha, and so also niṣāda from dhaivata.

The concept of anuvādi seems to be that which is not vādi or sam-

vādi, but also not vivādi.60 Bharata ennumerates the anuvādis of the

two grāmas.61

Ṣadja grāma :

Svara : Anuvādi svaras

sa : ri, ga, dha, ni

ri : ma, pa, ni

ga : ma, pa, dha

ma : pa, dha, ni

The anuvādis of pañcama and dhaivata are not clear.

Madhyama-grāma :

sa : ri, ga

ma : sa, ri, ga, dha, ni

dha : sa, ri, ga

ni : sa, ri

Murcchana

Ancient Indian music recognised two grāmas, on the basis of two

different arrangements of śruti intervals according to the seven

notes of an octave. Each of these grāmas could result in seven mūrc-

chanās which were the seven svaras of an octave in a serially ascending

order;62 each new mūrchanā beginning on a new and successively lo-

wer note. These mūrchanās were numbered serially and each had

a distinct denomination. The first mūrchanā of the ṣadja-grāma began

with sa and ran thus—sa ri ga ma pa dha ni. This mūrchanā was

Uttaramandrā. The second was ni sa ri ga ma pa dha and was called

Rajanī. The third, Uttarayatā, was thus—dha ni sa ri ga ma pa. The

fourth Śuddha-ṣadja ran thus—pa dha ni sa ri ga ma. The fifth was

ma pa dha ni sa ri ga. and was named Matsarikṛtā. The sixth, Aśva-

krāntā, ran as following—ga ma pa dha ni sa ri. The seventh, Abhirud-

gatā, commenced with ri and ended in sa thus—ri ga ma pa dha ni sa.63

Similarly, the mūrchanās were formed in the madhyama grāma

too, each with its specified serial order and denomination. The first

mūrchanā in this grama commenced with madhyama and was called

sauvirī, It ran thus—ma pa dha ni sa ri ga. The second, Hariṇāśva,

began with ga and was thus—ga ma pa dha ni sa ri. The third, Kālo-

panata, ran thus—ri ga ma pa dha ni sa. The fourth, Śuddha-madhyama,

196 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

was as following—sa ri ga ma pa dha ni. The fifth called Mārḡī, was thus—ni sa ri ga ma pa dha. The sixth was dha ni sa ri ga ma pa and named Pauravī. The seventh, named Hṛṣyakā, began with pa and concluded with ma. It ran thus—pa dha ni sa ri ga ma.64

Bharata remarks —Evametāḥ prakramayutāḥ pūrṇāḥ ṣaḍavitaudavi-tāḥ sādhāranakṛtāśceti caturvidhāḥ caturdaśa mūrcchanāḥ.65 This would mean that there were four classes of mūrcchanās—with full seven notes, with six notes, with five notes and with auxiliary notes.

This seems to be contradicted by the fact that Bharata soon after says that mūrcchanā is an orderly sequence of seven notes.

Were the mūrcchanās then rigid heptatonic structures ? What in that case, would these four classes of mūrcchanās be ? Could mūrcchanās be rendered hexatonic and pentatonic too ?

Ācārya Bṛhaspati does classify the mūrcchanās into four types, but according to him, they are—śuddha, antara-saṃhitā, kākalī-saṃhitā and antara-kākalī-saṃhitā,66 i.e. mūrcchanās with all pure or avikṛta notes, mūrcchanās with antara gāndhāra, those with kākalī niṣāda and those with antara gāndhāra and kākalī niṣāda.

That is to say, he regards mūrcchanās as heptatonic structures, the only difference being that some are with all the seven pure notes, some have an antara gāndhāra instead of a dviśrutika ga, some kākalī niṣāda instead of dviśrutika ni and some with both the auxiliary notes, but in no case is any note dropped.

Ācārya Bṛhaspati is of the opinion that ṣāḍava and auḍuva mūrcchanās are tānas and not different forms of mūrcchanās.67 He quotes Śārṅgadeva who says—Tānaḥ syuḥ mūrcchanāḥ ṣāḍavauduvikṛtaḥ.68

The other view is that mūrcchanās were of four types—heptatonic, hexatonic pentatonic and with auxiliary notes.

This view was held by Dattila, Mataṅga69 and also Abhinava.70 Abhinava, thus not only clearly, refers to ṣāḍavita and auḍuvita but even discusses them later.

A mūrcchanā can be accomplished in two ways. If in the ṣad ja-grāma, gāndhāra is raised by śrutis and considered as dhaivata of the madhyama grāma, the rest of the notes get automatically adjusted to śruti interval of the madhyama grāma and thus we can obtain śuddha-mūrcchanās of the madhyama grāma.

Similarly by the lowering of dhaivata by two śrutis in the madhyama grāma and considering it as gāndhāra of the ṣad ja grāma the śruti interval will get adjusted so as to correspond with the notes of the ṣad ja grāma.71

It is interesting to note that Mataṅga postulates mūrcchanās consisting of twelve notes.72 The raison dêtre is that a seven note mūrcchanā is not sufficient for the proper unfoldment of jāti, rāga etc. as often the lower and higher octaves are not available.

To the basic seven note mūrcchanā five notes are added.

Musical System : Elements and Structure 197

twelve note mūrcchanā system of Mataṅga73 etablishes the mūrcchanās of the ṣadja and madhyama grāma74 thus :

Ṣadja grāma—

1. Uttarāmandrā : dha ni sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa ri ga

2. Rajañī : ni sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa ri ga ma

3. Uttarāyatā : sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa ri ga ma pa

4. Śuddhaṣadjā : ri ga ma pa dha ni sa ri ga ma pa dha

5. Matsārikṛtā : ga ma pa dha ni sa ri ga ma pa dha ni

6. Aśvākrāntā : ma pa dha ni sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa

7. Abhirudgatā : pa dha ni sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa ri

Madhyama grāma—

1. Sauvirī : ni sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa ri ga ma

2. Hariṇāśva : sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa ri ga ma pa

3. Kālopanatā : ri ga ma pa dha ni sa ri ga ma pa dha

4. Śuddhamadhyā : ga ma pa dha ni sa ri ga ma pa dha ni

5. Mārgī : ma pa dha ni sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa

6. Pauravī : pa dha ni sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa ri

7. Hṛṣyakā : dha ni sa ri ga ma pa dha ni sa ri ga.

It may be noted here that each new mūrcchanā is commencing from a successively higher note, rather than from one lower note each time (as is done in the seven note mūrcchanās).

Kumbhā75 has given a severe criticism of Mataṅga’s twelve note mūrcchanā system. It does not seem to have been accepted by later theorists, who consider only the basic seven note mūrcchanā system.

Mūrcchanās were the basis of the formation of tānas. Thus states Bharata — tatra mūrcchanāśritastānāścaturāśitīḥ76 Abhinava, too, has a similar remark — mūrcchanānāmāśritāḥ yātāstā sāmeva te vastāviśeṣāḥ.77

Thus out of the mūrcchanās of the ṣadja and madhyama grāma were formed the eighty-four tānas.

As regards mūrcchanās, it seems, that they were not sung or played per se. It is significant that Bharata does not mention mūrcchanā and tāna in the list of topics of the śārīṛī viṇā, but only for the dāravī. As regards tāna, Abhinawa says, "Although possible in the śārīṛī they should not be used there, because it is not conducive to ease, that it is inconvenient."78 As they have not been included in the list of items in the śāriri viṇā, mūrcchanās as such were not sung at all. Tānas could be sung, but were usually not done so. They were, however, played on the viṇā. Abhinava questions this :79

"Where is the use of the mūrcchanās and tānas ? It has been said that the form of the tāna is for the sake of the mūrcchanās. As for the statement that it is for the pleasing of the performers, the idea is that the listeners know the tradition. This is being said, although in this

198 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

tradition familiar to the listeners there is no use of the mūrchanās ."

That is to say, the mūrchanās were not used directly i.e. not sung or

played before the audience. This is again borne out by a very signi-

ficant statement of Abhinava. He says, "Mūrchanās are not like

jāti, graha and bhāṣā useful in performance but tānas are useful in

orchestra."80 The difference between the two is quite clearly stated

here, and allows no room for confusion. Mūrchanās were not actually

played or sung, hence unlike tānas, they had no role in the orchestra.

Their role was merely to provide a functional basis serving to tune

the instrument and providing musical scales.

In instrumental music their role was for tuning (sāraṇā). Bharata

states.—Mūrchanātānā prayojanamapi sthānaprāptyartham. Sthānam

ca trividham pūrvaktalakṣaṇam kākuvidhāviti.81

The mūrchanā helped the tuning of instruments to a proper scale.

It is significant that Dattila refers to experts and their instrumental

tuning (sāraṇā) in connection with the determination of mūrchanās.82

Bharata has not spoken of particular mūrchanās for particular jātis,

but Mataṅga has indicated particular mūrchanās for particular jātis,

and so Śārṅgadeva, too. A jāti can have many aṃśa svaras, so one

should take such a mūrchanā which would appropriately cover up the

mandra and tāra limits given any aṃśa svara.83

Though Bharata does not mention mūrchanās in connection with

the śārṅī vīṇā, strangely enough, Abhinava does.84 He tries to justify

the role of mūrchanās in singing by pointing out their use in the sing-

ing of sāman. So it has been shown ‘he sings three songs by uttara-

mandrā...’85 Again, earlier, he had stated “thus it is heard in the

Vedic texts ‘he should sing three gāthās by uttaramandrā’ those wives

will sing to you by pātālikās.86 He also says that the jāti Āṛṣabī was

sung in the murcchanā beginning with pañcama. Since it was a ṣāḍja-

grāma jāti, it can be inferred that he meant the Abhirudgatā mūrc-

chanā.86a Thus, the concept of a mūrchanā bears the strongest resem-

blance to a scale, seven in each grāma, each commencing from a diffe-

rent note. Indeed, in the ancient musical system, with its rigidly fixed

scheme of determind śruti intervals between the notes, there could be

no other method of obtaining a variety of scales.

Tana

Bharata declares tānas to be dependent on the mūrchanās and

gives their number as eighty-four—tatra mūrchanāśritastānāścaturāśīti

(NŚ, IV. Chap. 28, p. 27). Abhinava explains tānas as particular states

of mūrchanās .. Tāsaṃeva tevastāviśeṣaḥ (AB on NŚ, IV, Chap.

28, p. 27) Bharata states that there are forty-nine hexatonic tānas and

thirty-five pentatonic ones,87 thus eighty-four in all. By implication,

this would mean that mūrcchanās when rendered hexatonic or pentatonic were tānas.88

Bharata says that there were seven ways of rendering tānas hexatonic—by dropping 4 notes i.e. sa, ri, pa and ni in the ṣadja grama

and by dropping three notes sa, ri and ga in the madhyama grāma.

Thus the hexatonic tānas come out to be forty-six in both the grāmas.89

Hexatonic tānas in the ṣadja grāma : Dropping out the notes sa, ri pa and ni four tānas can be worked out from the uttaramandrā mūrcchanā. These run thus :

1. -ri ga ma pa dha ni

2. sa-ga ma pa dha hi

3. sa ri ga ma -dha ni

4. sa ri ga ma pa dha-

Rajani 5) ni- ri ga ma pa dha ni

6. ni sa -ga ma pr dha ni

7. ni sa ri ga ma- dha ni

8. ni sa ri ga ma pa dha-

Uttarāyatā 9) dha ni -ri ga ma pa

10. dha ni sa- ga ma pa

11. dha ni sa ri ga ma-

12. dha- sa ri ga ma pa

Śuddhaṣadja 13) pa dha ni -ri ga ma

14. pa dha ni sa- ga ma

15. -dha ni sa ri ga ma

16. pa -dha sa ri go ma

Matsarikṛtā 17) ma pa dha ni -ri ga

18. ma pa dha ni sa -ga

19. ma- dha ni sa ri ga

20. ma pa dha- sa ri ga

Aśvakrāntā 21) ga ma pa dha ni -ri

22. ga ma pa dha ni sa -

23. ga ma- dha ni sa ri

24. ga ma pa dha- sa ri

Abhirudgatā 25) ri ga ma pa dha ni

26. -ga ma pa dha ni sa

27. ri ga ma- dha ni sa

28. ri ga ma pa dha- sa

Madhyama grāma :

Three tānas from each mūrcchanā of the madhyama grāma can be worked out by omission of the notes sa ri and ga.

Sauvīrī 1) ma pa dha ni -ri ga

2. ma pa dha ni -sa ga

200 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Hariṇāśva 3) ma pā dha ni sa ri -

4. ga ma pa dha ni - ri

5. ga ma pa dha ni sa -

Kālopanatā 6) - ma pa dha ni sa ri

7. ri ga ma pa dha ni -

8. • ga ma pa dha ni sa

9. ri - ma pa dha ni sa

Suddhamadhyam 10) - ri ga ma pa dha ni

11. sa - ga ma pa dha ni

12. sa - ri ma pa dha ni

Mārgi 13) ni - ri ga ma pa dha

14. ni sa - ga ma pa dha

15. ni sa ri - ma pa dha

Pauravi 16) dha ni - ri ga ma pa

17. dha ni sa - ga ma pa

18. dha ni sa ri ma pa

Hṛṣyakā 19) pa dha ni - ri ga ma

20. pa dha ni sa - ga ma

21. pa dha ni sa ri - ma

Thus twenty-eight tānas in the ṣadja grāma and twenty-one in the madhyama grāma constitute a total of forty-nine hexatonic tānas in both the grāmas.

Pentatonic tānas could be rendered in five ways. There were three ways in the ṣadja-grāma—by omission of ṣadja and pañcama, by omission of ṛṣabha and pañcama, and by omission of gāndhāra and niṣāda. In madhyama-grāma, the two ways of rendering were by omission of gāndhāra niṣāda and by that of ṛṣabha-dhaivata. Thus, there were twenty-one pentatonic tānas in the sadja grāma and fourteen in the madhyama-grāma.90 It may be noted that the rule of samvāditva governed the omission of notes in pentatonic tānas.

By dropping the pairs of notes ṣadja-pañcama, ṛṣabha-pañcama and gāndhāra niṣāda —three tānas could be obtained from each mūrchanā of the ṣadja-grāma :

Uttaramandrā 1) - ri ga ma- dha ni

2. sa - ga ma- dha ni

3. sa ri - ma pa dha-

Rajani 4) ni - ri ga ma- dha

5. ni sa - ga ma -dha

6. -sa ri - ma pa dha

Uttarāyata 7) dha ni - ri ga ma

8. dha ni sa - ga ma -

9. dha - sa ri - ma pa

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201

Śuddhaṣadja 10) - dha ni - ri ga ma

11. • dha ni sa - ga ma

12. pa dha - sa ri - ma

Matsarikṛtā 13) ma - dha ni - ri ga

14. ma - dha ni - sa ga

15. ma pa dha - sa ri -

Aśvākrāntā 16) ga ma - dha ni - ri

17. ga ma - dha ni sa -

18. • ma pa dha - sa ri

Abhirudgatā 19) ri ga ma - dha ni -

20. • ga ma - dha ni sa

21. ri - ma pa dha - sa

Madhyama grāma:

By the omission of the two pairs of notes ga-ni and ri-dha, two tānas could be obtained from each mūrchanā of the madhyama grāma.

Sauvīrī 1) ma pa dha - sa ri

2. ma pa - ni sa - ga

Hariṇāśva 3) - ma pa dha - sa ri

4. ga ma pa - ni sa -

Kalopanatā 5) ri - ma pa dha - sa

6. • ga ma pa - ni sa

Śuddhamadhyamā 7) sa ri - ma pa dha ni

8. dha ni sa - ga ma -

Mārgī 9) - sa ri - ma pa dha

10. ni sa - ga ma pa -

Pauravī 11) dha - sa ri ma pa

12. • ni sa - ga ma pa

Hṛṣyakā 13) pa dha - sa ri - ma

14. pa - ni sa - ga ma

Bharata in his list of topics relating to svara mentions only seven items as relating to the sāriṅī viṇā or vocal music. Tāna has not been included in it. Abhinava explains this by saying, "Tāna, although possible in the sāriṅī should not be used there because it is not conducive to ease: it is inconvenient. It is used for the sake of practice, but success in it arises only through the exact number of notes in the viṇā (i.e. even while tāna is being used in vocal practice, even then one has to take help of the viṇā which is capable of producing the exact number of notes required. Thus even then one has to take the help of the viṇā which is capable of producing the exact number of notes required). Thus even when one is not able to produce the notes from the voice, one may, by having the distinction of notes comprehended by the heart, be able to produce the notes on the viṇā."91 It seems, thus,

202 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

that though tāna was possible in the śārīrī it was actually more popular in the vīṇā. It may be noted that the word tāna derives from the root tan which means to 'stretch' or 'pull'; perhaps this reference to the stretching or pulling of string or strings indicates instrumental playing as the source of tānas.

Bharata describes tānakriyā, or the method of playing tānas on the vīṇā, when certain notes are to be dropped. Tānakriyā, says Bharata, can be executed in two ways, by praveśa and nigraha. Bharata explains Nigraha as non-touching. Praveśa is the sharpening of the preceding note or the softening of the succeeding note.92 Nigraha is clear enough. It means that when a note is to be dropped, it is simply avoided. Explaining praveśa Abhinava says that when a note, say ṣadja, was to be dropped, then (by the tightening of the string) the note could be raised and rendered as ṛṣabha. Alternately in the uttaramaṇdrā mūrccchanā (the ṣadjagrāmikā mūrccchanā which began with ṣadja) when sa was to be dropped (the string could be) lowered and tuned to ni. Whether the note was to be rendered higher or lower depended on whichever note happened to be stronger in that particular jāti, and thus further strength was imparted to the already strong note.93

The basic idea was that in praveśa, the omissible note was not avoided while playing, but assimilated into its neighbouring note, whether higher or lower, as required by the exigencies of the melodic structure.

Sthāna

Bharata, in the 17th chapter mentions three sthānas viz. chest, throat and head.94 He co-relates these three sthānas with the three octaves—mandra, madhya and tāra, while giving the details of the nature and variety of kāku.95 Bharata, here uses the analogy of the vīṇā in the context of sthāna for human frame in saying that kāku arises from the three sthānas of the 'śārīrī vīṇā', chest, throat and head.

Octaves lower or higher than mandra or tāra might have been used specially in the dāravī vīṇā, though there is no such specific reference. Bharata does not mention terms such as tāratara, anumandra and mandratara.96 However, Abhinava explains that these are not octaves beyond the normal three but relatively higher or lower positions within mandra and tāra.97

The madhya saptaka or the middle octave was the most important one, whether in vocal or in instrumental music, the middle octave was taken in its entirety;98 but there were restrictions as regards the movement of notes in the mandra and tāra in specific jātis.

Musical System : Elements and Structure 203

Jātis

Eighteen jātis or musical modes have been described by Bharata —samavāyajjā tayastu jāyante99 i.e. jātis are born of a conglomeration. The conglomeration was the grouping together of the various jāti-lakṣaṇas or characteristics of a jāti, which then gave rise to a particular melodic structure termed jāti. Daśakam jātilakṣaṇam—thus Bharata enumerates ten characteristic features of a jāti. These were the (1) graha (2) aṃśa (3) tāra (4) mandra (5) nyāsa (6) apanyāsa (7) alpatva (8) bahutva (9) ṣādava (10) auḍuvita.100 On graha Bharata says—grahastu sarvajā tīnāmamśavatparikīrtitah yatpravṛttam bhavegeyamaṃśo grahavikalpitah101

Graha was the note used at the commencing of a melody. Thus says Dattila ‘grahastu gītādisvarah’102 and Mataṅga thus—jātyādiprayogān grāhyate yenāsau grahah.103 That the graha was the initial note of a melody is an accepted fact. The controversial aspect, however, is its relationship with the aṃśa. Is graha only similar to aṃśa or is it in fact identical with it ? The second line has been translated by M. M. Ghosh thus—”The note which is taken up in the beginning (of a song) is the graha and is an alternative term for the aṃśa.”104 This could also be translated as the note which is taken up in the beginning (of a song) is a graha, or as an alternative the aṃśa (can be used). Abhinava, commenting on this verse, gives some clues to the relationship between graha and aṃśa —Prāyo aṃśasyaiva grahatvamutsṛṣṭam.105 Then again, “what is this graha ? The text answers—it is another name for that (for aṃśa ?) How? The answer is ‘that by which the song is to begin. Hence it is another name for aṃśa.’ He (Bharata) says ‘constructed by graha’—(this means) when conjoined with another property, by the property of graha thus constructed it is made as of two natures. It becomes graha not simply by predominance…… Sometimes aṃśa does not become graha, for example pañcama (is aṃśa) in Nandayantī, gāndhāra is its graha. Hence, graha must be mentioned separately. Even though there are not many illustrations, yet the principle (is enunciated). In the grāma rāga etc.. it is not possible to recognise the grahatva of a note other than the aṃśa.”106 From the above reading it becomes clear that though almost invariably aṃśa and graha were the same. but there were some exceptions, as in Nandayantī jāti; hence each had their independent status too. Graha, being the initial melodic note, had a limited role, whereas aṃśa was a much larger concept. It was the note which determined the form of a melodic structure and was the dominant note in it.107 The grahas specified for a jāti are exactly the same as their aṃśas, except for Nandayanti.

204 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Bharata enumerates ten characterstics of the amśa : (1) It is the note from which is generated the charm of the rāga and on which it depends; (2) it determines the range of the mandra, and (3) the range of tāra and mandra; (4) it is the most dominant note. Also it determines the (5) graha, (6) apanyāsa, (7) vinyāsa, (8) sannyāsa, and (9) nyāsa, and (10) is the note which others follow.108

Range in the upper octave or tāragati : In contrast to present-day classical music, where the singer has the freedom to move in all three octaves, in gāndharva music there were strict rules regarding the use of notes in the lower and upper octaves and thus regulated, the movement in the mandra and tāra was a limited one. In the tāra or upper octave one could only sing up to the fourth amśa and not beyond that.110 Abhinava explains this thus—“with the amśa svara, four or five notes of the tāra saptaka are to be used. For example when ṣadja is amśa, sa, ri. ga ma, pa, with ṛṣabha ri, ga, ma. pa, dha; with gānd-hāra ga, ma, pa, dha, ni; with madhyama ga ma, pa, dha, ni; and similarly with pañcama, dhaivata and niṣāda. It is these that are established by practice (lakṣya).”111 Further, Abhinava says that if one could not sing very high, there was no harm in singing a note lower than the prescribed one in the upper octave, but one ought never to sing a note higher than the prescribed one. Thus he says, “If ṣadja is the amśa, then the tāra saptaka should be taken upto ri, ga, ma (pa), if one has the capability of doing so (i.e. if one can stretch the voice so high), but even if one is capable, one should not go beyond that. But taking a lower note is not faulty. This is shown by the word para. When ṛṣabha is the amśa, the notes are to be taken upto dhaivata (from) the ṛṣabha of the tāra saptaka. When gāndhāra is the āmśa, the notes are to be taken up to dhaivata (from) the ṛṣabha of the tāra saptaka. When gāndhāra is the amśa, then the seven notes ending with niṣāda (may be used); madhyama, pañcama and dhaivata those (being the amśa) the notes upto niṣāda are to be taken. In these five amśas, the whole of the tāra saptaka is to be taken. If the capability is medium, then the āroha is only up to four notes But in the Nandayanti the extreme limit in tāra is explained there (thus) that the movement in the tāra saptaka never goes beyond the ṣadja.”112 Thus as stated, in the Nandayantī the rule of the fourth-fifth note did not apply; movement in the tāra saptaka was totally prohibited there. Bharata specifically says this about the Nandayantī—tāragyatu ṣadjastu (ṣadjopi) kadācinnātivartate……113

Movement in the lower octave or mandragati is three-fold114 viz. (1) one could descend up to the amśa; (2) another lower limit was the nyāsa; and (3) a third possible lower limit was the note immediately

below the nyāsa.115

Nyāsa : Aṅgasamaptau nyāsah116 states Bharata; i.e. nyāsa occurs at the end of an aṅga or part i.e. at the end of a portion of the melodic structure. Abhinava, however, explains nyāsa to be the concluding note of the jāti itself. i.e. the note on which the jāti ends.117 Apanyāsa118 occurred at the end of smaller parts within the melodic structure.

Every jāti had specific notes prescribed as nyāsa or apanyāsa for them.

Alpatva : When a note was sparingly used in a jāti, this was termed as alpatva. This was effected in two ways : (1) by laṅghana, and (2) by anābhyāsa.119 Abhinava explains laṅghana thus : 'Laṅghana means proceeding to another note while touching, not resting.' Thus laṅghana was the gliding over of a note or touching it slightly in such a way that being unemphasized itself, it tended to highlight the note following it.120

Abhinava, explaining the use of laṅghana, says, "where in the pūrṇāvasthā. a lopya-svara is employed, there that note is frequently glided over (laṅghana).121 Anābhyāsa was to avoid repeating of the note. It operated on weak notes. i.e. was used when anāṃsas (neither aṃsa nor paryāyāṃsa) were used. Thus says Abhinava, "Occasionally there is also non-repetition or anābhyāsa. There is anābhyāsa when those notes are used in the antarāṃarga which are not paryāyāṃsas such as niṣāda and ṛṣabha in the ṣāḍavi, i.e. the hexatonic or pentatonic jātis, notes were often not omitted totally, but rendered weak, i.e. alpatva was effected.123

Bahutva : Bharata defines bahutva as the note which was strong.124 Abhinava, too, states, "Now he mentions bahutva and defines it by saying that alpa is that which is weak (abala) and in contrast the strong note in frequent (bahutva) as may be understood by implication."125 Thus, bahutva was the note which was dominant and prolifically used in a jāti. Though Bharata does not say so specifically, however, Abhinava postulates bahutva also to be two fold. ".... like the alpatva belonging to the jāti, bahutva is also two-fold......" Thus bahutva is two-fold due to alaṅghana (non-skipping) and abhyāsa (repetition)126 "The notes which were obviously prolific in a jāti were the vādi and samvādi. Other notes where the bahutva was effected were the paryāyāṃsas or alternate aṃsas.127

Hexatonic treatment of jātis is indicated with ṣāḍavita and there are 14 hexatonic jātis. Pentatonic treatment of jātis was termed auḍuvita there being 10 such jātis.128

Other important elements in the structure of a jāti were sannyāsa, vinyāsa and antarāṃarga. Bharata, Dattila and others have spoken of only 10 elements characterising a jāti and have treated these three

206 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

separately. Śārṅgadeva however, speaks of 13 charactertics of a jāti129 as he has included these 3 characteristics too, and not described them separately. Samnyāsa was the concluding note of the first vidāri (a sub-division of the melodic structure).130 Both Dattila and Śārṅga-deva state that it was not a vivādi of the aṃśa 131 Vinyāsa is defined by Bharata as the note which occurs at the end of a pada or word.132 Abhibhava and Śārṅgadeva complete this definition by saying that, that was the concluding note of a pada within a vidāri unit.133

Antaramārga was the typical movement of svaras in a jāti which helped in the unfoldment of the character of the jāti.134 It may be compared to the present-day term ‘cālan’ which is particular movement in a rāga which gives it its individuality.

Eighteen jātis have been enumerated by Bharata, 7 belonging to the ṣadja-grāma and the rest to the madhyama-grāma. The ṣadja-grā-miki jātis are Ṣadji, Ārṣabhi, Dhaivatī, Nuiṣādi, Ṣadjodicyavatī Ṣadja-kaiśikī and Ṣadja-madhyama The madhyama-grāmikī jātis are thus—Gāndhārī, Madhyamā, Gandharodīcyavā, Paiñcamī, Rakta-gāndhārī, Gāndhārapaiñcamī, Madhyamodīcyavā Nandayantī, Karmāravī, Āndhrī and Kaiśikī.135

Bharata mentions a third category of jātis in which the sādhāraṇa notes were used. The sādhāraṇa notes had a limited role in gāndhāra and there were strict rules regulating the use of sādhāraṇa in gandharva music. Bharata states that the sādhāroṇa could be used only in the singing of 3 jātis; viz. madhyamā, ṣadja-madhyamā and Paiñcamī.136

The 18 jātis were further subdivided into two—śuddha and vikṛta. Śuddha jātis were those which were named after the seven svaras and that very note after which the jāti was named was its aṃśa, graha, nyāsa and apanyāsa. There were 7 śuddha jātis which were thus—ṣādjī, Ārṣabhi, Dhaivatī and Niṣādinī in the ṣadjā grāma and Gāndhārī, Mā-dhyamā and Paiñcamī in the madhyama-grāma.137 It also had the nyāsa svara regularly in the mandra and did not have notes dropped from it. When two or more characteristics of the śuddha-jāti were altered except for the nyāsa it was termed a vikṛta jāti.138 There were born through mutal combination (samsarga) of the śuddha-jātis.139 These were 11 in number and their names and origin have been enumerated by Bharata.140

Parent jātis Derived jātis

(Śuddha) Śāmsargaja Vikṛta

1. Ṣādjī and Madhyamā Ṣāḍjamadhyamā

2. Gāndhārī, Ṣādjī Ṣāḍjakaiśikī

3. Ṣādjī Ṣāḍjodīcyavā

Gāndhārī

Musical System : Elements and Structure 207

Dhaivatī

4. Ṣādjī

Gāndhārī

Madhyamā

Dhaivatī

Gāndhārodi-

cyavatī

5. Gāndhārī

Pañcamī

Madhyamā

Dhaivatī

Madhyamodicya-

vatī

6. Gāndhārī

Pañcamī

Saptamī (Naiṣāḍī)

Raktagāndhārī

7. Gāndhārī

Āṛṣabhī

Āndhrī

8. Āṛṣabhī

Pañcamī

Gāndhārī

Nandayantī

9. Āṛṣabhī

Pañcamī

Karmāravī

10. Gāndhārī

Pañcamī

Gandharapañcamī

11. Ṣādjī

Gāndhārī

Madhyamā

Pañcamī

Naiṣāḍī

Kaiśikī

Since these had some characteristics of the Suddha altered in them, they were termed vikṛtā; since they were born of combination, they were also saṃsaragajā.141

Bharata speaks of 4 jātiś which always had 7 notes. 4 were hexatonic and 10 were pentatonic. Madhyamodicya vatā, ṣadjakaiśikī Karmāravī and Gāndhārapa ñcamī had all the 7 notes. Ṣādjī Āndharī Nandayantī and Gāndharodicyavā were hexatonic. The pentatonic jātiś Naiṣāḍī, Āṛṣabhī, Dhaivatī, Ṣadjamadhyamā and Ṣadjodicya vatī of the Ṣad-jagrāma; the madhyamagrāmikī pentatonic jātiś were Gāndhārī Raktagāndhārī, Madhyamā. Pañcamī and Kaiśikī. However, Bharata also adds that those that were hexatonic could sometimes be rendered as pentatonic and vice-versa Another general rule that governed these jātiś was that in the rendering of ṣaḍvita and aḍuvita of these jātiś the saṃvādī could not be dropped. Hence the jātiś had to be rendered hexatonic and pentatonic in such a way so as to not effect the saṃvādī.142

208 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Ṣadjagrāmiki jātis name

1. Ṣādji143

2. Ārṣabhi145

3. Dhaivati147

4. Naiṣādi150

5. Ṣādjakaisiki151

6. Ṣadjodicya158

7. Ṣaḍja-madhyamā156

8. Gāndhāri157

9. Raktagāndhāri160

10. Gāndhārodicyavā163

Aṃśa

sa ga, ga, ma, sa, pa, dha, ni, ga, ma, dha

sa, ga, ri, dha, ni, ga, ri, pa, ni, ma

sa, ri, ni, sa, pa, sa, ni, ma

Nyāsa

sa sa ri dha ni ga ma

sa, ri, ga, ma, ni, dha

sa, ni, ma

Apanyāsa

ga, pa dha, ri, ni, ri, ga, sa, pa, dha

sa, pa, ri, ni, ri, ni, dha

all notes

Hexatonic (notes dropped)

ni x ri

ni ri ri

x pa pa

Pentatonic (notes dropped)

sa, pa sa, pa sa, pa x ri, pa

ni, ga ri, dha

x

Weak Notes

ni, ri, ma

ri, ma152

Strong Movement of Notes

9

ga144 from sa to ga

ga149 from dha to sa

||

movement of aṃśa notes -- sa, ma, dha, ni

ga155 sañcāra of all notes

notes should be associated with aṃśa and nyāsa159

ni, dha161 sa and ma move-ment162

sañcāra between the two aṃśa notes166

ga in the mandra165

Ṣadjodicya-sa, dha164

As in ma

Musical System : Elements and Structure 209

11. Madhyamā167

sa, ri, ma, pa, dha, ma169

sa, ma

ga, ni

ga

sa, ri, ma,

12. Madhyamava168

dha pa169

ma, ga171

x

ga

sa, dha170

sa, ri, ma, pa, ma

13. Pañcam172

ri, pa

ni-ga173

x

ga, ni

x

ni, ri

14. Gāndhāra-pañcam174

(a) ma-ri-

(b) ri-dha175

x

x

sa, ga, ma

ri, pa

pa

pa. ri, ga, ni

15. Āndhri176

(a) ga-ri-sañcara

(b) ni-dha178

sa177

x

sa

ma, pa

ga

16. Namdayant179

(a) laghana of ṛṣabha in mandra181

(b) movement of

ga-graha180

17. Kāmāv183

only upto tara sa not beyond182

x

x

Prolific movement of gandhāra

ri, pa, dha,ni,

ri, pa, dha, ni (ri)188

18. Kaiśik186

pa,ni sañcara like that everywhere185

ri

ri, dha

sa, ga, ma, pa, ri

ga, ni,

pa187

sa, ga, ma, ni dha, ni

of ṣadja-madhyamā189

yāmā189

210 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Varna

The concept of varna was basically related to song. Varṇa was inseparably connected with the padas (words) in a song. The melodic movement of notes in which a single word was sung was the unit of varṇa, so that every word in a song demarcated one varṇa.

Abhinava says “jāti is indeed a mere pattern of notes. But the practice of vāstu, and varṇa depends on their relationship with pada. On that depends the alaṅkāra (varṇa) which is so inherently connected with pada that it cannot be defined without it.”196 Abhinava raises the problem that since varṇas have been included in the body of the jāti why have they not been mentioned along with the 10 jāti lakṣaṇas ?191 He answers that jātis were basically a group of notes and both in gān-dharva and gāna one finds musical rendering without words. But the varṇa cannot even be defined without relationship to the pada. He gives the examples of graha etc. which occur even without the pada in the antarālapa etc.192

"The word varṇa denotes the expansion of action (kriyā vistāra). Thus the action may be either by staying on one note or by ascending or discending or through a mixture. Hence there are 4 varṇas only and no more.. Varṇa is in reality the ascent, descent, staying and movement only. The pada which is thus sung is called varṇa," says Abhinava.193

Bharata classifies varṇas into four types—ārci, avarohī, sthāyī and sañcārī.194

Ārohi varṇa consisted of ascending movements of notes i.e. ascending from low notes to high.

Avarohī was a descending movement.

Sañcārī was characterised by both ascending and descending movements. Sthāyī was to stay over a single note.195 Abhinava remarks that in rendering this varṇa, the same note, whether in the high, middle or low octaves, should be repeated frequently. The rendering of the note should not be a continuous one for a long period, without any break, resembling the long drawn sound of a bell. He also suggests that when a note is emphasized by repetition, it did not lose its status of a sthāyī even if one or two other notes either higher or lower were sung along with it.196 The Vṛtti on Brhaddesī gives a similar exposition of the sthāyī varṇa.197 The Vṛttikāra gives an example from the ṣāḍji jāti to show that the sthāyī could employ more than one svara provided that the main impression created was that of the sthāyī note e.g. sa ri sa; sa ri sa. Śārṅgadeva held that sthāyī varṇa was characterised when the same note was put to a halting use i.e. halting on a note by a repetition.198 But Kallinātha adds that notes

Musical System : Elements and Structure 211

separately dwelt over in the same movement also constitute sthāyi

such as sa sa sa; ri ri ri.

Varna was a concept relating basically to vocal music. Bharata

says that varnas arise from śārira notes Śārirasvarasambhūtaḥ.199

Though primarily a vocal concept, it could also be rendered on ins-

truments. Abhinava comments on the above phrase "(varṇas) are

basically dependent on sung notes. But even on the vīṇā, one does

flnd melodies rendered as resembling songs and thus varṇas are pre-

sent there too; it is not that alaṃkāras (which depend on varṇa) are

not played on vīṇās."200 Abhinava then quotes this verse—

Śāriryaṃ vasphuṭaṃ ye tu darvyaṃ ve vyavasthitāḥ/

dārvyam calita ye śāriryaṃ te suniścalāḥ.//201

i.e that which was indistinct in the śārīrī (vīṇā or vocal music)

was clear in the dārvi (vīṇā or instrument). That which

in the instrument could be well understood on the śāriri i.e. vocal

music. As examples may be cited the tānas and śrutis which were clear

on the vīṇā and varṇa and alaṃkāra in vocal music.

Footnotes

1 Śrutisca nāma śrotagamyam vailakṣaṇyam yāvatā śabdenotpād-yate. AB on NŚ, 28, Vol. IV, p. 19.

2 Ibid., p. 23.

3 Atra kecit codyaṃ prati samādādhyaḥ—śrutikramābhivyaṃgyāḥ

svarā iti śrutaya evādau vācyā iti codyaṃ tatrottaraṃ bhavedevam

yadi dhvaninādasaṃjñitāḥ śruta eva niyatāsrutyantarāvena grhya-maṇaḥ svara (iti) na hyevaṃ, śrutayohyuccanicatayā api svarāśrayā

eva prātīyante yathā bhaṭṭamārguptaḥ—(jāyate) sahajenaiva sama-staḥ śrutivistaroḥ svarādhaṣṭhānātoyāti śrotrapīyusāsāratām. Ibid.,

pp. 11-12.

4 Tābhyāḥ kāścidupādāya gīyante sarvagītisu ādriyante ca ye tesu

svaratvamupalabhyante svarāḥ ṣadjādayāḥ sapta. Dattila, 10-11.

5 Śrutayaśca vīṇāyāmevopayoginyah sāraṇāyāstantryutkarṣaṇāpakar-

ṣaṇasya tanmūlatvācca. Ibid., p. 9.

6 Śrutinidarśanam tu vīṇāyāṃ sphuṭam. Ibid., p. 13.

7 Grāmavibhāgārthamveva śrutikīrtanam. Ibid., p. 12.

8 Evaṃ svaśrutyutkarṣādapakārṣādvā yadantaraṃ mārdavāyatatvādvā

tatpramāṇaṃ śrutiḥ nidarśanam tvasāṃabhivyākhyāsyamaḥ. Ibid.,

p. 20.

9 L.c.

10 AB on NŚ, IV, p. 21.

11 A. H. Fox Strangways, The Music of Hindustan; E. Clements, In-

troduction to the Study of Indian Music; Alain Danielou, Introduc-

212 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

tion to the Study of Musical Scales; Mark Levy, Introduction to

North Indian Music; Ācārya Bṛhaspati, Bharata kā Saṅgīta-siddh-

ānta.

12 Clements, op.cit., Chap. II.

13 Danielou, op.cit., pp. 45-46, 125. He even explains Kohala’s sixty-

six śrutis as an elaboration of these 53, op. cit., p. 132; cf. Mark

Levy, op. cit., p. 44.

14 Mark Levy, op.cit., p. 141.

15 NŚ; 18.21. We have, however, taken up the topic of śruti first,

because it is impossible to discuss the topic of svara without hav-

ing discussed earlier the concept of śruti.

16 Tatra svarānvaktumāha tatra svarā iti teṣidṣiṭeṣu madhye svarā ucyanta iti śeṣah na......vopāṭāpayoḥ svara ākṣepa ityanayoḥ svara-

śabdaḥ, tena śabdasavbhāvāṃ cittavṛttimadhāyastathā rūpasvāsthyā-

vasthāparityājjanopapāvanto hṛdyatātiśayavaśaśāt svatāmākṣipan-

taḥ svaviśaye abhidhānam kurvataḥ svarā ityuktāḥ. AB on NŚ, 28.21.

17 Nanvevaṃ catuśruteradhikopyasti kim bahunā śadjānniṣādaḥ prayuj-

yamānaścadaśaśrutikaḥ syāt maivam tātīnāṃ śrutilābhe......tats-

paripavanabhinnahana-janitanadamsopayogah. Tataḥ svare talikṛtāśca

śrutisaṅkhyānīyamah. Ata eva nirantaradhvanyamśaśravane virūpa-

svaraśrāvaṇam. Tata eva tisraḥ śrutayaḥ ṛṣabha ityādi vaksyate na

tu tṛtīyā śrutititi. Ibid., IV, pp. 16-17.

18 Taduktam Bhaṭṭatautena "śrutiḥ svaraḥ svasaṃvedya iti, gāne śro-

trāṇāṃ svarratāpi svarūpāvabhāsaḥ .....Na cāvayavaiḥ svarāḥ nāpi-

samcayalḥ yaugapadyābhāvāt. Kramikatvepi hi nairantaryāt nāśubhāvi

(āśubhāvi) kṛtādyaugapadyābhimānāḥ kramikaśrutijanitasamiskāra-

śeṣa cānye śrutisthāne svarasamudaya ityāstām tāvat. Ibid., p. 17.

19 Tatrāntarālāsrutisu niyatisaṅkhyāsu iṣadyo vāyunā sparśastanmahim-

mnā yaḥ svaraḥ śrutisthāne snigdhathavarakitatvalakṣaṇo dharmas tas-

yāśryabhūtāyāḥ śruteruparañjakāḥ sa eva svara iti kecit. Ibid., p.

11. Cf. Lath, M., A Study of Dattilam, p. 210, where snigdhatva

and raktatva are not distinguished. Actually snigdhatva here seems

to refer to the unbrokenness and continuity of resonance whereas

raktatva seems to refer to its accoustically pleasing effect. Dr.

Lath opines that the resonance of the svara is to be understood

within the laws of harmonics.

20 Vayaṃ tu śrutisthānābhighātaprabhavāśabdaprabhāvitonuraṇanānātmā

snigdhamaḍhurāḥ śabda eva svara iti vakṣyāmaḥ. L.c.

21 Abhighātājācchabdādānantarāṃ yonurāṇāmalakṣaṇānyāḥ śabdaḥ upa-

jāyate sa tāvannisargasnigdhamaḍhurākāraḥ. AB on NŚ, 28.21.

22 L.c.

23 NŚ, Vol. IV, Ch. 28, p. 32.

24 Kalatvācca kākalīsaṃjñāḥ, says Bharata (L.c.), while defining kāk-ali. Abhinava elucidates thus—iṣatkalastīva-bhāvosmin, i.e. a note slightly higher in pitch (AB on NŚ, IV, p. 35).

25 Tatra saṃjñāvagrahaṇe bhedamāha vyavahārārthamime bhinne saṃ-jñe paramārthastu dvayorapitvrarataratva-kākalītvaṃ yadvakṣyati “kalatvācca kākalīsaṃjñā” iti dvayorapi cāntarasvaratvaṃ ya-duk-tam—sādhāraṇam nāmāntarasvaratā iti. AB on NŚ, IV, Chap. 28, p. 32.

26 Abhinava explains sādhāraṇa (i.e. svara sādhāraṇa) thus—Antare bhavah antarah svasthānācyutaprasthāna saṃkrāntah sa cāsau svara-ktatvaṃ na tu visvaram tasya bhāvah sādhāraṇamiti. AB on NŚ, IV, Chap. 28, p. 31.

27 NŚ, IV, Chap. 28, p. 32.

28 NŚ. Chap. 28, 37-38; cf. ibid., 28, 44-45.

29 Many jātiṣ had multiple aṃśas but probably only one aṃśa was the acting aṃśa at a time. Thus madhyamā had five aṃśas. viz. sa, ri, ma, pa, dha; pañcamī had two aṃśas, ri and pa; ṣadjamadhyamā had also seven possible notes as aṃśas.

30 AB on NŚ, IV, 28. 45

31 NŚ, 28.125.

32 AB on NŚ, 28.45.

33 It seems that in an earlier period there were three grāmas current viz. ṣadja-grāma, madhyama-grāma, and gāndhāra-grāma. Nārada in his Nāradīyaśikṣā mentions the gāndhāra-grāma although says that it does not exist in this world, and is found only in the world of gods. Nāradīyaśikṣā, 1, 2, 7. This shows that even by Nārada’s time, the gāndhāra-grāma had already become extinct. That it was definitely extinct by Bharata’s time is proved by the fact that he does not even mention it.

34 NŚ, 28. 25-26.

35 Madhyamagrāma tu pañcamaḥ śrutyapakrṣṭaḥ kāryaḥ—NŚ, 28 between 26-27 (Vol. IV, p. 20).

36 Tataḥ param, caturādivyāvadhānetiprayatnavāśaddvisvaryamiti pañ-caśrutikāderasaṃbhavah—AB on NŚ, 28.21.

37 Kim catuḥśrutikenānekena tāvat-pradhānena bhavitavyam pūrṇatvāt tacca svaradvayameva pañcamāsya catuḥśrutikātvairāmāt kākalyan-tarayoścatuḥśrutikatvaṃ, vikāro na svabhāvaḥ tulyaṃ cānāśitvamiti dvāyevagrāma.—AB on NŚ, Vol. IV, p. 21.

38 Tatra svaramatraṃ kutracid drṣṭa.tiṣṭha(yorupa)yogi tu tatsamūha eva tu prayo (gopayogi) tat svarāṇāṃ samūhogrāma ityucyate. AB on NŚ, IV, 28, p. 18. Another significant statement, which shows that the Indian system did not believe in the notion of absolute

214 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

pitch occurs in a commentary of Dattilam, the Prabandhastabaka,

and is quoted by Simhabhūpāla (on SR, 1-4, 15-16). The quoted

part concurs with Dattilam, 12, and is relevant to this discussion.

—Śadjatvena śadjasvarabhāvena gṛhītah parikalpito buddhyā vyavas-

thāpito yah kaścid dhvaniviśeṣaḥ śadjakhy e grāme bhavettasmād dhv-

aniviśeṣādirdhvam ṛtīyah syādṛṣabhaḥ iti, i.e. “some sound may

be arbitrarily chosen and fixed as the śadja svara, from that parti-

cular sound in the ṣadja-grāma the third higher (śruti) is the ṛṣa-

bha.”

39 Caturvidhṭvameteṣām vijñeyam gānayokṭṛbhiḥ vādi caivātha samvādi

vivādi cānuvādyapi.

40 NŚ, Vol. IV, 28, p. 15.

41 AB on NŚ, Vol. IV, 28, p. 16.

42 Yo’tyantabhūlo yatra vādi vāmśaśca tatra śaḥ. Dattilam, 18.

43 Bṛhaddeśī (Trivandrum, 1928), p. 13. ‘Vadanāt Svāmivat’.

44 Vādi rājātra gīyate; Sangītaratnākara, I, 3,50. See also Caturvidhāḥ

svarā vādi samvādi ca vivādi ca vādī ca tu prayoge bahulāḥ

svarāḥ Ibid., I, 3, 47.

45 Sa tatra vādi svarāḥ yaḥ bahulaḥ saṅ sakalagītasarṇabhogapurakaḥ.

Bharatabhāṣyam (Khairagarh, ed.), 6,49.

46 Prayoge jātiragādau bahulā bāhulyena vā uccāryate so’mśasvarāpa-

raparyāyo vādi. Sudhakara comm., Sangītaratnākara, 1,3,47.

47 Prādhānyādvādiśabdavācyam. Anyaiḥ lakṣaṇaiḥ amśa-śabdavācyām.

Kallinātha, SR, I. p. 183.

48 Paryāyāṃśe vādibhutāṃśād vyatiriktāṃśe—Ibid., p. 190.

49 Te paryāyeṇa vādināḥ grahāḥ ca bhavanti—Ibid., p. 186.

50 Yayośca nāvakatrayodasaśakamantaram tavanyon yām samvādinau.

NŚ, 28, Vol. IV, p. 15.

51 The formation of the two grāmas varied not just because of diffe-

rent śruti intrvals between some notes, but also because of the

samvāda schemes being slightly different.

52 NŚ. IV, 28, p. 15.

53 Mithah samvādinau jñeyau trayodaśanavāntarau—Dattilam, 18.

54 Śrutayo dvādaśāśritau ya yoran taragogarah mithah samvādinau tau…

Sangītaratnākara, 1 3,48-49.

55 AB on NŚ, Vol. IV, Ch. 28, p. 16.

56 Madhyamaniṣādayoḥ samvāditvam satyapi trayodaśanavāntaratve..

AB on NŚ, IV, Ch. 28, p. 17.

57 L c.

58 L.c.

59 Vivādinastu te yeṣām dviśrutikamantaram tadyathā ṛṣabba-gāndhā-

rau dhaivata-niṣāḍau—NŚ, 28, p. 15.

60 Vādisamvādhavivādiṣu sthāpiteṣu śeṣāstvanuvādinah—NŚ, 28, p. 15.

61 NŚ, 28, IV, p. 15.

62 Kramoyuktāḥ svarāḥ sapta mūrcchanetyabhisamjnītah—NŚ, 28.32.

63 NŚ, 28. 27-28.

64 NŚ, 28.31.

65 NŚ, Ch. 28, Vol. IV, p. 25.

66 Bṛhaspati, Bhārata kā Saṅgīta-siddhānta, p. 37.

67 Ibid., pp. 37-38.

68 SR (Adyar ed.), Svarādhyāya, p. 115.

69 Simhabhūpāla gives the view of Dattila and Mataṅga. He says—Motaṅgadattilau tu mūrcchanānamanyathā caturvidhyamavādiṣṭām. Yadāha Mataṅgaḥ—Tatra saptasvarā mūrcchanāścaturvidhāḥ pūrṇā, ṣaḍbhiḥ svaraiḥ yā gīyate sā ṣāḍavā, pañcabhiḥ svaraiḥ yā gīyate sauduvitā. kākalyantaraiḥ svaraiḥ yā gīyate sā sādhāraṇīti. Dattilo pyāha—Sarvāsthaḥ pañcasaptūrṇā sādhāraṇakṛtāḥ smṛtāḥ—Simhabhūpāla on SR, (Adyar ed), Svarādhyāya, p. 114.

70 AB on NŚ, IV, p. 25.

71 NŚ, Ch. 28, Vol. IV, p. 26.

72 Bṛ., 118.

73 Bṛhaddeśī, 118; Vṛtti, pp. 32-33.

74 Cf. Bṛhaspati, op.cit.

75 Kumbhā as quoted in Bharatakosa, p. 289.

76 NŚ, 28, p. 27.

77 AB ad ibid. L.c.

78 AB, Ch. 28, pp. 8-9.

79 Ibid., p 30.

80 Nanu ca mūrcchanāstāvata jātiyāgrabhāṣāvanna prayogopayoginyah tānāśca kutapa upayujyante—AB ad NŚ, IV, Chap. 28, p. 29.

81 NŚ, Vol. Ch. 28, p. 27.

82 Ityeta mūrcchanāḥ proktāḥ sūranāścaiva vaiśikāḥ (vaiṇikāḥ?), Dattilam, 29.

83 Jñātvā jātyaṃśabāhulyaṃ nirdeśyaṃ mūrcchanā budhaiḥ—quoted Kāśyapa. SR, Rāgādhyāya, Kallinātha, p. 32.

84 Śāriryāṃ dāravyāṃ ca tulyā mūrcchanā—AB ad NŚ, IV, Chap. 28, p. 8.

85 Ibid., p. 30.

86 Tathā hi śrūyate, ‘uttaramandrayā svatvaṃ saṃhṛtāstisrogāthā gā-yet tāḥ patyo (patnyo?) vā pāṭalikābhirupagāyanti’ !tyādita iti—Ibid., p. 24. ‘Pāṭalikā’ appears to be a Vedic mūrcchanā. Its identification has not yet been made.

86a Mūrcchanā pañcamādih. AB (GOS ed.). 28, p. 55.

87 Tatraikānnapañcāśat ṣaṭsvarāḥ pañcatriṃśat pañcasvarāḥ—NŚ, IV,

216 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Ch. 28. p. 27.

88 This is stated clearly by Dattila thus—Pañcasvarāḥ ṣaṭsvarāśca mūrcchanā yāh prakīrtitāḥ tānaścaturāsitistu ta evāptairudāhṛtāḥ. Dat-tila. 30. For difference between mūrcchanā and tāna, see under mūrcchanā.

89 Lakṣaṇaṃ tu ṣaṭsvarāṇāṃ saptavidham ṣadjārṣabhanīṣādapañcama-hīnāścatyārah ṣadjagrāme. Madhyamagrāme tu ṣad jarṣbhagāndhāra-hīnāstrayah Evamete ṣaṭsvarāḥ sarvāsu mūrcchanāsu kriyamāṇā bhavantyekaṃnapañcāśat tānāḥ—NŚ, IV, Ch. 28, p. 27.

It may be noted that the omitting of note was governed by rigid rules in gāndharva music. The note ma was indispensable, and was never to be dropped in either grāma. Thus while discussing the ṣadavita and auḍvita of jātis, Bharata says—Na madhyamāsya nāstu kartavyo hi kadācana sarvasvarāṇāṃ hi pravaro hyanāśi madh-yamāḥ smṛtāḥ gāndharvavikalpe hi vihitaḥ sāmasvapi ca madhyamaḥ. NŚ, 28.65.

In the grāmas, these notes should be known as indestructible. Pañcamaṃ madhyamagrāme ṣadjgrāme tu dhaivatam anāśinaṃ vijā-niyatsarvatraiva tu madhyamam. See also Lath, M., A Study of Dattilam, Datt 20, quoted in AB 28, p.27, pp. 235-36.

Abhinavagupta quoting from Dattila's work says that pañcama in the madhyama grāma, dhaivata in the ṣadja grāma madhyama in both.

90 NŚ, 28, p. 27.

91 Tānaṃ tu śarīryaṃ sambhavadāpi na ptayogārhamasukhāvahatvat. Abhyāsārtham ca tatprayogeṣvanyūnādhikavaiṇasvaraseṇaiva tatsiddheḥ Ata eva śarīrasvaraprayogāśaktopi hṛdayāparigṛhītasvaravi-ṣeṣaḥ saknoti vainasvarān prayoktuṃ. AB, IV, Ch. 28, pp. 8-9.

Dr. Mukund Lath translates the last line thus, “one who cannot produce the notes through his voice, due to being unable to comprehend a particular note in his mind, can easily render these notes on the vīṇā.” A Study of Dattilam, p. 17.

It should be pointed out here that the basic precondition for producing a note, either through the human voice or on the instrument is that the comprehension of the note should be there in the mind. If the note has not been comprehended by the mind then one would not only be unable to sing the note, but would also be unable to play it on the instrument. Hence we suggest that hṛdayāparigṛhīta-svaraviśeṣaḥ is perhaps a mistake and should be read as ‘hṛdayaparigṛhīta-svaraviśeṣaḥ’. This reading would be a more happy one.

92 Dvidhā ca tānakriyā tantryāṃ provesānnigrahācca. Tatra pravesa-

nam madhurā (adhārā?) svara viprakarṣād uttarāmārdavādvā—NŚ,

IV, Ch. 28, p. 20.

Madhura here is perhaps a mistake for adhara. It would then contrast with uttara and thus make the meaning quite explicit.

Madhura here does not make much sense and does not even help elucidate the method of praveśa-tanakriyā. It may be noted that

M. M. Ghośh, too, in his translation of the NŚ, has taken the

word to be adhara. Ghosh, M.M., translation of the NŚ, p.12.

93 Tānārthakriyā ityarthāḥ. Aparāsya ṛṣabhāpekṣayā śadjāsya viprakarṣaḥ pīḍanamṛṣābhāpavādanam Tasyāiva niṣādapekṣayottaraman-drayā niṣādotpādanam, tadatrayo balavān prayoge bhavati tatra av-alopyantarabhāvah sa hi dṛṣṭatāmevam vrajet. AB on NŚ, IV, Ch.

28. p. 27.

94 NŚ, 17.104.

95 NŚ, 17.106. Also—Sarveṣam apyeṣāṃ mandra-madhyatārakṛtāḥ pra-yogāstristhānagatāḥ. NŚ, 17.130.

96 NŚ, 17.114.

97 AB on NŚ, 17.114.

98 For details, see under the topic ‘Mūrchanā’.

99 NŚ, 28.46. Abhinava explains ‘samavāya’ as constituting of śrutis and svaras grouped together on the basis of graha etc.—Nirhetau

samavāyātśrutisvaragrahādisamūhādyato jāyante tato jāyata iti catur-viṃśatiḥ nirvacanam. AB ad NŚ, l.c.

100 Daśakam jātilakṣaṇam—

Grahāṃśau tāramandrau ca nyāsopanyāsa eva ca/alpatvaṃ ca bahutvaṃ ca ṣaḍavadūduvite tathā//—NŚ, 28.66.

101 Ibid., 28.67.

102 Dattilam, 57.

103 Bṛhaddeśī, p. 66.

104 Ghosh, M.M., translation of the Nāṭyaśāstra, Vol. II, p. 19.

105 AB on NŚ, 28.66.

106 Ibid., 28.67.

107 The Vṛtti on Bṛhaddeśī distinguishes between the functions of graha and aṃśa—Tātrā dau jātyādiprayogogṛhyate yenāsau grahaḥ

i.e. graha was the commencing note of a jāti. Aṃśa was the proge-nitor of a rāga , was more pervasive and thereby had greater pri-macy—rāgajanakatvād vyāpakatvāccāṃśasyiva prādhānyam, Vṛtti

on Br., 197.

108 NŚ, 28. 67-69.

109 NŚ, 28. 79-91.

110 NŚ, 28.70. Kallinātha, in his commentary (on SR, 1, 7, 35-36) says that the limit of tara movement in the ṣaḍja-grāma was up

to the fifth note from the aṃśa whereas in the madhyama-grāma,

this limit was only upto the fourth note. This, however, has not

been stated by anyone else.

111 Amśasvareṇa saha tāvattārasapta(ka) gatāḥ pañca catvāro vā sva-

rāḥ kāryāḥ. Yathā ṣadjāṃśe sa ri ga ma pa, gāndhāre ga ma pa dha

ni madhyame ga ma pa dha ni evam pañcamadhaivataniṣādeṣu. Eta

eveti tallakṣaṇena (sthāpyate).—AB on NŚ, 28.70.

112 AB on NŚ, 28.70.

113 NŚ, 28.34.

114 Tridhā mandragatiḥ amśaparā nyāsa-parā aparanyāsapararā ceti..........

gāndhārenyāsaliṅge tu drṣṭamarṣabhaveṣvam—NŚ, 28, p 46.

115 Ācārya Brhaspati has taken aparanyāsaparā to be apanyāsāpara and

hence according to him the third possible lower limit is the apa-

nyāsa.

116 NŚ, 28.72.

117 Asyām jātiśarirasamāptau kartavyatāyam vā svaraḥ sanyāsaḥ,

tarhi asyate prayogo yeneti nyāsaḥ.—AB ad NŚ, l.c.

Aṅgasamāptau nyāsaḥ tadvadapanyāso hyaṅgamadhye—NŚ, 28.72.

118 AB ad NŚ, l.c.

119 Dvividhamalpatvam laṅghanādanābhyāsācca—NŚ, 28.72; 28.74.

120 AB, ibid.

121 L.c. Cf. also Iṣatsparśo laṅghane syātprāyastallopyagocaram—SR,

1,7,51.

122 AB on NŚ, 28.74.

123 NŚ, 28.74.

124 Alpatvetha bahutve balavadabalātā-viniścayādevā—L.c.

125 Abalamalpaṃ tadviparyādbalavāditi bahntvāllakṣaṇaṃ gamyata eva.

AB, ibid.

126 L.c.

127 Tacca jātiśvaraiḥ paryāyāṃśair-samvādibhiścopalakṣitaḥ (kṣyate).

L.c. The term paryāyāṃśa has not been mentioned in the NŚ, but

has been mentioned in the AB and other later texts.

128 NŚ, 28,76.

129 SR, 1, 7, 29-30.

130 Tatra prathama-vidārimadhye nyāsasvaraprayuktāstu. Vivādanaśi-

laṃ muktvā sanyāsaḥ so’bhidhātavyaḥ ḳrtvā padāvasāne vinyāsāt

kvāpi vinyāsāḥ—NŚ, 28.73.

131 Prathamāyā vidāryā madhye nyāstvobhāk svaraḥ na cedāṃśavivādi

syāt sannyāsaḥ so’bhidhīyate—Dattilam, 141.

Aṃśavivādi gītaśyādyavidārisamāptikṛt sanyāsoṃśavivādyyeva—SR,

1.7,47.

132 See fn. 130. Dattila has not mentioned vinyāsa.

133 Aṃśasya samvādyanuvādi vā kāpi vidāribhāva (? ga) rūpasya pada-sya padānte vinyasnate tadā vinyāsah — AB on NŚ, 28.73. Vinyāsah tu kathyate yo vidāribhāgarūpāpaprānte vātiṣṭhate— SR, 1,7,48.

134 NŚ, 28 75.

135 NŚ, 28.40-43.

136 Ibid., 28.44-45.

137 NŚ, Ch. 28. p. 37

138 Vikṛtā lakṣyante tebhonyatamena dvābhyām bahubhir vālakṣaṇair vikriyāmupagatā nyāsavarjam vikṛtasamjñā bhavanti. Nyāsavidhā-va-pyāsām mandro niyamah —l.c.

139 Tatraikādaśasamsargajā vikṛtā aparaspara-samsargādekādaśa nirvartayanti— NŚ, Ch. 28, p. 37.

140 NŚ, Ch. 28, p. 38.

141 Mukund Lath seems to have in mind three types of jātis, the śuddhas and their vikṛtas and their saṃkaras— Lath, M., A Study of Dattilam, pp. 265-78. Thus he does not take the saṃkara or saṃ-sargaja to betoken the combination of jātis (śuddhas) giving rise to the vikṛtas, but he understands it to signify a particular class of jāti, and that too which was different from the vikṛtas. What is more, he states that Bharata and Abhinava hold that these saṃsar-gajas were born out of vikṛta jātis and never the śuddhas. It may be stated that neither Bharata nor Abhinava have made any statement to this effect. Bharata says— Tatraikādaśasamsargajā vikṛtā(a) parasparasamsargādekādaśa nirvartayanti (NŚ, 28, p. 37). Thus 11 saṃsargaja (born out of combination), vikṛta (altered) out of mutual combination. If it meant a combination of vikṛtas it should have been vikṛtānām saṃsargāt; vikṛta, however, is in nominative, so also saṃsargaja. Hence vikṛta and saṃsargaja should be taken to qualify each other. Moreover, in the following verse Bharata again speaks of only two types of jātis— śuddha and vikṛta -- “Śu-ddhā vikṛtāśca samvāyājjātayastu jāyante punarevāśuddhakṛtā bhavanteyathaikādaśānyāstu—‘ca’ is after ‘vikṛtāh’, it is not samvāyājjā-tayastu should qualify ‘vikṛtāh’ is made tayaśca. That samvāyājjātayastu should qualify ‘vikṛtāh’ is made explicit in the second line where those 11 jātis, Bharata says, are the pure ones altered (aśuddhakṛta).

In fact, it may be noted that the parent jātis of the saṃsargas as described by Bharata and others, are all only śuddhas, and not any other. Again, we know that the vikṛtas arose out of the śuddhas. It follows logically that both are the same.

Dr. Lath says “Abhinava is categorical that the modified jātis alone (and not the śuddha ones) give rise to the saṃkaras (vikṛtā iti na tu śuddhā ityarthah— AB on NŚ, 28.46). A Study of Dattilam, p. 267.

220 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

But when the entire context, from which this phrase has been taken, is discussed it will be seen that the meaning which emerges is quite different. Abhinava says—Nanvevam saptānām vibhāga uktah aṣṭādaśaroddiṣṭaityāśaṁkyāha tatreti. Evaṁ saptasu sthitāsvityarthah. Tāsaṁ saṁsargādityāha vikṛtā iti na tu śuddhā. Ekādaseti karmapadam—AB on NŚ, 28.46. This may be translated thus : "Objection. This (i.e. this refers to the śuddhas) describes the division of the seven (jātis), but eighteen have been listed. In these 7, that is the meaning (what he means is that the remaining 11 are born out of these 7, hence contained in them). Of their (i.e. of the 7) combinations (are) the seven. i.e. they are śuddha or pure (what Abhinava means here is that though born out of the śuddha they themselves are not śuddha or pure, but become vikṛta i.e. undergo alterations). Then again Abhinava says "Śuddhā vikṛtāśceti vibhāgah. Evakareṇa śuddhānām hi vikṛttatvam" (L.c.) i.e. "śuddha and vikṛta, this is the division. 'Eva' shows that the vikṛttatva is of the śuddhas alone."

About the vikṛtas, M.M. Ghosh, too, translates thus : "The modified jātis are eleven in number and they grow from combinations. (These) eleven are formed from their mutual combination as follows :

Jātis are pure as well as modified and the (latter) arise from the combination (of other jātis). Among them seven are pure while the remaining eleven are modified." Ghosh, M.M., translation of the NŚ, p. 16.

Ācārya Bṛhaspati, too, has taken these to be basically only two classes of jātis—śuddha and vikṛta—Bṛhaspati, Bharata ke Saṅgīta-siddhānta kā Itihāsa, p. 75.

Cf. 'It is not only interesting but also instructive to consult Bharata who seems to have been the author of the concept of jātis and their classification. He distinguishes jātis primarily into two classes, viz. those that are named after their denomination notes which he calls svara-jātis and which can only be seven; and those eleven that are formed by the combination of these svara-jātis in their modified forms, which he calls saṁsargaja vikṛta (combinations of modified jātis)'—Shringy, R.K.; Sharma, Prem Lata, Saṅgīta Ratnākara of Śārṅgadeva, text and translation, Vol. I, p. 271.

It may, however, again be pointed out that these 11 were born from combination of śuddha jātis. In combining various jātis they are bound to undergo some alteration or vikṛttatva. The idea of vikṛta and saṁsargaja being different is suggested in the SR, 1.7, a text much later than Bharata. Though Śārṅgadeva there says

Musical System : Elements and Structure 221

that the saṃsargajas are born of vikṛtas (SR, 1, 7, 8) but, their actual, detailed description shows that the names of their parent jātiṣ are the same as the 7 śuddhas.

142 Bharata mentions the ‘saṃvādyalopa’ in context of the ṣādja-madhyamā, but it was a general maxim applying to most jātiṣ.

143 NŚ, 28. 95-97. Cf. Bg., 201-202.

144 Gāndhārāsya ca bāhulyam. Ibid., 28. 97.

145 NŚ, 28. 98. Cf. Bṛ., 203. Abhinavagupta mentions the saṅgātis of sa and dha; and ri and ga in this jāti—sadhaurigau saṅgacchete, AB on NŚ, 29. 98.

Also when the jāti was pūrṇa, sa, ga, pa, were alpa notes; when auḍuvita, ga and ma were weak notes according to some there was laṅghana of pañcama—tatra kecit pañcamasya laṅghanamāhuḥ. “Pūrṇāvasthāyāṃ ṣadjagāndhārapañcamā alpatvaṃ bhajante auḍuvite ca gamayor alpatā.” L.c.

146 Ṣadjahīne ṣādavaḥ, l.c.

147 NŚ, 28. 99-101. The Vṛtti on Bṛ., p. 71, gives the dhaivatādi mūrcchanā for this jāti. “This would be uttaramaṃdrā.”

148 Abhinava says that in the full form sa and pa are to be employed in āroha by laṅghana (i.e. by gliding over them and not resting). By lopyatvāt, he says, is signified that they can be glided over, but, again they are strong notes. This seems contradictory. But at another place Abhinava explaining the use of laṅghana in the pūrṇāvasthā says, “where in the pūrṇāvasthā a lopya svara is employed there that note is frequently glided over.”—lopya svarapūrṇāvasthā ya yadā prayujyate tadā tasya bāhulyena laṅghanam. AB, Ch. 28, p. 48. Cf. Tṛṣatsparśo laṅghane syātprāyastalopyagocaram. SR, 1, 7, 51.

This would mean that in the pūrṇāvasthā, even though a lopyasvara, because of frequently gliding over, it tends to attain prominence—pūrṇadaśāyāṃ ca pa sa itya (sāvitya) rohavarṇagatāu kāryau lopyatvāllaṅghanam siddhamapi puṇaḥ prakarṣalābhatvamuktam. AB on NŚ, 28. 101.

149 Cf. Ghosh—“niṣāda and ṛiṣabha should be skipped over and gān-dhāra should be amplified”—Translation of the NŚ, p. 25. Bṛhas-pati—Ni, ri and ga are strong in this jāti. Bharata ke Saṅgīta-siddhānta kā Itihāsa, p. 105.

Cf. Lath—“Bharata adds that gāndhāra was strong”—A study of Dattilam, p. 281. Abhinava also says that this jāti was sung in the mūrcchanā beginning with pañcama. AB, ibid.

150 NŚ, 28. 102-103. Bharata says that its hexatonic and pentatonic treatments were all to be the same as gāndharādi mūrcchanā, Vṛtti

222 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Br., p. 71. Cf. Br., 205. Dhaivativad bhavecheso.

151 NŚ, 28. 104-105. There was no hexatonic or pentatonic treatment of this jāti.

152 Ri is accepted by all as weak, ‘ṛsabho’ lpaprayogaḥ. Br., 207. The commentary says ‘madhyamānām alpatvam ṛṣabhasyalpataratvam śeṣaṇam bahutram, Vṛtti on Br., p. 72. i.e. ma is a weak note, but ri is weaker, rest are strong. Dattilam, 69 has ṛṣabho’ lpaprayo-gaḥ; GOS ed. of the NŚ has ‘daurbalyamatra kartavyam dhaivata madhyamasyṛṣabhasya. NŚ, 28. 105. ‘dhaivata’ as a weak note here seems to be a mistake. It has not been mentioned by anyone. Abhinava too speaks of only madhyama and ṛṣabha as weak notes —madhyamaṛṣabhayordaurbalyam. AB, ibid. He, in fact says that dha and ni are somewhat prolific here—nidhayortra kiñcidadhikya-miti, l.c.

153 NŚ, 28. 106-109.

154 Normally, the saṃvādī of the note that is dropped in the hexatonic rendering, is the one to be dropped as the other note in the pentatonic rendering of the jāti. Here, we may note an exception in the dropping of pañcama in the pentatonic rendering of the ṣadjodic-yavā for ri-pa is madhyamagrāmika saṃvādī scheme. The saṃ-vādī of ṛṣabha (the note dropped in ṣādivita here) is dhaivata and hence that should have been omitted. Probably, the difficulty lay in the fact that though dha is the saṃvādī of ri, it i.e. dha, could not be omitted in the ṣadja-grāme—ṛṣabhaḥ saṃvādī dhaivatasya ṣadja-grāme na lopyamāne yataḥ. AB., p. 56.

155 Ṣadjaśca-pyṛṣabhaścaiva gāndhāraśca bali bhavet/gāndhārāsya ca bāhulyam mandrasthāne vidhīyate//—NŚ, 28. 109.

Gāndhāra, though not an aṃśa, was a strong note in this jāti, and was employed prolifically in the mandra sthāna. The same has been opined by Dattila too—mandragāndhārabhūyas ..Dattila. 71. Bharata, has, however, mentioned two other strong notes—ri and sa. Ri, though weak, is on the contrary termed strong here. Sa, of course, would be strong, being an aṃśa. Thus says Abhinava—“Sarigāḥ balinaḥ. Anyā (ṣadja) svamiśvatāt siddham balitvam punar-adhikayārthamuktam. Ṛṣabhasyātalpatvam prāptam pratiṣeddhuṃ/gāndhārāsya mandrasthāne bāhulyam. AB on NŚ, 28. 106-109. Here Abhinava calls ri ‘atyalpa’.

156 NŚ, 28. 110-112.

157 NŚ, 28.113-115. The Vṛtti on Br., p.73, says that it was mūrcchanā sung to the dhaivatādi.

158 Here is another exception to the omission of the saṃvādī in the pentatonic rendering of the jāti. In madhyama-grāma, pañcama is

a samvādi of ṛṣabha, and hence that should have been dropped.

But again, the difficulty encountered is that pa is indispensible in

the madhyama-grāma and cannot be dropped—pañcamasya grāme

hyalopyatvam. AB, ibid.

159 Abhinava explains “vihitāstīti gāndhāryāḥ svaranyāsāṁśagocarāḥ”

(NŚ, 28. 115) as “anyeṣām svarānāṁ nyāsasvaravisayo'm sasvaravi-

ṣayaśca sañcāraḥ tadāha ‘svaranyāsāṁśagocara iti’ (AB on NŚ, 28.

113, 115) i.e. all notes which are not aṁśa or nyāsa, should in ma-

king sañcāra or movement, be associated with nyāsa or aṁśa.

160 NŚ, 28. 115–117. Raktagāndhārī shared many common characteris-

tics with gāndhārī. They had the same nyāsa, aṁśa, and same notes

dropped in the hexatonic and pentatonic renderings. The distin-

guishing features were the apanyāsa, the strong notes and svara

sañcāra. It was also sung to a different mūrcchanā, the mūrcchanā

beginning with ri. Vṛtti, Br., p. 74.

161 Dha, inspite of being lopya and an anāṁśa, was strong. Mataṅga

too mentions ni as a strong note. Br., 214.

162 NŚ 28. 117. On this Abhinava comments that it should be skip-

ped in moving from sa to ga and back, thus bringing these two

notes together “ṛṣabhaṁ collaṅghya sagetyanayoranyonyaikatvam

melanam ca (AB on NŚ, 28. 116-117).

163 NŚ, 28. 118-119.

164 Antaramārga, nyāsa and apanyāsa were the same as in ṣadjodicya-

vati. NŚ, 28. 119. However, the former had only 2 aṁśas (not four

like the latter) and there was no pentatonic treatment of this jāti.

165 Abhinava says, “In the mandra sthāna, gāndhāra is prolifically used.

“Mandrāsthāne gāndhārasya bhūyastvamiti sarvamatideśāt”, AB on

NŚ, 28. 118-119—mandrāsthāne ca gāndhārabāhulyam dṛśyate tathā.

—Nanyadeva quoted in Bharatakośa, p. 174.

166 Antaramārga (here) is the mutual sañcāra of the two aṁśa svaras —

“asyāmantaramārgah parasparāṁśasvarayoh sañcāraḥ”—AB on NŚ,

28. 118-119.

167 NŚ, 28. 120-122. Gāndhāra is to be omitted, yet it is again specifi-

cally said to be laṅghanīya.

169 Ibid., 28. 123. Madhyamodīcyavā was a septatonic jāti, and did

not permit any hexatonic or pentatonic structures. Bharata says

that it was similar to gāndhārodīcyavā.

170 Abhinava gives ma as nyāsa and sa, dha as apanyāsa—‘apanyāsau

sadhau……..nyāso maḥ.’—AB, ibid. The Vṛtti on Br. (p. 77) also

says—‘asya madhyamo nyāsaḥ ṣadjadhaivatāvopanyasau.’

171 Abhinava says ‘madhyamagāndhārabāhulyam’ (AB on NŚ, 28. 123)

i.e. ma and ga are prolific,

224 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

172 NŚ. 28. 124-126.

173 The Asiatic Society reading enjoins a sañcāra between madhyama and ṛṣabha; “sañcāram madhyamasya ca” (NŚ, A.S. ed., 28. 133). However, the reading in the Gaekwad edition has a pañcama ṛṣabha sañcāra. Abhinava's commentary seems to lend support to the reading in the Asiatic Society ed.—“rima (pa) ityanvoranyonyasangatih.” (AB on NŚ, 28. 126). The bracket has been added by the editor and does not form part of the manuscript reading. Moreover, while commenting on verses 127-28, Abhinava clearly states that Bharata speaks of sangati between ma and ri—“uktam madhyamaṛṣabhasaṅgatirniṣādādgāndhāra iti pañcamyām ” (AB on NŚ, 28. 127-128). Matanga. Dattila, Śārṅgadeva and Kumbhā, too, speak of madhyama-ṛṣabha movement.

(a) madhyamaṛṣabhasya saṅgatiḥ, Bṛ., 218.

(b) .. ......madhyamaṛṣabha-saṅgatiḥ, Dattilam, 80.

(c) rimayoh saṅgatiḥ. SR, 1, 7, 73.

(d) rimayoh saṅgatiḥ kāryā, S. Raj, 2, 1, 4, 258.

Ācārya Bṛhaspati says that since ri-pa were samvādi, why should Bharata mention their sangati specifically. Obviously pa is an editing mistake for ma—Bṛhaspati, Bharata ke Saṅgīta-siddhānta kā Itihasa, p. 103, fn. Ga-ni was a secondary movement. Bharata says it was less frequent—Gāndhāra gamanam caiva kāryam tvalpam ca saptamāt (NŚ, 28. 126). Abhinava says that this sangati took place when the jāti was pūrṇa (for obviously these were the two notes dropped in the hexatonic and pentatonic renderings)—pūrṇāvasthāyām caniṣādāg ‘gāndhāragamanam’ tacca parimitam (AB, ibid).

174 This jāti was always septatonic. The G.O.S. ed. has “tāragatyā tu ṣadjopi kadācinnāvartate” (NŚ, 28. 127) i.e. the movement of this jāti is never beyond the tāra ṣadja. But neither do the other editions have this, nor does Abhinava comment on this. In fact, Abhinava, and even Dattila mention this only for the nandayanti jāti.

175 The sañcāra in this jāti, says Bharata, was to be like Gāndhāri and Pañcami.

176 Thus, commenting on this, Abhinava says—Dhaivatagamanamṛṣa-bhāditi gāndhāryām (ryāḥ) sañcāraḥ. Uktam madhyamaṛṣabhasaṅga-tirniṣādāg gāndhāra iti pañcamyām. Asāvubhayoḥ pyasyām kāryāḥ. AB, ibid.

177 NŚ, 28. 129-131.

178 Besides ga-ri sañcāra, another one which is mentioned in a rather obscure fashion : “saptamasya ca ṣaṣṭhasya nyāso gatyāṅupurvaśaḥ”

Musical System : Elements and Structure 225

(NŚ, 28. 131). i.e. nyāsa of niṣāda and dhaivata, in an orderly movement. Abhinava too, is not very clear. The Vṛtti on Bṛ. p. 79, however, clearly gives the saṅgati of ri-ga, and ni-dha in this jāti—rigayornidhayosṭathā saṅgatir. He also mentions the mūrccchanā beginning with madhyama for this jāti.

179 There was no pentatonic treatment of this jāti. Abhinava says that Āndhri was born of Gāndhāri and Āṛṣabhi and Pañcami jātis—gān-dhāryarṣabhibhyamandhri pañcamyamarṣabhi gāndhāribhirnandayantīti. (AB, p. 62). Because of this they were similar—‘vayasya kāraṇatulyatvādāndhriivat. (l.c.). But Abhinava says the sañcāra of these similar jātis was to be different—tulyajāti kāraṇikānām jāti-nām saṅgiratulyaiiva kartavyati sūcayati. (l.c.). This is logical, otherwise, how would similar jātis be distinguished ! Bharata says nāndhrisañcārāṇām bhavet—NŚ, 28. 113. The Vṛtti on Bṛ., p. 80, gives the hṛṣyakā mūrccchanā for this jāti.

180 In all the jātis, graha and aṃśa were the same note (NŚ, 28. 67). Nandayanti was the only exception where graha and aṃśa were different. Aṃśā was pañcama and graha was gāndhāra (NŚ, 28. 132).

181 Laṅghanam ṛṣabhasyaṅpi tacca mandragatam smṛtam i.e. laṅghana of ṛṣabha in the mandra. NŚ, 28. 133. Dattila says “Syānmandrarṣa-bhasañcāro laṅghanīyaśca sa kvacit”—Dattilam, 86, i.e. sañcāra of mandra ṛṣabha. Matanga makes an identical statement. Bṛ., 225.

182 Tāragatyā tu ṣadjastu kadācinnātivartate—NŚ, 28. 134. Abhinava explains this as meaning that no note above the sa in the tāra sap-taka should be touched. He, however, says that some held that the tāra sa itself was not to be touched, yet others held that its movement beyond tāra sa was optional.

183 “...... gatyaṅ ṣadjo nātivartate nātiśayyate tata ūrdhvakam na śirasya-saptakasvarāḥ prastāvyā ityarthah. Anye tvācakṣate, ṣadjeva (dja eva) kadācinnātivartate nāroham bhajate tāram na kiñcit prastāvyamityarthah. Kadācidite vaikalpiko'yam tāra ityarthal.” AB, l.c.

184 In Kārmāravi, the anaṃśas seem to be quite strong. Though the published text of the NŚ does not say so, Abhinava quotes Viśā-khila who had stated that anaṃśas were prolific—“vadāha Viśākhilā-cāryaḥ bāhulyādanamśānām viśeṣataḥ sarvato gāndhāragamanam.—AB on NŚ, 28. 136. This view is held by later theorists too, who state that anaṃśas were dominant in the antaramārga—“bahavo'-ntaramārgatvādanamśaḥ parikīrtitāḥ”—Bṛ., 268. Śārṅgadeva (SR, 1, 7, 101) says the same thing. “Tathaivāntaramārgatvādanamśabahu-tā matā”, S. Raj., 2, 1, 4, 350. “Tathā ca Bharataḥ—anaṃśa balavan-tastu nityameva prayogataḥ.”—Kalā on SR, 1, 7, 101-102.

Kallinātha raises an important question—How were the amśas and anamsas to be distinguished if both were strong ? He answers that in the antaramārga the amśas were the, notes emphasised in the sthāyī varna (sthāyitvena) and non-amśas were emphasised in sañcāri varṇa (sañcāritvena)—yah sthāyitvena bahuprayogah so'mśah, yastu sañcāritvena bahuprayogah saumtaramārgāśrayo' namśa it vivektavyam, i.e.

185 NŚ, 28. 135-136. This was a septatonic jāti. “Gāndhārasya viśeṣeṇa sarvato gamanam bhavet”—NŚ. 28. 136. Abhinava comments thus: “Sarvebhyopi viśeṣeṇa tu gāndhārasya yathāśakti saṅgatih” (AB, ibid.), i.e. one should associate all notes as much as possible with gāndhāra.

186 NŚ, 28. 137-140.

187 Bharata says “dhaivatemśe niṣāde ca nyāsah pañcama isyate” (NŚ, 28. 138). i.e. when dha and ni are acting as the amśas, pa (though actually not a nyāsa) can be made a nyāsa. The same thing is opined by Dattila (Dattilam, 89), Matanga (Br., 262) and Śārṅgadeva (SR, 1, 7, 95).

188 Apanyāsah kadācittu ṛṣabhopi vidhīyate—(NŚ, 28. 138). Though not an apanyāsa, ṛṣabha could sometimes be made one. Abhinava comments that ṛṣabha became an apanyāsa only when the jāti was pūrṇa—“kadācittu ṛṣabhopiti, lopāvasthāyām tu nasah. Tathā pūrṇadaśāyām tu vā bhavatīti.” AB on NŚ, 28. 137-140. Otherwise ṛṣabha was a weak note. Bharata expressly says that it was a weak note and laṅghana should apply to it (NŚ, 28. 140). It was also dropped in hexatonic and pentatonic renderings (ibid., 28. 139).

189 Abhinava commenting on this, makes a peculiar statement. He says that the sañcāra in this jāti could be free as in sadja-madhyama, where dhaivata was the amśa.—Ṣadjamadhyamāyām ca yathā cāha, anantatvāstaramśayām yatheṣṭam sañcāras tadādiha. AB on NŚ, 28. 138-140.

190 AB on NŚ, 29. 14.

191 L.c.

192 Tarhi gīyamānāpadābāve kaścidapi svatah svaropayogo'sti gāne gāndharve va...... Kim tu varṇo nāma pada sambandhamantarena lakṣayitumena na śakyate..... Grahādayāḥ ...... tathā ca padanirapekṣe'pyantarālāpādāvapi bhavaty eva....... l.c.

193 Etacca (vamca) kriyāvistarāvāci varṇaśabdah. Tathābhinayakriyā (?) ekasvaramātrāvasthānena vā āroheṇa vā avaroheṇa vā vyāmiśratayā vā sampād yata iti catvāra eva varṇāḥ ...... Tenārohaṇāvarohaṇāvasthānasañcāraṇāny eva paramārtho varṇāḥ tadyogāttu gīyamānam padam varṇaka ityucyate. AB ad ibid., l.c.

194 NŚ, 29. 14.

195 Ibid., 29. 15-16.

196 ‘Samā’ iti tulyajātīyāh. Tena mandratāramadhyamārūpatayā tasyaiya svarasya prayogah. Sthāyyeva varṇaḥ vicchidya vicchidya punah prayogaḥ kartavyo na tu dīrghenāvicchedena ghaṇṭāsvaravadīti darśayitum svarā iti bahuvacanaprayogah. Svarā upasvarāśceti sarvaikaśeṣa iti kecit. Evantu gāndhāriṇyāyuktasvarādvayam pyārohaṇāvarohatvā (tād) vyatirekeṇa katham pratiyojyam. AB on NŚ, 29. 16.

197 Br., Vṛtti on 120.

198 Sthitvā sthitvā prayogaḥ syadekasyaiva svarasya yah/ Sthāyī varṇaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ padasyānvarthanāmakaḥ//—SR, 1,6,2.

199 NŚ, 29. 17.

200 Śarīrasvarasambhūtā iti śarīrasvareṣu mukhyeṣvāsrīteṣu lakṣaṇamīdamuktam. Tatsadṛśasvaropalambhaevānyatra vinādā iti taträpi paryavasyaīti na tu vinādāvalambkārābhāvah. AB ad NŚ, 29. 17.

201 L.c.

Chapter 9

Theatrical Music : Dhruvā-gāna

The musical section of the NŚ deals with two distinct systems of music—the system of gāndharva music and that of dhruvā-gāna. Gāndharva music may be said to represent the classical form of music of the times, while dhruvā-gāna was the music of the theatre, moulded to suit the structure and atmosphere of the dramatic plots. As yet, no work prior to that of Bharata’s is available which gives such an elaborate discussion on the dhruvās. On the basis of the Nāṭyaśāstra itself, however, we can say that the tradition of dhruvā-gāna was an ancient one. Abhinava often mentions an ancient authority by the name of Kāśyapa in connection with dhruvās. In an interesting passage Abhinava says, “Nārada etc., who were educated in gāndharva, when they wished to create gānayoga and wanted to establish the dhruvā on the basis of gāndharva, said that this new complex which is useful for enjoyment is not produced by us by our own inventiveness nor perceived in the original (i.e., in the gāndharva) but it follows the authority of tradition.”1 Here, Abhinava attributes dhruvā-gāna to Nārada etc., but says that since they wanted to establish dhruvā on a firm basis they derived it from the tradition. The Nāradīyaśikṣā, as available now, however, deals only with gāndharva music, and does not say anything about dhruvā-gāna. It is possible that this portion might have been lost. Bharata has devoted one complete chapter for the discussion of dhruvā-gāna (thirty-second chapter, GOS edition). Abhinava has brought out the distinction between the gāndharva and gāna systems.

The fundamental distinction was that gāndharva was ritualistic music resulting in adrṣṭa-phala or transcendental merit, whereas dhruvā-gāna, on the other hand, was music for the theatre, outside which it would not serve much purpose. Thus, Abhinava states—na hi nāṭyādbahirlayabhaṅgayāpi dhruvāgānāṁ gīyamanamukha ? (ṃ sukha)* pādamutpādayati.”1a Gāna had a drṣṭa-phala, which was to produce rasa, thereby producing rakti, i.e. giving pleasure to the audience “rāgamiti raktirdṛṣṭaphalam”,1b says Abhinava. Though gāndharva is the source of gāna, which draws all its essential elements

• As Utpādayati requires an object, an emendation is suggested in the bracket.

from the former, tāla from the saptarūpa, its melodic forms from the jāatis, yet there is quite a difference between the two systems. This is because they are designed to serve different purposes. Dhruvā is a purposive transformation of the gāndharva to produce music for the theatre. Being free from rituals it is innovative and produces rasa and thus gives pleasure or ranjana. Abhinava says that from the gītakas which lay emphasis on adṛṣṭa certain elements are culled and synthesized so as to be able to please through rasa and bhāva. Thus, dhruvā as a transformation of elements drawn from gāndharva has the purpose of furthering the dramatic effect of rasa 1c According to Bharata "Dhruvā is so called because the varṇa, alaṅkāras, yati, pāṇi and laya in it are harmoniously fixed."2 Five types of dhruvās have been enumerated by Bharata viz. prāveśikī, ākṣepikī, prāsādikī, antara and niṣkrāmikī.3 The dhruvās suggested acts and moods of different characters in a play; and this was suggested by the contents of the songs, as well as their metre, language, tempo and tāla. Particular kinds of dhruvās were to be rendered on particular junctures and occasions on stage. Themes of various rasas sung at the entrance of the characters on stage were termed prāveśikī dhruvās.4 The exit of characters is indicated through naiṣkrāmikī dhruvā.5 If there was a sudden disturbance in the prevailing rasa (prastutam rasam, AB on NŚ, 32. 313) of the scene by the imposition then a new element, the ākṣepikī dhruvā, was employed.6 The prevailing sentiment or rasa which had been disturbed by sudden intervention (ākṣeparasāt, NŚ, 32. 314) is once again purified '...prostutam rasaviśeṣam yādā prāsādayati nirmalīkaroti' (AB on NŚ, 32. 314) and stabilised (ākṣepavaśāt sthirīkaraṇārthatvāditi, l.c.) by prāsādikī dhruvā. It helps to restore the absorbed interest of the spectator, producing pleasure and hence was known as prāsādikī (...sāmājikahrdayam tanmayībhāvāttiyogyātmano jānānāmiti gītaśobhāyā prasādayojanāl—l.c.). This was invariably after the prāveśikī and ākṣepikī dhruvās, says Abhinava (iyam hi prāveśikyāk'ṣepikya antarama-vasyaprayojyābhavati—AB on NŚ, 32. 314). The antara dhruvā was sung to cover up a fault or mistake by the actor during the actual enacting of a play.7 It seems that sometimes when the actor was disturbed due to exertion or some confusion and committed a mistake, then the antara dhruvā was sung to give time to the actor to regain his composure, adjust his costume etc.8

Abhinava has given us historical examples of the application of these dhruvās in various plays of the times. Abhinava mentions the play Ratnāvalī where the prāveśikī dhruvā has been used. Commenting on verse 10 of Ch. 32, he says, "In all prāveśikīs, pravṛtta and upavṛtta are to be used, says Bharata. The idea is that the tempo or

230 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

laya has to be matched with the flow of feelings. “In Ratnāvalī, Sāgarikā’s mental state is full of eagerness and agitation because of imaginary meeting with her lover, and consequently it is a theme for quick movement or fast tempo (cittadrutalaya).9 In some cases, the entrance of characters was not to be accompanied by the prāveśikī dhruvā, for instance when the character entered singing, crying, in agitation, in a state of shock etc.10 Abhinava gives the example of such a dhruvāśūnya entrance (entrance precluding the prāveśikī dhruvā) in the play Nāgānanda—“A case where there is entrance without dhruvā. Even in the case of the leading character, there is no dhruvā, when he is entering in a state of flurry and agitation. Just as Saṃkhacūḍa in approaching garuḍa who is keen to eat Jīmūtavāhana.”11

An example of the ākṣepikī dhruvā is illustrated by Abhinava from the play Udāttarāghava. Rāma is the hero and the scene is of śṛṅgāra. Suddenly. Rāvaṇa in a state of fury, enters the scene and angrily addresses Rāma. This change of the aesthetic mood from one of love to one of fury and anger is the juncture for the ākṣepikī dhruvā and here the tempo befitting the change is a fast one. Another example of the ākṣepikī is illustrated in the third Act of the play Veṇīsāṃhāra. The scene is of the Mahābhārata battle and an enthusiastic Aśvatthāman is eager to vanquish his enemies. Suddenly, the death of his father Droṇa is reported and the mood changes to one of pathos. In this change of rasa from vīra to karuṇa the ākṣepikī dhruvā is to be rendered with a slow tempo.12 The Kuṭṭinimatam of Dāmodaragupta (8th cent. A.D.) has an interesting reference of a contemporary performance of the first act of Harṣa’s Ratnāvalī. After all the instruments had been properly timed, the performance began with the playing of the flute, and the prāveśikī dhruvā was rendered as a dvipadā in the rāga Bhinnapañcama.12a Then the Sūtradhāra, entering, danced round the stage to the accompaniment of a dhruvā set to the proper tāla.

Next was the prastāvanā, the dialogue between the Sūtradhāra and his wife, the naṭī. Thereupon, the two made their exit by the nihsasana gīta with the appropriate dhruvā, probably the niṣkrāmikī. At the conclusion of the act, the hero, king Udayana, and other characters made their exit also with the niṣkrāmikī dhruvā.13 The dhruvās were set to musical forms such as grāma rāgas, rāgas, bhāṣā, vibhāṣā etc. Abhinava explains that these musical forms were derived from the melodic structures of gāndharva, i.e. the jātis. At the end of his commentary on chapter twenty-eight he quotes a verse in āryā from the NŚ (not available now)14 to this purpose. He says, ‘some read the following āryā to indicate the possibility of the grāma rāgas being born from jātiś. (Then he quotes the āryā verse the essence of which is thus):

Theatrical Music : Dhruvā-gāna 231

"The sources of a miśrageya (mixed song form) are on the basis of the dominating form (i.e. to say mixed forms are attributed to jātiś whose forms are most numerous in them). In these saṁkara or hydrid forms there is much intermingling due to a variety of ornamentation for the sake of enhancing the pleasing effect." "That which is mixed by being joined with the lakṣaṇas of the jātyaṁśas, that is miśra and geya means that which has the characteristics of grāma-rāga etc. Thus, if the aṁśa, related to some jātyaṁśaka is the nyāsa of another and the apanyāsa of still another, then there is much variety. That is, these saṁkara forms were conceived by bringing together the aṁśa of one jāti with the nyāsa of another or the apanyāsa of still another and thus numerous combinations were possible giving rise to a variety of grāma-rāgas etc. Thus miśrageya or mixed form i.e. grāma rāgas, thus arising from the jātiś with much elaboration of form have been regulated by (theorists) like Mataṅga, Nandikāśyapa, Yaṣṭika etc. This is a mixed drink."15 The mixed drink has been mentioned elsewhere too (chapter 32). Since miśrageya i.e., grāma-rāgas were born through combining various elements of various elements of various jātiś, they were analogous to pāṇaka (a popular mixed drink of the period).16 However, just as the pāṇaka, though made by a mixture of spices, had a flavour of its own. similarly the mixed forms, though born of jātiś were new and independent musical forms, with characteristics peculiar to them and different from the forms they were derived from. However, the parent jātiś could always be traced by discerning the jāti or jātiś whose structure dominated the rāga form. Thus Abhinava quotes Dattila saying—"Dattilācārya also says, when there is saṁkara then the jāti is indicated by rūpa-bāhulya i.e. frequency of form. Thus bhinna ṣadja is similar to ṣadjodicyavati but different from nandayanti because the forms frequent in it are different from those in the latter."17 Thereafter, to prove his point, Abhinava quotes a long passage from somewhere in which grāma rāgas etc. were traced to their parent jātiś.18 The Vrttikāra of Brhaddesí says that grāma rāgas are born of jātiś19 and he ascribes this statement to Bharata. Bhāṣā, vibhāṣā and such forms were born from grāma rāgas and not directly of jātiś. Thus we find in the Brhaddesí—"bhāṣāś are born of grāma rāgas, vibhāṣāś are born of bhāṣāś and from the vibhāṣāś have sprung up the antarabhāṣikāś."20 Kallinātha explaining the name uparāga says that they are so named since they are close to grāma rāgas born of jātiś.21 He quotes Mataṅga who questions the relevance of relating rāgas to particular grāmas. Kallinātha answers by quoting Bharata's view that (this is because) grāma rāgas are born of jātiś.22 In the context of explaining the significance of the term grāma of the word grāma-raga,

232 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

he says that though grāma-rāgas are not born of grāmas but of jātiś, yet compared to forms such as bhāṣāś, rāgas etc. they are less removed from grāmas; hence the name grāma-rāgas.23 Abhinava, too, says “grāma rāgas—because grāma means a collection of jātiś (jāti-samūha) and connected with that are the excellences of entertainment and raktātiśaya.”24 Abhinava includes grāma-rāgas in the forms that were gāndharvakalpa (close to gāndharvya). Bharata had stated that the note madhyama was never to be omitted in sāman singing as also in the forms which the terms ‘gāndharva-kalpa ’25 Abhinava comments thus: “For the sake of variety when the rāgas are performed as grāma-rāgas. six notes can be dropped (it may be noted that Abhinava says six and not seven) by the technique of ṣāḍava and auḍava using one’s intelligence in the jātiś (notes can be dropped). But madhyama is never to be omitted, almost as in gāndharva thus. This refers to gāndharva-śāstra or even the forms where the extent of gāndharva is not wholly finished as in the form of grāma-rāga. By this the dispensability of madhyama in bhāṣā, deśī, mārga etc., is understood.”26

In fact, in the Vrtti of the Br̥haddeśī is quoted a passage of Kāśyapa which ascribes to the grāma-rāgas the same ten lakṣaṇas which characterise the jātiś namely, aṃśa, nyāsa, ṣāḍava, auḍava, alpatva, bahutva, graha, apanyāsa. mandra, tāra.27 Yet, however close to the jātiś, the grāma-rāgas did not belong to the gāndharva system but to the popular, freer system of music termed gāna; their ultimate purpose was not adṛṣṭa or transcendental merit (as in gāndharva) but to impart pleasure to the audience. Grāma-Rāgas were classified into different categories according to their style of rendering. This was termed gīti, and thus different grāma-rāgas were classified into different gītiś. The word gīti has been discussed before, but not as pertaining to gāndharva. There were four gītiś in gāndharva viz. māgadhi, ardha-māgadhi, sam-bhāvitā and pr̥thulā, which depended upon certain patterns of syllabic formations. Thus gīti in gāndharva depended upon pada. Bharata decrees that these gītiś were to be used only in gāndharva and prohibits their use in dhruvā gāna.28 The singing of the above mentioned four gītiś led to the distortion of pada. In the dhruvās, the pada was the most important factor since the meaning of the song was brought out only by clear and proper rendering of the pada or words. The gītiś in dhruvā were dependent on svara. Pointing out the differences between the two gītiś Kallinātha says, “Indeed what is the difference between the gītiś such as māgadhi etc., spoken of earlier, and that of gītiś such as śuddhā etc.” He answers—“māgadhi etc., primarily depend upon pada and tāla whereas śuddhā etc., are chiefly dependent upon svara.’29 Hence the prohibition is quite logical. Bharata

does not mention any other sort of gīti besides these four. Kallinātha too states that Bharata had mentioned only four gītis in dhruvā, namely māgadhi etc.30 It is possible that the idea of classifying grāma-rāgas according to different gītis in dhruvā may have evolved in the course of time (the rendering of grāma-rāgas in different styles may of course have been prevalent but perhaps not categorised as such). This is borne out the fact that the three dhruvā gītis postulated by early theorists like Yāṣṭika were bhāṣā, vibhāṣā and antarabhāṣā; and that by Śārdūla only one, that being bhāṣā.31 Now, Kallinātha quoting Mataṅga says that bhāṣā stands only for a particular manner or fashion of rendering ālāpa of grāma rāgas. The word bhāṣā here denotes 'mode' or 'manner'. In the same way the words 'vibhāṣā' and antarabhāṣā, too denote ālāpa prakāra only.32 This seems to explains how bhāṣā, vibhāṣā etc., sprang up from grāma-rāgas, gauḍī, vesara, sādhāraṇa, bhāṣā, and vibhāṣā.33 The first five seem to have been accepted as standard by later theorists like Śārṅgadeva, with the difference that the fourth gīti namely rāgagīti was known as vesara. Bhāṣā, vibhāṣā and antarabhāṣā seem to have acquired the status of independent melodic forms and were distinct from the gītis. Kallinātha, commenting on the five gītis of Śārṅgadeva says : 'There (he) divides the grāmarāgas 'five types' thus. Grāmarāgas are of five types. By what particular fashion have they been categorised into five types? Thus (he) says, 'by way of five gītis'. 'What are those five gītis', anticipating this (question) he says, 'gītis' are five thus, śuddha, bhinnā, gauḍī vesara and sādhāraṇa, these are the five gītis.34 Śārṅgadeva has given characteristics of these five gītis. In the śuddha style, the melody was rendered in a clear and simple style without any complexities, and was gentle and soft. The bhinnā style was a complex one, with subtle notes and gamakas.35 The gauḍī style was characterised by the use of sharp gamakas pervading all the three octaves. It was beautified by the use of ohati or lalita svaras. This meant the use of trembling notes in the lower octave. rendered in fast speed, as also the use of 'hakāra'.36 Vesara or rāgagīti was characterised by a brisk and fast style,37 and the sādhāraṇī was dependent upon the above four styles, i.e., was a mixture of all four.38

Abhinava, at the end of chapter twenty-eight, quotes a long passage of Kāśyapa.39 Here, thirty-three grāma-rāgas are classified into five gītis viz. śuddha bhinnā, gauḍī, vesara and sādhāraṇī. Vibhāṣā is mentioned as a sixth gīti, but no grāma-rāga is given with it. Thereafter, the last line says, here are seven gītis to be used in dhruvā gāna. The seventh gīti is not mentioned; probably bhāṣā is the one meant. However, a critical analysis of the passage shows that the author believed essentially in five basic aforementioned gītis; the sixth, vibhāṣā is

234 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Grāma rāga

1. Ṣaḍjagrāma

2. Madhyamagrāma

Gīti

Ṣuddha

"

"

Source jāti

Ṣāḍḍhīti, madhyamā

madhyamodīcya

madhyamā, pañcamī

Kaisikī Ṣaḍjamadhyamā

Ṣāḍḍhārita

Kaisikī Kārmaravī

Aṃśa

ma

ma

ma pa

ma

ma

sa

sa

sa

Nyāsa

ma jādi mūrcchanā used in pratimukha sandhi.

ma

ga, ni, ni

ga weak

ri, pa

ga, ni weak

pa

Weak or Omitted Notes

Sañgītaratnākara/Br. gives sa as graha, aṃśa and anvayāsa, vīra rasa ṣaḍja- used during monsoons in pratimukha sandhi.

Śārṅgadeva gives sa ṣṛṅgāra rasas, in hāsya and summer season. Saunīra mūrcchanā sandhi.

Ample use in pūrvarāṅga. Br. gives, ma tā

The Vṛtti śadyadyavāsa as nyāsa vīra, raudra rasas,

adbhuta, used in nirvahana sandhi.

Ṣaḍjādi (mūrcchanā of ṣaḍja- grāma vīra rasas: Sung or played on the occasion of garbha sandhi.

Ṣaḍjādi grāma (of madhyama grāmacchana); vīra, raudra,

adbhuta rasas; sung invariably

Theatrical Music : Dhruvā-gāna 235

in winter season. Used in nir- vaṃa sandhi.48

uttarāyatā mūrchanā, bibhat- sa, bhayānaka rasas; used in prāveśiki gāna.49

Subtle, complex notes51 karu- ṇa rasa.51a

Şḍjimūrccanā (of şaḍja grāma), Vīra nāḍa, adhbuta, rasas;52 Pauravī mūrccanā, bhayānaka, bibhatsa; during the en- trance of the Sūradārā, oi' of the Complex svara.53a

Sampūrṇa, şaḍjīdi mūrccanā (madhyama grāma), vīra, rau- dra, adhbuta, winter season.55

dhaivatādi mūrccanā (of şaḍja grāma), bhayānaka, bibhatsa, summer rasas, vipralambha şaḍja- season.56

mūrccanā (of şaḍja- ḍgrāma) pūrṇa.51

ma pa, ri ma dha Bhinna Śḍjodjicyavā

1. Bhinnaşaḍja

ri ma pa sa dha " " Paüañcamī madhyama 2. Bhinnaşanānā50 2.

ma ga, ri ni " " Śḍjamadhyama 3. Kaişikamadhyama 3.

ri ma pa dha " " Bhinnaapaüañcama 4. Bhinna- paüañcama 4.

sa Kārmaāravī Kaişikī54 sa 5. Bhinna- kaisika 5.

ma pa, ma dha Gauḍa Dhaivatī " Şḍjamadhyā

1. Gauḍapaüañcama

sa " " Śḍjamadhyama.56a 2. Kaişikamadhyā 2.

236 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Sañgītamakarala/Br.

Grāma rāga

1. Kaiśika

2. Ṭakka

3. Mālava vesara62

4. Vesaraṣaḍava

5. Boṭa64

6. Hinḍolaka

Gīti

Gauḍa

"

"

"

"

Source jāti

Kaiśikī Saḍjamadhyā58

Dhaivati Saḍjamadhyā60

Pañcamī Madhyama?

Pañcamī Saḍja madhyama

Pañcamī Saḍjamadhyā Dhaivati Ārṣabhi66

Aṃśa

sa sa sa sa ma? ma ma pa sa

Nyāsa Weak or Omitted Notes

pa ga, sa ni pa sa ni ga, ma? ni ga, ma ni ga, sa

ṣaḍjādi mūrccchanā, pūrṇā; karuṇa, vīra, raudra,adbhuta. 59

ṣaḍja as graha, nyāsa, aṃśa; (of ṣaḍja-grāma); used in the entrance etc.

Sānta rasa, 'ādya mūrccchanā (of ṣaḍja-grāma); weak pañcama; vīra rasa, particularly for rainy

Madhyamādi mūrccchanā (of sampūrṇa); hāsya, śṛṅgāra) Pañcamādi mūrccchanā (of ma-dhya mūrccchanā); hāsya, śṛṅgāra; sung during festivals. 65

Śuddha dha; omitted vīra, raudra, ad-bhuta rasas; (ṣṛṅgāra) too; spring season. 67

Theatrical Music : Dhruvā-gāna 237

uttarāyatā mūrchanā; bhayā- naka, bīhatsa rasas; used at the entrance of kaüuüó  69

dha sa dha sa Madhyamā Dhaivatī68 Kiĺişkī

ga, ni ga, ni

Ṣaḍjādi mūrchanā; vīra ra- dra, adbhuĺ rasas, vipśalam- bha ṣṛṅgāra; winter season. 70

Ṣādhāraĺī Sadjamadhyā 71

ṣa sa sa sa

Ṣaḍjādi mūrchanā; vīra, rau- dras; to enact being or loosing one's way (of forest. 72

Ṣaḍjādi mūrchanā (of karuĺā), pūrĺa; ṣaḍja grāma73

ri, pa ri75 ga ri sa

adbhuĺ, hāsya mūrchanā; hāskarĺā. pūrĺa74

Gāndhārī Raktagāndhārī 74

Sampūrĺa vīra, raudra, adbhūr- ta rasas; used in udbhaṭā cārīs and maṇḍalas. 79

Ārāşaśhi 77

sa78 ri78b ni, ga79 sa ri78b sa

Ṣaḍjādi mūrchanā; adbhuĺ. vīra, (ṣaḍjagrāma);80 nirvahĺa hāsya, sandhi. 82

ni, ga, pa81 sa

Ṣaḍjī Dhaivatī81

Vesara

" " " " " " "

Ṭakakaiśika Mālavakaiśika Bhamana pañcama sādhāraṇī Sadjamadhyā Rūpasādhāra Gandhāra pañcama Revagupta Kaiśiki Ṣakapāñcama

238 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

mentioned casually in just one line, and the seventh is not even mentioned. Abhinava describes seven grāma-rāgas of the śuddha gīti, five belonging to the bhinna gīti, three of gauḍi gīti, eight of the vesara and nine of the sādhāraṇi gīti. Śārṅgadeva too has classified the very same 7, 5, 3 and 8 grāma-rāgas into śuddha, bhinna, gauḍi and vesara, respectively. However, for the sādhāraṇi gīti Śārṅgadeva mentions only 7 rāgas, whereas Abhinava gives the number as nine. Since the text giving the names of the grāma-rāgas belonging to the sādhāraṇi gītis missing at places it is a little difficult to get the name of all the nine grāma rāgas. Notwithstanding this difficulty a chart has been made (pp. 234-37) to represent these grāma rāgas (in the passage quoted by Abhinava) according to their respective gītis. The name of three grāma rāgas of the sādhāraṇi gīti are missing. Two of these might be the grāma-rāgas, narta and kakubha, mentioned by Mataṅga and Śārṅgadeva as belonging to the sādhāraṇi gīti.83

Bharata associates six grāma-rāgas (though he does not mention the term grāma-rāga) with the pūrvaranga and with the five sandhis or the important junctures of the plot. The śuddha or pure variety of Śāḍava was to be rendered during pūrvaranga—Pūrvarangavidhāne tu kartavyo rāgajo vidhiḥ,84 says Bharata. The word ‘rāgajo’ does not communicate much meaning, hence the varient reading ‘śāḍava’ should be accepted. Abhinava too, prescribes ‘cokṣaśāḍava’ (i.e., pure or śuddha śāḍava) to be used in the pūrvaranga—pūrvarangavidhāne tu kuryādvaicokṣaśāḍavam.85 Elsewhere, he quotes a verse of Mātṛgupta, which says that caukṣaśāḍava is sung in the beginning for auspiciousness (māṅgalyārtham).86 The Vṛtti on Bṛhaddeśī states that śuddhaṣāḍava is the chief amongst the six rāgas, since there is ample use of it in the pūrvaranga.87 At the sandhis or junctures termed mukha and pratimukha grāma-rāgas, named madhyamagāma and śaḍ-jā respectively, are to be used. Sādhāritā was used in the garbha jāgrama respectively, pañcama in the vimarśa or avamarśa and kaiśika in the nirvahaṇa sandhi—mukhe tu madhyamagāmāḥ śaḍjaḥ pratimukhe bhavet sādhāritastathā garbha vi (sva) marśe caiva pañcamam kaiśikam ca tathā kāryam gānam nirvahaṇe budhaiḥ.88

It has been noted that both the Vṛtti89 on Bṛhaddeśī and Kāli-nātha90 quote this passage of Bharata, but with varient readings from the Nāṭyaśāstra. At yet another place, Kallinātha quotes this passage with two additional lines in the beginning, which state that śuddha gīti is used in the pūrvaranga, bhinna during the prastāvanā, vesara during mukha and pratimukha, gauḍi during the garbha, and sādhāritā during the avamarśa sandhis.91 The Vṛtti on Bṛhaddeśī quotes Kaśyapa saying that the grāma-rāgas should be used in drama in accordance with pres-

Theatrical Music : Dhruvā-gāna 239

cription; gāna which is of five types—praveśa, ākṣepa, niṣkrama, prāsā-dika and antara—should be sung to these rāgas. During the pūrva-ran̄ga, the grāma-rāgas of the śuddhagīti are used, the bhinnā during prastāvonā, the vesara during the two mukhas. the gauḍa during the avamarśa sandhi as also the nirvahana 92 Thus Bharata does mention grāma-rāgas (though he does not use this term) used in the various sandhis of drama. It seems that bhāṣās, too, were current during Bharata’s time—Saindhavīmāśritām bhāṣām jñeyam saindhavakam budhaiḥ. 93

In his commentary on the thirty-third chapter Abhinava distinguishes between gāndharva and gāna systems, thereby imparting information about the structure and nature of gāna. The two systems were distinct in respect of all three musical elements viz. svara, pada and tāla. Thus says Abhinava, “In gāna, diverse śrutis are used because of the use of kākalī and antara śruti. Notes in the mālava kaiśika are seen to belong to the catuśśrutika anga and there is so much diversity of notes and of the śrutis belonging to the rāga, bhāṣā, deśī and mārga etc. that it cannot be described. Their experience creates a sense of strange variation. And even when experienced, those who do not know the lakṣaṇas will feel them only like children, in a dumb fashion. What is more, the rule of the interval (i.e. śruti interval-antarāla niyama) must be adhered to in gāndharva on account of the internal pramāna, sthāna, svara, kālā and aṃśa. But that is not so in gāna.” 94 In gāndharva only the fundamental seven notes were used and the kākalī and antara notes must have entailed the use of other sādhāraṇa notes like ṣadja sādhāraṇa and madhyama sādhāraṇa, catuśśrutika dhaivata, triśrutika pañcama etc. In fact, from Abhinava’s passage it seems that the rule of a fixed śruti interval between two notes, an absolute must in gāndharva, could be disregarded in gāna. At another place Abhinava says, “By this, it is shown that the peculiarity and strangeness of notes owing to higher and lower pitch have been regulated in gān-dharva for transcendental purposes (adrṣṭasiddhyai) or. for empirical purposes (drṣṭa-siddhi) the one-śruti character of notes has been demonstrated. But strange peculiarities are plainly seen in the lakṣya music of rāga, bhāṣā, etc. Thus venerable Kāśyapa says, “In the rāgas, bhāṣās one may use in all ways all the note of 4, 3, 2 or 1 śruti.” 95 Even one-śruti notes were permissible in gāna ! This was an impossibility in gāndharva. It seems that any melodious śruti could be utilised in gāna. Discussing the use of notes in different melodic forms in gāna Abhinava says, “In naṭakaisika, lāta, nāgara etc., ṛṣabha and gāndharva are not seen much and the notes are sung in diverse forms through the influence of more than forty-seven jātyaṃśakas. In the singing of gāndharva and gāna (gāndharva here appears to be an error)

240 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

notes are used which are beautiful and appropriate to the eight kinds of gītis namely, śuddha, bhinnā, gauḍarāga (vesara), sādhāraṇa, bhāṣā, vibhāṣā and antarabhāṣā.96 Apparently in different styles of singing notes do not remain exactly the same and acquire different shades. In the bhinnā gīti, pañcama sounded in a varied manner in the bhinnapañcama and bhinnatā na grāmarāgas. In chapter twenty-nine, Abhinava says that, “In reality these are forty-seven notes. But in brief, there are only three notes udātta, anudātta and svarita. However if one wishes to expound in detail, then the notes are infinite because of the diversity of jātyaṁśaka, grāma rāga, bhāṣā, deśī and mārga. Others say that just as a person may acquire different offices such as aśvapati, mahāmātra, senāpati or puroḥita, similarly the same amśa svara by its different positions and associations acquires a diversity of forms. For example, though ṣadja has the same śrutis in mālava kaiśika as in Ṭakkarāga it appears different in both. Again, it appears different in vegasvara and saindhava.”97

Thus, in gāndharva the maximum permissible notes were nine—the seven primary notes and the sparingly used antara and kākalī notes. Jātis, however, could be rendered hexatonic and pentatonic by the dropping of one or two notes. But even this was done according to prescribed rules and notes could not be dropped just at will. In general, dhaivata could not be dropped of ṣadja grāma jātis and pañcama of madhyama grāma ones; madhyama was an indispensable note irrespective of the grāma. Moreover, the amśa note could not be omitted nor also the samvādī or the vādī note. Gāna was governed by no such rules. To create a pleasing effect any note could be dropped. Thus says Abhinava, “In gāndharva, the (rules governing) lopa are regulated according to the difference of the two grāmas, jāti, and amśa. But in gāna one proceeds according to rakti and there is no fixed rule.”98 In gāndharva, the dropping of more than two notes was not permissible since the octave had to have a minimum of at least five notes. “In gāna, any note could be dropped irrespective of its being either the amśa, vādī or samvādī. The dropping of even three notes was not unknown in gāna, since the avakrṣṭā dhruvā is characterised by a four note formation”, states Bharata.99 Abhinava elucidates thus : “(Hexatonic and pentatonic octaves) this rule is observed in gāndharva. In dhruvāgāna, employed in dramatic performance a four-svara octave is also used. The avakrṣṭā dhruvā is used in karuṇa (rasa) scenes and has prolific long syllables.”100

Similarly, as regards the octaves all three— mandra, madhya and tāra were known to gāndharva, but the movement has to be according to prescribed rules; in the actual rendering of jātis the movement in

the tāra and mandra octaves was rather restricted (NŚ, 28. 70-71). In

gāna, there was free movement in all three octaves as Abhinava com-

ments that these restrictive rules did not apply to gāna—iheti jātiṣu

grāmarāgādau nāyam niyamaiti vibhāvah. (AB on NŚ, 28. 70).

Mūrcchanās and tānas have been discussed while dealing with the

various elements of gāndharva music. Seven note mūrcchanās on being

rendered hexatonic or pentatonic were termed tānas. However, here

too, there were rules regarding the dropping of a note or pair of notes

in either grāma and as a result there were only eighty-four hextatonic

and pentatonic tānas permissible in gāndharva. In gāna, the tānas were

limited by no such restrictions. Beside tānas, gāna utilised kūṭatānas,

which were basically permutations of two or more notes in all possible

disarray. Abhinava says “... in gāndharva there are fourteen mūrcchanās

and eighty-four tānas. In gāna, there is a variety of kūṭatānas depen-

ding on the utilization of (as few as) two notes up to all the (seven)

notes. Thus there would be 2, 6, 24, 720 and 5040.” The seven

notes of an octave could be permuted and combined in 5040 possible

ways—two notes gave rise to only 2 combinations, three notes gave 6

combinations, four notes 24, five notes 120 and six notes 720 combi-

nations. Permutations and combinations of all the seven notes with

each other gave rise to 5040 possible combinations.101 All these possi-

ble combinations were permissible in gāna. Bharata has not described

kūṭatānas. However, Dattila102 says that kūṭatāna was a mūrcchanā,

but with this basic difference that unlike the mūrcchanā its note se-

quence was in disarray. A kūṭatāna when rendered with all the seven

notes was called pūrṇa kūṭatāna, when rendered with less than seven,

i.e. with hexatonic or pentatonic structure, it was termed apūrṇa kūṭa-

tāna. The latter could be rendered with four notes or less. Dattila gives

the number of kūṭatānas as 5033. These kūṭatānas pertained only to

gāna and it is only in the context of rāgas that Abhinava discusses

them. “There is proper cultivation of the grāma-rāgas, bhāṣās etc.,

when the notes of the mūrcchanā are rendered with ease in a successive

or non-successive order (i.e. kūṭatāna) order. In each grāma-rāga etc.,

all the mūrcchanās and kūṭatānas may be used in many and diverse

ways. It follows that there is no limitation.”103 Differentiating between

the regular and fixed tānas of the gāndharva style and the numerous

variety of the tānas in dhruvā gāna, Abhinava says that although in

the jātis, there are only fixed and regulated hexatonic and pentatonic

(tānas), in rāga and bhāṣā, a wondrous variety is established (the

word ‘unmūlayitum’ meaning ‘uprooted’ is evidently a mistake here),

which is pleasing to the ear.104 We know that the fundamental diffe-

rence between gāndharva and gāna lay in their ultimate purpose—that

242 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

of gāndharva was adrṣṭa or transcendental merit, while gāna had the drṣṭa purpose of rakti or pleasure. On this basis, Abhinava distinguishes kūṭatānas from the 84 regular tānas of the gāndharva system. He says :

"As to the objection why are the kūṭatānas not mentioned, the fact of being kūṭa, i.e., being in irregular order is not in itself of any importance. They have the general characteristic of giving pleasure. Only by rule of the enumerated eighty-four (i.e. the regular 84 tānas of gān-dharva) have the fixed function of pleasing particlar devatās. They may not thus (i.e. for pleasing the devatās) be used (referring here to kūṭatānas). In a general way, there use is obvious. As to why they have not been counted, the answer is, how are they to be counted when they are infinite?'105 Here, Abhinava clearly refers to the eighty-four regular tānas of the gāndharva, which pleased the gods and brought about adrṣṭa. Referring to the kūṭatānas (which have no fixed number and being numerous are termed by Abhinava as 'infinite') he says that they should not be thus used, i.e. for pleasing gods. If not for adrṣṭa, what then, is their use ? This is exactly the question which Abhinava raises and answers too. "Then what is their purpose? No, when the performer is proper even that produces pleasure for the audience."106 That is, when properly performed they have the drṣṭa purpose of rakti or pleasure.

The dhruvā tāla had its source in gāndharva, but even though born from it, it was distinct—a purposive transformation of the saptarūpa. Dhruvā was the name given to a form compounded out of various minor gāndharva forms, as also the major saptarūpas. These all stood for certain tāla structures. Out of them selective elements were combined into the dhruvā. Basically the dhruvā drew its constituents from the gītāngas, the saptarūpa, saptarūpa pramāṇa (the measure of sapta-rūpa such as tryasra and caturasra measures) minor forms such as ṛk, gāthās, pāṇikā etc.107 From the gītakas, which lay emphasis on the adrṣṭa, certain elements are culled and synthesized, so as to be able to please through rasa and bhāva. Thus dhruvā as a transformation of elements drawn from gāndharva has the purpose of strengthening the dramatic effect of rasa.108 Tāla in dhruvā gāna was a flexible and varied one. Tāla (as also svara) in dhruvā was subservient to pada and helped to highlight the words of the dhruvā. In accompaniment to the words, it was agitated, slow, staccato, sombre ete., and thus helped heighten the desired aesthetic mood created by the poetry of the dhruvā song. Not only did tāla expressively accompany dhruvās but it also served various dramatic functions effectively. The dramatis persona moved with characteristic, stylised gaits which behoved their differing social status (uttama, madhyama and adhama) and in accordance

with their distinct dramatic functions. These movements were accompanied by suitable sounds on the percussion.109

Tāla in gāndharva was played on ghana or idiophonic instruments, which consisted of cymbals, generally of bronze.110 Abhinava says :

"ghana is so called because of the hardness of its form. Due to this hardness, ghana instruments cannot play specific varṇas expressive of different rasas or bhāvas. Tāla (or ghana) is only used for establishing samyā."111 Samyā indicated neutral ‘balance’ or ‘equipoise’ between tāla and svara structures. Again, he says : "ghana vāḍya can produce only a single monotonous sound, unvaried in nature and is used only to keep the measure in a tāla by sounding at right intervals."112 It could not be used for expressive playing as in avanaddha instruments.

Tāla in dhruvā gāna was played on avanaddha instruments. These membranophonic drums were capable of expressing a wide variety of varṇas or ‘bols’. These drums, through the pliancy and resulting inflections of the taut skin on which they are played, produce a number of notes at different pitches as well as a wide variety of different expressive sounds.113

The dhruvā lyrics had an inherent rhythm of their own, as they were set to various poetic metres.114 The dhruvā form was structured by the metric (guru-laghu syallables) or prosodic unit of the lyric. In dhruvā the metre appropriate to that rasa and bhāva was primary. As far as gāndharva music was concerned it did not restrict the musical time form by consideration of syllables etc.115 While in gāndharva the standard time unit was the kalā, consisting of five laghus, in dhruvā the basic tune unit comprised of only one laghu (i.e. the smallest metric unit). Thus, tāla in gāna was much faster than the slow, sombre one of gāndharva.

Abhinava emphasizes the fact that the metres used must be in harmony with the rasa and bhāva. "In dhruvās because of the primacy of qualities like rasa, etc., the metres sung should be in concordance with the meaning (of the song). Just as in the movement of a chariot, the pātas or sounded beats are of druta gati or fast movement, and the varṇas and varṇāngas are accordingly, in karuṇa rasa there are guru and pluta pātas and appropriate varṇāngas."116 Unsounded beats, viz. avāpa, vikṣepa, niṣkrama and praveśa had basically a ritualistic purpose and thus were appropriate to gāndharva. For the theatre, however, they were irrelevant and hence not used in dhruvā gāna.

As regards pada, it was the primary element in gāna, svara and tāla being subservient to it. Thus Abhinava says, "In gāndharva, svara and tāla are primary. Pada is used only as a basis or support for the other two. In the dhruvā, on the other hand, words and meanings are

244 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

primary.117 Again, Abhinava says : “Thus, in gāndharva, svara is pre-dominant, pada is secondary and (acts) as a prop. In contrast, in gāna, pada is primary as it expresses the meaning (of the song) and svara is secondary as (its role is) only to beautify the pada.”118 Since words and meanings were important in dhruvā, the pada had to be clearly enunciated and was not to be distorted in singing as in gāndharva.119 Thus, varṇa prakarṣa or stretching of the words to suit the melody was not desirable-the melody was to adapt itself so as to highlight the pada. For this very reason the use of such alaṁkāras which led to varṇa prakarṣa was not practised in dhruvā gāna. Thus Bharata states : Saptarūpagatā jñeyā alaṁkārā budhaiṣṭame naite (sarve) dhruvāvisṭāl śruti (srotrī) varṇaprakaraṣātu dhru-vānāṁ siddhirhiṣyate/ syeno vāpyathavā bindurye cānye’ti (tu) prakarṣi-ṇaḥ//120 Abhinava comments thus : “In dhruvās these varṇas are not desirable which involve lengthening or elaboration. Where many alaṁkāras are displayed on one syllable, that (too) is not desirable. Example of such (prakarṣi) elaborating alaṁkāras are śyena or bindu. These are only examples. There can be others.”121 The gāndharva gītis viz. Māgadhi, Ardhamāgadhī, Sambhāvita and Pṛthulā were various styles of rendering which involved the splitting of words according to different layas or tempos. Hence these gītis were prohibited in dhruvā by Bharata-etāstā gītayo jñeyā dhruvāyogam vinaivahi/ gāndharva eva yojyāstu nityam gānaprayoktṛbhih//122

In gāndharva, both nibaddha and anibaddha padas were used i.e. songs with both meaningful and meaningless words were used. Thus in the śuṣka gīta meaningless words and syllables like ‘dingle’, ‘jhaṅtum’ etc. were used. This was because such songs had a ritualistic purpose and were not meant for dramatic purposes or pleasing the audience. Such songs without meaning would be quite out of place in the theatrical context—satālaṁ ca dhruvā’rtheṣu nibaddhaṁ sarvasādhakam. NŚ, 32.20. Commenting on this, Abhinava says “In gāndharva, nibaddha and anibaddha padas constituted by syllables are used. In gāna, however, pada is used with tāla and with a proper harmony and meaning appropriate to rasa. Hence, pada in dhruvā is not for the sake of adṛṣṭa as in gāndharva, nor does it depend on scriptures or tradition for pleasing the gods. In gāna, pada is primarily for the audience and hence intelligible to them.”123 However, Abhinava raises an objection, but also gives the answer to it—“Objection. Even in drama we come across the use of svarālāpa etc., without words and through the use of huṁkāra etc. Thus, in dhruvā gāna too, we come across singing which seems to be independent of the use of varṇa, alaṁkāra etc., in relation

to rasa and without tāla measured by tryasra etc. The answer is that such singing is in order to heighten the effect of the instruments like viṇā etc., and as a complement to the dhruvā which is going to be sung. It is a kind of filler (pūraka), something that completes the effect of the instruments.'124

From an interesting remark of Abhinava, we come to know that the female singers outnumbered the male singers. Abhinava says that this is because women are naturally given to fine arts like music, whereas men have to be taught.125

Abhinava also makes another interesting remark wherein he says that alongwith a sweet voice and a proficient hand in tāla, the songstress should also have the qualities of youth and a beautiful form and figure. The latter qualities however do not pertain to gāndharva musicians.126 The reason is obvious—the context of singing was different, the former was for entertainment, whereas the latter was for transcendental merit.

Thus, it can be seen that though derivative of gāndharva, the gāna system of music had a uniqueness of its own and was distinct from gāndharva in both its nature and purpose.

Footnotes

1 Gāndharvasaṁkṛtānārādādyā (Nāradīyaśikṣā, 1.2); gānayogam (ga) cikīrṣvastasya gāndharvaprakṛtitvena vyavastāpayanto bhogopayoginamuktapūrvasaṁhāgtam nāyamasamābhiḥ svamaniṣikārkṛtaḥ kimtu prakṛtā api na dṛṣṭa ityāgamaprāmāṇyenopadbalayannā (nta a) gama-nurasa (nusāri) hi dṛṣṭaphalamapi bhojanādi prāṇāḥ (nāyāma) sandhyādyā ityāgamanusandhānenopabṛṁhayanti. AB on NŚ, 32. 4-6.

1a NŚ, 33.1.

1b Ibid., 28.36. Cf. rañjanā janacittānām sa ca rāga udāhṛtaḥ. Bṛ., 281.

1c AB on NŚ, 32. 3.

2 NŚ, 32. 8 : dhruvām anyonyasambaddhāḥ.

3 Ibid., 32. 310; also ibid , 6. 29-30.

4 Ibid., 32 311.

5 Ibid., 32. 312.

6 Ibid., 32. 313.

7 Ibid., 32. 315.

8 Anukarturyadanāśaṁkitadhanaviṣayādatyudhataprayogaśrama vaśā-duā bhramādidoṣasambhāvā. Vāstrabharanāyakāśādit sā (vā) gi-yate sāntarā dhruvā. AB on NŚ, 32. 315.

9 Atimagnacittavṛtterapi Sāgarikāyā manorathakalpitapriyatamasamā-gamālāpādevautsukyapravṛttasvaravisayostyeva (Ratnāvalī). Tathā

246 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

cittadrutalayātr-(t tu) prāyastrayiṁśakam (?) prayuñjate. AB on NŚ,

32.10

10 NŚ. 32. 327.

11 Saṁkhyacūdasyeva Jīmūtavāhanabhakṣaṇāktulagaruḍanikāṭamupasar-

pataḥ. (Nāgānandam, 5. 17). AB on NŚ, 32. 327.

12 Yathā Uttarāghave rāmasya prastutaśṛṅgārakramollamghanena—

'Are tāpasa sthiri (ro) bhava. Kvedānīṁ gamyate. Svasurmama

parābhavaprasava ekadattavyatha'. Ityādinā rāvanavākyena. Yathā

(druta) vākyākarnanena vīrarasasyaṁkṣepyasya tu rasasya māṛṅye

'Sthite' vilambitā. Yathāsvatthāmno yuddhāvire kramollamghanena

(Veṇisaṁhāram, 3.8). AB on NŚ, 32. 313.

12a It is interesting to note that the Bṛ 326 and SR 2.284 enjoin the

rāga Bhinna pañcama to be used at the entrance of the sūtradhāra.

13 Kuṭṭinimatam, 779-883; also ibid., 927.

14 This verse is not available in the present editions of the NŚ, but it

seems that during Abhinava's time certain recensions of the NŚ

contained this verse. Abhinava thinks that this verse is interpola-

ted since it is not found in his manuscript—asmṛtpustakeśa na

tathā dṛśyate (AB on NŚ, 28. 141). Despite this fact he agrees with it

and argues that whether the verse is interpolated or not is

not relevant as Bharata had already suggested the matter expressed

in the verse at another place where he enumerates the aṁśas—na

ca tayā vinā na saṁgṛhītametadbhavati, jātyamśake hi sarvaṁ svīkṛ-

tam tatrāpi cā (mā)-rjanopayogino vaicitryasābhyanuñjānāṁ muni-

naiva kṛtam. Catuḥsvaraprayogo' pi 'hyavakṛṣṭadhruvāśvihā' (Bh.

NŚ, 28. 79) iti vadattottaratra cālamkārāvanicitrayam vibhajajeti. AB

on NŚ, 28. 141.

15 AB on NŚ, 82. 141.

16 Gudamaricādirasayojanāmāye'pi pānaka iva rasāntaratvam. AB on

NŚ, 32. 332.

17 Tatra saṁkara-rūpābāhulyājjātinirdeśa (Dattilam 96) iti Dattilācāry-

yo'pyāha. Śadjodīcyavatiṣamā bhinnaśadija ityucyate nandayanti

bhinna rūpā bāhulyena. AB on NŚ, 28. 141.

18 L.c.

19 Jātisaṁbhavatvādvādgrāmārāgāṇāmīti—Vṛtti on Bṛ. 321.

20 Bṛ p. 105 (This verse occurs in the chapter incorporated into the

Bṛhaddeśī from Sarvāgamasamhitā). Quoted by M. Lath, op. cit.,

p. 171.

21 Jātibhyo jātināmpi grāmarāgasamīpabhavitvādasṭānāmuparāgitvam.

Kalā on SR, 2. 1.15-18.

22 Kalā on SR, 2. 1.8-14.

23 Grāmayorjātivyavadhanenotpanānāmapi bhāṣārāgādyapekṣayā vyavadhānālpatvādetesām grāmarāgatva-vyapadeśaḥ. L.c.

24 Ata eva hyete grāmarāga ityuktāḥ. Grāmohi jātisamūhastasya sambandhino raktyatisaṅgava iti. AB on NŚ, 29.8.

25 NŚ 28. 65.

26 AB on NŚ, 33. 1.

27 Kvacidamśaḥ kvacinnāmāśaḥ śādavaḍuvite kvaciḥ/alpatvaṃ ca bahutvaṃ ca grahāpanyāsamyutam mandratārau tathā jñātavyāyojanīyam// manisibhiḥ grāmarāgāḥ prayoktavyā vidhivad daśarūpake// Vṛtti on Bṛ., 364.

28 NŚ, 29. 49.

29 Nanu pūrvoktābhyo māgādhyādigitibhyo dhunoktānāṃ śuddhādigitīnāṃ ko bheda iti ceta, ucyote—māgadhādyāḥ prādhānyena padatālā-śritāḥ; śuddhādaystu prādhānyena svarāśritā iti. Kalā on SR, 2.1. 6-7.

30 Bharataḥ punarmāgādhyādiścatasra eva gītiruktavān. L.c.

31 L.c.

32 'bhāṣānām'; bhāṣā grāmarāgālāpaprakārāḥ, tathācāha Mataṅgaḥ—"grāmarāgāṇāmeva ālāpaprakārā bhāṣāvacyāḥ, bhāṣāśabdo' traprakāravāci" iti. Evam vibhāṣāntarabhāṣā śabdāvapi tattadantarotpanālāpaprakāravācītvāvagantavyam. Kalā on SR, 2. 1. 19-47.

33 Bṛ., 285-87.

34 Tatra grāmarāgān vibhajate—'pañcadheti'-grāmarāgāḥ pañcaprakārā bhavanti. Kena viśeṣeṇa pañcaprakāratvam ? Ata āha—pañca-gītisamāśrayāditi, kāstāhpañca gītaya ityapekṣāyāmāha—'gītayaḥ pañceti' śuddhā bhinnā gauḍā vesara sādhāraṇīti pañca gītayaḥ Bharatenā māgadhādayaścatasro gītayā uktā. SR, Vol. 11, p. 4.

35 SR, 2. 1. 2-3.

36 SR, 2. 1. 4-5; also Bṛ., 291-96.

37 Ibid., 2. 1. 6.

38 Caturgītigatam lakṣmaṃ śritā sādhāraṇī matā—Ibid., 2.1.7. Mataṅga says that Kaku was also used, in this gīti. Bṛ., 303-04.

40 The text has ṣadja madhyamayoh; ṣadji is in brackets after ṣadja. Śārṅgadeva (SR, 2.2. 27-29) has ṣadjamadhya. Nānyadeva has ṣad-jikā (ṣādji) and ṣadjamadhya. (BB, 2. 6. 84) and quotes Kaśyapa, too, who gives the same as source jātis, (BB, 2. 6. 85).

41 SR, 2. 2. 27-29.

42 Śārṅgadeva gives gāndhārī, madhyamā and pañcamī as the source jātis of this grama rāga. The same is given by Nānyadeva Kaśyapa (quoted in Bharatakosa, p. 465).

43 SR, 2. 2. 67-70. These two grāma rāgas have uṣṇa in the portion

248 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Mataṅga who gives only five rāgas for the śuddhā style. It is possible that these two grāma rāgas were created later. This is supported by the fact that Śārṅgadeva describes this rāga as under adhunāprasiddhānām. L.c.

43a Vṛtti, Bṛ., p. 85—gāndhārāsya cāpaltvam.

43b Pūrvaraṅge pracuraprayogatvāttasya śuddhaśadabasyādau nirdeśaḥ. L.c.

43c The Vṛtti, Bṛ., p. 86, also gives ga, ni as weak.

43d L.c.

44 In the AB, Dhaivatī and ṣadjamadhyamā are given as the source jātiṣ of śudhakaiśikā madhyamā. Nānyadeva, too gives dhaivati and ṣadjamadhyā as the source jātiṣ (BB. 2, 6, 181), and quotes Kaśyapa who gives the same source jātiṣ (ibid., 2. 6. 191). Mataṅga however gives kaiśikī and ṣadjamadhyamā as parent jātiṣ (Bṛ., 320) and this seems more logical.

45 Vṛtti. Bṛ., p. 86; SR, 2. 2. 97-98.

46 SR, op. cit.

47 SR, 2. 2. 21-22; Vṛtti Bṛ., op. cit.

48 SR, 2. 2. 30-32; Vṛtti Bṛ., p. 87 also Bṛ., 321-22.

49 Ibid., 2. 2. 79-80. Bṛ, 324-25. Vṛtti Bṛ., p. 89.

50 Bhinnatāgaḥ of AB should be bhinnatānāḥ.

50a Śrutibhinnāḥ—Bṛ, 331. The Vṛttikāra explains this to mean that niṣāda obtains two śrutis from catuḥśrutikā pañcama. But the difficulty is that how can niṣāda obtain two śrutis from the triśrutikā pañcama of the madhyama grāma (this grāma rāga obtained from the madhyama grāma) ? The Vṛttikāra justifies it by giving the example of the bhinnā kaiśikā rāga, where too it seems that the triśrutikā pañcama undergoes such a change—Catuśśrute pañcama-sya yadā śrutidvayam gṛhṇāti niṣādaḥ tadāsau śrutibhinno’ bhidhīyate. Nanu madhyamagrāme pañcamāsya tri-śru (ti) katvat katham śrutidvayam gṛhṇāti niṣādaḥ. Ucyate. Bhūtapūrvanyāyena catuś-śrutirucyate Yathā Bhinnakaisikarāge triśrutipañcamasya catuś-śrutitvāśritya lopāḥ kṛtaḥ ṣadjogrāme, evamatrāpi bhaviṣyatti na doṣaḥ. Vṛtti, Bṛ., p. 91. It may be noted, that in contrast to the dhruvā gāna, such a change in the triśrutikā pañcama of the madhyama grāma, would have never been permitted in gāndharva singing.

51 SR, 2. 2. 35-37; Śārṅgadeva terms bhinnatānā as one which consists of the last mūrcchanā, antimamūrcchanāḥ i.e. (bhinnatānaḥ). Kallinātha explains this as the ṛṣabhādi mūrcchanā-antimamūrcchanāḥ—Kalā on SR, 2. 2. 35-37.

52 SR, 2. 2. 33-35. Śārṅgadeva does not mention the weak ga, ni,

Theatrical Music : Dhruvā-gāna 249

but in fact terms it as pūrṇa. Bṛ., 328. Mataṅga says it is full of gamakas in the mandra sthāna.

53 SR, 2. 2. 82-85. Śārṅgadeva does not mention the weak ri. Sūtra-dhārapraveśena, Bṛ., 325. In the Kuṭṭinimatam (880), where the first act of the Ratnāvalī is staged, we have an actual instance of the rāga bhinnapañcama being played at the entrance of the Sūtra-dhāra.

53a The Vṛtti on Bṛ. p. 89 has an interesting passage—pañcamasya sthāne sthāne vivādितvena gṛhito bhavati pañcamasyaścasamvāditve-na (?) varjyate kadācidasau bhinnapañcamaḥ svarabhinno'bhidh-yate—i.e. from place to place pañcama attains vivāditva. Some times pañcama abstains from its samvāditva (i.e. with ṛṣabha) and the note is said in a different manner, hence bhinnapañcama.

Now the bhinna style was characterised by complex, suble notes. Here is an example. Since sometimes pañcama sounded in a different manner in bhinnapañcama, it meant that the śrutis in the triśrutika pañcama must have sometimes varied and hence the differing nature of the note. It is then understandable why pañ-cama attained vināditva at place to place. For the same reason sometimes it does not have samvāditva with ṛṣabha. It may be noted that for this reason ṛṣabha was a weak note in this grāma rāga.

54 Abhinava has mentioned kārmāravī and Ṣadjamadhyā as the source jātiṣ of bhinnakaiśika. However all others, Vṛtti (Bṛ., 330). Śārṅga-deva (SR, 2.2. 37), Bharatakosa (p. 438) mention Kaiśikī and Kār-māravī as the source jātiṣ of this rāga.

55 SR, 2. 2. 37-39.

56 Ibid., 2. 2. 42-45—Udbhaṭe naṭane geyo (SR, 2. 2. 45), says Śārṅgadeva. Kallinātha explaining it says that this means that this is sung in enacting maṇḍala while dancing—udbhaṭe naṭane maṇḍalādau. (Kalā on SR, 2. 2. 45).

56a AB gives dhaivatī and madhyamā as the source jātiṣ which seems to be a mistake. The Bṛ., 335-36 and SR, 2. 2. 40 give ṣadjamadh-yamā as the source jāti.

57 SR, 2. 2. 40-42, Śārṅgadeva terms this rāga as saimpūrṇa. Mataṅga, too, terms it as paripūrṇasvarah—Bṛ., 336. Abhinava, however, says niṣpah kaiśika madhyah.

58 Mataṅga (Bṛ., 335-36) and Śārṅgadeva give kaiśikī and ṣadja-madhyā as source jātiṣ—SR, 2. 2. 45. Abhinava gives kārmāravī and ṣaḍjamadhyamā.

59 SR, 2. 2. 45-47.

60 Ibid., 2. 2. 120-22. Bṛ., 340.

60a The text giving the source jātiṣ of ṭakka is missing in the portion

250 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

quoted by Abhinava. Mātaṅga (Br., 339) and SR, 2. 2. 90 give dhaivati and ṣadjamadhyamā.

61 Ibid., 2. 2. 90-91.

62 The text quoted in Abhinavabhāratī is far from clear—vamśānto vignirmadhyapañcamayormālavavesarah. The passage of Nānya-deva in the BB gives dha, pa as nyāsa, ṣadja as amśa and ṣadja-madhyā as the source jāti—Dhapanyāsa ca ṣadjāṃśa visphuratṣadja-madhyamāl parihīnā sasphuritā jñeyā mālavavesarā// (BB, 2.6. 116). Nānyadeva also quotes Kaśyapa, but the passage of Kaśyapa gives ṭakkarāga as the source (ibid., 2. 117). Hence this is probably Mālavavesarikā which Kallinātha gives as the bhāṣā of ṭakkarāga. The passage of Kaśyapa, too, has Mālāvakhyā vesarikā not mālava-vesara. This grāma rāga has not been mentioned by either Mātaṅga or Śārṅgadeva.

63 SR, 2. 2. 48-50; Br., 342.

64 For the source jāti of Boṭṭa, the text of the Abhinavabhāratī simply says ‘dhapamadhyodbhavā’. Mātaṅga (Br. 343), Śārṅgadeva (SR, 2. 2. 50-52) and Nānyadeva (BB, 2. 6. 92-93) give the source jātis as pañcamī and ṣadjamadhyamā.

65 SR, 2. 2. 50-52. The Vrtti on Br. p. 93 also gives śānta rasa and terms this grāma rāga as well as sauvira and ṭakka as pūrṇa.

66 Abhinava gives the source jātis of hindolaka in a formula like style namely, ‘rṣabhajātya-nyāsasambhavah’. From Śārṅgadeva we know that rṣabha and dhaivata were omitted in this rāga and the jātis which derived their names from these two notes were the source of this grāma-rāga —

dhaivatyrṣabhikāvarjasvaranāmakajātiyah// hindolakah ridhatyaktah ṣadjanyāsagrahaṃśakah—SR, 2. 2. 93-94.

67 SR, 2. 2. 93-95.

68 For the source jātis ṭakkaraiśika, Abhinava here again in a formula style says ‘madhyajāti-bhāk’ to indicate madhyama and dhaivati jātis. Mātaṅga (Br., 345), Śārṅgadeva (2. 2. 190) and Nānyadeva (BB, 2. 2. 101) also give Dhaivati and Madhyamā as source jātis.

69 SR, 2. 2. 190-92; Br., 345.

70 Ibid., 2. 2. 71-73; Br., 346.

71 Nānyadeva, gives ṣadjamadhyā as the source jāti of Bhammāṇa pañcamata, BB, 2. 6. 178. Mātaṅga (Br., 355) and Śārṅgadeva (SR, 2. 2. 60) term the sovrce jāti as śuddhamadhyamā. This is probably Ṣadjamadhyamā.

72 SR, 2. 2. 60-62.

73 Ibid., 2. 2. 55-57; Br., 356.

74 Giving the source of the grāma-rāga gāndhārapañcama, Abhinava

merely says ‘gāndharasambhavah’. The editor’s note below explains it as gāndhārī and raktagāndharī jātis. Mataṇga (Br., 357) and Śārṅgadeva, (SR, 2. 2. 103) give the same as the source jātis of gāndhārapañcama.

75 Abhinava says ‘triśrutidurbalah’ for the grāma rāga gāndhārapañcama. The editorial note explains this as to mean ṣadbhā and dhaivata. Now, the Vṛtti on Br. p. 101 classifies gāndhārapañcama in the group of madhyamagrāmika grāma-rāgas. Kallinātha, following him says …… nātra, gāndhārapañcamah ṣadjakaiśika ityete trayo madhyamagrāmoṭpannah (Kalā on SR, 2.1.8-14). Moreover, the source jātis gāndhārī and Raktagāndhārī are both of madhyamagrāma. In madhyamagrāma the two triśrutikā notes or pañcama and ṛṣabha, dhaivata is catuḥṣrutikā i.e. of four śrutis. Note may also be made of the fact that Abhinava says ‘triśrutidurbalah’ and not ‘triśruti-durbalau’, the singular number thus indicating only one triśrutikā note. Mataṅga and Śārṅgadeva do not mention any weak note, but in Śārṅgadeva’s ālāpa notation of gāndhārapañcama ṛṣabha is extremely infrequent but not so pañcama. This is further strengthened by the fact that in both raktagāndhārī and gāndhārī, the source jātis of this grāma rāga, ṛṣabha is a weak note not pañcama.

76 SR, 2. 2. 103–105; Br., p. 101.

77 Abhinava gives only ārṣabhī as the source jāti of Revagupta, so also does Nānyadeva—

ārṣabhyamṛṣabhe cāṃśanyāsayoh ṣadjavarjitah/jitasaṅgrāmaguptana Revaguptah prakṛtititah//—BB, 2. 6. 172.

Mataṅga (Br., 359) and Śārṅgadeva (SR, 2. 2. 100) however, gives madhyamā and ārṣabhī as the source jātis of Revagupta.

78 Abhinava terms the grāma-rāga Revagupta as ‘viṣadjakah’, i. e. without ṣadja. It may be noticed that Nānyadeva, too, terms, Revagupta as ṣadjavarjitah. Mataṅga and Śārṅgadeva, however, do not mention this.

79 SR, 2. 2. 100–02; Br., 359.

79a Śārṅgadeva says ‘nigo nyāsa’ (SR, 2. 2. 66).

79b Śārṅgadeva terms ṛṣabha as alpa, l.c.

80 Ibid., 2. 2. 65–67.

81 For grāma-rāga Śakāpañcama, Abhinava merely says sadhajātijo, thereby indicating ṣādjī and dhaivatī jātis. Mataṅga (Br., 353), Nānyadeva (2. 6. 175–76) and Śārṅgadeva, (2. 2. 58) give the same as source jātis.

81a Abhinava only mentions the weak ga, ni and not na. Mataṅga (Br., op. cit.) and Nānyadeva (BB, op. cit.) mention the weak ra.

252 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

82 SR, 2. 2. 58-59; Bṛ., 353.

83 Ibid., 2. 1. 14.

84 NŚ, 32. 426.

85 AB on NŚ, 32. 429.

86 Maṅgalatvāt. Tathā hi mātrguptah prathamam madhyamādeva Vāg-devī sarvadehīnām/

māṅgalyārtham tadamśah syādārambhe caukṣāśādavah//

— AB on NŚ, 28. 64-65.

87 Ṣaṭsu rāgeṣu mukhya iti śāḍavah — Bṛ., Vṛtti, 318; also pūrvaraṅge

pracuraprayogātvādāsya śuddhāśāḍavasyādau nirdeśah, l.c.

88 NŚ, 32. 428-29.

89 Bṛ., Vṛtti on 322. p. 87. Madhyamagrāma, ṣadja (grāma), sādhā-rita, paiñcama, kaiśika, and śāḍava, the very six grāma rāgas mentioned by Bharata have been enumerated here. However, a seventh

śuddha grāma rāga, viz. kaiśika madhyama has also been mentioned here. It may be noted that the GOS edition of the NŚ has a variant reading kaiśika-madhyama instead of paiñcama for the avamarśa sandhi. However, Abhinava, commenting on the above verse

gives paiñcama for avamarśa sandhi, as do the Vṛttikāra and Kalli-nātha.

90 Nanvayan viniyogaviśeṣah kasmāllabhya te?

Bharata-vacanādeva : yadāha Bharatah—

mukhe tu madhyamagrāmah etc. Kalā on SR, 2. 2. 21-22. See also

Kalā on SR, 2. 2. 30-32.

91 Tathā cāha Bharatah—

pūrvaraṅge tu śuddhā syādbhinnā prastāvanāśrayā etc. Quoted in

Kalā on SR, 2. 2. 30.

92 Vṛtti on Bṛ. p. 104.

93 NŚ, 31. 358.

94 AB on NŚ, 33. 1.

95 AB on NŚ, 28. 35.

96 AB on NŚ, 33. 1.

97 AB on NŚ, 29. 8.

98 AB on NŚ, 33. 1.

99 AB on NŚ, 28. 77.

100 Ibid.

101 AB on NŚ, 23. 1.

102 Dattilam, 38-39.

103 AB on NŚ, 28. 34.

104 Ibid.

105 Yaccoktāṁ kūṭatānāḥ kimiti noktā iti, tatra kūṭatvam tāvanna kiñcit-prayoktrsukhārthattaṁ, tesāmapi samānam… Yaccoktāṁ gaṇanā na

Theatrical Music : Dhruvā-gāna 253

kṛteti tatrānantyātkā gaṇanā, i.c.

106 Syādetat-tena kim prayojanamiti ? tanna yastadapi samyakprayok-

tari sati śroṭṛṇām tu sukhajanakameva, l.c.

107 NŚ, 32. 1-2; also AB on NŚ, l.c.

108 AB on NŚ. 32. 3.

109 AB on NŚ, 33. 1.

110 NŚ, 32. 1. Cf. kāmsyatalādikam ghanam, Amarakośa 1. 7. 4.

111 AB on NŚ, 28. 2.

112 Tatra hanyata iti ghanoh kaṭhinataikarūpah tata iva namanonnamanaśaithilyādiyogubhavādakṣaravaicitryam cānuruddhya, mānāmātre-

nopayogikamsālikādirucvate—AB on NŚ, 31. 1.

113 See Lath, A Study of Dattilam, pp. 103-04; also appendix, pp. 451-52

114 NŚ, 31. 14; also ityatra chandovṛttarūpam samsthānam. AB on NŚ, 32. 14.

115 AB on NŚ, 32. 16.

116 Dhruvā tu rasādyanuguno yo gīyamānāsya vṛttasyārthastatrānuguno yaḥ prādhānyāt pātadināmanyatamah tadaucityenānepi pravartante.

Yathā rathagatyaucitryād drutarūpe pāte tadnusārino varṇavarṇāṅgā-

dayah. Karuṇarasocite varṇāṅge tadanaguṇā guruplutādirūpeṇa pātā-

dayah. AB on NŚ, 32. 8.

117 NŚ, 32. 27. also Kintvanyathā tasyā gāne prādhānyamanyathā ca gāndharve Tatra hi svaratalau pradhānam. Tau cānādhārau na śak-

yau prayoktum. AB on NŚ, 32. 27-28.

118 Cf. also Abhinava’s quoting pada as being analogous to a wall mural. Just as the wall is the basis on which the mural is painted,

so is the pada the basis on which the dhruvā is structured—anyepi kudyatta (tra) drśyāntena tena dhruvānāmādhārah padamiti paryā-

yāt tadvidyate yasyām vṛttajātau sa dhruveti.” AB on NŚ, 32. 8.

119 AB on NŚ, 29. 29.

120 NŚ, 29. 26-27.

121 AB on NŚ, 29. 27.

122 NŚ, 29. 49.

123 AB on NŚ, 32. 29.

124 AB on NŚ, 32. 30.

125 Gāyikānām bahutve hetum darśayati prāyeṇa ta(tu) sya(sva) bhāvāt striṇām gānam nṛṇām ca samvidhiriti, AB on NŚ, 33. 5.

126 AB on NŚ, 33. 1.

Chapter 10

Rhythm and Time (Tāla)

The various tāla structures of gāndharva were constitued by basically eight1 types of beats, four unsounded and the other four sounded ones. The former consisted of āvāpa, niṣkrāma, vikṣepa and praveśa; the latter were samyā, tāla, dhruvā and sannipāta. In gāndharva these beats were denoted by some typical gestures of hand and palms and one could not deviate from the prescribed movements. Thus these gestures seen to have had some ritualistic significance.2

Āvāpa was the folding of fingers with palm facing upwards (uttānāngulasaṅkocca). Niṣkrāma was the adhogata palm with fingers extended (prasāraṇāt). Casting of this hand to the right was vikṣepa. Drawing in of the fingers stretched during vikṣepa was praveśa.3 Of the sounded beats, or pātas as they are termed, samyā was the beat sounded with the right hand. tāla with the left hand and sannipāta4 with both hands. Dhruvā has been described by Śārṅgadeva as a movement of the hand after snapping the fingers.5–7

Bharata speaks of three tempos (layas), druta or fast, madhya or middling and vilambita or slow.8 These corresponded to the 3 mārga, citra, vṛtta and dakṣiṇa respectively. The citra mārga (druta laya) tāla was rendered as a one kalā unit. In the vṛtta mārga or madhya laya, it was twice as much i.e. it was dvikalā, and the dakṣiṇa mārga was 4 times the citra mārga and the mode of tāla was catuṣkalā or a 4 kalā unit.9 The ekakalā unit was also known as the yathākṣara and was the basic mode.

The various tāla structures of gāndharva were classified into two basic groups, viz., the tryasra (i.e. those structured on triple grouping) and caturaśra (those structured on a duple arrangement.)10 The 2 formula names for the caturaśra and tryasra tālas were caccatpuṭa and cācapuṭa.11 These names do not have any significance in themselves, but when seperate split up into single, syllables of guru, laghu and pluta it gives the basic pattern of beats of the tryasra and caturaśra tālas in the ekakalā tempo. In Sanskrit prosody metre is measured in terms of mātrās (i.e. the time taken to utter a short vowel).

A laghu is a syllable consisting of one mātrā, guru consists of two mātrās and pluta three. A guru equal to 2 mātrās was equal to 1 kalā, a laghu half a kalā, and pluta one and a half kalās.12 Cācapuṭaḥ13 was

broken up thus :

cā ca pu taḥ

S I I S

(guru) (laghu) (laghu) (guru)

1 kalā ½ kalā ½ kalā 1 kalā =3 kalās i.e. basically an odd number tāla structure.

Caccatputah14

cac cat pu taḥ

S S I S

(pluta)

1 kalā 1 kalā ½ kalā 1½ kalā =4 kalās, i.e. basically an even number tāla structure.

Bharata has given three basic patterns of beat arrangements for the ekakalā caccatapuṭa and cācapuṭa structures. These were thus :15

(1) sannipāta, śamyā, tāla, śamyā.

(2) śamyā, tāla, śamyā, tāla.

(3) tāla, śamyā, tāla, śamyā.

He terms the first option as a śuddha one or the strong one. The second formation, he says, was used in the āsāritas and the third in the pānikā.17

Ṣaṭpitāputrakah : This was yet another tāla and was a form of the tryasra; but while the Cācapuṭah had only 3 kalās in the ekakalā mode, this tāla-structure had 6 kalās. Bharata says that this tāla, was also called pañcapāṇi.18 Sārṅgadeva gives 3 names for it utara, pañcapāṇi and ṣaṭpitāputrakah.19 The syllabic arrangement of the name ṣaṭpitāputrakah20 denoted the number of kalās.

ṣaṭ - pi - tā - put - ra - kaḥ

pluta - laghu - guru - guru - laghu - pluta =6 kalās

S - I - S - S - I - S =16 mātrās.

Bharata has also given the names of the specific beats and arranges them syllabically thus :21

ṣaṭ pi tā put ra kaḥ

sam tā śa tā śa tā.

Two more tāla structures of the tryasra category and in the eka-kalā mode have been described by Bharata. These were Sampakveṣṭakah and udghaṭṭaḥ.

Sampakveṣṭakah was to have five gurus, but Bharata decreed the first and last to be pluta, which would then total to 6 kalās. Bharata says that the beat pattern was to be the same as ṣaṭpitāputrakah but that thus was to begin with tāla.22 Abhinava says that the initial sannipāta23 of beat was to be left out. Thus sampakveṣṭakah would be thus—

256 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

S S S S S

tā śa tā śā tā

Udghaṭṭah had 3 gurus—niṣkrāma, thereafter 2 śamyās24

Thus— S S S

ni śa śa

Thus 5 tāla structures of either the tryasra or caturasra type have been enumerated by Bharata.25 Apart from these he says that there are also tāla structures consisting of 5, 7, 9 or 11 kalās, but these were not within the fold of gāndharva.26

In the dvikalā mode two kalās made a single unit and four kalās in the catuṣkalā mode. These two kalā and four kalā units were termed pādabhāgas. Four such pādabhāgas constituted what was termed a mātrā. (This, however, was very different from the metric mātrā which equalled a nimeṣa).27

Dvikalā mode

Caccatpuṭah—28

S S S S S S S S

ni śa ni tā, śa pra, ni saṁ

Cācapuṭah—29

S S S S S S S S

ni śa, tā śa, ni saṁ.

Ṣaṭpitāputrakah30

S S S S S S S S S S S S

ni pra, tā śa, ni tā, ni śa, tā pra, ni saṁ

Catuṣkalā mode31

The details of the catuṣkalā mode have been taken from SR, since Bharata has not discribed it.

Caccatpuṭah

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

ā, ni vi śa, ā ni vi tā, ā śa vi pra, ā ni vi saṁ

Cācapuṭah

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

ā ni vi śa, ā tā vi śa, ā ni vi saṁ

Ṣaṭpitāputrakah

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

ā ni vi pra, ā tā vi śa, ā ni vi tā ā ni vi śa

S S S S

ā tā vi pra ā ni vi saṁ

Bharata has listed 21 elements to be dealt with under the topic of tāla.32 These are :

1. dhruvā

2. āvāpa

3. niṣkrāma

4. vikṣepa

5. praveśana

6. śamyā

7. tāla

8. sannipāta

9. parivarta

Rhythm and Time (Tāla) 257

10. vastu 14. vidāri 18. avayava

11. mātrā 15. yati 19. mārga

12. prakarana 16. laya 20. pādamārga

13. anga 17. gīti 21. pāṇi

Of these the first 8 as also mātrā, laya, mārga and pādamārga have already been taken up.

Parivarta—Bharata does not specifically define parivarta, but he mentions the term at certain places in the sense of repetition.

Vastu—Though the term vastu is not explained by Bharata, he has used it prolifically. A vastu was composed of mātrās.

Prakarana—This was the general name for the 7 gītakas, also called saptarūpa. They were major tāla-structures of gāndharva.

Vidāri—Bharata defines vidāri as the consummation of a pada or varna.34 Abhinava terms vidāri as gītakhanda35 i.e. a musical segment.36 Vidāri divided the entire melodic structure into segments, and the division seems to have been made on the basis of tāla.

Anga—Abhinava gives a two-fold meaning of anga as tālānga and varnānga.37 The gītakas or the major tāla structures were formed with a variety of tāla constituents. These are termed anga (i.e., tālānga) by Abhinava. Bharata describes 3 angas viz., vivadha, ekaka and vṛtta. Bharata says that these were formed within the vastus and avayavas (limbs) of the gītakas.38

Ekaka—Bharata says that ekaka was based on a single vidāri.39

Vivadha—Vivadha consisted of 2 vidāris. The G.O.S. edition of the NŚ, apart from this, does not give details about this anga. The Asiatic Society edition of the NŚ mentions 3 classes of vivadhas viz. samudga, ardhasamudga and vivṛtta.40

Vṛtta—This was two-fold : pravṛtta and avagādha.41 Avagādha was formed with āroha and pravṛtta with avaroha.42 Bharata says that the āroha and avaroha were of 2 types—those based on nyāsa and apanyāsa and those which depended on the antaramārga. This anga had a maximum of 6 vidāris.43

Yati—This is the regulation of the speed or tempo of words of varnas i.e. syllables of both vocal and instrumental melody.44 Abhinava comments that syllables of vocal melody meant varṇas like sthāyi etc., and those relating to instrument were jhantu, kata. katha etc.45 This was regulated by three types of laya—sama (even), srotogatā, (current like) and gopucchā (cow's tail). That which had the same tempo in the beginning, middle and end was sama; srotogatā, like the river current began with a slow speed and gradually acccelerated to a fast one. Gopucchā was the reverse of srotogatā commencing as a fast laya and concluding in a slow one.46

258 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Pāṇi—The word pāṇi indicated tāla.47 Pāṇi here related to the synchronisation of tāla and the tāla-stresses of the vocal or instrumental melody. This was of three kind—samapāṇi, avapāṇi and uparipāṇi. If the laya of the tāla and that of the melody played or sung were in harmony it was termed samapāṇi, i.e. their beats synchronised with each other. If the melodic stresses preceded the tāla beats it was termed avapāṇi and if they followed the tāla beats it was termed uparipāṇi.48

Gīti—Abhinava defines gīti thus : “that purticular act of singing (gāna kriyā) which is characterised by division into yati and laya and is adorned by varṇa and alaṁkāra is gīti.”49 Again he says, “by the word gīti is understood the mutual dependence of notes and words.”50 The question arises that varṇa too was the characteristic rendering of words. So what was the difference ? Varṇa was the singing of only a word or syllable in a particular fashion. Gīti was a much larger concept and implied the singing of a whole lyric. In fact the difference of meaning is inherent in the very terms themselves—varṇa means a syllable and gīti means a lyric. Gīti involved the singing of not only varṇa, but tāla elements like yati and laya also helped to characterise it.

Four types of gīti have been mentioned by Bharata, viz. māgadhi, ardhamāgadhi, sambhāvitā and pṛthulā51 Abhinava explains the gītis thus : Māgadhi is trinivṛttipragīta. Thus in singing ‘devam Śarvam vande’ ‘devam’ is sung in the first kalā in vilambita laya, ‘devam Śarvam’ is sung in the second kalā in madhya laya and then ‘devam Śarvam vande’ in the third kalā in druta laya. When there is repetition after half of the next pada, i.e. ardhamāgadhi, some hold that as in the Sāman Veda, the repetitions disregard the breaking up of the words. For example in ‘jātavedasam’, there is repetition up to ‘ja’ and then ‘tavedasam’ is sung. Here, there is a break in the middle of the ṣadja-nāda, but others avoid the breaking into half.52 Māgadhi would be thus :

( i ) S S S S

de — vam —

( ii ) S S S S

de vam Śar vam

( iii ) S S S

devam Śarvam Van de

In ardhamāgadhi there is repetition of the next pada (i.e. ‘vam’ here) :

( i ) S S S S

de — vam —

( ii ) S S S

vam Śar vam

Rhythm and Time (Tāla) 259

(iii) S S S S

vam van de —

Here there is distortion of words as in Sāman singing. Hence Abhinava says that others sing it in a manner which avoids the splitting of words into half.53

Bharata defines sambhāvitā as that gīti which abounds in guru letters and pṛthulā as abounding in laghu letters.54 These gītis were to be used only in gāndharva, and not in gāna.55

Major Tāla-structures in Gandharva

The 3 basic tāla structures—caccapuṭah, cācapuṭah and pañcapāṇi helped in building the structure of large, elaborate and very complex tāla-forms such as vardhamānaka, 7 gītakas etc., which have no parallel in present day tāla.

Vardhamānaka—As described in the chapter on dance, vardhamānaka was associated with the tāṇḍava dance. It was the tāla form which accompanied the tāṇḍava which was performed during the pūrvarāṅga. “Āsāritānām samyogo vardhamānakamucyate”56 says Bharata, that is vardhamānaka was made up of a combination of (tāla constituents such as) āsāritas. Vardhamānaka consisted of 4 āsāritas, viz. kaniṣṭha, layāntara, madhyama and jyeṣṭha. Bharata describes their formation in detail.

Kaniṣṭha57

Śa tā Śa tā Sam

tā Śa tā Śa tā Sam

tā Śa tā Śa tā Sam

The layāntara āsārita was the same. Śārṅgadeva says that the māarga and laya were double.58 Bharata says that it was different from the kaniṣṭha āsārita in the sense that the words and the laya were different.59

Madhyama60

Śa ni tā ni Śa tā pra ni Sam

ni pra tā Śa ni tā pra ni Sam

ni pra tā Śa ni tā pra ni Sam

Jyeṣṭha

Bharata has given the detals of the beats.61

Śa. ā ni vi tā, ā ni vi Śa, ā ta vi pra, ā ni vi sam, ā ni vi pra, ā tā

vi Śa, ā ni vi tā, ā ni vi Śa, ā ta vi pra, ā ni vi sam, ā ni vi pra, ā ta

vi Śa, ā ni vi tā, ā ni vi Śa, ā tā vi pra, ā ni vi sam

Each āsārita, it may be noticed consisted of 3 units or vastus.62 Thus Bharata says that an āsārita has 3 vastus and 4 aṅgas. The 4 aṅgas63 are mukha, pratimukha, deha and samharaṇa. Mukha was formed in the upohana64 (i.e. the initial few kalās) of each āsārita. The rest

260 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

of the kalās of the first vastu were pratimukha. Now the second and

third vastu of each of the āsāritas was formed with 2 pañcapāṇis. In

the first pañcapāṇi, forming the second vastu the aṅga was deha (Abhi-

nava calls it śarīra). In the third and final vastu forming the second

pañcapāṇi was used the saṁhāraṇa.65

Since the pūrvaraṅga dancing involved the use of vardhamānaka66 it is

evident that it was not a mere tāla complex but a tāla-cum-song

structure. Corresponding to the four āsāritas were the four kaṇḍikās

viz. viśalā, saṅgatā, sunandā and sumukhī 67 The kaṇḍikās were sung

to the āsāritas and the tāla structure of the vardhamānaka was slightly

modified to suit the kaṇḍikā formation.

Āsārita

Kaṇḍikā

Kaniṣṭha (17 kalās)

consisted of only a kaṇḍikā

1st kaṇḍikā, i.e. viśalā, rendered in the first

9 kalās of the kaniṣṭha āsārita,

latter omitted,68 5 kalā upohana69

Layāntara (17 kalās)

2 kaṇḍikās70 (17 kalās) of layāntara

2nd kaṇḍikā+1st kaṇḍikā

saṅgatā+viśalā

8 kalās+9 kalās

6 kalā upohana in saṅgatā71

(33 kalās)

Madhyama (33 kalās)

3rd kaṇḍikā+2nd kaṇḍikā+1st kaṇḍikā72

sunandā+saṅgatā+viśalā

16 kalās+8 kalās+9 kalās

7 kalā upohana of sunandā73

Jyeṣṭha (65 kalās)

4 kaṇḍikās (65 kalās)74

4th kaṇḍikā+3rd kaṇḍikā+2nd kaṇḍikā-

1st sumukhī+sunandā+saṅgatā+viśalā

32 + 16 + 8 + 9

8 kalā upohana of sumukhī75

Bharata says that since the vardhamānaka increased constantly as

regards kalās (from 9 to 17 to 33 to 65), words and laya (from ekakalā

to dvikalā to catuṣkalā—though in effect the speed is decreasing), hence

it was termed so.76

Saptarūpa or the Seven Gītakas

These were large, elaborate tāla-structures formed with tāla com-

ponents such as vastu. The gītaka was a complex tāla-cum-melody

structure. Of the 3 aspects—svara, pada and tāla, the first two were

secondary and the main importance of the gītaka lay in its complex

and elaborate tāla structure.77 Bharata enumerates the 7 gītakas thus :

madraka, ullopyaka, aparāntaka, prakari, ovenaka, rovindaka and

uttara.78 These could be rendered in the ekakalā, dvikalā and catuskala modes.

Madraka— Bharata says that the gītaka named madraka was of 2 types—(i) consisting of 3 vastus, and (ii) consisting of 4 vastus.79

In the beginning there was an upohana of 2 kalās and a pratyupohana of one kalā. Bharata has described the ekakalā madraka in detail, which can be represented thus :80

S S S Śa tā tā śa Sa tā tā Śa tā śa tā Sam

Śārṅgadeva says that after 3 or 4 such vastus was a tāla constituent called the śīrṣaka. This, he says, was rendered either in ekakalā or catuskalā pañcapāṇi.81

Dvikalā madraka— Bharata does not give the details of the dvikalā or catuskalā madraka, but Śārṅgadeva does. Upohana is of 3 kalās. The dvikalā madraka had 24 kalās. There are 12 pādbhāgas or 3 mātrās. There is upohana in the first 3 kalās.82

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

1st mātrā ni pra ni pra ni pra. ni Śa S S S S S S S S S S S S

2nd mātrā ni Śa ni tā ni tā ni Śa S S S S S S S S S S S S

3rd mātrā Śa tā tā Śa tā Śa tā Sam S S S S S S S S S S S S

Again after 3 such vastus there was a śīrṣaka in yathākṣara or dvikalā uttara i.e. pañcapāṇi.83

Catuṣkalā madraka84—

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

1st mātrā ā ni vi pra ā ni vi pra ā ni vi pra ā ni vi Śa S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

2nd mātrā ā ni vi Śa ā ni vi tā ā ni vi tā ā ni vi Śa S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

3rd mātrā ā Śa vi tā ā tā vi Śa ā tā vi Śa tā ni vi sam S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

Bharata enjoins an 8 kalā upohana and pratyupohana to be of 1, 2 or 4 kalās.85

Śārṅgadeva says that at the conclusion of three such vastus there was to be a śīrṣaka and he gives four options for it. It was to be formed either in catuskalā pañcapāṇi or in ekakalā-cum-catuṣkalā poñcapāṇi, or in dvikalā-cum-catuṣkalā pañcapāṇis.86 The aṅgas ekaka and vivadha were to be formed in madraka.87

Aparāntaka— This consists of what are termed śākhā and pratiśākhā. Śākhā seems to be another name for the vastu and pratiśākhā was the same but had different words (anyapada).88 The gītaka consisted of 5, 6 or 7 vastus.89 Now there were three opinions as regards the śākhā vastu relation. The first was that 5, 6 or 7 vastus constituted

262 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

the śākhā. The pratiśākhā had the same tāla structure but different

words. This was the view upheld by Dattila and Śārṅgadeva. A se-

cond view mentioned by Śārṅgadeva was that in a particular group of

vastus, the first half constituted the śākhā and the latter half the prati-

śākhā. Thus, in a group of 7 vastus, the first three and a half would

be the śākhā and the latter three and a half the pratiśākhā. Abhinava,

however, mentions yet another view which he ascribes to Viśākila.

In a particular vastu, the first half would be śākhā and the latter half

pratiśākhā. For example, in the catuṣkalā aparāntaka of 24 kalās, the

first 12 kalās would be the śākhā and the latter 12, the pratiśākhā.

Śārṅgadeva does mention this view but ascribes it to Bharata.90

Aparāntaka—This gīta consisted of 5, 6 or 7 vastus. Abhinava

gives the structure of ekakalā madraka thus :

SS S S S S S S

Śa tā tā śa tā Sam (scribal error for Sam).91

Dvikalā Aparāntaka—Śārṅgadeva says that this has a vastu of 12

kalās, upohana consists of 1 or 2 kalās and pratyupohana (in the other

vastus) of 1 kalā.92 The dvikalā aparāntaka vastu of 12 kalās is thus93—

S S S S S S S S S S S S

ni pra ni pra ni śa ni tā tā śa tā sam

Catuṣkalā Aparāntaka—This contained 24 kalās. Bharata states

that the upohana should consist of half the vastu (vastyardham) of 2

kalās.94 The details of the catuṣkalā form are not given, so again it is

Abhinava who comes to our aid. The prastāra given by him is thus :95

S S S S S S S S S S S S

ā ni vi pra ā ni vi Śa ā ni vi tā ā ni vi pra

S S S S S S S S S S S S

ā tā vi Śa tā ní vi sam

The 4th pāḍabhāga is actually not given and is missing here. But

in another place, he points out the difference with Dattila whom he

quotes saying that the 2nd pāḍabhāga is formed with ‘ā ni vi śa’ and the

4th with ‘ā ni vi pra’.96

The one given by Śārṅgadeva, however, is quite different, and is

thus :97

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

ā ni vi pra ā ni vi pra ā ni vi Śa ā ni vi tā

S S S S S S S S S S S S

ā tā vi Śa tā ní vi sam

The 2nd, 3rd and 4th pāḍabhāgas are quite different. It seems that

these were controversial, because Abhinava too has chosen to com-

ment on the 2nd and 4th pāḍabhāgas. Śārṅgadeva, too, was probably

aware of the prevalence of another beat-structure for he comments

that some held that the 8th beat was śamyā, the 12th a tāla and the

16th a praveśa.98

Bharata states that at the end of the śākhā as well as the pratiśākhā

were the two tālikās in ekakalā pañcapāṇi.99 The śira, too, was ren-

dered in the ekakalā pañcapāṇi.100 Bharata ascribes a repetition of the

tālikās which he terms upavartana.101 After the completion of four

vastus, says Bharata, should be affected the nivṛttayoga.102 Abhinava

explains this as āvartana and says that it was formed in the pañca-

pāṇi.103 Bharata does not mention the aṅgas to be formed in the apa-

rāntaka. Dattila, however, mentions the use of vivadha and ekaka.104

Ullopyaka–Bharata describes the ekakalā mode as consisting of 2

gurus, 2 laghus and 1 guru at the end. The beats are śamyā and tāla

rendered twice and sannipāta at the end.105

S S I S S S

Śa tā Śa tā sam

Bharata does not describe the dvikalā and catuṣkalā modes and

simply says that these, can be described by the method mentioned ear-

lier but by Abhinava gives the prastāra of dvikalā thus :.106

S S S S S S S S

ni Śa ni tā Śa tā ni sam

For catuṣkalā, Abhinava simply gives the beginning ‘ā ni vi śa’ as

a clue, but does not give the entire structure. It is however given by

Śārṅgadeva thus :107

S S S S S S S S S S S S S S

ā ni vi Śa ā ni vi tā ā Śa vi tā ā ni vi sam

It seems that 3 aṅgas were formed in the mātrā108 Bharata says

that in mukha is the vivadha (aṅga) and pratimukha (consists of) vṛtta,

thus 3 aṅgas :109

After its three limbs are completed (aṅgatraye'tite), should be the

vaihāyasika :110

ni vi Śa, ni vi tā, ni Śa tā, Śa tā (Sam)111

As to the number of aṅgas to be formed in the vaihāyasika, Bha-

rata states that it must have at least one aṅga and at the most 6

aṅgas.112 In another place, he gives the maximum possible aṅgas as

12.113 Śārṅgadeva enjoins the use of ekaka in the first aṅga of the

vaihāyasika, and says that the rest were to be ekakas.114

After describing the vaihāyasika, Bharata says that this is the

śākhā.115 Abhinava explains that the śākhā here meant the vaihāya-

sika.116 Thereafter followed the pratiśākhā. This had the same beat-

structure as the former, but was rendered with different words.117

It seems that there were four ways in which this gītaka could con-

clude. It could end in the mātrā itself or in the vaihāyasika. If pro-

264 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

longed then the conclusion was done by the antāharaṇa (the penultimate conclusion) and the anta or the conclusion.118

The structure of the anta was a complex one. It had three aṅgas, each to be rendered in three different ways and various repetitions.

Abhinava notes that aṅga here did not denote varṇāṅga and was something quite different.119 The three aṅgas followed in this order :

sthita, pravṛtta and mahājanika; and each was to be rendered in 3 ways in the tryasra, caturaśra and miśra tālas.120

Bharata first mentions the yugma sthita.121 The beat-structure as given by Śārṅgadeva is thus :122

S S S S S S S S

ni Śa ni tā ni pra ni sam

Yugma Pravṛtta123

S S S S S S S S

ni śa śa tā tā śa tā sam

There was a repetition at the end of pravṛtta.124

The yugma and ayugma mahājanika had the same tāla as their yugma and ayugma sthita counterparts, but the former was also characterised by the nivṛtta tāla.125 Abhinava explains that this denoted a repetition at the end.126

Ayugma Mode or Tryasra

Sthita (ayugma)—Abhinava gives the beat-structure as thus :127 ni śa tā pra ni sam. This is the same as dvikalā cācapuṭah. except for a difference in the fourth beat (which is samyā in dvikalā cācapuṭah).

This beat structure corresponds to that given by Kallinātha and Siṁ-habhūpāla.128

Pravṛtta (ayugma)—This was to be rendered with ekakalā pañca-pāṇi and also consisted of a repetition 129

Mahājanika (ayugma)—This, as stated before, was to be like the sthita (ayugma), but with a repetition,130

Miśra—Bharata does not give the details of the third mode of anta viz. miśra.131 According to Abhinava miśra could be of various kinds formed by various permutations and combinations of the 3 aṅgas of the anta (i.e. sthita, pravṛtta and mahājanika) in their two possible modes, yugma and ayugma.132 Kallinātha gives the details of miśra.

He says that this could be formed in six ways133—

(1) yugma sthita yugma pravṛtta ayugma mahājanika

(2) ayugma ,, ayugma ,, yugma ,,

(3) yugma ,, ayugma ,, ayugma ,,

(4) ayugma ,, yugma ,, yugma ,,

(5) yugma ,, ayugma ,, yugma ,,

(6) ayugma ,, yugma ,, ayugma ,,

Añgas—As to the añgas which were to be formed in the anta, Bharata names them to be ekakas and vivadhas.134

He says that the sthita could have either one or two añgas (yugma-2, ayugma-1) so also the pravṛtta. Mahājanika had one añga. Anta-haraṇa had three añgas.135

In fact, in ullopyaka as a whole, Bharata gives a maximum of 20 and minimum of 6 añgas .136

The prakari gītaka had six mātrās and according to Bharata was rendered only in the catuṣkalā mode. It did not have any yathākṣara or dvikalā modes.137

Śārṅgadeva gives the details of the catuṣkalā :138

1st mātrā ā ni vi pra, ā ni vi pra, ā ni vi pra, ā ni vi śa

2nd mātrā ā ni vi pra, ā ni vi pra, ā ni vi pra, ā ni vi tā

3rd mātrā ā ni vi pra, ā ni vi pra, ā ni vi pra, ā ni vi śa

4th mātrā ā ni vi pra, ā ni vi pra, ā ni vi tā, ā ni vi śa

5th mātrā ā ni vi śa, ā ni vi pra, ā ni vi śa

6th mātrā ni śa ni tā, ni tā ni śa, śa tā tā śa, tā śa tā sam

The prakari consisted of either three and a half or four vastus. In the former case, the gītaka was rendered as half a vastu in the beginning and then the complete three vastus.139

In that half vastu was rendered the upohana. In case of four vastus, the first vastu formed the upohana.140

The gītaka concluded with what has been termed samharaṇa by Bharata. This had the same beat structure as the kaniṣṭha āsārita.141

śa tā śa tā sam, tā śa tā śa, tā sam, tā śa tā śa tā sam

Since there are 17 beats here, Śārṅgadeva says that the last (i.e. sannipāta) was.to dropped.142

According to Abhinava, the samharaṇas could be formed in place of the sixth mātrā of the vastu which was formed with the dvikalā madraka, Alternately, it could also be formed after the completion of the sixth mātrā of the vastu, and was like a seventh mātrā outside the vastu.143

Bharata states that the añgas to be formed in the prakari were the vivadha and ekaka.144

Abhinava says that the ekaka was formed in the first three mātrās of the vastu and vivadha in the last three.145

Oveṇaka—When fully formed oveṇaka consisted of twelve limbs viz. pāda, sandhi, māṣaghāta, vajra, sampiṣṭaka, caturaśra, upavartana, upapāta (also avapāta), two praveṇis, samharaṇa and anta.146

It could also consist of only seven limbs in which case sampiṣṭaka, upapāta, two praveṇis and upavartana were omitted.147

Oveṇaka—Oveṇaka is described as having two pādas. Both had the same structure as the aparāntaka vastu, i.e. with six pādabhāgas or twenty-four kalās. Bharata says that one pāda was like the śākhā of the aparāntaka and the second like its pratiṣākhā.148

266 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Abhinava, śākhā was the same thing as vastu. We also know that both śākhā and pratiśākhā had the same beat-structure, and were the same; the only difference was that they were rendered with different words.

Thereafter was formed the śīrṣaka. Bharata calls it anitya.149 Abhinava explains this as optional.150 Thereafter followed the māṣaghāta.151 Abhinava says that it was of primary importance in this gītaka.152 According to Śārṅgadeva it was to be formed with dvikalā uttaratāla (i.e. pañcapāṇi),153 but it was slightly different. Śārṅgadeva says that the second, third and fourth (kalās, the dvikalā pañcapāṇi i.e. pra, tā, śa) were to be substituted by śa ni tā.154 The beat-structure would be thus :155

ni śa ni tā, ni tā ni śa, tā pra ni saṁ

śa ni tā.154 The beat-structure would be thus :155

ni śa ni tā, ni tā ni śa, tā pra ni saṁ

Bharata prescribes vivadha aṅga in the māṣaghāta.156 The māṣaghāta had an upavartana, which Bharata terms optional.157 Abhinava says that it was rendered in ekakalā pañcapāṇi.158 Bharata places the upavartana in the second half of the māṣaghāta.159 According to Abhinava,160 this was interpreted in two ways : (i) upavartana was rendered with the same words as māṣaghāta but in double the speed, (i.e. in 6 kalās) and could be either before or after the māṣaghāta; (ii) the last 6 kalās of the māṣaghāta itself were enjoined as being formed with the pañcapāṇi, in case māṣaghāta occurred.

After upavartana came the sandhi which was formed with yathāk-ṣara pañcapāṇi.161

Sandhi was followed by the caturaśraka. As the name indicates caturaśraka was rendered in yugma tāla. Its structure and beat were the same as yugma pravṛtta (see under ullopyaka). Bharata enjoins the use of vivadha aṅga with the caturaśraka.162 Vajra, which had the same tāla structure as sandhi, followed the caturaśraka.163 Abhinava says that this was like a vajralepa, re-establishing the tryasra tāla which had been disturbed by the caturaśraka.164

Next was the sampiṣṭaka. Bharata gives the beats in detail. “After forming niṣkrāma as the first (beat), 3 samyās should be used, and then 3 tālas, thereafter samyā and tāla, (again) samyā and tāla and the final (beat) is sannipāta.”165 The beat-structure of the sampiṣṭaka would be thus : ni śa śa śa tā tā tā śa tā śa tā śa tā sam. Bharata states that only when the ovenaka was a saptāṅga one (seven-limbed), did it have 12 kalās. The dvādaśāṅga (twelve-limbed ovenaka) contained only 10, it contained twelve. In the beginning of 10 kalā structure, there were only 2 samyās and 2 tālas (instead of 3 samyās and 3 tālas). Thus one samyā and one tāla were dropped to obtain a 10 kalā structure.166

There seems to be an upavartana or repetition again which had the

same structure as the vajra, says Bharata.167 Abhinava explains that the

words of the sampisṭaka only were rendered in ekakalā pañcapāni.168

Next followed the two praveṇis, which had the aṅgas, vivadha and

vṛtta.169 Bharata states that the praveṇi could be formed either with

yathākṣara pañcapāni or in its dvikalā or miśra.170 Abhinava explains

this to mean that the first praveṇi was in yathākṣara pañcapāni and the

second in dvikalā.171 Miśra could mean a combination of ekakalā and

dvikalā caccapuṭah.172 Śārṅgadeva enumerates four options, viz. (i) both

(veṇi) and praveṇi could be rendered in yathākṣara pañcapāni; (ii) both

could be rendered in dvikalā pañcapāni; (iii) the first (veṇi) could be

rendered in yathākṣara caccapuṭah and the second (praveṇi) in dvikalā

caccapuṭah, and (iv) veṇi could be in yathākṣaraa pañcapāni and praveṇi

in dvikalā. Sometimes at the end of the two praveṇis there was an upa-

vartana.173 This was in yathākṣara pañcapāni174 and was optional,

says Abhinava.175

After praveṇis came the avapāta. Bharata says that the beat struc-

ture consisted of the beats in the second pāda.176 Abhinava here says

that avapāta meant a l2 kalā structure and not 24 kalā one, like the

oveṇaka pāda. He interprets Bharata’s phrase ‘dvitīyapāda’ as ‘dvitīyam

pādasya’. He also gives an alternative interpretation taking dvitīya

to denote dvikalā of the pañcapāni, in fact.177

Antaharana came just before the finale and was to be rendered as

the vajra i.e., in ekakalā pañcapāni.178 About the anta, Śāṅgadeva says

that in the seven-limbed oveṇaka it was of two types—in the yugma

and ayugma modes. In the twelve-limbed oveṇaka it was of 3 types—

yugma, ayugma and miśra.179

Rovindaka—Rovindaka consisted of 2 pādas, formed with six (pāri-

bhāṣikā) mātrās each, in which there were 19 sounded beats or patas.180

Bharata does not give the complete prastāra, but only clues to the fifth

and sixth mātrās. However, Śārṅgadeva181 gives the structure of the

pāda :

1st mātrā ā ni vi pra ā ni vi tā ā ni vi pra ā ni vi śa

2nd mātrā ā ni vi pra ā ni vi tā ā ni vi pra ā ni vi śa

3rd mātrā ā ni vi tā ā ni vi pra ā ni vi śā

4th mātrā ā ni vi tā ā ni vi pra ā ni vi śā

5th mātrā ā ni vi tā ā ni vi pra ā tā vi śā

6th mātrā ā śa vi tā ā tā vi śā ā tā vi śā tā ni vi saṃ

The first eight kalās formed the upohana and there was a two kalā

pratyupohana.182

The second pāda had the same varṇa upohana as the first one.183

It was the same except that it was sung to different words. It seems

that vivadha and ekaka were formed in the pādas.184

268 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Prastara was based upon varṇa. Bharata says that in this there was varṇānukarṣaṇa (or dragging of varṇas) executed within 8 kalās.185

According to Abhinava, the varṇa formed in the last 8 kalās of the first pāda was repeated in the first 8 kalās in the second pāda, which also formed in upohana.186

Prasvara was also formed in the śarīra.187 This was of twelve kalās in dvikalā pañcapāni. It had a six kalā upadāna and either vivadha or vrtta aṅga.188

Finally after śarīra followed the śīrṣaka, with which this gītaka concluded. This was rendered in yathākṣara pañcapāni.189 Ekaka and pravṛtta are the two aṅgas formed in the śīrṣaka.190 The caṭuṣkalā mātrā of the uttara was to be formed in the ullopaka. The mukha and pratimukha were also to be formed in the uttara.191

Next followed the śākhā which was to be rendered with at least six and at most with twelve aṅgas. Bharata says that the śākhā here should be the same as rovindaka. but without employing the syllable a.192 Rovindaka does not seem to contain any śākhā, but the syllable was a typical feature of one of its elements termed the śarīra.193

It seems that the śākhā in uttara was to be formed like the śarīra in rovindaka, but without the syllable a.194 Śākhā was to be rendered in dvikalā pañcapāni.195 The pratiśākhā was the same as śākhā, but rendered with different words.196

Bharata next mentions the śīrṣaka.197 Abhinava gives two views as to its formation—2 śīrṣakas—one at the end of the śākhā and the other at the end of the pratiśākhā. Another view was that there was only one śīrṣaka.198

Bharata terms the anta a fixed one – ‘niyato bhavet’.199 Abhinava says that according to Bharata it is fixed, but others like Dattila200 think that it is aniyata (not fixed). Sārṅgadeva says that anta could be rendered either as yugma, ayugma or miśra, or it could even be omitted.201

The saptarūpa, as already mentioned, was a tāla-cum-song structure. The tāla aspect has already been dealt with. As regards pāda, the saptarūpa had a two-fold classification—kulaka and chedyaka.202

In kulaka the pādas conveyed only a single meaning (ekārtham). Chedyaka is said to be contrary to this—obviously the group of pādas here did not convey a single meaning, but were split up to convey more than one meaning, the different parts not being mutually related to each other.203

Both kulaka and chedyaka were sub-divided into 3 types204—niryukta, pādaniryukta and aniryukta.

Bharata states that niryukta was to be formed with bahirgītas, aṅgas and śākhās.205

words.206 According to Abhinava bahirgīta here referred to upohana and pratyupohana.207 Upohana meant the melodic prelude to a song.208

Upohana consisted not of meaningful words but instead some typical (śuṣkākṣarasamanvitam) typical nonsensical syllables like jhantum, ja-gatiya were employed in it. They could be rendered both in vocal and instrumental music.209

Upohana was used in the first vastu. Pratyupohana was used in vastus other than the first.210 Aṅga and śākhā have been explained earlier.

Aniryukta was characterised by the absence of bahirgīta and aṅgas.211 Abhinava explains that aniryukta consisted of only vastus and śākhās and was devoid of upohanas and aṅgas.212

This, in effect, would mean that aniryukta was devoid of pāda and consisted of only the tāla structure.

The absence of bahirgītas was the characteristic feature of the pādaniryukta gītaka.213 Abhinava says that the pādaniryukta did not contain the upohana.

This, then, would mean that the pādaniryukta gītaka consisted of only meaningful words214 (since the upohana was to consist of only meaningless words). Such a meaning is in fact suggested by its very name pādaniryukta.

Footnotes

1 Dattilam enumerates only 7, not mentioning dhruvā—Dattilam, 114.

2 NŚ, 31. 30–31

3 Ibid., 31. 32–34.

4 Ibid., 31. 37.

5–7 Dhruvo hastasya pātaḥ syācchoṭikikā śabdapūrvakaḥ—SR, (Adyar, ed ), 5.9.

8 NŚ 31.5

9 Ibid., 31. 3–4.

10 Ibid., 31. 7.

11 Ibid., 31. 8.

12 Kalāṁ aurṇi yuñjīta laghunyardha-kalāṁ tathā/plute sārdha-kalāmevaṁ bhava ekālo vidhiḥ//—Dattilam, 124–25.

13 NŚ, 31. 9.

14 Ibid., 31. 10. The last mātrā, though a guru here, has been ordained pluta by Bharata to get one more mātrā so that it has 8 mātrās and conforms to a tryasra structure. Abbreviations for these or for the names of the mātrās have not been given by Bharata, but were in use later.

They have been used here for the sake of convenience (abbreviations) : āvāpa=ā; niṣkrāma=ni; vikṣepa=vi; praveśa=pra; śamyā=ś; tāla=tā; sannipāta=saṁ.

15 Ibid., 31. 11–13.

16 Ibid., 31.11; also 31.15.

17 Ibid., 31. 13-14.

18 Ibid., 31.17.

19 SR. 5. 23; also Dattilam, 127.

20 NŚ, 31. 17-19. The first and last guru have been ordained as pluta by Bharata.

21 Ibid., 31. 62-63; also ibid., 31.20.

22 Ibid., 31.21.

23 Gurupañcagrahaṇāt pañcapānipadam sannipātabhedeneti tāvatā mātrābhidhāne asannipāta-niyamo labdhah tena tā sam் tā sam் tā tāla-syaiva bhedaḥ—AB, l.c.; sam here is obviously a scribal error for śa.

24 NŚ, 31. 22.

25 Ibid., 31. 33.

26 Ibid., 31. 24-25.

27 Ibid., 31. 52. NŚ, 28. 19 has the term pādamārga. Dattila terms this mātrā as mātrā by paribhāṣā (Dattilam, 931), possibly to distinguish it from other types of mātrā. For further detail see Lath, A Study of Dattilam, pp. 330ff.

28 NŚ, 31. 41-43; also SR, 5. 30.

29 NŚ, 31. 44-46; SR, 5. 31.

30 NŚ, 31. 47-50; SR, l.c.

31 SR 5. 32.

32 NŚ, 28. 18-20.

33 Cf. Dattilam, 138.

34 NŚ, 32. 17.

35 Vidārī is defined as the gīta khanda i.e. a sub-section of a melody. As ‘S’ elucidates, “vidārī is that which divides either the tonal content or the verbal content of a melody and is thereby two-fold, viz. gīta vidārī, i.e. a melodic divisor or a pāda vidārī i.e. a verbal divisor (SR, 1, p. 183). R.K. Shringy and Premlata Sharma, Sangītaratnākara of Śārṅgadeva, p. 283, fn. 2

36 AB ad NŚ, l.c.

37 AB on NŚ, 31. 192.

38 NŚ, 31. 190-91.

39 NŚ, 31. 192. Verse 217 of Ch. 31 of the Asiatic Society ed. of the NŚ says that the vivadha, ekaka and vṛtta are to end in the nyāsa, apanyāsa and aṃśa. Cf. Dattilam, 144; SR, 5. 77.

40 NŚ, 31. 152.

41 NŚ (Asiatic Society ed.) 31. 212. Dattila characterises the three classes of vivadha as sama, madhyama and viṣama—Dattilam, 148-49. These related to the resemblance (as regards svara, varṇa and pāda) between the two vidārī divisions. Sama and madhyama correspon-

Rhythm and Time (Tāla) 271

ded to complete and partial resemblance and the third to dissimilarity—Lath, M., A Study of Dattilam, pp. 358-59.

42 NŚ, 31. 195.

43 Ibid., 31. 196-97; also AB ad NŚ, l.c. See also NŚ, 31. 192.

44 Ibid., 31. 372.

45 Gītavarṇānāṃ sthāyyādīnāṃ vādye cakṣurāṇāṃ jhaṅṭukāṭakathādīnāṃ sambandhinām—AB, p. 284.

46 L.c.

47 L.c. Abhinava quotes Dattila equating pāṇi with tāla. Also Kalānidhi on SR, 5. 28. Śārṅgadeva and later theorists speak of the three grahas viz., sama, atīta and anāgata in the same sense as the three pāṇis—SR, 5. 50.

48 NŚ, 31. 373-75. AB, pp. 284-25.

49 Tatra yatikalāvibhāgena varṇālamkārāniyamena layagānakriyā-viśeṣo gītiriti sāmānyalakṣaṇam—AB, Ch. 29, p. 93. Cf. SR, 1. 8. 14, where Śārṅgadeva follows closely Abhinava’s definition of gīti. See also Premlata Sharma’s detailed discussion of gīti—Sangīta-ratnākara of Śārṅgadeva, pp. 376-80.

50 Gītiśabdena svarāṇāṃ padānāṃ ca yaḥ parasparamaśrayībhāvah sā pṛthag gītiḥ—AB, p. 92.

51 NŚ, 29. 46.

52 AB, p. 23.

53 Cf. SR, 1.8.18. Śārṅgadeva seems to be echoing Abhinava’s words. He gives two forms of the ardha-māgadhi gīti.

54 NŚ, 29. 47.

55 Ibid., 29. 48.

56 NŚ, 31. 69.

57 Ibid., 31. 55-59; also SR, 5. 183.

58 SR, 5. 184.

59 NŚ, 31. 96; also AB on NŚ, 31. 96.

60 Ibid., 31. 97; Abhinava explains that there were to be 3 khaṇḍas or parts each constituted by dvikalā pañcapānī; only in the first part, the first 3 kalās (i.e. ni, pra, tā) were to be left out—dvikalāpañcapānitrayadādyakalātrayamapāsya trayaḥ khaṇḍaḥ karaṇīyaḥ.

61 NŚ, 31. 175-85.

62 Ibid., 31. 188.

63 Ibid., 31. 88.

64 Ibid., 31. 89; upohana was the melodic prelude preceding a song and was to be rendered in the initial kalās of the first vastu. Conventional sets of syllables without any meaning were to be used in the upohana.

65 Prathamam pañcapānestu śarīrasaṃjñayā prādhānyābhinayabhūyast-

vam் sarvathaiva tanmayībhāvāt, dvitīye tu yathā pāṇau samharanarūpatvam—AB on NŚ, 31. 87-89.

66 The āsārita-cum-kanḍikā relationship has been shown by a chart.

The similarity with the āsārita-cum-piṇḍibandha chart (Ch. 6) may be noticed. Bharata, too, says that this (āsārita-kanḍikā structure) was used for piṇḍibandha dancing—NŚ, 31. 87.

67 NŚ, 31. 131-32.

68 In the first kanḍikā the kanisṭha āsārita was to be used but, it seems, not in its entirety.

Prathamām kanḍikām kṛtvā bālatālāprayojitam/antimārdhakalāhinām kuryadevam kanisṭhakam// —NŚ, 31. 81.

i.e., the first kanḍikā is to be formed by using the bāla-tāla and depleting the latter half of the kanisṭha āsārita. Now the kanisṭha āsārita had 17 kalās. How many kalās were to be in the latter half and how many did the bāla-tāla consist of? Bharata later answers the question—bālam navakālàm jñeyam (ibid., 31.155; also ibid. 31. 99) i.e., bāla implies 9 kalās. Thus only 9 kalās of the kanisṭha āsārita were to be taken and the latter omitted.

69 NŚ, 31. 132; also NŚ, 31. 140.

70 Ibid., 31. 82; AB on NŚ 31. 82.

71 NŚ, 31. 133.

72 Ibid., 31. 85. AB on NŚ, 31. 85.

73 NŚ, 31. 133.

74 Ibid., 31. 86. AB on NŚ, 31. 86.

75 NŚ, 31. 133.

76 Ibid., 31. 156.

77 Gītakādau tālabhāgasyaiwa prādhānyam — AB, p. 54 on NŚ, 28. 95-97. Sarveṣām gītānām tālasyaiwa hi mukhyatā, BB, 8. 2; also SR, 5. 53.

78 NŚ 31. 200-01.

79 Dattila also adds that it was formed with 3 mātrās (pāribhās̤ikī) trimātram vastu—Dattilam 161. NŚ. 31. 201.

80 NŚ, 31. 230-34. Abhinava (AB, ibid.) and following him Śārṅga-deva (SR, 5. 77) have the same prastāra except that the seventh beat is a śamyā (Bharata ordains that the sixth and seventh beats should be tāla).

81 SR, 5. 77. Bharata enjoins that the yathākṣara as also the catuṣ-kalā madraka were to have the śīrṣaka in catuṣkalā pañcapāṇi, but the dvikalā madraka was to have the śīrṣaka in dvikalā pañcapāṇi (NŚ, 31. 238-39). Abhinava gives this as well as another mode too viz. ekakalā, dvikalā catuṣkalā madraka were to have ekakalā, dvi-kalā, catuṣkalā pañcapāṇi, śīrṣakas AB on NŚ, 31. 239. Śārṅgadeva

Rhythm and Time (Tāla) 273

seems to follow Bharata’s injunction in part and since his exposition is a coherent one, we have followed his description.

82 SR, 5. 78-79.

83 L.c.

84 NŚ, 31. 236; SR, 5.87. Cf. Dattilam, 161-167; also S. Raj., 2. 4, 1. 98-100.

85 NŚ, 31. 237-38.

86 SR, 5. 87.

87 NŚ, 31. 193.

88 NŚ, 31. 247; also AB on NŚ, 31. 252; SR, 5. 89.

89 NŚ, 31. 202; also AB, ibid.

90 AB ad NŚ. 31. 252. SR, 5. 89-91.

91 AB ad NŚ, 31. 243; SR, 5. 95.

92 SR, 5. 95-97.

93 Ibid., 5. 99.

94 NŚ, 31. 251; also AB, ibid.

95 AB ad NŚ, 31. 245.

96 AB ad NŚ, 31. 251. Cf. Dattilam, 172-73.

97 SR, 5. 103-04.

98 L.c.

99 NŚ, 31. 249-50.

100 Ibid., 31. 248. Śārṅgadeva puts the tālikā and the śira (he calls it śīrṣaka) after each śākhā and pratiśākhā in all 3 mārgas—ekakalā, dvikalā, catuṣkalā.

101 NŚ, 31. 250.

102 NŚ, 31. 248.

103 AB, ibid.

104 Dattilam, 179.

105 NŚ, 31. 252; also SR, 5. 128.

106 AB ad NŚ, 31. 254; also SR, 5. 129.

107 SR, 5. 130.

108 NŚ, 31. 254; also NŚ. 31. 223.

109 Ibid., 31. 225. AB ad NŚ, 31. 225.

110 NŚ, 31. 254.

111 AB ad NŚ, 31. 256-57. Saṁ has to be jotted down which must have been a scribal lapse; see SR, 5. 130-31.

112 NŚ. 31, 223.

113 Ibid., 31. 255.

114 SR, 5. 114.

115 NŚ, 31. 257.

116 AB ad NŚ, 31. 256-57.

117 NŚ, 31. 257.

118 Ibid., 31. 258-59; AB ad NŚ, 31. 259; also SR, 5. 133.

119 Atra yat pravṛttamuktam na tu varṇāṅgarūpam—AB on NŚ, 31. 265.

120 NŚ, 31. 260.

121 NŚ, 31. 261.

122 SR, chart at the end of 5. 133 (on p. 79).

123 L.c. Abhinava gives the some prastāra, except for the third beat which he erroneously terms a tāla. AB ad NŚ, 31. 263.

124 NŚ, 31. 264.

125 L.c.

126 NŚ, 31. 264.

127 AB ad NŚ, 31. 268.

128 Ayugmasthitam yathā—ṣadgurūn likhitvā tadadho niṣatā praniṣān likhet—Kalānidhi, p. 82. Tatra sthite caturthak praveśaḥ anyat dvikalācapaṭavat.—Saṅgītasudhākara on SR, 5. 131-33.

129 NŚ, 31. 269; AB ad NŚ, 31. 269.

130 NŚ, 31. 270; AB ad NŚ, 31. 270.

131 NŚ, 31. 271.

132 Ibid., 31. 271.

133 Kalānidhi, p. 82.

134 NŚ, 31. 271.

135 Ibid., 31. 272-73.

136 Ibid., 31. 221.

137 Ibid, 31. 275-76.

138 SR, 5. 142.

139 NŚ, 31. 280.

140 AB ad NŚ, 31. 280; SR. 5. 134-36.

141 NŚ, 31. 281.

142 SR, 5. 142.

143 Eṣā ca mātrā dvaikalā-madrakatāyāḥ ṣaṣṭhamātrāsthāne kāryeti kecit. Anye tvayastuni saptamayaivayam mātreti manyante.—AB on NŚ, 31. 281; also SR, 5. 137-38.

144 NŚ, 31. 193.

145 Vivadhaikake tiṣrṣu mātrāsu vibhajyate—AB ad NŚ, 31. 193.

146 NŚ, 31. 207-10.

147 Ibid., 31. 210.

148 Ibid., 31. 281-82.

149 Ibid., 31. 282.

150 AB, ibid., 31. 282.

151 Māṣaghātā evātra pradhānam, AB ad NŚ, 31. 207.

152 NŚ, 31. 283.

153 SR, 5. 149.

154 Ibid., 5. 161; also, dvitīyātrtīyācaturthaṅgapūrvam pratāṣa uktah iha

śanitā kartavyā iti—Kalānidhi on SR, 5. 161-62.

155 Kalānidhi, 0.95.

156 NŚ, 31. 285.

157 L.c.

158 Tatra caikakalāḥ pañcapañitālaḥ—AB on NŚ, 31. 286.

159 NŚ, 31. 285.

160 AB ad NŚ, 31. 284-86.

161 NŚ, 31. 286.

162 Ibid., 31. 287.

163 Ibid., 31. 288.

164 AB ad NŚ, 31. 288.

165 NŚ, 31. 289-90; also SR, 5. 162.

166 NŚ, 31. 288; also NŚ, 31. 291; also samyāyāstālasyā ca yat tritvamuktam tadapasārya dvitām kāryam, AB on NŚ, 31. 291.

167 This is a little peculiar because the 12 limbed oveṇaka was a complete one with all limbs. However, in the seven-limbed oveṇaka 5 elements were omitted of which the sampisṭaka was one. Therefore in no case could the seven-limbed oveṇaka consist of a 12 kalā sampisṭaka.

168 AB ad NŚ, 31. 292.

169 NŚ, 31. 292.

170 Ibid., 31. 293.

171 Tatrādyāyāstālaḥ pañcapañiryathākṣaraḥ. Aparasyāḥ sa eva dvikalāḥ yadi vā miśra iti. Ekakalādvikalācañcatapuṭasamudāyarūpe iti lakṣyate—AB on NŚ, 31. 293. However, if both the praveṇis were in the same tāla, they could be distinguished by the fact that the aṅga in the first was vivadha, whereas it was vṛtta in the second—nanu yadi dvayorapi tālastulyaś tadā ko viśeṣa ityāha prayogaṅgayāśāṃga iti. Ādyāyām vivadho 'syām ca vṛttamityañgabhedābheda iti yāvat. L.c.

172 So as to distinguish the two praveṇis clearly, Śārṅgadeva terms them veṇī and praveṇī, SR, 5. 144.

173 Ibid., 5. 153-55.

174 NŚ, 31. 294.

175 Pākṣikam bhedāntaramapyāha—AB on NŚ, 31. 294. The word 'kadācit' too suggests an option (NŚ, 31. 294).

176 NŚ, 31. 295.

177 Sambandhe dvikalā-pañcapañitāla eva labhyata iti—AB on NŚ, 31. 295.

178 NŚ, 31. 295.

179 SR, p. 95.

180 Ibid., 31. 296.

181 Chart after SR, 5. 174.

182 NŚ, 31. 299.

183 Ibid., 31. 301; also ibid., 31. 204.

184 SR, 5. 165; NŚ 31. 300.

185 NŚ, 31. 300. Varṇa was of 4 types—sthāyī, sañcārī, ārohī ovarohī. Varṇasya gītivarṇasya gītilakṣaṇasyānukarṣāt pratyāyanapratyā-satyā prāpya padāntyamātrāparyantaṃ kalāṣṭaka-niviṣṭasya dvitīya-pādaprathaṃ-mātrādyākalātmako-pohanātmani punaryojanam so 'nya itara gītakāsādhāraṇaḥ prasvaro nāmaṅgaṃ. prakarṣeṇa svaruṇāṃ sabdasyaeti. Samanvatvaṃ hiti trigitdbhavati prathamapadasyante dvitīyasyadyantayoriti—AB on NŚ, 31. 300.

186

187 NŚ, 31. 301.

188 Ibid., 31. 302-04.

189 NŚ, 31. 305.

190 Ibid., 31. 306.

191 Ibid., 31. 307-08.

192 Ibid., 31. 309.

193 NŚ, 3. 304; AB, ibid.

194 Abhinava says that the pratiśākhā, (which was the same as śākhā) was based upon the śarīra of the rovindaka—evambhūtaiva prati-śākhānya-pāda, atra ca rovindakānantaryacchariīratvamupajivyata iti. AB on NŚ, 31. 310-11. Śārṅgadeva states that the varṇāṅga of the śākhā is the same as in śarīra, but the syllable a is excluded—akāravarjaṃ śākhāyāṃ gītāṅgaṃ śarīravat. SR, 5. 178.

195 Anantaram dvādaśabhik kalābhik śākhā-tatra pātah saducyante. Tasyāṃ tu tri (dvi) kalāstālā iti kalā dvādaśakālene prakāraṇāṃ dvikalāḥ pañcapānirākṣiptah—AB ad NŚ, 31. 310-11.

196 NŚ, 31. 311.

197 Ibid., 31. 312.

198 Asveti śākhāpratiśākhāmpaśyanta iti pratiśākhāyāḥ samāptau. Madh-ya iti śākhā-pratiśākhe. Antaraśīrṣakamiti śīrṣakadvayaṃ anye tvak-meva śīrṣakaṃ tathā kāryaṃ yathā.... 'nte madhye ca kṛtaṃ bhavatīti vyākṣate, tena śākhānte śīrṣakaṃ kāryamityuktam bhavati—AB on NŚ, 31. 312. Śārṅgadeva held that the śīrṣaka was formed between the śākhā and pratiśākhā. SR, 5. 175-76.

199 NŚ, 31. 312.

200 AB ad NŚ, 31. 312.

201 SR, 5. 177.

202 The original text has ‘chedyaka’ not ‘bhedyaka’. It has been read as bhedyaka by editor, since the AB has this term. But at another place (AB on NŚ, 32. 27). Abhinava has used the term ‘chedyā’. Dattila and Śārṅgadeva, too, use the term ‘chedyaka’. Hence it

seems more appropriate to use the term chedyaka. Perhaps bhedyaka, used by Abhinava, was a variant name of the same term.

203 Ibid., l.c. As regards kulaka, Abhinava says that it either conveyed a single meaning or a co-ordinated meaning with different parts mutually related—ekārthaparasparānvitārthavastvangaṅyuktam kulakaṁ viparītaṁ bhedyakam—AB on NŚ, 31. 321.

204 NŚ, 31. 322.

205 Ibid., 31. 323.

206 Compare with the present-day tarānā.

207 Bahirgītenopohanapratyupohanātmanā—AB ad NŚ, 31. 323.

208 NŚ, 31. 138.

209 On the viṇā, meaningless syllables like jhantum etc., formed the bases of making different strokes. AB ad NŚ, 34. 33.

210 AB ad NŚ, 31. 230-34.

211 NŚ, 31. 323.

212 Nihśeṣa svarūpayogādvastusākhāmātrā-rūpamupohanāntaraiṅgaiśca hīṅamaniryuktam—AB on NŚ, 31. 323

213 NŚ, 31. 324.

214 Upohanair eva hīnaṁ pādaniryuktam, arthapratītinibandhanapariśleṣatāyogāt—AB on NŚ, 31. 324.

Chapter 11

Musical Instruments

Tata Vādya or Stringed Instruments

In the very first verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of the section on music in the NS, Bharata mentions a four-fold classification of musical instruments viz. tata (cordophones), āvanaddha (membranophones). ghana (idiophones) and suṣira (aerophones).1 Tatam tantrikṛtam,2 says Bharata, i.e. tata vādya are stringed instruments like the vīṇā. Amongst the ancient Indian instruments, the vīṇā occupies the place of importance in gāndharva music.3 Tāṇā, śruti, śuṣka, vṛtti etc., were all basically elements of vīṇā playing. Though these could be rendered by the śārīṅ vīṇā, yet they were more convenient and more appropriate to the dāravī vīṇā. Abhinava’s remarks on them are highly interesting.4

The Vedic age had a number of vīṇās like the godhā, kāṇḍavīṇā,5 āghāṭī6 or āpaghāṭalikā, picchola, karkarikā,7 tambalavīṇā,8 tālukavīṇā, alābu, kapiśiṇī,9 etc. The vīṇā was however, the most important. It is mentioned in the Vedic texts as well as the Āraṇyakas and the Sūtras. A big vīṇā was called bāṇa or vāna and it is said that it had 100 strings made of muñja grass.10 According to the Baudhāyana Śrauta Sūtra it was constructed of audumbara wood and the resonator was covered with the hairy hide of an ox. The daṇḍa had ten holes into each of which were threaded ten strings of muñja grass, thus making a total of hundred of these. Of these 33 were fixed by the adhvaryu, 33 by the hotā, 33 by the udgata, and one by the ghaṇapati or the yajamāna 11 The vāna was struck with a veṇu kāṇḍa, i.e. a piece of bamboo.12

Whether the vīṇā was harp-shaped or lute-shaped is a debatable point. Scholars like Mukund Lath, B.C. Deva etc., are of the view that the tuning process described by Bharata and Dattila suggests that the vīṇā of their times belonged to the harp group.13

The two vīṇās of Bharata’s time were the citrā vīṇā and the vipañcī. The former was seven-stringed and was played with fingers and the latter was nine-stringed and was played with a koṇa or plectrum— saptatantri bhavecitrā vipañcī tu bhavennavā konavādyā vipañcī syāccitrā cāṅgulivādanā.14 The citrā vīṇā and the vipañcī were the chief vīṇās, whereas others like kacchapi, ghoṣakā etc. were subsidiary, says Bharata.15 The saptatantri vīṇā is quite an ancient one since it has

been mentioned in the Jātakas too. The Guttila Jataka mentions the

saptatantri vinā. Jaina texts mention a number of musical instruments.

The niśīthasūtra refers to a list of 35 musical instruments of the four

classes of tata, vitata, ghana and jhusira.16 The seven-stringed vinā

and vipañci are mentioned in the epics.17 Bhāsa mentions a vinā which

was nine-stringed and played with a plectrum. He, however, does not

term it as vipañci, but names it as ghoṣavatī.18 Śūdraka too refers to

the seven-holed flute and seven-stringed vinā.19 It is clear that the

seven and the nine stringed vinās were quite popular.

A number of meaningless songs like āśravanā, ārambha, vakrapāṇi

etc. were rendered during the pūrvaranga. The vinā occupied the pri-

mary place here since the bahirgīta compositions were rendered by

making various strokes or karaṇas on the vinā and a sequence of these

karaṇas was termed as dhātu.20 According to Bharata such music was

rendered on the citrā vinā by playing appropriate dhātus alongwith

guru and laghu akṣaras, varṇas and alamkāras. Defining dhātu Abhi-

nava says that the collection of the svaras that are produced by stri-

king the vinā (strings) in a specific manner, is called dhātu21 Four

types of dhātus (on the basis of striking the string by the finger or

plectrum and on the basis of karaṇas) have been enumerated by Bha-

rata viz. vistāra, karaṇa, āviddha, vyañjana.22 Each of these was fur-

ther divided into sub-classes. Vistāra dhātu was based on the number

of strokes to be executed and had four sub-classes, viz., samghātaja,

samavāyaja, vistāraja and anubandha.23 Vistāraja is the karaṇa produ-

ced by striking the string twice24 and thrice respectively.25 Appro-

priate combinations of these were called anubandha.26 On the basis

of the strokes made on the upper end (uttara-mukha) or the lower

end (ādhāra) of the vinā, the samghātaja and the samavāyaja had four

and eight types respectively.27 The bow-shaped harp gave notes in an

ascending scale when played downwards from the top, as the length

of the string gradually decreased as one proceeded downwards. The

upper strings gave the mandra notes whereas the lower strings which

were shorter in length gave the tāra notes. In the human body the

contrary is true, the mandra notes being produced from the chest and

tāra from the head. Śārṅgadeva clearly explains uttara and ādhāra as

meaning mandra and tāra respectively—atrottarādharau jñeyau mand-

ratārau svarau kramāt.28

The four types of samghātaja were :29

(i) Dviruttara i.e. two strokes on the string on the uttara mukha or

two strokes on the mandra string.

(ii) Dvirādhāra—two strokes on the lower string or two strokes on

the tāra strings.

280 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

(iii) Ādhārādiścottarāvasānāśca : first a stroke on the lower string (i.e. a stroke producing a high note) and then a stroke on the higher string (i.e. a stroke giving a lower note).

(iv) Uttarādi-ādhārāvasāna : contrary to the above.

Similarly samavāyaja had eight types30—

( i ) Triruttara : three strokes on the uttara mukha (mandra notes).

( ii ) Trirādhāra : three strokes on the lower strings (i.e. tāra notes).

( iii ) Dvirādhārottarānta : two strokes on the lower strings and one on the upper strings (i.e. two high notes and one lower note).

( iv ) Dviruttarādhārānta : two strokes on the upper strings, one stroke on the lower.

( v ) Uttarāmukha-dvirādhāra : Śārṅgadeva terms this as uttarādi-dvirādhāra,31 Kallinātha explains this as mandram sakṛduccārya tāraśca dviruccāraṇe uttarādidvirādhārau,32 i.e. one stroke on the upper strings (producing a mandra note) and two strokes on the lower strings (producing a tāra note).

( iv ) Dviruttarāvasāna : this meant two strokes on the upper strings and one on the lower.

(vii) Madhyottara dvirādhāra : when uttara is in the middle, Śārṅgadeva terms this madhyottaradvirādhārā.33 Kallinātha gives the details by saying “madhyastho mandro yayoh: evam-vidhautara uccārayet tāra madhyamandratārā uccāryante etc.; tadā madhyottaradvirādhārah,”34 i.e. first a stroke on the lower string (producing a tāra note) then a stroke on the upper string (producing a mandra note) and finally a stroke on the lower string again or three strokes that produce a mandra note between two tāra notes.

(viii) Dviruttara-ādhāramadhya : two strokes on the upper strings and one stroke in between on a lower string i.e. three strokes which would produce a tāra note between two mandra notes.

Thus the vistāra class of dhātus totalled to fourteen types35—vistā-raja 1; samghātaja 4; samavāyaja 8; and anubandha 1—total 14.

Karaṇa and āviddha dhātus were dependent not only on the number of strokes being made but also their time span, i.e. on whether they were gurvakṣaras or whether they were laghus and also the particular sequence of gurus and laghus.36 Karaṇa dhātu was of five types, viz., ribhita, uccāya, niribhīta (Śāṅgadeva has nirabhitā) hlāda and anubandha.37 A characteristic of the karaṇa dhātu was that its last syllable was a guru (gurvaniaḥ syāt karanāntaḥ)38 and the rest by implication were laghus. The number of strokes of the first four i.e. ribhita, uccā-

ya, niribhīta and hlāda are given as 9, 5, 7 and 9.39 This would mean that ribhita had 2 laghus and a final guru; uccaya consisting of five strokes had 4 laghus and a final guru; niribhīta with 7 strokes consisted of 6 laghus and a final guru; hlāda with strokes consisted of 8 laghus and a final guru. Anubandha was produced by combination of all types.40

Āviddha dhātu consisted of the following five types : kṣepa, pluta, atipāta, atikīrṇa and anubandha. The first four consisted of 2, 3, 4 and 9 strokes41 respectively and the fifth was made of the combination of the first four. The details have not been given by in the NŚ but are, however, found in the SR which comes to our aid here :

kṣepa :42 laghu, guru, guru.

pluta :43 laghu, guru, laghu.

atipāta :44 laghu, guru, laghu, guru.

atikīrṇa :45 laghu-guru, laghu-guru, laghu-guru, laghu-guru.

anubandha : appropriate combinations of the above.

Śārṅgadeva also records an alternate view (apare) where the first four types of āviddha (kṣepa etc.) consisted of 2, 3, 4 and 9 laghus respectively.46

The first three classes of dhātus i.e. vistāra, karaṇa and āviddha are based on the number of strokes played, their time span, their variety etc. Vyañjana dhātu depended on the fingers and hands, i.e. which finger or fingers were to strike the strings.47 Since this was used to execute the strokes of the other three dhātus, vyañjana was termed as sarvadhātuka, and it had 10 sub-classes.48

Puṣpa : ‘kaniṣṭhāṅgusthaka samyuktam’49 touching a string, simultaneously with the little finger and thumb50

Kalam : aṅguṣṭhābhyāṃ samam tantryoḥ sparśanam51—touching two strings52 simultaneously with two thumbs Having pressed the string with the left thumb.53 strike with the right one.54

Niṣkoṭitam : savyaṅguṣṭhaprahārastu..55 i.e. striking the string with the right thumb. Abhinava adds the opinion of his teacher that ‘striking on the upper and lower parts such a complex stroke (is niṣkoṭitam)’—ūrdhvodarahananena kuṭilo’yam praharati nirvacanabāladityupādhyāvah.56 Śārṅgadeva, too, suggests the same idea, but the stroke, however, is rendered with the left, and not with the right thumb—vāmāṅguṣṭhena tūrdhvaghāto niṣkoṭitam matam.57

Unmṛṣṭa : prahāro vāmatarjanyā 58 striking with the left forefinger.

Repha : Sarvāṅgulisama kṣepo rephah. Sama kṣepa suggests that repha is a single stroke on the string with all the fingers.59 Śārṅgadeva, however, says that it is striking a single note (i.e. a single string) one by one with each finger—rephastvekasvaro ghāto kramātsaryāṅgulikṛtaḥ.60

282 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Anusvanita : tālasthāne dhastantrinamanusvanitamucyate.61 Having executed the tāla movement resounding the strings by a descending stroke.62

Bindu : gurvakṣarakṛtā tantri63—a guru akṣara stroke on a single string.64 Abhinava says that guru-akṣara here means striking a single string for a long time—gurvakṣara vilambitakāta ekasyāmeva tantryam prahāra itvarthah.65

Avamṛṣṭa : kaniṣṭhānguṣṭhakābhyām tu dakṣiṇābhyāmadhomukham.66 Three strokes on (three) strings with the little finger of the right hand and both the thumbs facing downwards.

Anubandha : combinations of all.

These four dhātus were classified into four basic ‘types’ which Bharata terms as jātiṣ here. Thus the vistāra dhātu belonged by nature to uddhata jāti—perhaps because of its comprehensive nature—uddhata-tvāt67 (it had fourteen lesser divisions). Vyañjana dhātu belonged to the lalitā jāti.68 Abhinava says that this was because of the graceful strokes—saukumāryāt pravyogasya.69 He, in fact, even quotes two examples of it from Śrī Harṣa’s plays viz. Nāgānanda, 1.14, and Priyadarśikā, 3.10. Āviddha dhātu belonged to the ribhita jāti which was prolific in laghus.70 Many rapid laghu strokes would perhaps convey a mood of agitation or tension; it is perhaps because of this that Abhinava comments that this jāti was used to convey fighting, warfare and violence, as also backbiting and cleverness.71 Karaṇa dhātu belonged to ghana jāti which consisted both of gurus and laghus.72

What was the relation of instrumental playing to vocal music ?

The three vṛttis described by Bharata illustrate the relationship. Thus says Bharata (29.71) : tirasṭu vṛttayasci-trādakṣiṇā vṛttisamjñitāḥ vādyagītobhayaguṇā nir-diṣṭāstā yathākramam. Abhinava explains the concept of vṛtti thus : the concept of vṛtti illustrates the relationship, primary or secondary, between vādya and gīta (i.e. whether the song being sung is primary and accompanying instrument secondary or vice-versa).73

In citrā vṛtti, vādya or instrument is primary. Here the instrumental melody does not heed the vocal music (i.e. it does not strictly follow it) but instead creates a wonderous effect (though according to prescribed rules) quite independent of the melody being sung. The vṛtti termed dakṣiṇā is quite the opposite, where vocal music dominates the instrumental melody. Vṛtti is where both vocal and instrumental music are in equal balace.74 Thus, vṛtti was the general concept illustrating the relationship between the gīta or song and vā-dya or the instrument being played with it. Its actual implementation we find in the three styles of instrumental playing, viz. tattva, anugata and ogha.75 In the tattva style instrumental playing adhered completely to the laya,

tāla, varṇa, pāda, vati, gīta, akṣara etc., of the song being sung.76 This would mean that in tattva song was dominant and that instrumental playing here had only the role of accompanying the vocal melody in all its details. Thus, tattva would be related to the dakṣiṇā vṛtti. That which follows the song (gītam tu yadānugacchati) is anugata, says Bharata.77 This, then would seem to be the same as tattva. Abhinava, however, clarifies that instrumental playing here only partly follows the vocal melody. For instance, the instrument can be played in madhya laya, even though the song being sung is in vilambita laya, or two syllables of the vocal melody could be rendered in three or four strokes on the instrument etc.—anugacchati na sarvam tadrūpamanuha-ratyapi tu kiñcidyathā vilambitepi laye nānāt prayogam madhye karoti, ‘devamiti’ varṇadvaye gīyamāne tricaturan prahārān karati.78 Anugata was related to- the vṛtti mode. In the ogha style the instrumental melody seems to be independent of the vocal music (anapekṣitagītārtham vādyam tvoghe).79 The instrumental music did not conform to the structure of the song-form, for instance, by not heeding the vidārī divisions etc.—gītam (tasya) ca yo'rthe (rthah) pravṛttirvidārīlakṣaṇo vicchedah sonapekṣito yatra. Gītavidārīṣvapyavicchinnmiti yāvat. Ata evaugha ivaughah80 This style was characterised by the tāla-melody-stress termed uparipāni, a fast tempo, and was prolific in āviddha dhātus (sequence of rapid, light strokes).81 Thus, this seems to be skilled instrumental playing for its own sake rather than for accompaniment and consisted of rapid strokes on the strings in fast speed.82 This related to citrā vṛtti.

Both the citrā and vipañcī were the popular vīṇās of Bharata’s time. Now, in a performance what was the relationship between the two ? It has been mentioned that the citrā was the chief vīṇā and that the vipañcī was the subsidiary one. Bharata gives information about how they are to be played together, but it is Abhinava, however, who provides the details.83 Rūpa : In this, the vīṇā is played in dviguṇa laya or doubled speed. and the strokes are of guru-laghu sequence.84 While the mukhya vīṇā is thus played the vipañcī plays two laghus instead of one guru (which is played on the citrā) and two drutas (this seems to be a few interval smaller than the laghu) instead of one laghu. Thus the two vīṇās display a charming harmony.85 Pratikṛta :86 Here the vipañcī follows faithfully the strokes being played on the main vīṇā, and is almost its echo. Abhinava gives the analogy of the image of an object and its reflection.87 Pratibheda : It is like the rūpa, except that the (citrā) vīṇā and vipañcī are played simultaneously. Abhinava adds that it does not refer to the differentiation of notes according to a fixed programme.88 Rūpāśeṣa :89 When the playing of the chief vīṇā

284 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

comes to rest say, during a vidāri pause etc.,90 but the vipañci continues to be played, it is termed as rūpaśeṣa. Ogha : This is characterised by uparipāṇi and āviddha karaṇas, says Bharata.91 Abhinava states that ogha is the playing of vipañci in very fast tempo.92

Pratiṣuṣka : This is the playing on a single string.93 Abhinava qualifies by saying that it is the playing of vipañci on a single string in such a way that a wonderful diversity is created. The string is aṃśa-samyādini. He also cites another opinion according to which it is the playing of pratiṣuṣka pāda or meaningless words.94 In these karaṇas which combine the use of different viṇās, we may discern the dim perception of the principle of harmony. From Abhinava’s comments it is clear that sometimes the different viṇās played different notes and sometimes a differentiation was created on the same string.

Suṣira Vādya

The flute was the chief suṣira vādya (aerophonic musical instrument) of ancient India. Vedic literature mentions the venu. However, there are frequent references to the nāḍī95 and the tūṇava, as also the suṣira-vādyas called the śaṅkha or conch-shell.96 The latter was a part of the musical ensemble of Vedic rites and the flutist was one of the persons said to have been sacrificed during the puruṣamedha ceremony (described in chapter 30 of the Vājasaneyi-saṃhitā of the Śukla Yajurveda). Sūtra literature also refers to the nāḍī and tūṇava; the Jātakas and other Śramaṇic literature refers to venu.97 Henceforth the venu is mentioned prolifically. Indeed, the Jaina texts mention a number of aerophonic instruments : śaṅkha, suṅga śaṅkhīya, kharamukhī. pariṭi etc. The Niśīthacūrṇi mentions the nāṭikā and describes it as made from the jointless portion of the bamboo reed (vaṃśa); it was also known as muralī or flute.98 The flute of Bharata’s time also was constructed of bamboo—atodyam suṣiram nāma jñeyam vaṃśagatam buddhvāṭ,99 says Bharata. Unlike Abhinava and Sārṅgadeva, he does not mention the flute being made of any other material. Abhinava comments thus : “Mataṅga muni etc. used bamboo, constructed flutes to please Śiva in devotion. Hence it is known as vaṃśa.”100 This shows that til Mataṅga’s time, who definitely flourished after Bharata, flutes were invariably constructed of bamboo. By Abhinava’s time it seems that the construction of flute was not limited just to bamboo, but other materials too were used. Thus Abhinava says : “Thus it has been said that since it was originally created in bamboo, it is known as vaṃśa. The vaṃśa are (also made of) khadira.101 silver, bronze and gold.”102 By Sārṅgadeva’s time flutes were constructed even out of ivory, sandalwood, etc.103 Bharata gives the technique of playing the seven notes; they were

to be played according to the śruti divisions of two, three and four,

i.e. the seven notes of the octave when played on the flute were classi-

fied into three viz. dviśrutika notes, triśrutika notes and catuśśrutika

notes. These. in turn, were to be placed by three techniques involving

the placing of fingers on the holes of the flute. Thus when the hole

was left completely free (i.e. no finger was placed to cover it), catuś-

śrutika notes were obtained, when a trembling finger was placed on it,

triśrutika notes were got and when the finger partially closed the hole

dviśrutika notes were obtained.104

The terms tattva, anugata and ogha are applied to tata and avanad-

dha vādya and are important as they serve to show that they were used

not for accompaniment, but could be played relatively independently of

the vocalist.105 The flute, however, it seems was used just for accom-

paniment; its task was to faithfully follow the vocal melody. Indeed,

the flute player was to play in concord with the vocalist as also the

vinā-player, states Bharata.106 This quality is termed raktaguna by

Nārada.107

The chapter on suśira vādya in the NŚ is a brief one, consisting of

only thirteen verses. Some more information, however, can be gleaned

from the commentary of Abhinava. From Abhinava’s description it

seems that the flute had seven holes for the notes;108 apart from this

there were two others viz. one for the mouth and the other at the

opposite end. However, only the seven holes that were bored were

relevant for the notes. Thus states Abhinava : “Here the sound of the

notes arises from the holes which are utilised for obtaining the notes,

there are altogther nine holes here. The hole for the mouth and a

last hole, being those which fill or are filled, and are used for entrance

or obstruction of the breath from the mouth, (these) being the holes

of the reed are not used for the division of the svaras. The seven

(holes) divide the notes. ”109

Avanaddha and Ghana Vadya

Percussion instruments have been classified into two basic catego-

ries by Bharata –avanaddha and ghana.110 The former are membrano-

phonic instruments or skin vibrators in which the sound waves are

due to the vibrations of a stretched skin or membrane when struck.

The latter or ghana are idiophonic instruments or self-vibrators i.e.

instruments of solid substance, which owing to their elastic nature

have a sonority of their own, which is emitted in waves when they are

struck.

The description of the pauṣkara instruments (which is a further

name for avanaddha)111 in the NŚ is according to the tradition of sage

Svāti, states Bharata.112 In fact, Bharata attributes their very origin

286 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

to this sage, and an interesting story is related in this context.113

Mṛdaṅga, paṇava and dardara are the primary pauskara vādya—mṛ-

daṅgo dardaraścaiva paṇavaścāṅgasamjñitah,114 and bheri, paṭaha, dun-

dubhi etc. are secondary avanaddha instruments. Due to the extensive-

ness of their surface and its slackness, they do not produce the deep

and resonant sound as do the tri-puṣkara-vādya.115

Mṛdaṅgas116 were of three shapes viz. (i) hariṭikī or shaped like

myrobalan; (ii) yava or shaped like a barley grain; and (iii) gopuccha-

rūpa or shaped liked a cow’s tail. The three varieties of mṛdaṅga were

āliṅgya, aṅkika and ūrdhvaka, which had the shapes of gopuccha, hari-

tikī and yava respectively.117 Aṅkika mṛdaṅga was of the measure of

3.5 tālas and its face (which was covered with hide)118 was of 12 fingers.

Ūrdhvaka was of the measure of 4 tālas with its face of 14 fingers.119

Āliṅgya was of the measure of 3 tālas and its face measured 8 fingers.

The length of the paṇava was of the measure of 16 fingers. Its face

was of the measure of 5 fingers.120 The girth of the middle part was

not much, being only angular which made its appearance rather thin

and elongated (kṛsakara).121 Its lips (rims) measured 1½ aṅgulas (adh-

yardha). In the middle there was a hollow diameter of 4 aṅgulas,122

which had 3 strings.123 This speciality of the paṇava is thus stated in

the NŚ by Bharata : tantribhih paṇavam caivamūhāpohaviśaradah.124

Again, he says, tantribhih paṇavam nahyet …125 Abhinava explains by

saying, tatatribhirdadhnīyāt126 Bharata uses the term ṭaṅkārah while

discussing the stroke on the paṇava, and this sounds distinctly like the

stroke made on a string.127 At another place he says—paṇava antas-

tantriko128—paṇava is fitted with strings inside. What he refers to

here is the hollow with the strings. Again, he says—tantripaṇavadau

tatāṃśavaditi.129

Dardara130 had the appearance of a water-pot or ghaṭa, and was

of the measure of 12 fingers. Its face measured 9 fingers, and had thick

lips (rims). Abhinava says that it was like a huge water-pot—dardaro

mahāghaṭākārāh.131

The term tripuskara has been mentioned frequently in the puṣkarā-

dhyāya of the NŚ. Whether Bharata’s tripuskara denoted a single drum

with three faces (left, right and middle) or whether there were 3 drums

played together is the question to be considered.132 Ancient Indian

sculptures show both the forms. Bharhut sculpture (2nd cent. B.C.)

shows a drummer where two drums can be discerned clearly—one lying

obliquely on the lap and the other in an upright position. An Amarā-

vatī sculpture shows three mṛdaṅga type drums, two uprights, and one

lying obliquely behind. South Indian sculptures depict a single drum

with 3 faces. At the Naṭarāja temple at Cidambaram, thus, its faces

are to the left, to the right and to the centre. The temple of Kalleśvara at Aralaguppee (Mysore) has a drum with three faces, all facing upwards.133

It may be noted that the Bharhut and Amarāvatī sculptures are much earlier while the Cidambaram temple is very much later in date. It is our suggestion that the drum with three faces in one is a later development and a fusion of the earlier three separate drums.

In fact, the tripuṣkara of the NŚ too seems to be three separate drums played together (and not a single drum with 3 faces) and thus would support the above hypothesis. The one to the left was the ālingaka (probably close to the body as the name suggests, perhaps embraced by the arm), the one in the middle was kept upright and called ūrdhaka. To its right was the āñkika which was kept horizontally, perhaps a little obliquely on the lap.134 In verses 277–78 of the NŚ. these three are clearly called puṣkaratrayam.135

While discussing mārjanā, parihāras, mārgaś etc. (various techniques pertaining to puṣkara vādya) in the 34th chapter of the NŚ, Bharata speaks of vāmaka, sayyaka and ūrdhvaka. or vāma-puṣkara and dakṣiṇa-puṣkara. A close perusal of the text shows that they are mentioned as distinct entities, not as faces of a single vādya. For instance, when ūrdhvaka and vāmaka are mentioned together, they are either joined by the conjunction ‘ca’ or put in the dual number. In verse 119 Bharata says that note in the māyūri mārjanā are gāndhāra in the vāmaka, ṣadja in the dakṣiṇa puṣkara and madhyama in the ūrdhvaka.136

Abhinava, while discussing the māyūri mārjanā, distinctly defines vāma puṣkara and dakṣiṇa puṣkara as ālingake, āñkika—gāndhāro vāme ālingake, dakṣiṇa āñkike, ṣadjaḥ ūrdhvoke pañcamah. Elsewhere too, he uses ālingamārjanā as synonymous with vāmaka mārjanā—aliṅgasammārjanādutthita mārjanam (nā) ṣabdavācyam gāndhāram.137

The āñkika mṛdan்ga is termed dvipuṣkara by Bharata. He also says that its right face was pressed by the heel to get the sound of kakāra.138 A lot of interesting information can be gleaned from this.

Firstly, that the āñkika mṛdanga itself had 2 faces, a right face and a left one. Secondly, it was placed on the lap a little obliquely139 to the right, since its right face lay towards the heel and was even pressed by it. Abhinava, commenting on the above passage, says—dvipuṣkare dvimukhe ’nkika iti.140 While discussing the 16 syllables to be played on the tripuṣkara he states that the right puṣkara has two faces, to the right and to the left. It has the mark of yava and hence called āñkika (actually it had the mark of harītikī). Its right face had 6 varṇas, the left had 3. Ūrdhvaka was known thus because it was more than a couple of tālas, being four tālas (it was higher than ālingaka and āñkika

288 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

which were only 3 and 3.5 talās each). It had 2 varṇas. The āliṅgaka (i.e. the vāma puṣkara the dakṣiṇa puṣkara and ūrdhvaka have already been discussed) had 5 varṇas. Thus 16 varṇas in all141—9 varṇas (of āṅkika)+2 varṇas (of ūrdhvaka)+5 varṇas (of āliṅgaka)=16 varṇas. This discussion leaves no room for doubt that there were 3 different drums, not 3 faces of a single drum.

While discussing the four mārgaṣ also, Bharata alludes to the āṅ-kika, ūrdhvaka and āliṅgya as the three puṣkaras. In the addita mārga strokes are made on the āṅkika mrdaṅga; in the ālipta mārga strokes are made on the ūrdhvaka and vāṃaka; in the gomukhī strokes are made on all the puṣkaras with the āliṅgaka the karaṇas being the most prolific.142 Finally, being the most prolific, as already stated before in verses 277-78, āliṅgaka, āṅkika and ūrdhvaka have been called puṣkara trayam by Bharata, and these three were three varieties of the mrdaṅga (not 3 faces of a single drum). In this context, it may be noted that Śārṅgadeva considers tripuṣkara as synonymous with mrdaṅga.143

The various aspects of pauṣkara vāḍya like modes of playing, different styles, techniques of plastering the drums with clay etc., are described in detail by Bharata.

Sixteen akṣaras : The 16 akṣaras were ka, kha, ga, gha ṭa, ṭha, ḍa, ḍha, ta, tha, da, dha, ma, ra, la, ha.144 These were rendered on drums by variously formed strokes with the hands and fingers; some were played on the right side of the pauṣkara vāḍya and some on the left. These 16 akṣaras145 were further combined with consonants i.e. with each other and some vowels a, ā, i, u, e, o, au resulting in a large variety of what we would now term bols (something like our present day dhina, na, kit, kat, tirkit, tu, na etc.). Complex conjuncts like dhru. dron, klev etc., were played with both the hands.146

The four mārgaṣ of the puṣkara drums were ālipta, addita, gomukha and vitasta. There were four different styles of playing the puṣkara vāḍya.147 These depended on the variant ways of making strokes, and the variety of addita mārga was characterised by prolific strokes on the āṅkika mrdaṅga. The ālipta mārga was characterised by strokes on vāṃaka and ūrdhvaka.148 Vitasta involved the ūrdhvaka and āṅkika. Abhinava defines vitasta thus : where on the ūrdhvaka and on the dakṣiṇa mukha or right face of the āṅkika the striking is done with great speed on account of the excess of rasa in words. He also quotes the opinion of some that in striking the hand is extended only for a span.149 Strokes on all the puṣkaras. with the karaṇas on the āliṅgaka being the most prolific, was the gomukhī mārga.150

Trimārjanā : Mārjanā was the proper application of clay on the faces of the dvipuṣkaras suited for the purpose of tuning it to the

desired sthāyi notes.151 The three modes of mārjanā were māyūri, ardhamāyūri and kārmāravī.152 In vāmaka puṣkara, dakṣiṇa puṣkara153 and ūrdhvaka the standing notes were respectively as follows154—in (ṣadja-madhyamagrāma) māyūri : gandhāra, ṣadja and pañcama.155 In (ṣadja-grāma) ardhamāyūri : ṣadja ṛṣabha and dhaivata. In (grāma sādhāraṇa) kārmāravī :156 ṛṣabha, ṣadja and pañcama.

These three mārjanās apparently related to three different grāmas.157 Notes were also tuned with the help of slackness and tension of strings and by piercing of hides to produce notes of these kinds.158 Lepanā158a consists of the actual procedure of plastering the tripuskara faces with earth. What sort of earth is suitable for lepanā ? Bharata gives the answer by saying that the earth should have no gravel, sand, grass and husks of straw; it should not stick, should not be white alkaline, pungent, yellow, sour or bitter.

Blackish earth from a river bank, which is fine after giving out water, should be used. When this is not available, then a mixture of wheat flour and barley flour may be used. This, however, is only a substitute, for it gives a monotonous sound.159 Saṭkarana : Where the action of different instruments is mixed, that is karana.160 Karanas are like varṇa harmonies, where different percussion instruments are played together sounding different instruments in version. Six karanas have been enumerated by Bharata viz. rūpa, kṛtapratikṛta, pratibheda, rūpaśeṣa, ogha and pratiśukla,161 Rūpa : The trial duration of the varṇas are divided into shorter units. Thus while the tune on the mṛdaṅga is divided into units of two gurus it is elsewhere matched by the discussion into units of laghus162 For example, dem ghām-2 gurus (matched by) kitima is played on all three puṣkaras.163 Pratibheda : Where

the three puṣkaras are played simultaneously, but with different karaṇas.164 Rūpaśeṣa : When the mṛdaṅga player stops playing, but the pause is filled up by the playing of the paṇava.165

Pratiśukla : Pratiśukla, (it is pratiṣuṣka in the commentary), says Bharata, is synonymous with anusvāra or echo. This leads one to surmise that the original term may have been ‘pratiśrutka’ which means ‘echo’. This would also explain the confusion of names. Here the playing of the mṛdaṅga was echoed by that of the dardara and paṇava.166

Ogha : This was the playing of all the avanaddha instruments in fast tempo.167

Triyati, trilaya and tripāni have been described in the chapter on tāla.

Trigata thus indicated three types of song and instrument harmony. Tattva : The instrument followed the words (akṣarasadrśaṃvādyam)168 and the metre (vṛttasamam)169 of the song. Abhinava states :

290 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

tattva gītam sarvathā anugatam. He further states :170 in the anugata,

the instrument also has equal importance because its movements are

freely diversified.171 Ogha : Instrument is dominant here. It is charac-

terised by diverse karanas, uparipāṇi, fast tempo, and is prolific in

āviddha karanas.172 The three gatas (trigata) illustrated the relationship

between song and instrument. Bharata enumerates eight types of equa-

tions (aṣṭasāmya) between song and instrument.173

(i) Akṣarasamaṃ :174 This relates to similarity of syllables in song

and instrument. Abhinava explains that song and instrument have the

same succession of long and short syllables.175

(ii) Angasamaṃ :176 Where there is a similarity between the parts

of the developing song and playing of the notes of the instrument,

that is aṅgasamaṃ. In other words, there is similarity in the patterning

of parts.

(iii) Tālasamaṃ :177 This relates to similarity of patas between song

and instrument.

(iv) Layayatisamaṃ :178 This relates to similarity in laya and yati

between song and instrument.

(v) Grahasamaṃ :179 Where there is an equation in the graha or

the starting note and the song and instrument.

(vi) Nyāsasamaṃ :180 Relates to similarity of nyāsa in song and

instrument.

(vii) Apanyāsa samaṃ :181 Relates to similarity of apanyāsa.

(viii) Pāṇisamaṃ :182 Relates to similarity of the 3 pāṇis.

This ‘aṣṭasāmya’ seems to relate to the gata termed tattva where

there was complete harmony between the vocal melody song and the

instrument being played.

Tripracāra : These are three modes of striking with the hand the

face of the drums. These are samapracāra, viṣamapracāra, and sama-

viṣamapracāra.183

Samapracāra : Striking the left drum with the left hand and its

right with the right hand respectively is samapracāra.184 Thus is per-

formed in the ālipta mārga185 which consists of vā mordhvakaprahāra,

i.e. strokes on the left drum (āliṅgaka) and on the ūrdhvaka which is

to its right. Here probably the vā maka is struck with the left hand

and the ūrdhvaka which is to its right (...dakṣiṇordh vake cāpi kā r-

yaḥ)186 is struck with the right hand—ūrdhvakenāpi dakṣiṇa eva hastah

kāryaḥ.187

Trisamyoga :188 The combinations are the playing of laghu syllables,

of dīrgha syllables and of both short and long together.

The union of laya, yati and pāṇi gave birth to three types of ins-

trumental playing, viz. rāddha, viddha and sayyagata :189

Rāddha Viddha Sayyagata Pañcapāniprahata and triprahāra190 were to play various ‘bols’ on the percussion instrument by striking with various parts of the palm. These were the pañcapāniprahata, viz. samapāni, ardahapāni, ardhārdhapāni, pārśvapāni and pradeśinyāhata. The contact of the drum and the palm was of three types and termed nigrhīta (palm fully in contact with the face of the drum), ardhanigṛhīta (palm only partially in contact) and mukta (no contact).191 Samapāni : Striking the palm fully open and hence in full contact with the drum face (nigṛhīta). Ardahapāni : Striking with only half the palm, hence ardhanigṛhīta. Ardārdhapāni : Striking with half of half the palm, (i.e. the region of the palm base, near the wrist).

Twenty Alamkāras : Bharata mentions 20 alamkāras.192 Just as alamkāras embellish vocal notes, so do these twenty alainkāras embellish the playing of percussion instruments. These are citra, sama, vibhakta, chinna, chinna viddha, viddha vādyasamśraya, anuṣṭa, pratividyuta, ekarūpa, niyamānvitaḥ, sācikṛtah, samalekha, citralekha, savyasamavāya and dṛḍha.193

(i) Citra :194 Characterised by various types of karanas which are clear and distinct; possible in all the three pānis.

(ii) Sama :195 Characterised by the karanas of dardara, paṇava and mṛdaṅga. Bharata also connects the veṇu or flute with this alamkāra.

(iii) Vibhakta :196 Abhinava defines it by saying ‘where there are clear divisions in the akṣara pāṇi’ etc.

(iv) Chinna :197 The instrument (percussion) being played in fast tempo abruptly stops. Abhinava explains that “Even though the viṇā and others keep playing, the mṛdaṅga suddenly stops playing.”198

(v) Chinnaviddha :199 In mṛdaṅga there is avapāni and in paṇava uparipāṇi.

(vi) Viddha :200 First the mṛdaṅga is played and then paṇava is played in succession characterised by strange sounding karanas.

(vii) Vādyasamśraya :201 Where the instrument depends on the song, says Abhinava, characterised by samapāni.202

(viii) Anuṣṭa :203 Where the paṇava follows the muraja or the dardara follows the paṇava.

(ix) Pratividyuta :204 Muraja, paṇava and dardara follow one another in succession in slow tempo.205

292 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

(x) Durga :206 Pertains to all four mārgas, characterised by viṣama pracāra and indistinct syllables of the pada.

(xi) Avakīrṇa :207 Muraja and paṇava are played together, but the playing of paṇava overshadows the former.

(xii) Ardhāvakirṇaka :208 Paṇava or dardara begins with fast tempo and is characterised by avapāni svara-tāla synchronisation.

(xiii) Parikṣipta :209 Here the playing of paṇava has primacy, overshadowing the mṛdaṅga which is played rarely, characterised by distinct syllables.

(xiv) Ekarūpa :210 All the instruments play one karaṇa.

(xv) Niyamānvita :211 Where the pauses are the same in the song and instrument.

(xvi) Sācīkṛta :212 Where any one of the instruments i.e. muraja, paṇava, dardara (murajapaṇavadardarasvānyatamena, AB on NŚ, 34. 208) plays with various karaṇas.

(xvii) Samalekha :213 Where the muraja, which is to be played by uparipāṇi, is preceded by paṇava or dardara.

(xviii) Citralekha :214 Where mṛdaṅga, paṇava, dardara, all are played in diverse karaṇas.

(xix) Samvāyita :215 Characterised by diverse karaṇas and applicable in all four mārgas and all three pāṇis.

(xx) Dṛḍha :216 Characterised by madhya-laya or middling tempo and well made syllables.

These alañkāras are prescribed in the gati-pracāra or gīta in accordance with rasa and bhāva.217

Eighteen Jātis : These are the following, viz. śuddha, puṣkarakaraṇa, viṣama, viṣkambhita, ekarūpa, pārśvnisama, paryasta, samaviṣamakṛta, avakīrṇa, paryavasāna, ucchitika, samyukta, sampluta, mahārambha, vigatagrama, vigalita, vañcitika and ekavādhya.218 Each jāti was characterised by a particular sequence of 'bols' or karaṇas, mārgas and prakāras constituted by laya, yati and pāṇi. It also had its particular place and function in the dhruvās; different sequence of karaṇas were played to indicate the gaits of different types of characters. These were also characterised by different rasas.

Jāti

Ṣuddha⁹

Puṣkarakaṇa²²¹

Viṣama

Viṣkambha²²³

Ekarūpaka²²⁶

Pārṣṇiṣaṇa²²⁷

Paryasta²²⁹

Characteristic Karaṇa

dham dham dram dram kla kho kho ha them kem tām them kem tām (long syllables)²²² 2 gurus, 2 laghu²²⁴ S S I I

uttam thikat thim ghikatam matathi also the kle ta ghe ta ghem tam do ghe ta ghem tam do hnam

Laya

3 layas

Pāṇi

Mārga

all mārgas ekāśsarakṛtam vādyam, explained by Abhinava as where²²⁰ there is an ārṛti all the mṛdaṅgas, to be played with svastika hastas.

—

—

—

—

Drum

indicates gait of madhyamā stri i.e. middling woman

indicates gait of the king (to his own palace) walking with brisk steps²⁵⁵ played with avakṛṣṭa dhruvā

vāmaka, ūrdhvaka face of drum seems to be pressed by the heel, perhaps on the dakṣiṇa puṣkara, i.e. āṅkika²²⁸

indicates gati of madhyama puruṣa or middling man

Rasa

karuṇa

Use in Dhruvā

Musical Instruments 293

294 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Rasa

Jāti

Samaviṣama230 Avaṅkiṭma232 Paryavasāṇa236 Ucchitikā237 Samyukta238 Sampluta240 Mahāram bha241

Characteristic

Karaṇa

ghem tam dohan tham ke tam ke

Laya

druta231 uparipāṇi

all 3 layas, the same set of karaṇas is played in all 3 layas

ghighi matamata238 ttho, matama

Pāṇi

Mārga

Drum

mrdanga, pāṇava, dardara234 gait of dhanuma characters235

only mrdanga played with the move- ment of all fingers; aerial movements

strokes on the face of the āṅgika only239 on all the varie- ties of mrdanga

Use in Dhruvā

|| | | || | | | | | | | | | |

beginning- madhya avapāṇi druta-laya

Jāti Vigatakrama242

Characteristic Karana dhum dhum

Laya —

Pāṇi —

Mārga Drum vitasta, it is here played in an ūrdhvaka, āṅgika movement of heavenly creatures

Use in Dhruvā Rasa —

Vigalita243

laghu syllables of great variety

Vañcitika245

many picturesque karanas

Ekāvadya247

dhro dhre dhre

vigorous style all the mārgas

all the 3 mrdaṅgas

natural gait of superior characters e.g. king246

Musical Instruments 295

296 A Histroical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

Amongst other avanaddhas are included paṭaha, diṇḍima and hudduka. Moradala seems a later development as it has not been mentioned by Bharata; but it was known to Abhinava. Śārṅgadeva discusses it in detail.248

The muraja is referred to as early as the Jātakas, the Mahābhārata and the Rāmāyaṇa. It has also been referred to by Kālidāsa.249 Muraja has been defined as ‘a kind of drum or tabor’.250 From Bharata’s description, it seems that the muraja was kept upright and beaten with a stick—murajastūrdhvakaranādātodyam todanādapi.251

The dundubhi of sage Svāti, says Bharata, was on the pattern of the divine dundubhi.252 The only difference between the divine and terrestrial dundubhi was that the former did not have stretched leather for reasons of auspiciousness, explains Abhinava.253

Śārṅgadeva has described it as being created of mango wood, having a large body, thundering and emitting a loud sound like that of a cloud. The belly was of kānsya (bronze), the face covered with leather and was without the surrounding ring or valaya. It was struck with a koṇa or plectrum of hardened leather. It was bound with leather straps on all sides.254

Bhert was used on auspicious occasions of victory, festivals,255 and in temples. As a well-known avanaddha vādya it is mentioned in the NŚ. Śārṅgadeva gives the following description—“the body is constructed of copper and its length is vitastitraya. It has two faces, each of fourteen fingers and consisting of valaya (a ring on the periphery of the face) each covered with leather which was punctured to form a hole on each side. A rope passed through these and was probably tied in the middle. The left face was struck by the hand and the right with a koṇa or striker. It produced the sound of ṭaṅkāra, (this is usually the sound emitted when hitting a metallic surface) which was deep and terrifying to enemies.”256

Footnotes

1 NŚ, 28. 1.

2 Ibid., 28. 2; ibid., 28.8.

3 The viṇā is often referred to as the dāravī viṇā or the wooden lute in contrast to the śārīrī viṇā or the human voice (NŚ, 28.12). Commenting on this Abhinava says that this is because of the importance of viṇā, which has already been mentioned before—dvyadhiṣṭhānāḥ svarā vaiṇaḥ śarīrāśceti—AB on NŚ, 28. 11-12. Moreover, he says, dāravī viṇā (though) produced out of wood is of the nature of the divine voice (dāruṇo patyam viṇā vāgrūpa bhagavati-tidāravī—AB on NŚ, 28. 13-14).

4 AB on NS, 28. 13-15.

5 Ava svarati gargaro godhā pari sanisyanat pingā pari caniskadadrāya brahmodyatām—Rg., 8. 69. 9. The godhā vīṇā was probably covered with godhā (iguana) skin. The Aitareya Āraṇyaka (5. 1. 5) refers to the yajamāna patnī playing the bhūmidundubhi and kāṇḍa-vīṇā. Both the godhā and kāṇḍa vīṇā are mentioned in the Sūtras : godhāvīnāḥ kāṇḍaviṇāśca patnyo vādayanti—Kātyāyana Śrauta Sūtra, 13. 3. 21. The kāṇḍavīṇā was so called as it was made of reed or arrow — kāṇḍam śarah tanmayyo vīṇāh. Vṛtti, l.c.

6 Āghātibhiriva dhāvayannaranyāanirmahīyate—Rg., 10. 146. 2.

7 Āghāti and karkarī are often referred to—Āghātibhiḥ piccholābhiḥ karkaṭikābhirityudgātāram patnyaḥ paryupaviśanti—Baudhāyana Śrauta Sūtra, 16. 21. Ā yatrāghātaḥ karkaryah samvadanti—Atharvaveda, 13. 4. 5. Commenting on this Sāyaṇa states : ahanyahani vādyamānāḥ karkaryah vādyaviśeṣāḥ samvadanti yuṣmānvṛttānugunyena samānam dhvananti. The karkarikā or the karkarī may have had the karkarī truit as a resonator.

8 Patnyā upagāyanti apaghātikāstambalaviṇāḥ piccholā iti—Āpastamba Śrauta Sūtra, 21. 17. 16.

9 Upagāyanti patnyopaghātikās tālukaviṇāḥ kāṇḍaviṇāḥ piccholā alābu kapiśirṣṇīti—Hiraṇyakeśi Śrauta Sūtra, 16. 6. 21.

10 Vāṇaḥ śatatanturbhavati śatāyuḥ puruṣaḥ śatendriya āyuṣyevendriye pratitiṣṭhanti—Taittirīya Saṃhitā, 7. 5. 9. 2. Cf. Kātyāyana Śrauta Sūtra, 13. 3. 25-27. Pṛthyopakaraṇam bāṇena śatatantunā, mauñjā-stantavah. Vaitasamādanam; audumbarimudgatā'sandimārohatyād-atte vāṇam śatatantum—Baudhāyana Śrauta Sūtra, 16. 20-21.5.

11 Baudhāyana Śrauta Sūtra, 23. 11. 28.

12 Vāgbhadramiti triparvottakāśalākayā veṇukāṇḍena vetasakāṇḍena vā vāṇam samvādya tena māhendrastotramupakaroti udgātā—Āpastamba Śrauta Sūtra, 21. 18. 6.

13 Lath, Mukund, A Study of Dattilam, p. 252. Deva, B.C., The Music of India, pp. 65-66.

14 NS, 29.118. Abhinava refers to the vīṇā being twenty-one stringed, vīṇāyekaviṃśatitantrikā—AB on NS, 38. 3-5. However, nowhere does Bharata speak of a twenty-one stringed vīṇā. Abhinava seems to be referring to the mattakokilā of later times. Śārṅgadeva mentions these three separately (SR. 6.9). He refers to the citrā being seven-stringed and the vipaṅci being nine-stringed and of the two being played with the fingers and plectrum respectively (ibid., 6. 10. 11). The mattakokilā, however, was the chief vīṇā of his times, being twenty-one stringed and all three octaves could be obtained on it (ibid., 6. 112-13).

298 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

15 NŚ, 34. 14. The ghoṣaka is explained by Śārṅgadeva as the ekatantri vīṇā, or the vīṇā with one string—eṣo'pi janakaḥ prokto ghoṣakaicaikatantrikah, SR, 6. 109.

16 Niśīthasāstra (Rajkot, 1969), XVII. 253-56 and Cūrṇī, pp. 396-98.

17 Saptatamūnvitanvānā yājaka yamupāsate—Mahābhārata, Droṇaparva, 85. 18. (Gita Press ed., Vol. II, p. 559). Vipañcī parigṛhyāyā nivātā nityatālinī—Rāmāyaṇa, Sundarakāṇḍa, 10. 40-41.

18 Navayogām ghoṣavatīm kṛtva sthghamānyo—Svapnavāsavadattā, 6. Hastena srastakoṇena kṛtamākā-savāditam—ibid , 5. 6.

19 Vamśam vādayāmi saptacchidram vīṇām vādayāmi saptatantrīm nadantim—Mṛcchakaṭikam, 5. 11.

20 NŚ, 29. 79-83.

21 .........vīṇādyasvarūpamiti dhātavaḥ. Prahāraviśeṣajanyāḥ svarāḥ. Tatsamudāyopi janyāṃśakalpamāno dhātūn—AB on NŚ, 29. 50.

22 NŚ, 29. 50.

23 Ibid., 29. 51.

24 Evamekaprahārabhavo vistārajah—Kallinātha on SR, 6. 135-36.

25 Ibid., 29. 52.

26 Anubandhastu jñeyo vyāsasamāsācca niyatameṣām hi—ibid., 29. 58. Abhinava explains this as the combination of the different types (i.e. vistāraja, samghātaja sāmavāyaja). Vyāso' bhedānām misratvena prayogah—AB on NŚ, 29. 58.

27 NŚ, 53.54.

28 SR, 6. 137. Kallinātha says—Atra, vīṇyām uttarasvaro mandro, adharasvarastāro ityanena vaiparityam darśitam bhavati śarire hi adhāro mandraḥ uttarastāra iti draṣṭavyam. Tatropapattimāha—uttarādharāghātam hṛtti hi; yasmātkāraṇāt uttaratantri ghāto mandra-svarasya niṣpādakah adharatantri ghātastārasvarasyetyarthah. Kallinātha on SR, 6. 137-41.

29 NŚ, 29. 55; cf. SR, 6. 140-41.

30 NŚ, 29. 56-57; SR, 6. 142-47.

31 SR, 6. 145.

32 Kallinātha on SR, 6. 142-47.

33 SR, 6. 146.

34 Kallinātha on SR, 6. 142-47.

35 NŚ, 29. 58.

36 Laghugurvātmakairghātaiḥ karaṇaviddhayoh guru. This would seem to give kriyāḥ a heavy stroke and laghu, SR, 6. 148, a light stroke.

37 NŚ, 29. 59.

38 NŚ, 29. 60.

39 L.c.

40 SR, 6. 149-50.

41 NŚ, 29. 62.

42 SR, 6. 151-53

43 Cf. laghugurulaghubhih plutah; iti plutah—Kallinātha on SR, 6. 151-53.

44 Cf. dviruccāritābhyām laghugurubhyām atipātah : ityatipātah—Kallinātha on SR, 6. 151-53.

45 Caturvāram laghugurū uccāryante laghuratikīrṇaḥ ityatikīrṇaḥ—Kallinātha on SR, 6. 151-53.

46 SR, 6. 153 and Kallinātha on it.

47 Aṅgulibhedamātreṇa vyañjanastadbhidhām bruve—SR, 6. 154.

48 NŚ, 29. 69.

49 Ibid., 29. 64.

50 Aṅguṣṭhābhyāṁ kanīyasya tantrīrekā nihanyate yugapadyatra tatpuṣpamabhileṣuḥ purātaṅāḥ—SR, 6. 154.

51 NŚ, 29. 64.

52 ‘Tantryoḥ’ is in the dual number denoting two strings, each struck by a thumb. Thus Abhinavagupta has ‘aṅguṣṭhābhyāṁ samam tantryān tu’ (ntryostu) nānāsthānasvara (raḥ) tantriadvayam ye yugapajjanyāḥ—AB on NŚ, 29. 64. Cf. also ekasvaram yada nānāsthānakam tantrikādvayam aṅguṣṭhābhyāmekakāle nihanti syātkalam tadā—SR, 6. 155-56.

53 NŚ, 29. 65.

54 Vāmenaṅguṣṭhena tantrīm piḍayitvā dakṣiṇena hanyāditi tālam—AB on NŚ, 29. 65.

55 NŚ, 29. 65.

56 AB on NŚ, 29. 65.

57 SR, 6. 159.

58 NŚ, 29. 66.

59 L c.

60 SR, 6. 158.

61 NŚ, 29. 67.

62 Tālam kṛtvāvarohena ghāto’nusvanitammatam—SR, 6. 158.

63 NŚ, 29. 67.

64 Bindurekatra tantyāṁ syātprahāro gurunādakṛt—SR, 6. 157.

65 AB on NŚ, 29. 67.

66 NŚ, 29. 68.

67 Ibid., 29. 74.

68 L.c.

69 AB on NŚ, 29. 73-76.

70 NŚ, 29. 75.

71 Ribhi(phi)sca katthanayuddha (ninda)-himsānādareṣu (himsādanesu) paṭhyate. ………yuddādāvapi ca cāturyayoga evacitaḥ—AB on NŚ,

300 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

29. 73-76.

72 NŚ, 29. 75.

73 Ibid., 29. 71.

74 AB on NŚ, 29. 71.

75 NŚ, 29. 76.

76 Ibid., 29.77. Thus states Abhinava—etacca samastam gītam viṇāyā-mśakyaprayogam svarapada-tāla-nisthitaprapañcam darśayati...tena tathāvidhagītena saha samavāyahammelanāsa tattvākhyo vādyavidhīḥ—AB on NŚ, 29. 77.

77 NŚ, 29. 77.

78 AB on NŚ, 29. 77-78. Cf. SR, 6. 173-74.

79 NŚ. 29. 78.

80 AB on NŚ, 29. 77-78.

81 NŚ, 29. 78.

82 Compare modern jhaala on the sitar.

83 Tena vipañcyo vādye vādyante yānyuktaribhitādikaraṇamukhyā viṇā vādyoparañjakāni vādanavaicitryāṇi tāni buddha (dhva) dhvamiti sambandhaḥ—AB on NŚ, 29. 112.

84 NŚ, 29. 114.

85 AB on NŚ, 29. 114.

86 NŚ, 29. 114.

87 Tadvadeva anu paścād yadyu (du) cvate tatsamakālam tadā (thā) kṛte sati tatpratibimkatayā pratikṛtamiti—AB on NŚ, 29. 114.

88 AB on NŚ, 29. 115.

89 NŚ, 29. 116.

90 Yadā tu vainiko kṣaṇe vidārivāśācchedaṁ karoti tadā chidre vaipaṅ-cike yadā tadrūpaśeṣam—AB on NŚ, 29. 116.

91 NŚ, 29. 116.

92 Atidruto vaipaṅcikaprayogaḥ sa oghaḥ—AB on NŚ, 29. 116.

93 NŚ, 29. 115.

94 Tadeva punarvaicitryāṁ vaipaṅciko yadekasyāmeva tantryāmamśa-saṁvādinīyām āl-patādi karoti tadā (pratiṣuṣka). Pratiṣuṣkapadasyai-śāvasthāyanve—AB on NŚ, 29. 115

95 The nāḍī was used to propitiate lord Yama. Iyamasya dhamyate nāḍīrayam gīrbhih pariṣkṛtaḥ—Rgveda, 10. 135. 7. Sāyaṇa explains this as a special sort of flute. Iyam nāḍīḥ vādyaviśeṣo venuḥ dham-yate vādyate yadvā nāḍīti vamśanāma iyam stutirūpā vāk. Perhaps it was a kind of reed flute ?

96 Mahase viṇāvādam, krośāya tuṇavadhmam, avarasparāya. śaṅkha-dhmam ānandāya talavam—Taittirīya Brāhmaṇa, 3. 4.13-15. It seems that this tūṇava was constructed of wood. There is an inte-resting tale which says that Vāgdevī or the goddess of speech

being annoyed with the devatās entered the trees, plantations etc. Thenceforth goddess Vāgadevī sounds in the dundubhi, tūṇava or vīṇā.

97 Rāyapasenīya Sutta, number 64. Niśīthasūtra, p. 398. Kharamukhī was the same as kāhala; its frontal portion made of wood was shaped like the mouth of an ass. Parīti was an instrument made by joining together two pieces of hollow sticks and its mouth had only one opening. It was blown like a śaṅkha and it produced three different sounds simultaneously.

98 Nāliya tti apāvudā bhavati, sapana loye ‘muralī’ bhinṇati—Niśītha-cūrṇi, 1, p. 84.

99 NŚ, 30. 1.

100 Yamśātodyamiti pūrvam̉ bhagvānmaheśvarārādhanasādhanam̉ mataṅ-gamuni-prabhṛtibhirveṇunirmitam̉ tato vamśa iti prasiddham—AB on NŚ, 30. 1.

101 The Dictionary defines khadira as the name of a tree; it gives the botanical name of the tree as Acacia Catechu—Apte’s Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, p. 391. Thus here khadira implies the wood of the khadira tree. Cf. Śārṅgadeva who, while discussing the eka-tantrī vīṇa, says that its beam was made of khadirawood—SR, 6. 29.

102 Tathā coktam : vamśe sṛṣṭā yadā pūrvam̉ vamśasamjñā tu vaiṇavī vamśastu tu khādiro raupyah kāmsyajo vā sa kāñcanah—AB, IV, p. 139. Abhinava includes iron too. At another place he says—vamśaprakārarūpam (loha) khādirāderapi samgrahah—AB on NŚ, 30; AB, IV, p. 140.

103 SR, 6. 425. Kallinātha explains dantah as gajadanta-nirmitah i.e. made of ivory.

104 NŚ, 30. 2.

105 Ibid., 30. 5.

106 Ibid , 30. 10.

107 Nāradiya śikṣā, 1. 3. 2.

108 Śūdraka, who is placed in the early Christian era, in his Mṛcchakaṭikā, refers to a flute having seven holes vamśam—vādayāmi saptachidram̉ vīṇām̉ vādayāmi saptatantrīm nadantīm—Mṛcchakaṭikam, 5. 11. It is possible that Bharata’s flute consisted of seven holes. since he flourished somewhere about the same time.

109 AB on NŚ, 302.

110 NŚ, 28. 2.

111 L.c. puṣkara or avanaddha vādya are also referred to as bhāṇḍa by Bharata.

112 NŚ, 34. 2.

302 A Historical and Cultural Study of the Nāṭyaśāstra

113 The legend runs something like this—Once, when the sage Svāti had gone to a lake to fetch water, Pākaśāsana (Indra) by sending great torrents of rain commenced to make the world a vast ocean. Torrents of water, falling with the force of wind made clear sounds on the lotus leaves in the lake. The sage heard these sounds in great wonder and observed that the high, medium and low sounds on the lotus-leaves were deep, sweet and pleasing. These sounds inspired him to the creation of puṣkara vādya. He then returned to his hermitage and created the mṛdaṅga, paṇava and dardara with the help of Viśvakarmā. On the pattern of the divine dundubhi, he created the muraja, the āliṅgya and the ūrdhvaka aṅkika—ibid., 234. 4-10. Perhaps some text on puṣkara-vādya written by sage Svāti were known to Bharata. However, no such text is extant now.

114 NŚ, 34. 15; also NŚ, 34. 35.

115 Ibid., 34. 26; see also NŚ, 34. 15.

116 NŚ, 34. 254. The earliest references to it are found in the Mānava Grhya Sūtra, Kāṭhaka Grhya Sūtra, Arthaśāstra, Mahābhārata, Rā-māyaṇa and Tripitaka—Deva, loc. cit., p. 89.

117 Ibid., 34. 255.

118 Ibid., 34. 256.

119 Ibid., 34. 257.

120 Ibid., 34. 258.

121 Ibid., 34. 259.

122 Ibid., 34. 260.

123 See fn. 17.

124 NŚ, 34. 12.

125 Ibid., 34. 270.

126 AB on NŚ, 34. 270.

127 NŚ, 34. 82.