42. NĀȚYASĀSTRA 39

NĀȚYASĀSTRA 39

some questions, viz. what deity is worshipped in yirr, how nätya came down to the earth from heaven and how his descen- dants came to be called natas; Bharata's replies to these that his sons being intoxicated with their proficiency in nātyaveda engaged in mimicking the sages and composing dramatic pieces that were lewd and improper; sages were angered and cursed the bharatas that they and their descendants would be śūdras; Bharata said that they should transmit the Nātyasastra to other and better pupils and perform prāyaścitta; then Nahușa who had become Indra desired Bharata to promulgate Nātyaśāstra on the earth; Kohala will supplement the Natyaveda; then the sons of Bharata taught to their own sons the sastra and Kohala, Vātsya, Sāndilya, Dhūrtila propagated it in the world; the nātyaśāstra is auspicious and holy and the gods are pleased more by a dramatic performance than by worship with flowers and sandalwood paste. The above outline of the contents of the Natyasastra, though meagre as compared with the large bulk of the work, is suffi- cient to show its encyclopaedic character. It contains an elaborate analysis of the sources of the aesthetic pleasure that one derives from seeing a performance; it treats of the archite- cture of the theatre, gives an exhaustive treatment of metres to be employed, the postures, movements and gestures of actors and of the mode in which they are to deliver their speeches, of the different kinds of dramas, the analysis of the structures of the dramas and their styles. It also furnishes directions about the songs to be sung and the musical instruments to be employed and treats in detail of the musical notes and their combinations. Above all, it insists on a high and noble purpose for the drama, forbids indecent behaviour, scenes or language and holds forth before the actors a high spiritual ideal by saying that if the actors dedicate themselves to their work in a spirit of devotion to their art and attain perfection therein, they will be doing a great service to society and will acquire merit for themselves. The Natyasāstra, as narrated in its last chapter, knew well that the drama and actors had come into great disrepute for their loose character and tries hard to raise the status of both. This work is probably unique in the world's literature on dramaturgy. Hardly any work on dramaturgy in any language has the com- prehensiveness, the sweep and the literary and artistic flair of