CHAPTER ;37

Types o f Rupaka

84:7

s A % 1The te n v a r i e t i e s o f Rupakas a re described

in Adhyaya 18 o f th e NS,

In Adhyaya 18, NS m entions and d e f i n e th e

fo llo w in g v a r ie t i e s o f Rupa :

( l ) N ataka, (2) P rakarana (3) Anka

(U ts rs tik a n k a ) , (4) Vyayega, (5)Bhana, (6) Ssmavakara,

(7) V i th i , (8) P rahasana, (9) Dima and (lO )Iham rga. A f te r

d e sc r ib in g Nat?k a and P rakarana , B harata d e sc rib e s Natika®

This would make in a l l e leven v a r i e t i e s , But th e re i s an

in te rp o la te d v e rs e which says th a t N a tika embodies th e

e s s e n t ia l q u a l i t ie s o f Nataka and P rakarana and th a t3

th e re fo re th e Rupas a re only te n , Dhananjaya, a ls o , who

t r i e s to fo llo w B harata f a i t h f u l l y sa y s , ’Dasadhaiva*,

i . e . th e Rupaka i s only te n - fo ld ; Dhanika ex p la in s t l i s

d e te rm in a tio n o f number by say ing th a t i t i s done from5

th e p o in t o f view o f pure ty p e . So th i s excludes th e mixed

1. Hemacfiandra does n o t m ention Rupa o r Rupaka in th e sense o f N ataka, e tc . in h is AC, However, i n h is Anekarthasam graha, he g ives amongst th e se v e ra l meanings o f Rupa N atakadika,1 . e, N ataka, e tc . ( I I . 301 ,p .25) and th r e e meanings o f Rupaka as Ngtaka, Kavyalaifikara and Dhurta ( I I I .8 9 , p, 56 ).So does M edini. AmarakcSa m entions n e i th e r Na4=fefe«r Nataka o r Rupaka.2 . NS. 18. 2 -33. NSo 18®6l.4. DR. 1 .75. DR. p .4

S'IS6

type$ Natika and such other mixed v a rie tie s ,

heaving aside the intervening topics for the present, I w ill give a s tra ig h t descrip tion of the ten forms. In fac t Hemaeljandra has adopted th is method in his Kav§(yanus'asana (VIII-ppa432-443). I sh a ll mainly follow him. 1. l i t aka 8 Whoa a Rupaka has for i t s subject-m atter a well- known p lo t, for i t s hero a well-known and exalted person, fo r depiction, the l i f e - deeds of a scion of a dynasty of royal sages, m when i t takes recourse (occasionally) to divine agencies, super human powers and splendours, when i t presents d ifferen t amorous pastimes and v irtues and when i t consists of Ankas- acts and Pravesakas- in terludes- i t becomes a Nataka. SbX B riefly , a Rupaka which depicts the deeds of kings, expressing a variety o f Rasas and

7Bhavas, caused by happiness and misery, i t becomes a Natakao8

A Nataka may have five to ten Acts.

There should not be a crowd of people in a Nataka. There should be only four o r five active persons.In the composition o f a play action should be made like a tip of a cow’s t a i l and the exalted situations in a play should be placed at t j ie end.At the conclusion of a play which contain; various psychological states and sentiments,

6. Dr.Raghavan has discussed the question of number of Rupakas and points out th a t the re i s not much significance in the number. In his view th e~ number ten indicates only ten tendencies...He points out th a t a l l the ten varie ties from Nataka to Ihamrga embody these ten tendencies in various degrees. (See h is a r t ic le *A note on the name Da^arupaka' «TOR^,Vol«VII,Part I I I ,July-Sept. 1933 pp,270-290)7. NS. 18. 10-128. NS. 18- 19

9ex p erts shou ld always in tro d u ce th e m arvellous sen tim en t.

2 . P rakarana i When a poet c re a te s by M s own genius Vastu♦

( p l o t ) , S a r i r a (body) and Kay aka (hero) and e la b o ra te s th e10whole th in g c re a t iv e ly , i t i s c a l le d P rakarana by the w ise.

A ccording to AGMe h e re ? a s tu c o n s is ts o f th e Sadly aphala;,r _

i . e . th e f r u i t to be achieved by the h e ro , S a r i r a c o n s is ts11

o f Upaya; i . e . means to achieve th e f r u i t .

In a P rakarana, th e poet c re a te s a p o e tic

com position whos_e m a te r ia l I s n o t taken from th e l i f e of

sages (Anarsa) but from s e c u h ^ r co m p o sitio n 's (A^harya) s

I t i s endowed w ith unprecedented q u a l i t i e s . I t s B ija V astu >

i .e * seed in c id e n t i s newly c re a te d . In_a Prakarana , th e

v a r ie d deeds o f Brahmina^ m erchants, m in is te r s , C hap la ins ,

C o u n c illo rs , le a d e rs o f caravans a re d e p ic te d . I t has n e i th e r

an e x a lte d hero n o r ro y a l enjoym ent. I t d e p ic ts o u te r persons

(Bahya). I t d e p ic ts Dasas, V ita s (B eaus), S re s th is ( th e

r i c h , m erchan ts), th e doings o f cou rtesans and the deeds

o f women o f lower fam ily . W hatever i s s a id regard ing (p lo t)

(V astu ), S a r i r a (body) ,v a r i e t i e s o f V r^ t t i s and Sandhis

in connec tion w ith Nataka ho lds good in th e case o f

Prakarana also® Sdke Nat*; a i t should not be crowded

w ith many p e rso n s. In a P rakarana, th e h e ro in e may be o f

th e same c la s s as th e hero o r may be from th e co u rtezan

c la s s . The two ( th e w ife and th e c o u rte z a n ) , how ever,should

not be shown to g e th e r , l i k e th e Praves'akas in a N a tak a ,th e re

shou ld be VIskambhakas i n th e Prakarana*The p e r s o n s in th e

849

9a NS. 1 8 -4 2 -4 310 . NS. 18.4511. NS. Vo!. I I . p . 430

850

Viskambhakas would be o f th e m iddle c la s s . I t may have f iv e 12

to te n a c ts .

2-A N atika t From a ccm bination o f elements o f th e se two

main types ,v iz . Nat aka and Prate, ran a , N a tik a asmes in to

e x is te n c e . l t may have fo r i t s hero a well-known c h a ra c te r

o r a new ly -c rea ted one. For I t s h e ro in e i t may have a13maiden connected w ith th e opera in th e harem. A N atika has

fou r a c ts , many fem ale c h a ra c te rs w ith a scope fo r charming

A bhinayas, dance, songs e te . I t would d e p ic t se n su a l

p lea su re s a lso and i t s c o n s titu e n ts a re w ell form ed. A

N atika d e p ic ts ro y a l e t iq u e t te , th e h e ro , h is c h ie ^ f

quern , th e lady m essenger and such o th e r r e t in u e . I t has14

scenes e x h ib it in g anger, d e c e i t , and t h e i r p a c i f ic a t io n .

3. Samavakara ; The su b je c t-m a tte r o f th e Samavakara

c o n s is ts o f e x p lo its of gods and A su ra s . I t has f o r i t s

hero a person who i s well+knowa and U d a tta > i. e . e x a lte d .

I t c o n s is ts o f th re e a c t s . I t d e p ic ts th r e e kinds o f K apata-

decep tion and th e th re e kinds o f V idrava-S excitem ent, and

th re e k inds o f S rA n g ara -e ro tic sen tim en t, A samavakara

may have tw elve heroes and i t s d u ra tio n may be o f 18 15

N adikas. The f i r s t a c t d e p ic ts P ra h asan a -la u g h te r, V id rava-

exeitem en t, K apata- d e c e it and V i th ls . I t s d u ra t j io n i s

o f 12 N adikas. S im ila r ly the second a c t a lso shou ld be

c o n s tru c te d . I t s dur a t lo n i s o f fou r N adikas.The th i r d

12. NS. 18. 19 ' 13. NS.18.57-5814. NS. 18. 59-60 SSx15. Nadika s 24 m inutes (See N S .E n g .T ran s .V o l.I .p .363 ,f f . )

83-1

a c t i s meant fo r comjhletion o f t h e p lo t . I t should c o n s is t

o f two N adikas. In a Samavakara, each ac t d e p ic ts a

d i f f e r e n t to p ic . Ho connec tion between them i s desired# In

Samavakara? V idrava may be due to th re e types o f

c ircum stances ? v iz . Ci) b a t t le and f lo o d , ( i i ) confusion

caused by a sto rm , f i r e and a b ig e le p h a n t , ( i i i ) th e s ie g e

o f a c i t y . The th r e e k inds o f d e c e it i n a Samavakara may

be due to ( i ) bad lu ck , ( i i ) work by an en em y ,(iii) done

by e ircusm tances c re a tin g happiness and m isery# The th re e

types o f S r^ngara i n a Samavakara ares Dharmasrngara,

A rtnasrngara and Kamas’rn g a ra . These th re e k inds o f Srngara

a re th en explained#

The m etres recommended f o r a Samavakara a re

o f Usnik and G ayatri ty p e s . They have to be coup H e a te d/

i n t h e i r com positions. T his Samavakara has rec o u rse to1?a v a r ie ty o f R asas.

* * * *

4 . Ihamrga % In Ihamrga d iv in e persons a re d e p ic te d .

They a re engaged in f ig h ts concerning d iv in e d a m se ls .I ts

p lo t i s w e ll c o n s tru c te d / and sic h as to cause su sp ic io n .

I t d e p ic ts m ainly x t ± v io le n t p e rso n s . I t s v e rses d e p ic t

th e anger of women. There i s much tum ult a id l ig h t i n i t .

I t s S rngara i s r e la te d to women who a re cap tu red by d e c e it

fo rc e or k idnapp ing . Ihamrga has th e same V r t t i s and

Rasas whieh a re d e p ic ted in Yyayoga. The only d iffe re n c e

i s th a t in Ihamrga heavenly women a re depicted,w hen th e

q u a r re l becomes in te n s e and th e f ig h te r s a re eager to

k i l l one a n o th e r , t h e i r f ig h t shou ld be r^ eso lv ed by — 18

some p re te x t in Iham rga.

8 5 a

,q. ruma i I t has a well-known p lo t and a well-known

U d a tta -e x a lte d h ero . I t e x h ib its s ix R asaf, 0mits g rngara

and Hasya and c o n s is ts o f fou r a c ts . The Dima in g en era l

e x h ib its th e v igerous R asas. I t s a c t io n fin d s scope

f o r earthquakes, f a l l o f m eteo rs , e c l ip s e o f th e sun o r

th e moon, f ig h t in g in b a t t l e , a p e rso n a l combat and angry

c o n f l i c t , I t has scope fo r d e c e i t ,m agic, v a rio u s kinds

of masks. I t i s f u l l of gods, th e se rp en t k ings ,Rs5§65jas as

Yaks as and P is 'acas. I t is f i l l e d w ith s ix te e n h e ro © .* .. - . 19

I t d e p ic ts S a t tv a t i and A rabhati V r t t i s .

6 . Vvnvoga i I t has a well-known hero and the body o f

th e p lo t i s a lso we I l f known. I t f in d s scope f o r only a few

women. I t s a c t io n extends fo r a d a y .In i t many people

f ig h t as they do in Samavakara. I t has only one a c t . I t

shou ld n o t have a heavenly person , but may have a hero

o f ro y a l sag e . In sh o r t th e r e must be c o n f l i c t , and combat20i n Vyayoga. I t s Rasa i s o f m i l i t a n t ty p e .

7. U tsrs tik a rik a s The p lo t i n th is type may be well-known• A • t

but i t -if may sometimes bji o th e rw ise . The Heroes shouldk

be o rd in a ry p ersons. The main sentim ent i n th is ty p e is

p a th e t ic sen tim en t, r e s u l t in g from f ig h ts and v io le n t

blows. I t is f u l l o f th e w a ilin g s o f women and words

su g g e s tin g N irveda. I t 3s vo id o f S & ttv a ti, A rabhati, , 21 and K a is ik i V r t t i s . The acticn shou ld happen in B hara tavarsa .

19* NS. 83-8820. NS. 90-9321. NS* 1894-96

8 3 3

ft. Prahasanfl i There a re two kinds of Prahasana * Suddha-

pure and S an k irn a- mixed. The p u re kind o f Prahasana

c o n s is ts o f d i s c o u r s e s o f B hagavatas, T apasas, V ipras and

such p e rso n s . I t abounds in s a t i r i c a l speeches and dep ic ts

w orth less fe llo w s (k ap u ru sa).lan g u ag e and condu it i n i t

a re s tu d ie d o r lea rn ed (A dh iga ta ). I t s in c id e n ts (C aritapada)

a re su g g e s tiv e o f p a r t i c u la r tem peram ents. I t s p lo t moves22

i n a d e f in i te groove®

AG exp la in s B hagavatas, Tapasas and V ipras

re s p e c tiv e ly as Y a tis ( a s c e t ic s ) ,V lh ap rasth as (persons

ab id in g in f o r e s t ) , and V ipras (house h o ld e r Brahm ins).

A ccording to him 'o th e r such p e rso n s’ r e f e r to Sakyas-23

Buddhist monks, e tc .

The mixed Prahasana d e p ic ts c o u rte za n s , m oaia ls ,

eijtfnchs, V ita s , rogues and u n ch aste o r b a rren women

(B a n d h a k is ) .I t e x h ib its immdoest d re s s , p a ra p h e rn a lia 24

and behaviour®

The rumours t h a t a re in popu lar t a l k , d e c e i t f u l

c o n tr iv a n c e s , d iscu ss io n s c f rogues a r e te to be dep ic ted

(g e n e ra lly ) in a P rahasana .A ppropria te item s o f V ith f25

a lso f in d p la c e in i t .

22. NS. 18...D3' -1 0 4 .......................23. N S,V ol.II.p.448.D r.M .M .G hosh says,"T he word Bhagavat r e l a te s p rim a rily to a Saiva S a i n t . l t i s in th is sense th a t th e word has been used in th e Prahasana named BhagavadaJ ju k iy a . (NS. E n g .V o l.I I . Eng. Trans .p .2 6 9 . f f . )24. NS. 18.10525. MS. 18-106

8514 ^

AG explains * ILokopacarayaktavarta* as *3akyanam, 26

strfsam parkah' contacts of Sikyas it th women®

.9® Bhana t Bhana is acted by on|y one ch arac te r, He ta lkse *

about h is own experience or describes wh a t has reference

to others® I t has recourse to a v a rie ty o f things® This is

done by u tte r in g him self spjeaking others * words® There

are in i t imaginary dialogues by means of Akas'abhSsita^

expressing th e ir m otions by his own bodily ac ting .

A Bhana is to be acted by Dhurta or V ita« * *

character® There are many s ta te s and types of behaviour*27

exoreased in i t . A Bhana has one a c t.

AG explains th e a we~rd Bhana th u s . "Eka

mukhenaiva bhahyante uktlmantah k riy aa te apravisfca api , * , * 28

p a triav lse sa y a tra iti|bhanah/ “A Bhiija (lit® speaking) i s

so ca lled because characters wiPo do not enter the stage .

become spoken by one mouth*!®#® the absent characters*speak through og^mouth.

10. V ith i s V ith i consists of on# a c t. I t i s e ith e r acted

by one character or by two ch a rac te rs , I t includes th ree

types of charaeterSjviz® Mham&§ Uttama and Madhyama® The

th ir te e n limbs of the V ith i a re ;

(1) Udghatyaka (acc iden ta l in te rp re ta tio n ) ,

(2) A valagiia (ivm m feasnef), (3) Avas pandit a (ominous

s ig n ifican ce ), (4) Ngli (Enigma), (5) A sat-pralapa

(incoherent c h a tte r ) , (6) Vgkkeli ( re p a rtee ), (7) Prapanca

(com plaint), (8) Mrdava (crushing), (9) Adhlbala (outvyingX, (10) Ghala (deception), (11) T rigata (th ree men1 s ta lk ) ,

(12) Vyghara (d ec la ra tio n ), an~d (13) Ganda (undue combination o f words)

24. NS. 18.105 26. 13. Vol. I I . P.44925. NS. 18.106 27. NS. 18.108-110.

28. NS® Vol. I I . P.449 29®NS.18®111-118

411 these th ir te e n Angas are various kinds of ©lever reparteeso As Haaaehandra says in h is Viveka ** Vithiyamtu

„ 30bhhuvidfaa vakrokti vis^esa vyutpadyanta / This is what we

find in a l l these th ir te e n Arigas.oAs to th e meaning or d e fin itio n s of these

Vithyangas, the tra d it io n has become obscure® I f we

compare the d efin itio n s and i l lu s tr a t io n s given in BE, ND,31

BP e tc . 5.We find important variations® Being clearer

reparteSs, some of the Vithyajagas find place in other

Bipakas such as Prahasm a etc®In th e Chaukhamba ed ition aid th e ed ition of

Dr. M®M®Ghosh, the descrip tion of V ith l and i t s 13 Angas ^

followed by the descrip tion o f ten l€sya Angas® The

Nirnaya S agar a ed ition has p rin ted th is m atter in

bracket ted verses 182*197. I t r m arks in the footnote

th a t th is m atter w ithin brackets is taken from prin ted

book, but in the manuscripts some of th is m atter i s found

In the Adhyaya th a t follows >1.6* 19® In the G.C.S. edition

the descrip tion of the Lasya Angas are found from verses

117 to 137 in Adhyaya 19. a f te r the descrip tion about th e

Avasthas, Sandhis and th e ir Angas«♦ 0The ten I4Isya Angas are as fo lio s % Geyapada,

S th itap lth y a , As i n f Fuspagandika, Pracchedaka, Trimudha,

Saindhavekhya, Dvimudhaka, Gttamottamaka and Ukta-prayuktaka.

30. Kavyanus'asana, P.445.31. DBoIIIe12«21, ND

These are thgs described in the NS.When the heroirf being s eated surrounded

iwith stringed instruments and drums and when Suska songsare sung (i.c* without any accompalniment of these), i t

32is called Geyapada.2. Sthftapathvas I f a separated lady burning with th e f ireof l&ve, recites anything in Prakrit While resting on her

33seat, i t is called s th it apathy a.a. Asina i When one s i ts without making any td ile t and is over cane th anxiety aid sorrows, and looks withoblique glances; i t is an instance of Asina.1...When a wcmen in the guise of a man recitessome thing sweetly in San sk r it for the pleasure of her

- &female friends, i t is an instance of Puspagandlka.a t

t

&*~i£3£SfaMaks$ When a separated woman painedby the modnlight prepares to go to her beloved, m m i f he has

■S4done her wrong, i t is an Instance of Pracchedaka.

6. Trlmudhat A play adorned with aren metres andabounding in many feelings and composed of words which

37are neither harsh nor large, is called Trimudha®32® NS. 19-12133. NS. 19®12334. NS. 19.125 35o NS. 19.12636. NS. 19.12937. NS. 19.130

8 5 7

7. Salndhavaka-?. When one represents a lover who has

fa ile d to keep h is t r u s t and i s using P rak rit to express

his g r ie f through well-performed Karanas, i t i s an instance38

of Salndhavaka.D elineating a song o f th e Caturasra type

which has an auspicious meaning and which tr e a ts psycholo­

g ica l s ta te s and sentim ents, w ith the pretension of e ffo rts ,3f

is c a l l Dvimudhaka.

a . Uttamo-ttamakfli I t is composed of v a r io jis kinds of

s'lokasj i t includes various sentiments and is adhorned40

the condition of passion.

lOa Uktaoratyukt a t I t is a du«t£ ( l i t . a dialogue) expressing

anger or p leasure md i t contains words o f censure* I t41

should contain in te re s tin g things in a song.

This is followed by th e descrip tion of V icitrapada

and Bhavika*

V icitrauada: I f my woman turn ing >& th the f i r e of love

soothes her mind by seeing th e p o r tra i t of her lover, i t42

is an instance of V icitrapada.

Bhavlkai I f a woman who is buring vd. th the f i r e of love

a f te r seeing her beloved in a dream, expresses her

d iffe re n t psychological s ta te s , i t is an Instance o f Bhavika., .

38* NS. 19.13139. NS. 19*13340. NS. 19*13441. NS. 19.13542. NS. 19.13643. NS. 19.137

Hog

What is the place of these ILasya Angas in Rupakas?

Dhananjaya and so^me of the old w riters who follow regard

these la sy a Angas as connected with Bhana in te rp re tin g

‘Bhlna israika prayojyani and Bhanakrtlvat lasysm’ in the

sense th a t the ILasya and i t s Angas belong to Bhana,« f

Dr. V.Raghavan^in his learned work Srfigaraprakasa, has very

convincingly refu ted th is view of Dfcananjay^a and o thers .

His arguments may he b r ie f ly summarized here: “There is a

s c ie n ti f ic order in Bharata*s descrip tion o f the types of

dramatic performance and the ILasya at th e end o f th ese .

The la s t types to be defined by him are th e Bhana aid the

V ith ie The Bhaha i s a Rupak^in which only one character

appears and ca rrie s on an imaginary dialogue through

Akghabhasita® I t isja monologue, n arra ted by one ac to r,

though i t s them© i s f u l l of various ch arac te rs . Says Bharata:

Vivldhas^frye hi bhahah v l jneyastvekahaiyasca / XX® 112. Kasi

Edn. The V ithi has two v a r ie t ie s , one which was su re ly e a r lie r

ahd was c lose ly re la te d to th e Bhana, in which only one

character appeared and gave the audience only a monologue?

and another v a r ie ty , surely la te r , in whlchjjthere was

dialogue and two persons impersonated.

V ith i siyadekanka dvipatrahafcya tathaikaharya va/XX011 (Kasi, Edn.)

Rasairbhavaisca sakalalh yut&a v lth i prakirtitajEkaharya dviharya va kartavya kavibhissada / / XX.135/ Kasi. Edn.

The original aid earlie r v i th i , or thefmore common Vithi,was 'Ekaharya'. Thus Bharat a ends tek his description ofthe dramatic varie ties with the description of the lessperfect types of the nature of monologues like the Bhanaaid the V ithi. Akin to these two is the entertainmentcalled the Msya wh ich is also do ne by one individual®

/ ,I t is sim ilar to Bhana, in th a f ’ls done by one person.So Bharat a -

Bhana iva ekaprayo^ya n i/ Bhahakrtivallasyam/ XX-136-7. [hasi Edn}and not that the ILasya with i t s Angas fora® the specialfeature characterising the Bhana as distinguished fromother types. I t is a misunderstanding of th is fact thatBharata does nothing more than compare the ILasya to theBhina, calling i t also Efca-hlrya like the Bhi$a, whichis responsible for la te r writers giving the ILasya as acharacteristic forming part of Bhana among the Rupakas.As a matter of fac t, Bharata expressly say$ thatindependently the fthgas of ILasya appear in the Nataka*

# * •

Anyahi cafLasyavidhavangani tu natake preyuktani / XX. 136. The Vithi enters into the Prahasanaj Uddhai^rakadibhiridam (Pr ah as an am) vitbyangairmis'ritam bhavenmlsram / / The Prahasana and the Vithi enter the f i r s t of the three parts of the Samavakaras

Alikas tu Pr ah as an ah / XX. 68» '

Anko*stu 3ap|rahas anah kapatjh savithyangah / /XX. 70

8S0So also th e re is ample p o s s ib l i l i ty of one kind o f _

&dramaticjform, th e comic, the p a th e tic , etc® entering

another. In th e same manner, th e I*asya with i t s Ahgas

appears in the Nataka a lso . Says Bharatas

Any and ca lasyavidhavaiigsni tu natake prayukt&ni/ XX. 136

Therefore th e re is no warrant for or meaning in s ta tin g

th a t ILSsyajpertains to Bhiina. Bhina i s only a monologue

and only narra tes or describes} but never shows action

with various actors^ and hence cannot show action with

various actors > and hence cannot show th e ten kinds o f

I<asya« Nor can V ith i, monologue or dialogue, embrace the

1L£sya a lso . So a lso , the Prahasana cannot have the I«asyaKl

and i t s Angas. For, these two are s&tlfc&l and comical./ _

In th e sublime types of Nataka, Suddha Prak arena Ngtika,

Tot aka and S attaka, the I»asya can appear and i t does

appear. In th e Samavakara, Ihamrga, Dima, and Vyajg^a too

i t cannot appear. These are hero ic and r e la te to Vlr.&

ra sa and f ig h ts § ILasya is re la te d to love, Sr& igira rasaY

and the so fte£ aspects. The Anka or the U tsrstik in |lka

which is an one-act Karu^a-piece and sequel o f weeping

* following a calamity of war e tc . , can have no place for

I«5sy&, Those Uparup&as in which one dancer appears, singsW

and renders through gestures a phase or more o f the

emotion of lave are themselves forms o f ILasya. The Nautch,

which has not died out^ In South In d ia , is a ty p ic a l

example of ILasya".

8Si"Bharata gives another important characteristic of

the lasya, vi z. that the emotional them# in the I&sya iscompletely an imaginative creation of the poet, uhya. It isan this respect that he says it is similar to the Prak&rajna,a pljay with a created story-ubya-karya (or kavya) or ^Utpidya~vastu. Prakaranavad uhyskaryam Cvyajn) etc. XX. 137”48j T h e description or the definitions of the lor Rupakas given above show certain obvious peculiarities* The Na aka and the Prakarana have from five to ten Acts.They are thus the majo r typ^es. The Acts of rsmaining eighttypes very from four to one.BP. Dhananjaya has given an important principle toclassify the ten Rupakas• He sa'ys "Vastu neta rasastesam43 ,, ~bhedakah / "As Dhanika eacphlins the Rapes differ from cne another by the difference of Vastu (plot), Meta (hero) ®Td

AA «Sasa (sentiment^Vastu being the main determlng principle of the Rupakas, Dhananjaya gives (ia its three main divisions?(i) Prakhyata -well-known-traditlonally the plot may be PurSole, historical or semi-historical, (ii) Utapadya-created by tfee imagination of the poet, and (iii) Misra-mixture of

S§ * * mtradition and imaginary. Another division that Dhananjaya gives is & th reference to the characters being Dlvya-heavenly or Martya-human etc. Keeping these principles of Dhananjaya in mind, we may specify the Rupakas in ordinary language asfollows $ __________________________________42. S'rhgaraprak&S'a, pp.575-57643. D6., 1*11.44. Ibid., p.6«

The Nataka deals with the affairs of kings and the Prakarana th t he affairs of the social classes in a mixed social mlli®a® Thus Prakarana is in modern terminology a social comedy. The Bhana and the Prahasana have a ffin ity with Prakarana* the status of the characters in them$ ^rjs mostly from the lower social strata* Vyayoga* Samavakira and Dima have their characters from gods, dead-gods, denons etc. With some heroic characters from Mahabharata and other Puranas® Utsr^stiklhka is something like an epilogue to the heroic types of playso The nature of Vithi is not made clear. I t has scope for a l l the Rasas, but i t s distinguishing feature seams to be i t s varie ties of clever repartees In fact whenever clever repartees are found in other Rupakas, they are supposed to be one or other of these th irteen Vithyangas*

i G t

When we compare the constituen t^ cf the ten or eleven types of Bupaka, a question naturally arises as to how these are, in ter -related® Whether the minor varie ties are evolved or derived from the two major types,are derived from the minor ones by combination of the elements of the la tte rl .e . minor. Some scholars notably Dr® Saghavan ia htx and the la te Prof0D.R.Mankad have attempted to discuss these questions.

Dr. Raghavan In Ms a rtle le *A note on the name 45

Das'arupa* re jects the trad itional view of classifying dramasinto major and minor types arP,d ®ays» "But such a theoreticaldistinction and c lassifica tion of drama and dramaticperformances do not answer to the re a l facts of M storical

46development." He c la rif ie s th is point and gives his own view how the major and the minor types are realted and incidentallythe ir derivation. He says, "When the Bharata Natya Sgstra codified the a r t of drama of i t s time and before Ms time, there were available ten kinds of dramatis performances. Not a l l of them were or could be called major varie ties or

sehane of Das'arupaka are two and they are the f i r s ts two,

clearly that the f i r s t type called Nataka is the P rakrti, wMcfa does not mean that i t is the source of other types M storically but means that i t is the la te s t , the perfection of drama, M storically speakln g, in which can be found aspects

^ ±7 m ma l l the earlie r and imperfect varie ties" .

v a rie tie s . The Vithi is the predecessor of the Pr ah as ana®isTTournal of Oriental Researeh, V©1. VII, part® I I I ,

July-Sept.1933, pp.27846* Ibid.,p»278 i

perfect types of drama. The only perfect drama-types in the

Nataka and Prakarana ••

Dr. Raghavan illu s tra te s Ms thesis as followst

"The VitM and the Alika certainly do not represent major

47. Ibid, pp.278-279* Is th is in t erpr et at ion of Saradatanayo. *_

8G4Ifcxxlifcfctejhciac The Prahasana can. live by itself as a separate type of perfect drama even though its character and features are aval lab e to an extent in the Nat aka and amply in the Prakarana. The Vfthi of course died ear 3y and we have no old specimens of the Vithl now preserved© Bharata's Natya Ststra actually gives in many places evidences for the disappearance of the Vithi into the body of the Prahasana, the Prakarana and the Nataka, both as part of the Prastavana and of the drama Itself# The Samavakara, the Ihitarga, the Dima and the Vyayoga represent the Uddhata or Aviddha types of drama, being heroic in theme© They are the early specimens of dramatic performances depicting fights mongs Divas and Asuras* The Asura Vijaya

•rt

(N,3.1,59) and the Amrta Majthana (N,S.IV02«4), described as a x Samavakara ,were the first dramatic performances, Then

iwhen Brahman took Bharata*s troupe to Slva*s abode, the themeof Tripura-daha described as a Dima was enaeted (N.S.IV,lo).

«*»

The Samavakara, the Dima?the Ihamrga and the Vyayoga are very similar to each other# Bharata refers us to the other whiledescribing each these* He gives the Ihamrga as similar to the

<\ *

Vyaiyoga and the Vyayoga as similar to the Samavakara.(Vide N.S. X2SIs.82-85 md 95-99)The learned scholar further says, "The Vyayoga is also describedas an one-act Samavakara, with the hero as an epic king andnot as a God (NS,XX.95-96) These, by the influence of theMahakavyas and the growing mythological legends, graduallyperfected themselves injto the heroic type Nataka.

48. Ibid. pp.279.V§iasara,3a has given us specimens of Samavakara, Qima and IhSmpga even though their earlier specimens are not available©

8G5The tendency to depict mm of society, the ir habits and ridiculousness, th is old, natural and native tendency of man began with small ifeperfect types like V ithi, grew into Prahasana and perfected I ts e l f into Prakarana© That the fa rcical and s a tir ic a l type, the Prahasana, was of very early origin is proved by NSoXXXVI, 29-37* Whan the Prakarana and the NSt aka were being reached, there was however a need for variety of in te rest which resulted in a mutual exchange of features* Thus Suddha varie ties of Prakarana rose which were not in any way different from Nitjaka, except in the fact of the hero not being a king of puranic glory, Prakhyata® Similarly the Nataka got such features as the Vidus aka for comic re l ie fwo."The Vithi was f i r s t done by one actor and then by two* Fran the la t te r , the Prahasana roe a« From the former, a new typ .e

a

with erotic and comic thane called Bhana grew as Monologue© Though the main feature tfff this also merged into the build of the Nataka and the Prakarana, i t could live separately like the Prahasana**. The Mlsra or mixed variety of the Prahasana contained the Vithi in it* (N*S*XX0l l l ) And the Vithi and the Prahasana were made part of the f i r s t of the three acts of the Samavakara* (N«S*XX®70) The remaining type in the Dasarupaka is the Utsrstiklhka or simply Adka* I t has two varie ties , one vith Prakahy&tanayaka and another with Aprakhyitanayaka*— — — -------- :—“ " “ **

Bharat a a r a y a s says that the la tte r shall be only an occasional case which means that in his time the Afika was slowly becoming less heroic and more popular in i t s theme. The AiSka i s , so tosay, an epilogue or a sequel to a Samavakara, Ihaburgaj^ima or

*

Vyayoga® These four plays depict fights among gods and otherPrakhyata heroes while the Anka depicts the resu lt of those1± fights; i®e« opens with the close of the fights and beginswith the wailings of the wife or wives and other relatedpersons of those killed® Thus th is one-act Karuna piece callddAnka also goes with the heroic class or the heroic drsnaticthread in the Dasarupaka"®

The topic of classifying Rupakas and tracing theirderivation is made more explicit by th is learned scholar in

50his a rtic les on the Vrttis® He says, "Just as dance on the *same basis of ILalitya and Auddhatya gets d ifferentiated intoI»asya and Tgndava, so also the Rupakas numbering ten getdistinguished into the i-alita and the Uddhata®.® ••• Even & s

the largest amount of Kaisikl can be seen only in a Nataka andPrakaranajthe largest anount of Arabhatl can be seen only inthe jcypes, Dima, Vyayoga and Samavakara® Elsewhere Bharata

*gives a d istinction of the Dasarupa into two such classes ont ^ d

the basis of th is Kai^kt or M lltya and Srabhati or At|dhatya*

49» Ibid, pp® 279-28150® J #0•Ra|.¥ol«VII, Part X® Jan.March,1933®

The two types wit of dramas <• are called Sukumara and51

Uddhata or Avlddha".In short the opinion of Dr.Raghavan seems to he

that the two major types take relevant elanents from thetwo classes of minor types v iz ., Avlddha and Sukumara*

Prof.Mankad in his ’Types of Sanskrit Drama* hasalso attempted in a detailed way t he c lassifica tion and theevolution of the Bupakas and the Dparupakas. He, However, isaware that the evolution can be traced in two trays. As hesays, "Natural growth takes place both ways Cl) towards agreater sim plicity by an a ly s is or (2) towards a greatercomplexity by synthesis. i*c# by additions, reduplications,

52joining various threads etc,"He adapts the la te r view,. He says, " I t is at least clearthat Nataka and Prakarana presuppose these types an““d must . « g3 - have developed from them". He seems to trace the developmenton the principle of number of Acts, Thus Bhana and Vtthi wouldbe the primitive types* Then wjfould come Pr ah as ana in twoActs. Then we might have Vyayoga in three Acts* He says,"Ihamrga and Dima stop at four Acts, Nataka and Prakaranawi'*th more elaborate se tting , would require more acts an d

^ » 54 ~are allowed five toten acts? According to him "Nataka combinedand submiimated the elements seen in Vyayoga, Aiika, Dima,Ihirngga and Samavakara and yet added an^ individuality of itsown. I t can have Karuna, Srhgara or Vfra as a predominant Hasa."8*He comes to the conclusion;....... ......—............... .... ...........51* Ib id ,, p,46«52, Types of Sanskrit Drama*p,82,53. Ibid.54* Ibid*55. Ibid*

"Thus a common thread runs through a l l these types and ase ria l evolution of Nat aka an d Prakarana from the ea rlie ril 56 ~types is indicated*" He further elaborates this point by seying, "But taking the entire lin e of evolution as detailed in the foregoing pages, our working basis that Bhana Rupaka was the f i r s t form to evolve amongst the Rupakas, f i ts in very well with the whole scheme* Therefore, I am s t i l l inclinedto take Bhina as the f i r s t drsmatie evolute." In a way similar to the view of Dr.Raghavan, Prof.Marikad derives his types Uddhata and Masr^na* He says, " It is further possible to reduce a l l our Rupakas also to one of these types, n i Bhana Vithi and Prahasana, with their mild erotic Rasas and gentle elements like Hasyangas are Masr^na* Samavakara, Ihamaga,Dima and Vyayoga with their haughty Rasas** are clearly Uddhata. Mka with i t s Karunarasa is mild* Of courtse a variation may occur wherein more than one Rasa may be employed in one and the same type. As a matter of fact these Rupakas, as we know than to-day, being highly individualised and developed afford great scope for a mi slur e of Rasas* But we may ca ll a type Masr^ija or Uddhata according as i t has a mild or haughty Rasa predominant* Nat aka and Prakarna are mostly mixed, though even feere i t w ill be possible to point out one particular Rasa to be prominent. I t is thus tha t we can trace a l l our dramatic,semi*dramatlc. sn d musical forms to their/ 9 w -

ultim ate two forms Tgndava and TLasya* Here then, the trad itionhas i t s fu lle s t ju s tifica tio n and provides a key to the history

58of the evolution of our dramas."56. Ibid.p*84.57. Ibid. pp.162-163 58* Ibid. pp.150-151.

\v> W v VfcJLu. eJtyk*.

tJx-oj,

*3>‘, l S'*.

tovdjsy, being highlyin d iv id u a lis t end dptfeloped affw d great.scope for a mi sure of Rasas/But ve May c a ll a/6ype Masruna or Uddhata sc cor ting as it/nas a mSrld or hatj^fity Rasa wMeminant. Nataka mi sPraKaranskwe mostly mixed, ttahgh even here i t w ijl be possible to point out one particular/Rasa to be prominepfu I t is tras that we can/crac© a l l otp dramatic, semi-dramatie, and/musical forms tc /th e ir ultim ate two forms Tandaya and ILasya/Here, than,the trad itio n has i t s fu lle s t ju s tifica tio n and/provides'a key

and the evolution of Bupakas and Uparupakas are no doubtin teresting , but we have no h is to rica l evidence to corroboratethese theories. Particularly we even cannot say whether thesimpler - short one Act plays cam© out of the ecmplex playsof many Acts or vice-versa. The history of the known and extantSanskrit dramas does not help us in th is matter. The threeearl_iest dramatists that we know of ares Bhaba, Kalidasa andAsvaghosa. Of these three, as to the dates of Bhasa andKalidasa scholars d iffe r in the ir opinions. Some would putBhasa to 6th«4th century B.C. and some to the Srd or 4th

59century A.D. Similarly sane would p u t...

These hypothetical theories about the derivation

59. Bhasa - a,study, p.63 fhojfJi^iakas-TgBd-^Jprirpsfe^^hS*_j*a3»«kl£--werk ^

870

Kalidasa in th e second centuary B*C, and seme to the60 ,

seventh centuary A,D * |h e date of Asvaghos.a, however, ismore definitely ascertained* He is pat in the f i r s t centuary

61A«De

ILet as take the plays of Kalidasa firs t* All thethree pdays3viz* A bhi j nan as akunt a lam , Vikramorvasiyam andMalavikagnimitram- are a l l full-fledged Kanakas* However,M a lav ak a gnimi t r am seems to have been a model for the la te rNatikas like Ratnavali and Priyadars^ika of king Harsa.

The plays of BhSsa though not s tr ic t ly followingthe rules of the Natyas'astra represent most of the varieties^e .g . Dutavikya, Karnabhara, Dntaghatotkaca, and Urubhanj/ga,

are Htsrstikanka type;, Madhyama-vyayoga is a Vyayoga type;;PaHcaratra is a Samavakara type,; Abhiseka, Balaearlta,

<£Avimaraka, Pratima, Prati^augandharayana, and Svapanavasavadatta are full-fledged Ngtakaf; and CSrjdatta is a Prakarana type*

As to the plays of Asvaghosa, we have only fragments of them preserved in pieces of palm-leaf manuscripts*Dr.luders and other scholars have succeeded in identifying three works* Of these one is a Prakarana of nine Acts* I t i se

called Saradvatiprakarana. The other two are of allegorical nature* As to these fragment*^lays, Prof*Keith observes,"The most remarkable thing regarding th is d&ama is i ts close correspondence to the c lassica l type as laid down in the Ngtyas'astra* The piece is a Prakarana, and i t has nine Acts,which accords perfectly with the ru le of the (Jastra; the60* India in Kalidasa, p*362 .61, Puratattva,^Book I I , p*108 £

871

Mrcohakatika and Malatlmadhava have ten apiece; the Acts bea*"r no titles, but this is in accord with the normal

V

usage, though the Mrechakatika gives names. The hero is ^arlputra, who corresponds to the Brahimn hero of the Cgstra, and who is emphatically of the noble and calm type enjoined we do not know, nor does it appear how far the poet altered the subject-matter by invention, which is normally the case witf’h later Prakarenas. The Buddha and his disciples, including beside the two heroes, Kaundlnaya and a ^amana speak Sanskrit, and use both prose and verse 5the Vidus aka speaks Prakr^j. The presence of this figure is a remarkable prctf of the fixed character attained by the drama, for in itself there is nothing more absurd that a youthful ascetic seeking after truth should be encumbered by one who is a meet attendant on a wealthy merchant, Brahmin, or minister. It can, therefore, only be supposed that Agvaghosa was writing a type of drama in which the role was far too firmly embedded to permit its omission, and presumably in the story of the drama now lost to us the Vidus aka served to introduce comic relief. With

m

natural good taste, he disappears from the last Act, whereCgriputra has no need as a member of the Buddha's fraternity * 6* <36encumbrances like a jester."

As to the fragments of two other plays, the semescholar notes, "There is no evidence of their authorship,other than the fact that they appear in the sane manuscriptas the work of Agvaghosa, and that they display the same general ap p aaappearance as the work of that writer.—-——6 2 . S D . , p .8 2

872

That they are Asvaghosa*s Is much more probable than that* 43

they are the work of seme unknown contemporary#"Q8 "The f i r s t of these is specially in tersting as i trepresents a type of which we have otherwise no earlierspecimen than the Prabodhacandrodaya of Krsnamisra (11th Cent#A«D«). We find tha allegorical figures of Buddhiy wisdom, K lrtl,fame, and Dhrti firmness~appearing and conversing#

“ The other drama gives us more in teresting matter#I t is one in which figures a he^taera named Magadhavatf, aVidus ak» named Komudhagandha, a hero styled only Nay aka, butprobably named Somadatta, a Jfcista, rugue, without further name,a certain Dhanam jaya, who may possibly be a prince i f theterm ‘King*s son* (bhattldalaka), which is recognized in theNityasastra as the Style of the younger princes of the blood,applies to him, a maid-servant, and Cariputra and

64 *Maudgalyayana."

Set us consider what we gether from t hese fragmentaryplays of Jsvaghosa# One is clearly a Bupaka of the Prakaranatype# The th ird also might have been of the scan® type, thoughon account of the fragmentary character of the manuscript, wecannot be certain about it# The second drama is of allegoricaltype# We cannot place th is under any of the ten types# We donot meet with th is type of plays t i l l we ccoe to thePrabodhacandrodaya of Krsnamisra (11 cent.A.D#) -------jrfk 63. Ib id , p.83 64# Ibid# p#84

873

MohartOaparajaya of Yasapala CC.1929-1932 A.D.) andA

Caitanyacandrodaya o f Kavi Karnapura (1543 A*D*)„ Prof .Keith

remarks on th is m atter as follow s; “I t mast remain uncertain

whether the re was a t r a in o f t r a d it io n leading ffcom Asv&ghosa

to Krsnamisra* or whether th e l a t te r crea ted th e type of drama " * 6 S * € € >

afresh ; the former theory is th e more likely," tffcus the plays

o f these e a r l ie r poets do not help us in trac in g th e

development of th e types of drama* We can only say th a t many

types and v a r ie tie s of drama were w ritten and played in theMX.

early cen turies o f C h ris tian Era#

Another point th a t we might not© here is th a t the

N a ty a s a s t r a does not mention a l l the d iffe re n t types o f drama^

e#g# th e a lle g o r ic a l type# 3&e Kohala another old w rite r of

th e Ngtyasastrag whose m ateria l is mixed up in the present

te x t of th e NS mentions a number o f v a r ie t ie s ly r ic a l in<

th e ir character and in which music and dance predominate#

AG mentions these v a r ie tie s as fo llo w ; Dombikij Bhana$

P rasth ina, Sldgaka, Bhinika, Rimakrida , H alllsaka and Rasaka*

(NS* V oid# p d 8 1 ).

65# Ib id . p.84.M.