Ashta Nayikas and Dance Forms (study)
by V. Dwaritha | 2013 | 71,711 words
This page relates ‘Introduction and definitions of Vipralabdha� of the study dealing with the Ashta-Nayikas—a classification of eight kinds of “Heroines� representing the eight emotional states (avastha) employed in the classical Indian dance and performing arts (otherwise known as Natya Shastra). These Ashtanayikas reflect the eight types of romantic relationships and have hence formed the expressive subject of many classical painting, poems and dramatic plays.
Go directly to: Footnotes.
Part 1-3 - Introduction and definitions of վ
Traditionally a վ has always been associated with a tryst. The heroine who comes to the tryst is dejected and cheated by her lover is called a վ. The hero sends a message and fixes up a meeting, which could be the place, time, either or both. The ⾱ awaits him. He does not turn up, thus making her feel dejected or deceived. She is frustrated and is seen weeping and sometimes angry at the hero or her foolishness to have believed him.
She complains to her friends that he has not come. She blames herself for having believed his sugar coated words. She wails and raves about him. She is anxious and moans about her ill fortune. Sometimes she cries and faints at the rendezvous.
Bharata defines her thus:�
यस्याः दूती प्रियः प्रेष्� दत्व� सङ्केतमे� � �
नागत� कारणेनेह विप्रलब्धा तु सा भवेत� �yasyā� dūtī priya� preṣya datvā saṅketameva ca |
nāgata� kāraṇeneha vipralabdhā tu sā bhavet ||[1]She is one who is deceived by her lover in spite of the female messenger confirming the appointment with the hero. Here the word �ṅkٲ� could mean both time and place. Since there is no example to establish the situation and since tradition has always associated her to a tryst; it can be safely assumed that the hero does not come to the tryst.
Different varieties of definitions for a վ are found as below:
1. Associating her to a meeting (time);
2. Associating her to a tryst;
3. Implying her association to a tryst by an example;
4. Associated to both;
5. Implying either or both–unclear;
1 Associating her to a meeting (time)
The ٲśū貹첹 falls to the first category–‘Time�
विप्रलब्धोक्तसमयमप्राप्तेऽतिविमानिता �
vipralabdhoktasamayamaprāpte'tivimānitā ||[2]
Here the words �Samayam Aprāpte� clearly show that it was an appointed time which he did not keep up.
2 Associating her to a tryst
ŚṛṅԾ indicates the tryst.
दत्व� सङ्केत� स्वय� तत्र � पतिरुपयाति �
datvā saṅketa� svaya� tatra na patirupayāti |
vipralabdhikātatpriyā gatvā sukha� jahāti ||[3]
Here the �tatra� clearly indicates the place, thus affirming the idea of �ṅkٲ� being the tryst.
3 Implying her association to a tryst by an example
Authors like Vidhyānātha (ʰ貹ܻīⲹ), վśٳ (ٲⲹ岹貹ṇ�), Rudraṭ� (Śṛṅپ첹), Vijayavarṇ� (ŚṛṅṇaԻ) and others imply the tryst through their examples. Since the usage of the word �ṅkٲ� could mean just the time or the place of the meeting, there is a need to rely on the examples to get an exact picture.
An example from ٲⲹ岹貹ṇ� and ٲśū貹첹 -
उत्तिष्ठ दूति यामो यामो यातस्तथापि नायातः �
याऽत� परमप� जीवेज्जीवितनाथ� भवेत्तस्या� �uttiṣṭha dūti yāmo yāmo yātastathāpi nāyāta� |
yā'ta� paramapi jīvejjīvitanātho bhavettasyā� ||[4]The heroine is sitting in the meeting place, waiting for long for the arrival of the hero. He does not turn up. She is dejected and tells her friend who was the messenger, thus–O messenger! Get up. Let us leave. The time for his arrival, has gone long back. Yet he has not come. Here after, he will be the lord of life (īٳ) only to the girl who lives after all this (indicating her distaste to continue living).
The 鲹ṇaܻ첹 implies the tryst through the example:
चन्द्रबिम्बमुदयाद्रिमागत� पश्य ते� सख�! वञ्चित� वयम् �
अत्र कि� निजगृह� नयस्� मा� तत्र वा किमिति विव्यथ� वधूः �candrabimbamudayādrimāgata� paśya tena sakhi! vañcitā vayam |
atra ki� nijagṛha� nayasva mā� tatra vā kimiti vivyathe ū� ||[5]“The moon has reached the peak of the 岹 Mountain. See O! Sakhi we have been deceived! What if we are here or there! Take me to my house”–like this the bride suffered.
Here the statement ‘take me to my house� clearly indicates that they have gone to a tryst. The word �ū� indicates a ī.
4 Associating both
The 屹ś bridges the time and place quotient.
समयं चापि सङ्केत� दत्त्व� प्रेष्� � दूतिकाम् �
अनागतश्चेद्व्यासङ्गाद्विप्रलब्धा तु सा स्मृता �samaya� cāpi saṅketa� dattvā preṣya ca dūtikām |
anāgataścedvyāsaṅgādvipralabdhā tu sā smṛtā ||[6]The ⾱, whose hero sends her the meeting time and place, through the messenger and does not come due to his union with another lady, is called a վ.
5 Unclear–either or both
It is not clear whether 屹ṅk is indicating time, place or both. It has to be used according to the situation.[7]
यस्य� जीवितनाथ� संकेतकमात्मनैव दत्त्वाप� �
नायात्युपागतायां तस्यामित� विप्रलब्धेयम� �yasyā jīvitanātha� saṃketakamātmanaiva dattvāpi |
nāyātyupāgatāyā� tasyāmiti vipralabdheyam ||[8]
ṭy岹貹ṇa’s definition is also not clear whether it is indicating the time or the place.
विप्रलब्धा ससंकेत प्रेष्� दूतीमनागते �
पत्यविति सर्वेष� स्त्रीभेदेषु स्मरणीयम� �
ते� कार्यत� कृतसंकेत� दूती� वा प्रेष्यानागत� पत्यौ’विप्रलब्धा� इत� सम्बन्धः �vipralabdhā sasaṃketa preṣya dūtīmanāgate ||
patyaviti sarveṣu strībhedeṣu smaraṇīyam |
tena kāryata� kṛtasaṃkete dūtī� vā preṣyānāgate patyau’vipralabdhā� iti sambandha� ||[9]
Though having sent the messenger the husband has not turned up due to some work, that ⾱ is called վ.
6 The Debate
सङ्केतनिकेतन� प्रियतममनवलोक्� समाकुलहृदय� विप्रलब्धा �
saṅketaniketane priyatamamanavalokya samākulahṛdayā vipralabdhā |[10]
The heroine who is troubled at heart as she is unable to see her lord at the rendezvous is called a վ, says 鲹ñᲹī.
Here the �ṅkٲ Niketane� clearly expresses the tryst.
ŚṛṅñᲹī refutes 鲹ñᲹī’s definition. He says a īⲹ or a 峾Բ will not go to a tryst to meet their lover. They wait at their home for him to come and it is only a ʲī who will be willing to go to a rendezvous as her home might not be the best place for union.
It states the ʰ貹ܻīⲹ’s definition of վ to justify.
क्वचित� संकेतमावेद्य दयित� ना� वञ्चित� स्मरार्त� विप्रलब्धेति कलाविद्भिः प्रकीर्त्यत� �
kvacit saṃketamāvedya dayite nātha vañcitā smarārtā vipralabdheti kalāvidbhi� prakīrtyate ||[11]
Experts in the field of arts say that վ is one who comes for the meeting and gets cheated by her lover and is afflicted by pangs of love.
He notes the idea of �ղñ�. He devotes some special attention to the concept and comes up with his own definition of�
वञ्चनाप्रयुक्तविरहवेदनावती विप्रलब्धा �
vañcanāprayuktavirahavedanāvatī vipralabdhā |[12]
A վ is one who is in viraha consequent of the disappointment caused by the lover.
A similar concept is presented by authors of ٲⲹ岹貹ṇ�, ŚṛṅṇaԻ and ٲśū貹첹. They highlight the feeling of insult at not being met by the lover. Words like nitānta avamānitā and ati vimānitā in the definitions to prove the extent of insult are often found.
नागत� नायकेगेह� संकेतविषयं यद� �
तदावमानिता नारि विप्रलब्धा मत� यथ� �nāgate nāyakegeha� saṃketaviṣaya� yadā |
tadāvamānitā nāri vipralabdhā matā yathā ||[13]վ is one who is insulted by the signal or message of the hero when he does not turn up.
7 Definition Conclusion
The debate that a ī or a 峾Բ will not go to the tryst is futile. If the hero is a ٲṣiṇa and he sends a message to the ī heroine to meet him at some place, would not the heroine go, even if it is not her turn? When verses depict them as unable to spend time together inspite of their yearning; due to the elders, children or household duties; situations where the hero sends for her to come to a secluded spot to spend some time away from the household could well be imagined.
Likewise many situations are found, where the ⲹ첹 goes to the house of a 峾Բ, in disguise, so that nobody sees him go there. Thus it can be perceived that the ⲹ첹 calls the 峾Բ to a secluded place to be with her without others noticing him.
Songs indicating a 峾Բ coming to meet her hero at a tryst like the following is often found. Though the ⾱ of this particular song is an , if she does not find him at the tryst she will become a վ.
Padam[14] Language�Telugu |
dzDz�ṣētñ Meaning |
ʲī Piluvanaṃpe nannīvēḷa prēmamīragā nipuḍu Celiya muvvagōpāluḍu cittamu ranjilla nēḍu |
O dear friend! My heart is overjoyed as Muvvagopala has sent for me today with over powering love. |
䲹ṇa Viriboṇirō rammani virula jaḍanu ṭṭ Paruvamaina nāṭiki paiḍi idē nanucu Maruvaku mī ṭa mana 쾱岹ī ūṭa ceruku vilutuḍ� ṣi celi yanina nā 峾 |
He summoned me and coiled flowers on my plait and said that it would be gold when I ripe. My lord kept the sugarcane bowed cupid as witness and took a sacred oath on that very day. |
Emmekāḍu nēnu nenasina cinanāḍ� Sammatigā nokacōṭa caduvu ṇḍ Pammina vēḍukatō bhāma nīvu dzḍhŧ Kammaviltuni ŧḷi galasē mannadi nijamai |
In my teens when I met him under the roof of the same teacher, his whisper to me that “we would be uniting when you mature� which made me surge with pleasure, has come true today. |
Yelamāvi tōṭalō nimponda nokanāḍu Yelami gouri ūᲹ salupuṇḍ Ala muvva gōpāluḍagu venkaṭēśuḍu Kaluvala śayyapai galasē mannadi nijamai |
One day when I was engaged in the Gauri ūᲹ in a mango grove, whatever was said to me by lord Venkatesa who is the same as Muvva Gopala that “we would unite on a bed of lilies� has come true today. |
Thus it can be reasonably concluded that a tryst could be used for all types of ⾱s. Though the meeting is an important aspect of a վ; it may not be the only attribute of hers. The dejection of having been cheated is also of interest. Thus it can be concluded that a վ is one who has an appointment with her lover and feels insulted or dejected when the appointment is not met. She could well be a follow up of an .
Thus, the definition must be like this:
प्रियः कृत्वापि सङ्केत� यस्य� नायाति सन्निधिम� �
priya� kṛtvāpi saṅketa� yasyā nāyāti sannidhim |
vipralabdhā tu sā jñeyā nitāntamavamānitā ||[15]The lover though having made the appointment, does not come to the heroine’s proximity, thus making her feel extremely insulted. She is known as a վ.
The question of how she is different from a վdzٰ첹ṇṭ would arise now. A վdzٰ첹ṇṭ misses her lover and feels anxious for him, while a վ feels cheated. Her ego is hurt and she is thinking about herself than about him or the union. She feels insulted and deceived.
Footnotes and references:
[2]:
ٲśū貹첹, II. xxvi. 268.
[3]:
Shringaravilasini, lxxxiii. 30.
[5]:
鲹ṇaܻ첹, I. 35.
[6]:
屹śna, IV. clx. 139.
[7]:
This verse is considered to be an interpolation.
[8]:
屹ṅk, XII. 387.
[9]:
ṭy岹貹ṇa, IV. xxiii. 381.
[10]:
鲹ñᲹī, 138.
[11]:
ʰ貹ܻīⲹ, I. xlvii. 21.
[12]:
ŚṛṅñᲹī, 22.