Dasarupaka (critical study)
by Anuru Ranjan Mishra | 2015 | 106,293 words
This page relates ‘Conclusion� of the English study of the Dasarupaka of Dhananjaya: an important work on Hindu dramaturgy (Natya-shastra) from the tenth century dealing with the ten divisions of Sanskrit drama (nata), describing their technical aspects and essential dramaturgical principals. These ten types of drama are categorised based on the plot (vastu), hero (neta) and sentiment (rasa)
Part 14 - Conclusion
ղٲᲹ, the court poet and minister of Paramardideva and Trailokyavarman is the author of the հܰ. He is the only author, who has contributed some valuable and rare types of dramas to the Indian classical literature. The հܰ of ղٲᲹ is the best example of Ḍi type of drama.
The Śivapuraṇa (chapter. 5-7) is the source of the հܰ drama. It is a fight between gods and the mighty Tripurāsura. Tripurāsura, who used to trouble the three-worlds, was killed by Ѳś in a planned attack. The story of the հܰ is a little bit changed by ղٲᲹ to suit the drama. It is well planned and composed by ղٲᲹ.
ղٲᲹ has followed almost all the rules stipulated by Bharata and ٳԲñᲹⲹ. However, in some cases, he has ignored certain rules. For instance, he has not used some ūٲ and 辱ś峦 like characters. Again, Bharata has prohibited that the scenes of war etc. should not be shown on the stage. However, ղٲᲹ has shown war scenes in the third act, where Sarvatāpa and پⲹ fight with fire arms.
Bharata states that there should be sixteen well-known and exalted heroes in Ḍi; however, ٳԲñᲹⲹ states that the Ḍi should have sixteen heroes, who are haughty. In the հܰ, ղٲᲹ has used more than sixteen heroes, who are both exalted and haughty. It must be observed here that characters like Ի, ۲ṣa, Mahorogas, Bhutas and Pretas are not used in ղٲᲹ’s Ḍi. Further, it should be observed that neither Bharata nor ٳԲñᲹⲹ advocate the use of the female characters, because they are not useful in Ḍi. However, ղٲᲹ has used the weaker characters like ṛtī and Śṣa, who could be considered as the female characters that are tortured by the demons.
ղٲᲹ has used all the three styles i.e. ī, ٳٱī and Ārbhaṭ� in the հܰ. He has used īvṛtti in the prologue. Since there are more gods than the demons, ٳٱīvṛtti has dominated the drama, which indicates the heroic sentiment. Since the հܰ has very few violent scenes on the stage, Ārbhaṭ� can be considered to have been prevalent. Thus, ղٲᲹ can be stated to have used the three styles justifiably.
ղٲᲹ has also applied all the six sentiments in the հܰ, i.e. furious, heroic, terrible, pathetic, odious and marvellous. However, it should be noted that since the plot is violent, furious and heroic sentiments are more prevalent. The other sentiments are used as the subordinate sentiments whenever necessary.
ղٲᲹ has employed perfectly four junctures with the combination of elements and actions except the pause (ś) juncture, which is prohibited in the Ḍi type of drama.
ղٲᲹ has employed necessary technical aspects whenever the drama needs. However, it must be observed here that ղٲᲹ has used վṣk첹 in the second act, in which two low types of characters are speaking in Prakrit language, which is prohibited by Bharata (ṭyśٰ, XX.33).
ղٲᲹ wanted to show that, as the part of the administration, peace was established in the society. It was a high cultured society, but disturbed by the regular attacks from other kings and foreign invasion. Therefore, he sent out through his drama a strong signal to the people to be united. The prime motto of ղٲᲹ was that people and the king should be united to ward off foreign invasion. Further, it should be noted that the հܰ reflects the fact that the society is neither good, nor bad; but it is a mixture of both.
ղٲᲹs drama indicates that women were not safe in the society. They were troubled by the stronger male population. However, the society had given all types of freedom to women such as learning, working, choosing their own partners etc. Thus, as far as the women are concerned, Candel kings were moderate.
At the end, it can be stated that the հܰ is based on the political reality that India was invaded by Muslims. Symbolically, the demons represent Muslims and gods represent Hindus. It is symbolic that Ѳś, at the end of fourth act, declares the names of those gods who have helped to win the war (vaikunṭha� ………slāghase 岹 –IV. 22). Ѳś knew that if his kings are weak, the other powerful kings would occupy the state, because the land of the weaker section of society is always invaded by the stronger section of the society (durbalān baliṣṭhai� ghātayanti–հܰ�.I).
[Table of Comparison]