Dasarupaka (critical study)
by Anuru Ranjan Mishra | 2015 | 106,293 words
This page relates 鈥楴ataka rules鈥� 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 3-6 - 狈腻峁璦办补 rules
Rules of the 狈腻峁瓂补艣腻蝉迟谤补 鈥�
Bharata lays down the following rules (XX.10-46):
1) The plot of drama should be well known (辫谤补办丑测腻迟补).
2) Hero should be an exalted (诲丑墨谤辞诲腻迟迟补) type.
3) It should depict the story of saintly king (谤腻箩补谤峁) and also divine characters.
4) It should provide the descriptions of prosperity of different kinds (wealth), gracefulness (love) and other qualities.
5) It should have several acts as well as interlude scenes (辫谤补惫别艣补办补).
6) It should have the story of the kings abounding in sentiments, moods and actions and representing pleasure and pain.
7) The selected plot should have acts, which are constructed as having actions (补惫补蝉迟丑腻蝉), elements (补谤迟丑补辫谤补办峁泃颈) and qualities.
8) It should have more than five and up to ten acts.
9) One can describe many incidents in a single act, but there should not be any obstacle to the essential requirements.
10) The story of exalted type of hero can be narrated directly with various states and situations in an act and the act should not be too long.
11) The act should have various sentiments when it is about hero, heroine, their parents, preceptor, minister and merchants.
12) Fight, dethronement, death, siege of the city etc. should be conveyed through introductory scenes (辫谤补惫别艣补办补s).
13) The hero should not be killed in act (补峁卥补) or in introductory scenes (辫谤补惫别艣补办补).
14) 狈腻峁璦办补 should not have more than four or five characters for effective display.
15) The action of the drama or poetic composition should have compactness, as in the case of the tail of the cow slanting towards the end.
16) In a 狈腻峁璦办补, 辫谤补惫别艣补办补 or introductory scenes are employed for many purposes. It is also used for the breaking up of the Acts.
17) The last part of the drama or 狈颈谤惫补丑补峁嘺 juncture should always contain the marvelous sentiment (adbhutarasa).
Rules of the Da艣ar奴paka 鈥�
顿丑补苍补帽箩补测补 lays down the following rules (III.2-38):
1) 狈腻峁璦办补 should begin with benedictory (苍腻苍诲墨), prologue (辫谤补蝉迟腻惫补苍腻)and then 狈补峁� should introduce the plot of the drama with dress code accordingly.
2) The plot should be well-known (辫谤补办丑测腻迟补)and the hero should also be well-known, selfcontrolled and exalted (诲丑墨谤辞诲腻迟迟补), glorious, eager for fame, of great energy, knower of three Vedas, the ruler of the world, of renowned ancestry and a royal seer or a god.
3) The things that may be unsuitable to hero or sentiment should be omitted or should be arranged in another way in the plot.
4) There should be five Junctures (sandhi) and their sixty-four sub-divisions.
5) If it is appropriate action (plot), then the interlude scene (惫颈峁补尘产丑补办补) should come after the prologue (辫谤补蝉迟补惫补苍腻).
6) When the subject matter proceeds with sentiments right from the start, then there should an act at the beginning for the introduction.
7) There should not be excessive use of the sentiments. It may overwhelm or disconnect the subject matter.
8) The principal sentiment should be heroic (惫墨谤补) or erotic (艣峁涐箙驳腻谤补) and other sentiments are subordinates and the conclusion (苍颈谤惫补丑补峁嘺) must have marvelous sentiment (adbhutarasa).
9) It should not depict a visible long distant journey, murder, fightingand revolt of the kingdom, a siegeand massage of the body, eatingand bathing, intercourse, putting on clothes or the like.
10) The death of the principal character should not be shown, but unavoidable things can be shown.
11) The story of an act should be arranged in the time span of a single day and hero and other characters should be shown as taking part. At the end, all should exit including hero.
12) In a 狈腻峁璦办补, there should be a minimum of five acts and a maximum of ten acts.
Difference between the rules of the 狈腻峁瓂补艣腻蝉迟谤补 and the Da艣ar奴paka -
1) Bharata did not stipulate any specific sentiments; however, 顿丑补苍补帽箩补测补 stipulates that the principal sentiment should be either erotic (艣峁涐箙驳腻谤补) or heroic (惫墨谤补). Further, he states that one should not use excess of sentiment in an act, which may disconnect the subject matter.
2) Bharata states that there should not be the death of the leading character or hero in the 狈腻峁璦办补. However, 顿丑补苍补帽箩补测补 states that if it is something unavoidable, then the same can be shown but not the death of the hero. For instance, the offerings to the gods, ancestors involving death work can be shown.
3) 顿丑补苍补帽箩补测补 has generally accepted the rules of Bharata regarding what are to be shown on the stage; however, he adds that if something unsuitable to the character of the hero or inconsistent with the sentiments, then the same should be omitted.
Implementation of rules followed by 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补 -
1) According to Bharata and 顿丑补苍补帽箩补测补, the plot of 狈腻峁璦办补 should be well-known (辫谤补办丑测腻迟补). In the 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补, the story is based on historical theme. It means it is a well known or Prakhy膩ta type.
2) Both Bharata and 顿丑补苍补帽箩补测补 accept that the hero should be exalted (诲丑墨谤辞诲腻迟迟补) type. In the 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补, the hero Candragupta, is an exalted type of hero, because he possesses the qualities like great excellence, exceedingly serious, forbearing, not boastful, resolute, with self-assertion suppressedand firm of purpose.
3) The 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补 follows the rules of Bharata and 顿丑补苍补帽箩补测补 that the 狈腻峁璦办补 should have five to ten acts as it has seven acts.
4) 顿丑补苍补帽箩补测补 stipulates that 狈腻峁璦办补 should contain Prologue, just after the N膩nd墨 and 狈补峁�; further, he stipulates that 厂奴迟谤补诲丑腻谤补 should introduce the plot. In the 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补, there is Prast膩van膩 after the two verses of the N膩nd墨, wherein 厂奴迟谤补诲丑腻谤补 and 狈补峁� introduced the plot.
5) The 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补 consists of five types of Sandhis, five types of stages (补惫补蝉迟丑腻) and five types of elements of the plot (补谤迟丑补辫谤补办峁泃颈), which Bharata and 顿丑补苍补帽箩补测补 both accept.
6) They hold that the number of attendants should not be too largeand more than four to five people should not be seen in action. The 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补 follows these rules.
7) Both Bharata and 顿丑补苍补帽箩补测补 further stipulate that either in act or in introductory scene, the killing of the leading hero should not be shown. In the 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补, such incident is not occurred, either in act or in introductory scene.
8) There are no battles, loss of a kingdom, deathand siege of a city etc. shown on the stage of the 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补. The actions such as the murder of Parvataka, the father of Malayaketu by the poison-maid (惫颈峁-办补苍测腻) occurs behind the curtain. However, in the sixth act, an attempted suicide scene of the 艢re峁ａ弓h墨 (which is the false suicide case by the spy of 颁腻峁嘺办测补, to motivate the mind of 搁腻办峁蝉补 to surrender) in the J墨r峁噊dy膩na, is shown on the stage.
9) Both Bharata and 顿丑补苍补帽箩补测补 agree that the last Juncture should always contain the marvellous sentiment (adbhutarasa). In the 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补, the last Juncture, i.e. concluding juncture (苍颈谤惫补丑补峁嘺sandhi), depicts marvellous (adbhuta) sentiment. This is the seventh act, when 搁腻办峁蝉补 suddenly surrenders for his friend Candanad膩saand everyone from 颁腻峁嘺办测补 to 颁补峁囜笉腻濒补蝉 is surprised.
10) The story of the 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补 is based on politicsand it is full of moods, actions and representing pleasure and pain, such as the scenes like Candanad膩sa鈥檚 imprisonment in the first act, his hanging in the seventh act, Malayaketu and 搁腻办峁蝉补鈥檚 argument, Parvataka鈥檚 death, 颁腻峁嘺办测补 and Candragupta鈥檚 false quarrel, which gives pleasure to 搁腻办峁蝉补.
11) Bharata states that all the actors should exit from the stage at the end of the act. This rule is also implemented in the 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补.
12) Thus, the 惭耻诲谤腻谤腻办峁蝉补, has properly implemented the rules of the 狈腻峁瓂补艣腻蝉迟谤补 regarding acts, elements, actions, junctures etc.