"A
Glimpse of Theatre History"
The NATYASHASTRA of Bharata
The Natyashastra is the most elaborate of all treatises on acting and dramatic criticism ever written in any language. Written by (the perhaps mythical) Bharata, it is the Poetics of Sanskrit drama.
Bharata defines drama as "the imitation or representation of conditions and situations." Notice the great difference between Aristotle's "imitation of an action" and this more passive sort of imitation. While the form is definitely descriptive, Bharata claims that his theories on the writing and performance of plays are based on the practical experience he gained when he directed the Apsaras, nymphs of heaven, in plays for the edification of the gods. Thus the drama has something of a divine origin, and like its Western counterpart, is tied to a religious function at root. It has been suggested, too, that there was a need to establish a divine inspiration for the drama since actors were taken from the lowest caste, the Shudras (Dravidians). Another treatise, the Mahabhasya, mentions that a play on the wedding of Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi, was performed before the gods. There is another legend that Krishna and the gopis acted in a drama of the cowherdesses dancing to his flute.
Like Sanskrit itself, the rules governing the proper creation of a drama are complicated and, to Western eyes, rather confusing:
I. Genres:
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A. Rupaka (Major drama), of which there are ten kinds, the most common of which is the Nataka which contains five to ten acts. The Nataka is based on a great historical event or a myth. The hero is always of some importance: a king, a demigod or a hero. The plot features a specific passion, eg. Love, heroism, duty, etc. The time is typically short and is elongated by intervals of narration as needed. If there are ten acts it is a "Maha-nataka" or "super play." Kalidasa's Shakuntala is a Nataka. B. Upa-rupaka (minor drama), of which there are eighteen types. C. Prakarana (Love drama) which are totally fiction and may not use any other source than invention. King Shudraka's The Toy Cart is a Prakarana. |
II. Plot Structure:
| A. Action takes a five standard five part development |
| a. Arambha, the desire to attain something b. Prayatna, the organized effort to achieve the goal c. Prapti-sambhava, the "possibility of success" in relation to the efforts expended and the obstacles to be overcome d. Niyatapti, certaint;y of success e. Phalagama, attainment of success |
| B. Parallel to the above are five "formal" plot elements: |
| a. The "germ" (vija) b. The "drop" (bindu) c. The episode d. The incident e. The denouement |
| C. There are also five critical "meeting points" of plot; |
| a. Mukha, the opening b. Pratimukha, progression c. Garbha, "deepening" or development d. Vimarsha, pause e. Nirvahana, conclusion or catastrophe |
| D. The Doctrine of rasa: |
| a. Rasa, literally "sap" or "juice,"
may be defined in this context as "the essence of impersonal
emotion" A. B. Keith, in his The Sanskrit Drama, explains
rasa is "one, it is a single, ineffable, transcendental
joy, but it can be subdivided, not according to its own nature, but
according to the [eight] emotions [bhavas] which evoke it."
b. According to Bharata, the drama should create "a dispassionate delight in the audience who have been able to look at life steadily and see it whole as a result of the dramatist's skill in presenting before them the eight major sentiments arranged in a harmonious spectrum." c. Balancing the eight "stable sentiments" and using the thirty-three "unstable sentiments" as needed should "in a harmonious way" should produce rasa, the 9th bhava. |
| i. The eight major, or "stable," bhavas or sentiments: |
| a. Rati or sringara: desire, affection, erotic
longing b. lasa or lasya: laughter, comic or farcical joy, not involving cynicism or derision c. krodha or raudra: anger arising from ill treatment d. shoka or karuna: sadness resulting from separation from a loved one e. utsasha or vira: pride in one's own powers which lead to a display of energetic enterprise, bravery, charity or forgiveness (Note the contrast with the Greek notion of hybris) f. bhaya or bhayanaka: fear of reproach or attack g. jugupsa or bibhatsa: aversion or loathing h. vismaya or adbhuta: wonder, the connotation being that something evoking childlike surprise in encountered |
| ii. The thirty-three "unstable" or "transitory" bhavas: |
| a. discouragement b. weakness c. apprehension d. weariness e. contentment f. stupor g. joy h. depression i. cruelty j. anxiety k. fright l. envy m. arrogance n. indignation o. recollection p. death q. intoxication r. dreaming s. sleeping t. awakening u. shame v. demonic possession w. distraction x. assurance y. indolence z. agitation aa. deliberation bb. dissimulation cc. sickness dd. insanity ee. despair ff. impatience gg. inconstancy |