The Sanskrit drama : $b in its origin, development, theory and practiceKeith, Arthur Berriedale
History
The Sanskrit drama : $b in its origin, development, theory and practice
Keith, Arthur Berriedale
Sanskrit drama -- History and criticism
A drama is the imitation or representation of the conditions or
situations (avasthānukṛti) [610] in which the personages who form the
subject of treatment are placed from time to time, by means of gesture,
speech, costume, and expression, and, one version of the definition
adds, the situations must be such as to produce pleasure or pain, that
is, they must be tinged with emotion. It is the presence of these
ancillaries which distinguishes the drama from an ordinary poem; a poem
appeals to the ear only, a drama is also a spectacle to delight the
eyes; hence the term Rūpa or Rūpaka as applied generically to the
drama, for Rūpa primarily denotes the object of vision, though the
Indian tradition gives the artificial explanation that Rūpaka denotes a
drama because the actors are credited with different parts.
Further light is shown on the nature of drama (nāṭya) by the
discrimination of it from dance (nṛtta) and mimetic art (nṛtya), which
united with song and speech serve to make up the drama. [611] The dance
is based on time and rhythm; the mimetic art is concerned with
representing the feelings or emotions (bhāva), while the essence of the
drama is the sentiment (rasa) which it evokes in the spectator, a fact
which places it on a higher level than either of its handmaidens. But
there may be dramas in which these auxiliaries take first place, and on
this fact is based a distinction between the primary forms, Rūpakas, in
which the poetry is the dominant element and the secondary forms,
Uparūpakas. Of Rūpakas ten are distinguished, Nāṭaka, Prakaraṇa, Bhāṇa,
Prahasana, Ḍima, Vyāyoga, Samavakāra, Vīthī, An̄ka, and Īhāmṛga, which
vary in regard to subject-matter (vastu), hero or heroine, and
sentiment.
3. THE SUBJECT-MATTER AND THE PLOT
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