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
Immediately after, according to the Nāṭyaçāstra, another person,
similar in appearance and qualities to the Sūtradhāra, is to enter and
introduce the play, a function which gives him the style of introducer,
Sthāpaka. [721] His costume should indicate the nature of the drama, as
dealing with divine or human affairs. An appropriate song greets his
entrance, he dances a Cārī, praises the gods and Brahmins, propitiates
the audience by verses alluding to the subject of the play, mentions
the name of the author and the play, and describes some season in the
verbal manner, thereby opening the prologue (prastāvanā, āmukha,
sthāpanā) [722] of the play. The essential feature of the prologue is
an address by the director with an attendant (pāripārçvika) or an
actress or the Vidūṣaka on some personal business which indirectly
hints at the drama. The mode of connexion is given by Dhanaṁjaya as
threefold, as in the Nāṭyaçāstra; the words of the director may be
caught up (kathodghāta) by a character in the drama, entering from
behind the curtain, as in the Ratnāvalī Yaugandharāyaṇa catches up the
consolation offered to the actress which is applicable to his own
scheme, and in the Veṇīsaṁhāra Bhīma brusquely denounces the
benediction of his adversaries. Or a person may enter (pravṛttaka), who
has just been mentioned by the director in a comparison with the season
of the year, as in the Priyadarçikā. Excess of representation
(prayogātiçaya) is taken in the Daçarūpa as applying to a case where
the director actually mentions the entry of a character of the drama,
as at the beginning of the Çakuntalā, where he assures the actress that
her song has enchanted him, as the gazelle enchants Duḥṣanta, who just
then enters. Viçvanātha, on the other hand, treats this form as an
instance of continuance (avalagita), and interprets the phrase as
denoting the supersession of the director’s action; thus, in the lost
Kundamālā, about to call on the actress to dance, he hears the word,
‘Lady, descend’, and realizes that it is a reference to Sītā, who is
being led into exile. He admits also the abrupt dialogue (udghātya) as
a means of connexion; thus in the Mudrārākṣasa the director alludes to
the demon of eclipse as eager to triumph over Candra, the moon, and
Cāṇakya behind the scenes calls out, ‘Who then while I live claims to
triumph over Candragupta?’ and enters a moment later. The theorist
Nakhakuṭṭa is also credited with the view that a voice behind the
scenes or from the air may be used to introduce the chief personage.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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