Prahasana: 18 definitions
Introduction:
Prahasana means something in Buddhism, Pali, Hinduism, Sanskrit, Hindi. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.
Alternative spellings of this word include Prahasan.
In Hinduism
Natyashastra (theatrics and dramaturgy)
1) Prahasana (प्रहसन) refers to one of the “ten kinds of dramatic plays” (daśarūpa), according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 20. These different types of dramas are considered to have originated from the various styles (vṛtti), which is discussed in chapter 22 of the same work. The Prahasana type of drama includes the following styles: Verbal (bhāratī), Grand (sāttvatī) and Energetic (ārabhaṭī).
2) Prahasana (प्रहसन) refers to one of the four varieties of the verbal style (bhāratī), according to the Nāṭyaśāstra chapter 22. Bhāratī represents one of the four styles (vṛtti) employed in a dramatic production.
Prahasana (प्रहसन).—One of the ten types of play (nāṭya).—The Prahasana is a farce or a play in which the Comic Sentiment predominates, and it too is to consist of one Act only. The object of laughter is furnished in this, mainly by the improper conduct of various sectarian teachers as well as courtezans and rogues.
The Prahasana, the Vīthi, the Aṅka and the Bhāṇa are the to have only two segments (sandhi) which should be the Opening (mukha) and the Conclusion (nirvahaṇa), and their Style (vṛtti) should be the Verbal one (bhāratī).
Prahasana (प्रहसन) refers to one of the twelve kinds of Rūpaka, which represents the dṛśyakāvya division of Kāvya (“poetry”), according to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, an ancient Sanskrit text which (being encyclopedic in nature) deals with a variety of cultural topics such as arts, architecture, music, grammar and astronomy.—According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, the prahasana should be full of humorous disputations and it should have only one act and the characters like courtesans, viṭas are basically seen here. In the Nāṭyaśāstra, two forms of prahasana are accepted. One is śuddha i.e., pure type of prahasana which contains some comic conversations of some designated persons like bhagavatas, tāpasas, bhikṣus, śrotrīyas, vipras etc. The another one is saṅkīrṇa i.e., mixed type of prahasana where the courtesans, servants, eunuchs, viṭas and cunning and unchaste women come into view with their immodest appearance, attires and movements
Prahasana (प्रहसन) refers to one of the twenty-one divisions of the Mārga-Rūpaka compositions in ancient Indian art of dance and theater.—Puruṣottama Miśrā, while defining the terms mārga and deśī quotes the Saṅgītanārāyaṇa (Vol. II, pp.406-410) which he says has been taken from Kohala (the work of Kohala). He says that mārga is that which was shown to Śiva and Pārvatī by Brahma after performing penance. He says the mārgarūpakas are twenty in number [e.g., prahasana]. [...] But when listing out the names, there appear twenty-one rūpakas. [...]
Natyashastra (नाट्यशास्त्र, nāṭyaśāstra) refers to both the ancient Indian tradition (shastra) of performing arts, (natya—theatrics, drama, dance, music), as well as the name of a Sanskrit work dealing with these subjects. It also teaches the rules for composing Dramatic plays (nataka), construction and performance of Theater, and Poetic works (kavya).
In Buddhism
Tibetan Buddhism (Vajrayana or tantric Buddhism)
Prahasana (प्रहसन) refers to one of the various Grahas and Mahāgrahas mentioned as attending the teachings in the 6th century Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa: one of the largest Kriyā Tantras devoted to Mañjuśrī (the Bodhisattva of wisdom) representing an encyclopedia of knowledge primarily concerned with ritualistic elements in Buddhism. The teachings in this text originate from Mañjuśrī and were taught to and by Buddha Śākyamuni in the presence of a large audience (including Prahasana).
Tibetan Buddhism includes schools such as Nyingma, Kadampa, Kagyu and Gelug. Their primary canon of literature is divided in two broad categories: The Kangyur, which consists of Buddha’s words, and the Tengyur, which includes commentaries from various sources. Esotericism and tantra techniques (vajrayāna) are collected indepently.
Languages of India and abroad
Sanskrit dictionary
Prahasana (प्रहसन).—
1) Loud or violent laughter, laughing, mirth.
2) Ridicule, mockery, irony, joke; धिक् प्रहसनम् (dhik prahasanam) Uttararāmacarita 4.
3) Satire, satirical writing,
4) A farce, a kind of low comedy; S. D. thus defines it :-भाणवत्संधिसंध्यङ्ग- लास्याङ्गाङ्कैर्विनिर्मितम् । भवेत् प्रहसनं वृत्तं निन्द्यानां कविकल्पितम् (bhāṇavatsaṃdhisaṃdhyaṅga- lāsyāṅgāṅkairvinirmitam | bhavet prahasanaṃ vṛttaṃ nindyānāṃ kavikalpitam) || 533 et seq. e. g. कन्दर्पकेलि (kandarpakeli).
Derivable forms: prahasanam (प्रहसनम्).
Prahasana (प्रहसन).—n.
(-naṃ) 1. Loud, violent or hearty laughter. 2. Mirth, merriment. 3. Sarcasm, satire, as a branch of rhetorical composition. 4. Reproof, ridicule, irony. 5. A farce, a comedy. It is thus defined in Sahitya Darpana:—bhāṇavat sandhisandhyaṅgalāsyāṅgāṅkairvinirmitam . bhavet prahasanaṃ vṛtaṃ nindyānāṃ kavikalpitam . E. pra before, has to laugh, aff. lyuṭ .
Prahasana (प्रहसन).—[pra-has + ana], n. 1. Hearty laughter, laughter, [Uttara Rāmacarita, 2. ed. Calc., 1862.] 91, 7. 2. Mirth. 3. Scoffing, sarcasm, [Hitopadeśa] i. [distich] 107. 4. A comedy, [Lassen, Anthologia Sanskritica.] 67, 12.
Prahasana (प्रहसन).—[neuter] laughing, mocking; [neuter] a kind of comedy or farce.
1) Prahasana (प्रहसन) as mentioned in Aufrecht’s Catalogus Catalogorum:—a farce, without more accurate statement. B. 2, 120. Oppert. Ii, 3203. 5529. 8898.
—by Śaṅkhadhara. See Laṭakamelakaprahasana.
2) Prahasana (प्रहसन):—a farce. No further information. Śg. 1, 48.
1) Prahasana (प्रहसन):—[=pra-hasana] [from pra-has] n. laughter, mirth, mockery, derision, [Uttararāma-carita; Hitopadeśa] (nam, enclit. after a finite verb [gana] gotrādi; ne √kṛ, to mock, deride [gana] sākṣād-ādi, [Kāśikā-vṛtti])
2) [v.s. ...] (in [rhetoric]) satire, sarcasm
3) [v.s. ...] ([especially]) a kind of comedy or farce, [Daśarūpa; Sāhitya-darpaṇa etc.]
Prahasana (प्रहसन):—[pra-hasana] (naṃ) 1. n. Loud laughter; sarcasm, ridicule, a farce.
Prahasana (प्रहसन):—(wie eben) n.
1) das Lachen, Verlachen, Verspotten [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha 4, 181 (189] ist prahasana ein Fehler). [Medinīkoṣa Nalopākhyāna 190.] [Hitopadeśa I, 107] (falsche Lesart). Enklitisch nach einem Verbum finitum gaṇa gotrādi zu [Pāṇini’s acht Bücher 8, 1, 27. 57.] —
2) eine Art Lustspiel, Posse [Hemacandra’s Abhidhānacintāmaṇi 284.] [Hemacandra’s Anekārthasaṃgraha] [Medinīkoṣa] [PRATĀPAR. 20,a,1. 24,a,7.] [DAŚAR.1,8.2,21.] [Sāhityadarpana 275. 533.] [Dhūrtasamāgama 67,12. 96,15.]
--- OR ---
Prahasana (प्रहसन):—
1) Gespött [UTTARARĀMAC. 71, 1 (91, 7).] —
2) [Sāhityadarpana 286], wo prahasanāmukhe zu lesen ist.
Prahasana (प्रहसन):—n. —
1) das Lachen , Verlachen , Verspotten , Gespött. nam enklitisch nach einem Verbum fin. , ne kar wohl verspotten gaṇa sākṣādādi in der [Kāśikā] —
2) eine Art Lustspiel , Posse.
Prahasana (प्रहसन) in the Sanskrit language is related to the Prakrit word: Pahasaṇa.
Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.
Hindi dictionary
Prahasana (प्रहसन) [Also spelled prahasan]:—(nm) a comedy; ~[nātmaka] comical.
...
Kannada-English dictionary
Prahasana (ಪ್ರಹಸನ):—
1) [noun] excessive laughter.
2) [noun] an act, gesture, etc. used to provoke laughter.
3) [noun] an exaggerated comedy based on broadly humorous, highly unlikely situations, rather than upon the development of characters; a farce.
Kannada is a Dravidian language (as opposed to the Indo-European language family) mainly spoken in the southwestern region of India.
Nepali dictionary
Prahasana (प्रहसन):—n. 1. loud or violent laughter; 2. ridicule; mockery; irony; joke; 3. satire; satirical writing; 4. force; a kind of low comedy;
Nepali is the primary language of the Nepalese people counting almost 20 million native speakers. The country of Nepal is situated in the Himalaya mountain range to the north of India.
See also (Relevant definitions)
Partial matches: Hasana, Pra, The, The, Prahasana, Te.
Starts with: Prahasananataka, Prahasanashila, Prahasanashile.
Full-text (+32): Yoganandaprahasana, Prahasananataka, Venkateshaprahasana, Mithyacaraprahasana, Munditaprahasana, Latakamelanaprahasana, Lambodaraprahasana, Hasyarnava, Bharati, Adbhutaranga, Bhanuprabandha, Prahasan, Sandrakutuhala, Subhagananda, Bhana, Shankhadhara, Sangitika-prahasana, Dhurtaprahasana, Kautukaratnakara, Kautukasarvasva.
Relevant text
Search found 39 books and stories containing Prahasana, Pra-hasana, Prahasanas, The prahasana; (plurals include: Prahasanas, hasanas, Prahasanases, The prahasanas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:
Natyashastra (English) (by Bharata-muni)
Chapter XX - Ten Kinds of Play (daśarūpa)
Part 3 - Literary Structure of the Drama < [Introduction, part 1]
Kuntaka’s evaluation of Sanskrit literature (by Nikitha. M)
8. Pādatāḍitaka in Kuntaka’s treatment < [Chapter 4 - Kuntaka’s evaluation of Sanskrit Plays of other Poets]
Dasarupaka (critical study) (by Anuru Ranjan Mishra)
Part 3-6 - Prahasana rules < [Chapter 3 - Prahasana (critical study)]
Introduction to the Prahasana type of Drama < [Chapter 3 - Prahasana (critical study)]
Part 1 - Mahendravarman—Author of the drama (Mattavilāsa-Prahasana) < [Chapter 3 - Prahasana (critical study)]
Sanskrit dramas by Kerala authors (Study) (by S. Subramania Iyer)
1. The author of the Subalavajratunda < [Chapter 15: Subalavajratunda (Study)]
1. Ramapanivada (Identification and Biography) < [Chapter 6: Sita Raghava (Study)]
2. Manuals of Kutiyattam < [Chapter 3]
Humour in Telugu Literature < [July 1967]
Humour in Telugu Literature < [July 1967]
Reviews < [July – September 1975]
Satirical works of Kshemendra (study) (by Arpana Devi)
7.6. Summary of the Bhagavadajjukam < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]
7.7. Summary of the Mattavilāsam < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]
2. Purpose of Satire < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]