1. Dramatic aspects (a): Vastu (Theme)

When applying the above mentioned definitions of Nataka into the work Annadatricarita, it can be identified asa drama (Nataka). Here also, the story is based on a popular myth about the great feeding, hero is a Dhirodatta, depiction of various prosperities, presence of divine characters, five acts and the Angirasa is Virarasa. In addition to this, other dramatic features like Nandishloka, Praveshaka, Vishkambha and finally Bharatavakya are systematically arranged in this drama.

These features of Annadatricarita are individually discussing below-

The fundamental feature of a drama is none other than its story. The author can choose the story from literary sources or legends or his own imagination, but the treatment of the story on stage must be interesting. With reference to Dashrupaka of Dhananjaya, the vastu of drama is consists of three types—prakhyata, kavikalpita and mishra.

[...]^[1]

The story of the drama should be derived either from legends of the past (prakhyātavṛttam), the incidents imagined by the poet (kavikalpitavṛttam) or a mixture of legendary tale with imagination of poet (miśravṛttam) in accordance with the classification of gods, humans and the like.

In Annadatricarita, the central story of the myth of grand feast is a popular myth from the Sangam literature, it also linked with the epic Mahabharata, i.e. prakhyatavritta. The dramatist connected this theme with his contemporary Travancore ruler Chittira Thirunal Balaramavarma and his ancestors and introduced it with a fresh narrative style. Even though the theme of the play Annadatricarita can identified as a popular one, the application of dramatist’s imagination is also not a negligible one. Hence, the story is a mixture of legendary tale and writer’s imagination and can be include in a Mishra category of the story.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Ibid, 24 &25.