Introduction to the Prahasana type of Drama

In the west, the comedy arose before the classical age in Greek, which was performed at the city of Dionysia, the home of dramatic theatre of Athenian. By the end of fifth century B.C., the comedy in Greek got the pre-eminence. The new age of comedy was started towards the end of the fourth century B.C. It is known the comedy was discovered through Homer’s epics, such as “Dios Apate” of The Iliad. It has given some mythological comics. Homer’s famous paint on gods like “The Odyssey” was producing comedy. The paintings on vases were providing some evidences about the comic characters like cooks, angry old man, drunken old womenand sneaky slaves in the classical age. However, comedy, in the sense of a humorous drama, can be traced back no further than the sixth century BC. The word comedy or “komoidia” means literally in Greek “party (kom) song (-oid-)”. It was revealed where partiers sang songs, in which they teased, mocked and made fools of spectators or public figures.

So the comic drama was formulated in Greek through the opening monologue, the Parodos (the opening choral song), the alternating rhythm of episode and chorus and the agon (where two characters debating on some issue). Then comedy also inverted features common in tragedy. Noble characters, for instance, were made base, sacred odes became bawdy balladsand solemn dances turned into lascivious strip-teases, like the infamous koadax dance (literally, “the rope”). Some old Athenian comedies are: Aristophanes’ The clouds, Knights, Frogs, Dionysus, Birds, Lydians, Chionides” Beggars, Heroes, Persians.

Menander was the last great Athenian dramatist of this genre. His dramas touched every human being. He was one of the greatest vehicles ever for reflecting upon life and society (Google search, Wikipedia, Dramen).

In India, the concept of comedy (hāsya) is very different from that of the west. Bharata considers that comedy (hāsya) derived from erotic (śṛṅgāra) only (śṛṅgārāddhi bhaveddhāsya, -Nāṭyśāstra.VI. 40).

However, Abhinava Gupta states that Comedy (hāsya) can be developed from any type of sentiments like erotic (śṛṅgāra), tragedy (karuṇa), furious (raudra), marvellous (adbhuta), heroic (vīra), terrible (bhayānaka), disgusting (bībhatsa), (etena sarve rasāḥ hāsye antarhitāḥ iti darśitam, Nāṭyaśāstra., Published by Sampurnananda University, Vol. 1, p. 297). Bhoja also objects to Bharata’s view that “hāsya” is derived from śṛṅgāra only. He states that it can also be derived from any other sentiments (Śṛṅgāraprakāśa, XI.72). In the Nāṭyśāstra, Bharata has defined laughter (hāsya) as the sentiment born out of the permanent or dominant mood called mirth (hāsa), (hāsyo nāma hāsasthāyibhāvātmaka - Nāṭyaśāstra.VI.62).

The comedy (prahasana) is derived from the root “has”. Therefore, the purpose of Prahasana is to burst into laughter. Thus, the laughter (hāsya) sentiment constitutes the main sentiment in it. In fact, Prahasana is the oldest form of dramaand existed even before Bharata’s Nāṭyaśāstra. The Ṛgveda refers to the Prahasana through the conversation between Indra and his wife Indrānī from tenth mandala (X.86). The conversation may have given the perfect shape to the Prahasana. From the statement of Bharata, it is clear that Prahasana is the oldest stage development and most popular in the history of Sanskrit drama. (sarvalokaprahasanairbādhante hāsyasaṃśrayaiḥ–Nāṭyaśāstra, XXXVI. 28).