Part 3-6 - Prakaraṇa rules

Rules of the Nāṭyaśāstra:

According to the Nāṭyaśāstra (XVIII.95-112),

1), the Prakaraṇa should have an imaginary plot. The Nāyaka should also be imaginary.

2) The plot should not be the work of sages or seers, like Purāṇa, Epic, but it could be taken from some famous poems.

3) It is needless to mention here that all the four types of Vṛttis may be used in a Prakaraṇa and the main sentiment depicted in it must be either Śṛṅgāra or Vīra, which constitute the essential characteristics of a Nāṭaka.

4) The stories of Brahmins, merchants, ministers, preceptors and commanders of the army can be used for the purpose.

5) The hero should not be an exalted (dhirodātta) type and the treatise should not contain any stories of divine beings and royalties engaged in sensual activities. The use of common people like attendants etc. is a must.

6) It is necessary that the subject matter of a Prakaraṇa should include the stories of servants, parasites and merchants. The same should also have the scope for enjoyment with courtesans.

7) In case there is the presence of a courtesan, the poet should avoid the involvement of any noble woman in the plot. If the poet feels the necessity of the presence of any noble woman, then he should avoid the presence of the former.

8) If the story is about the domestic life of any councilor (saciva), the head of the merchant (śreṣṭhī), the Brahmin, the Priest (purohita), the Minister (amātya), or the Merchant (sārthavāha), then it should not be connected with the presence of a courtesan (veśyā).

9) If it is necessary to use both types of female character, then their conduct should be depicted in an appropriate manner and the language of the text must be as prescribed by the rules.

10) Besides this, the number of acts of a Prakaraṇa should not be less than five and more than ten, which is also common to that of a Nāṭaka.

11) Similarly, the characteristics of the interludes such as Viṣkambhaka and Praveśaka and the Saṃdhis should be as good as those of a Nāṭaka.

Rules of the Daśarūpaka:

According to the Daśarūpaka (III.39-42),

1) the story and the hero should be a fiction invented by the poet. The hero may be a minister, a Brahmin, or a merchant. The hero should be self-controlled and calm in nature and should be diligent in dharma, arthaand kāma.

2) Further, Prakaraṇa should be constructed as equal to the Nāṭaka in the matters of juncture (sandhi), act (aṅka) and style (vṛtti) etc.

3) There would be two types of heroines, i.e. noble (uttama) woman and courtesan (gaṇikā). One can use either noble or courtesan in the Prakaraṇa. Sometimes both could be used.

4) The noble type of heroine should not go out but the courtesan has no restrictions. Therefore, according to the employment of heroines, the Prakaraṇa is of three kinds, i.e. pure (śuddha), modified (vikṛta) and mixed (saṅkīrṇa); and the latter mixed (saṅkīrṇa) type should be full of rogues (dhūrta).

Difference between the Nāṭyaśāstra and those of the Daśarūpaka:

1) Bharata has not made it clear as to what type of hero should be used in the Prakaraṇa. He has just stated that the hero in the Prakaraṇa should not be dhīrodātta type, whereas Dhanañjaya prescribed that in Prakaraṇa, the hero should be dhīrapraśānta type.

2) Both Bharata and Dhanañjaya agree that there would be a heroine in Prakaraṇa, either a noble woman or a courtesan or both. However, Bharata stipulates a condition that if there would be both noble (uttama) and courtesan (gaṇikā) as the heroine in a Prakaraṇa, then their language and conduct should be proper and Dhanañjaya is silent about it.

3) Bharata does not mention the divisions of the Prakaraṇa, whereas Dhanañjaya divides Prakaraṇa into three types according to the employment of the heroines such as pure (śuddha), modified (vikṛta) and mixed (saṅkīrṇa).

4) Bharata is more elaborateand states that in Prakaraṇa the divine character and the royalties, who are engaged in pleasurable activities, should not be used; however, Dhanañjaya is silent about it.

5) On the other hand, Dhanañjaya states that the hero should be engaged in dharma, artha and kāmaand Bharata does not mention anything about it. Further, Dhanañjaya states that the noble (uttama) woman should not go out but the courtesan (gaṇikā) can go out without any restriction; and this point is also not described by Bharata.

6) Dhanañjaya has not restricted the use of courtesan as Bharata did, however, puts the condition that if the story of Prakaraṇa is based on the domestic life of ministers, merchants, Brahmins, Preceptors, Commander of the army and traders, then there should not be the presence of a courtesan.

Rules followed by the drama:

Yaśaścandra’s Mudritakumudacandra has followed almost all the rules prescribed by both Bharata and Dhanañjaya. According to them, the plot of Prakaraṇa should be poet’s own imagination but it should not be borrowed from the works of the sages, i.e. the Epics or the Purāṇas. Yaśaścandra, the author of the Mudritakumudacandra, has applied the rule very carefully. Though some characters in the story are historical, still the story is a figment of imagination. Again, there is no proof that Kumudacandra, who is the main character, is historical. Then according to the rule, the hero should not be exalted type (dhīrodātta); but rather the hero should be either a Brahmin, merchant, minister, preceptor or a commander of army. However, Dhanañjaya states that hero should be self-controlled and calm (dhīrapraśānta) type. The hero of the Mudritakumudacandra is a preceptor who is selfcontrolled and calm (dhīrapraśānta) in nature. The junctures (sandhi), styles (vṛtti)and other features like interlude scenes (viṣkambhaka), intimation scenes (nepathya), sentiments (rasa) and other technical things should be applied like in Nāṭaka.

Yaśaścandra has applied all the five types of junctures (sandhi) and four types of styles (vṛtti), which will be discussed later. Again, the drama has applied the sentiments like heroic (vīra), laughter (hāsya), furious (raudra), marvelous (adbhuta) and tranquility (śānta). The drama consists of five acts, but there is no use of introductory scene (praveśaka). It has used viṣkambhaka, an interlude scene, at the beginning of every act. Further, in every act, the author has used very few characters except the fifth act, because according to the rule, in an act of Nāṭaka and Prakaraṇa one should not use more than five characters (Nāṭyaśāstra.XX.43).

Again, the rule says that there should not be any divine character in Prakaraṇa. Yaśaścandra has introduced a divine character, viz. Vajrāgala, who represents the goddess Kāmākṣā. However, the amorous activities of the royalties and the courtesans or female characters are not involved in the drama. The drama has used plenty of attendants, servants and common people, but it has not used Viṭa or Dhūrta type of character in it.