Analysis of technical terms: Abhinaya

Abhinaya or the histrionic representation is an important aspect of nāṭya. The root ‘nī’ preceded by ‘abhi’ means “carrying the performances of a play to the ascertainment of its meaning”.

It is the art of communication by which the meaning is carried forward to the audience.

ābhipūrvastu ṇīñ dhāturābhimukhyārthanirṇaye yasmāt padārthān nayati tasmādabhinayaḥ smṛtaḥ^[1]

When a theme is communicated through the action of body, speech, internal moods and the external elements such as make-up and costumes of a character by an actor, then it is called abhinaya. Here the first three are from the side of the actor and the fourth is external and that is why called āharya. Bharata also adds sāmānya and citra abhinaya in later chapters.

In an actor’s parlance, it may be taken as understanding the meaning of the word or taking it within and communicating to the audience through the human activities. In a poet,’s parlance taking the idea within and communicating to the readers. Every action of the actor communicates something or other. However, if the specific meaning of the lyrics is communicated, it becomes one type of abhinaya known as padārtha abhinaya.

Abhinaya has taken different cannotations in post Bharata period. Viśvanātha defines abhinaya as:

bhāvedabhinayo'vasthanukāraḥ |^[2]

Mallinātha says it is a combination of rasa and bhāva, etc.

abhinayo rasabhāvādivyañjakaceṣṭāviśeṣaḥ ||^[3]

Abhinavabhāratī interprets abhinaya in two types as: the meaning of the theme or poem taken forward to the spectator and the meaning of the theme or poem taken by the actors and then physically depicted.

Thus, nātya is a drama, which has all aspects of abhinaya, performed by naṭas taking roles of different characters, where a particular rasa is the main aesthetic experience, and the other rasas and bhāvas become ancilliary, thus an audiovisual entertainment.

Nṛtya is a dance form where the dancer, dominated by āṅgika abhinaya narrates the story, and the dialogues are through songs. It is bhāvatmaka when a whole performance cannot emanate a main rasa. Here the actor just dances or enacts the story but does not take the role of the character with proper āhārya. Abhinavagupta and other common authorites, prior to him, do not use the term nṛtya, as Bharata himself has not used the term. Though the term nṛtya is seen earlier in Purāṇas and Amarakośa, the technical explanation of nṛtya starts only from Dhanañjaya.^[4]

Nowadays the term abhinaya is restricted to the expression of face alone. However, Bharata meant it as a holistic aspect, which was a communication through body, voice, inner feeling and external appearance. Mano, vāk, kāya are known as the three aspects of the activities of a human being. These when communicated can be taken as abhinaya. Bharata mentions the term abhinaya in the sense of āṅgika and hand and facial actions in many instances, but it does not mean only the facial expression or hand geatures. The whole body can be used in communicating ideas. This again is divided into vākyārtha and padārtha abhinaya. These can be taken as the meaning of a sentence and the word-to-word meaning.

Dhanika says vākyārtha is rasātmaka and padārtha is bhāvatmaka. This means that the concept of rasa is holistic like vākyartha and concept of bhāva is particularized as padārtha abhinaya. Thus, nātya is different from nṛtya. Dhanika says nṛtya is different from nṛtta, because nṛtya is anukaraṇatmakatva i.e. representative, where as nṛtta is not. But, nṛtta is referred to śobhā hetutvena (cause for beauty)^[5] which is stated by Bharata himself. Aṅga vikṣepa, which is common to both, is termed as aṅgahāra by Amarasiṃha, the lexicographer. Bharata says aṅgahāra is a technical term, which is a combination of nṛtta karaṇas.

These concepts have been misled by scholars, as they have used terms such as bhāva rasa vihīna and abhinaya śūnya and so on. Kallinātha says in the commentary of Saṅgītaratnākara about āṅgika abhinaya thus.

buddhividitapadapadārthaiḥ anukartṛbhiḥ aṅgaiḥ karacaraṇādibhiḥ karaṇaiḥ darśita āṅgikaḥ ||^[6]

The concept of nṛtya as bhāvaśraya can also be defective, as Varma states, because Bharata says that there is no bhāva without rasa and vice versa. According to Varma, Dhanañjaya is completely wrong and Kumba and Vipra are partly correct.^[7] However, Bharata does mention the bhāvadṛṣṭi and rasadṛṣṭi. If the actor expresses a mood, the dṛṣṭi will be bhāvadṛṣṭi and when the actor experiences the rasa, it will be rasadṛṣṭi. We cannot take it, as the rasadṛṣṭi will be performed by the audience. Even then, the utsāha bhāva dṛṣṭi can be brought in nṛtta. This is also a debatable topic.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Nāṭyaśāstra VIII.6.

[2]:

Sah.D.p.125

[3]:

Kirātārjunīya X.42.

[4]:

N.N.N.Varma p.30-34.

[5]:

Daśarūpaka I.10. com.p.3.

[6]:

Saṅgīta-ratnāvalī com.VII.p.8.

[7]:

Nāṭya Nṛtta and Nṛtya -Their meaning and relation -K.M. Varma p.10.