Abstract

Sanskrit Kāvya is divided into various classes from different points of view. According to Viśvanātha Kavirāja, there are two groups of Kāvya. These are Dṛśyakāvya and Śravyakāvya. Dṛśyakāvyas are those known as dramas. The Dṛśyakāvya includes both Rūpakas and Uparūpakas. Rūpakas are ten in number while Uparūpakas have eighteen varieties. The first variety of rūpaka is Nāṭaka. Various theories on the origin of drama, its development, forms and features and many other aspects related to it are found elaborated by the theorists, right from Bharata to Viśvanātha Kavirāja. The imitation of the activities viz., physical and mental condition of the gods, sages, kings and other personages, by the actors and actresses, is called a drama, according to almost all the rhetoricians. A Mahānāṭaka is also like a Nāṭaka but it is different from Nātaka only in its volume or size. The drama wherein there exist all the four patākāsthāna and there are Acts more than ten, is called a Mahānāṭaka. Viśvanātha Kavirāja has given the definition viz. “etadeva yadā sarvaiḥ patākāthānakairyutam aṅkaiścha daśabhirdhīra mahānāṭakamūchire” of Mahānāṭaka in the 6^th chapter of his Sāhityadarpaṇa.

Hanumannāṭaka of Śrī Dāmodara Miśra

As is the case with most of the Sanskrit writers, there is very little information regarding the life of the author of the Hanumannāṭaka. The complete biographical or autobiographical note of Śrī Dāmodara Miśra is not available. However, some writers like Dr. Wilson have considered him as mentioned in the Bhojadevasaṃgraha, that he is same with Maithila Dāmodara, the author of Vānibhūṣaṇa. Lakṣminātha, the great composer of the commentary of Prākṛta Piṅgala has also treated him as belonging to the 16^th century Dr. Wilson acknowledged Śrī Dāmodara Miśra as a contemporary of Bhoja or of the 11^th century. This opinion is supported by the Bhojaprabandha and Hanumannāṭaka commentator Mohanadāsa also.

Śāradātanaya who wrote the Bhāvaprakaśa in 12-13^th century A.D. instances Mahānāṭaka as a drama of Saṃgraha type. Therefore it can be said that the composition of the play got completed during the reign of Bhoja i.e.11^th century.

Having seen the writing skill and style of this Hanumannāṭaka, Dr. Susil Kumar De and Dr. Keith held that the main composition of this Hanumannāṭaka is prior to the 9^th century, but its present edition came into surface about the 11^th century and there were made some changes till the 14th century.

The Hanumannāṭaka otherwise known as the Mahānāṭaka, occupies a unique position in Sanskrit dramatic literature. The Mahānāṭaka has come down to us in different recensions. The West Indian recension adopted by Śrī Dāmodara Miśra has 548 verses in 14 Acts and is styled the Hanumannāṭaka, while the East Indian or rather the Bengal recension arranged by Madhusudana Miśra has 720 verses in 9 Acts and is named the Mahānāṭaka. Both the recensions agree in taking the mythical Hanumat as the original author. In a sense, however, the work may be taken to be anonymous, for both are clearly descriptive. Hanumat, as the ally and servant of Rāma, is a legendary figure to whom it was probably found convenient to ascribe a traditional work of unknown or forgotten authorship; while the title Mahānāṭaka is apparently not a designation but a description, it being the later dramaturgic technical term which, like that term prakaraṇa, indicates a type of play containing all the episodes and possessing a large number of acts.

Methodology

Descriptive as well as Analytical Methodologies have been followed in preparing the dissertation.

Chapter Division

In the present dissertation the topic are discussed in seven chapters. The 1^st chapter deals with a discussion on Sanskrit Kāvya, Dṛśyakāvya, Śravyakāvya, varieties of Dṛśyakāvya, specialities of Nāṭaka and there is a brief discussion of sixteen prominent Dṛśyakāvyas based on the Rāmāyaṇa. The 2^nd chapter deals with Śrī Dāmodara Miśra the author and there is mentioned about another work of the author, i.e. Vānibhūṣaṇa. The 3^rd chapter deals with the title of the Mahantaka, the summary of the content of the Hanumannāṭaka, the source of the Nāṭaka, deviations and innovations etc. In the 4^th chapter, a literary assessment of the Hanumannāṭaka is placed. The topics discussed are: Rīti, Guṇa, Figures of speech, various Rasas delineated, principal sentiment, metres employed, Kavisamayas, Padalālitya, characterization, supernatural elements, use of Prākṛt, examination of various elements of dramaturgy in the Hanumannāṭaka, discussion on the prose portion etc. The 5^th chapter deals with the philosophical elements, religious elements in the play, habit and custom, social order depicted information of various flora and fauna, geographical information etc. In the 6^th chapter, there we discussed the influence of Śrī Dāmodara Miśra on other poets, influence of other poets upon Śrī Dāmodara Miśra, examination of the language from literary perspectives. The 7^th chapter is the concluding chapter with recapitulations of the previous chapters which are discussed thoroughly.

It is found that the Hanumannāṭaka (Hanumannāṭaka) is occupying a significant position among the Rāmāyaṇa-based plays in Sanskrit. The dramatist possesses genuine literary skill and the play becomes an interesting one with the admixture of poetic talent and scholarship. The present dissertation has attempted to deal with some of the important aspects of this drama. It is hoped that this dissertation will be of some use for some more research works on the Hanumannāṭaka and its brilliant author.

Signature of the Guide
(Professor Dipak Kumar Sharma)

Signature of the Candidate
(Nurima Yeasmin)