Part 3: Specialities of Nāṭaka and Mahānāṭaka

Indeed the beginning of epic ornate poetry can be traced back to the Rāmāyaṇa called the ‘Ādikāvya’ or the first ornate poem and Vālmīki is called the ‘Ādikāvi’ or the first ornate poet. The specialities of such Kāvya are that greater stress on form than on matter and content of the poetry and Alaṃkāras i.e. ornaments, such as poetic figure, simile etc. are used abundantly. Descriptions, particularly the description of nature are plenty with metaphor and epithets.

The Nāṭaka is considered to be the best of all the forms of dramatic poetry.^[1] According to the Sāhityadarpaṇa, the Nāṭaka should be based upon a well-known story.

It should have five critical junctures of plot (Sandhi), namely—

1. mukha (opening or protasis),
2. pratimukha (progressior or epitasis),
3. garbha (development or catastasis),
4. vimarśa (panse or pripeteia) and
5. nirvahana (conclusion or catastrophe).

The Nāṭaka bears description leading to the qualities like vivacity, prosperity etc. and also various properties of the hero, abounding with the sentiments of pleasure and pain and also with a variety of flavours. It should consist of at least five Acts not exceeding ten Acts. Its hero should be of the sort characterized by high spirit but temperate and firm, powerful and virtuous, being a royal sage of renowned race. The predominant sentiment of Nāṭaka should be either Sṛṅgāra or Vīra. Remaining rasas have secondary importance. In Nāṭaka there must be four or five important personages engaged in the business of the hero and the structure of a Nāṭaka resembles the shape of a cow’s tail.^[2] There are found similar characteristics of Nāṭaka as mentioned in the Daśarūpaka^[3] A Mahānāṭaka is also like a Nāṭaka but it is different from Nāṭaka 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. Viśvanāṭha Kavirāja has given the definition of Mahānāṭaka^[4] in his Sāhityadarpaṇa. Further the Bālarāmāyaṇa of Rajaśekhara has been cited as an example of a Mahānāṭaka.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

cf. kāvyeṣu nāṭakaṃ ramyaṃ

[2]:

nāṭakaṃ khyātavṛttaṃ syāt pañcasandhisamanvitam
vilāsaddharyādigunavaduktaṃ nānāvibhūtibhiḥ
sukhaduḥkhasamudbhūti nānārasanirantaram
pañcādikā daśaparāstātrāṅkaḥ parikīrtitāḥ
prakhyātavaṃśo rājarṣidhīrodāttaḥ pratāpavān
divyotha divyādivyo vā gunavānnāyako mataḥ Sāhityadarpaṇa,VI, 7-11

[3]:

prakhāyatovaṃśo rājarsīdivyo vā yatra nāyakaḥ
tatprakhyātam vidhātavyam vṛttam atrādhikārikam
yatatrānuritam kimcinnāyakasya rasasya vā
virudham tatparityajyamanyathā va prakalpyet
adyantamebam nih citya pacadhātadvibhajya ca
khandśah sandisamjyah ca vibhāganapi khaṇḍyet—Daśarūpaka

[4]:

etadeva yadā sarvaiḥ patākāsthānakairyutam
aṅkaiścha daśabhirdhīrā mahānāṭakamūchire—Sāhityadarpaṇa VI, 223