Hanuman Nataka (critical study)
by Nurima Yeasmin | 2015 | 41,386 words
This page relates ‘Part 2.1: The Contents of the Hanumannataka (Introduction)’ of the English study on the Hanuman-nataka written by Shri Damodara Mishra in the 11th century. The Hanumannataka is a Mahanataka—a fourteen-act Sanskrit drama dealing with the story of Rama and Hanumat (Hanuman) and presents the events in the lifes of Rama, Sita, Ravana and Hanuman (the son of Anjana and Vayu—the God of the Winds) based on the Ramayana story.
Part 2.1: The Contents of the Hanumannāṭaka (Introduction)
Śrī Dāmodara Misra’s Hanumannāṭaka is a play based on the Rāmāyaṇa. Here is found the description of the events starting from Rāma’s birth up to the death of Rāvaṇa and Rāma’s coronation and Sītā’s exile.
In this drama Rāvaṇa has been depicted as the contesting bridegroom, in the svayamvara (marriage ceremony) of Sītā, the daughter of king Janaka. Love and longing for Sītā are there as the basic theme of the drama.
The Hanumannāṭaka is complete in fourteen Acts. The contents of these fourteen Acts are placed in the succeeding lines in brief.
Act | Title of the Act | Number of Verses |
First | Jānakīsvayaṃvara | 58 |
Second | Rāmajānakīvilāsa | 30 |
Third | Mārīcāgamana | 27 |
Fourth | Sītāharaṇa | 16 |
Fifth | Vālivadha | 64 |
Sixth | Hanumadvijaya | 46 |
Seventh | Setubandhana | 20 |
Eight | Aṅgadādhikṣepaṇa | 58 |
Ninth | Mantrivākyam | 41 |
Tenth | Rāvaṇaprapañca | 24 |
Eleventh | Kumbhakarṇabadha | 41 |
Twelfth | Meghanādavadha | 19 |
Thirteenth | Lakṣmaṇaśaktibheda | 38 |
Fourteenth | ŚrīRāmavijaya | 96 |
Total | 578 |