Hanuman Nataka (critical study)

by Nurima Yeasmin | 2015 | 41,386 words

This page relates ‘Influence of Shri Damodara Mishra on other Poets’ 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.

1. Influence of Śrī Dāmodara Miśra on other Poets

< Previous

Next >

Śrī Dāmodara Miśra, the author of the Hanumannāṭaka also influenced other poets. Some later writers and rhetoricians are influenced by Śrī Dāmodara Miśra. They quote some verses from the Hanumannāṭaka

Viśvanātha Kavirāja the author of the Sāhityadarpaṇa had some impact of Śrī Dāmodara Miśra.In the Sāhityadarpaṇa there are references to four verses attributed to Śrī Dāmodara Miśra. The verse janasthāne bhrāntaṃ … of the Hanumannāṭaka is found in the 4^th chapter of the Sāhityadarpaṇa^[1] The verse kapole janakyāḥ …^[2] of the Hanumannāṭaka is also found in 7^th chapter of the Sāhityadarpaṇa On the other hand the verse adyāpi stana …^[3] of the Sāhityadarpaṇa is taken from the Hanumannāṭaka yattvannetrasamānakānti …^[4], this verse of the Hanumannāṭaka is found in 10^th chapter of the Sāhityadarpaṇa of Viśvanātha Kavirāja.

Ānandavardhana is also referring to Śrī Dāmodara Miśra. In the Dhvanyāloka (Dhvanyāloka) there are found two verses from the Hanumannāṭaka The verse raktastvaṃ nava …^[5] and dhigdhikśakrajitaṃ …^[6] are found in the Dhvanyāloka From this it is clear that the author of the Hanumannāṭaka made some impact over the author of the Dhvanyāloka also.

Dhanañjaya mentions four verses in his Daśarupaka from the Hanumannāṭaka The verse maināka kimayaṃ …^[7], utpattirjamadagnitaḥ …^[8] and ekenākṣṇāpravitataruṣā …^[9], of the Daśarupaka are taken from the Hanumannāṭaka

Thus it is observed that the Hanumannāṭaka could succeed in dragging the attention of a good number of poeticians and it is a pointer to the author’s impact over these writers. Rājaśekhara is also influenced by Śrī Dāmodara Miśra. Rājaśekhara is one of the celebrated personalities in Sanskrit literature..He is a famous dramatist as well as a poetician of repute. He is also known as sarvabhāṣāvicakṣanaḥ and sarvabhāṣācatura.^[10] Eleven verses from the Hanumannāṭaka are found in the Bālarāmāyaṇa of Rājaśekhara.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

janasthāne bhrāntaṃ kanakamṛgatṛṣṇāndhitadhiyā vaco vaidehīti pratipadamudaśru pralapitam/
kṛtā laṅkābharturvadanaparipāṭīṣu ghaṭanā mayāptaṃ rāmatvaṃ kuśalavasutā na tvadhigatā// Hanumannāṭaka, X.24, Sāhityadarpaṇa, IV.14

[2]:

kapole jānakyāḥ karikalabhadantadyutimuṣi smarasmeraṃ gaṇḍodumarapulakaṃ vaktrakamalam/
muhuḥ paśyañsṛṇvanrajanicarasenākalakala jaṭājūṭagranthiṃ racayati raghūṇāṃ parivṛḍhah// Hanumannāṭaka, I.19, Sāhityadarpaṇa,VII.30

[3]:

adyāpi stanatuṅgaśailaśikhare sīmantinīnāṃ hṛdi sthātuṃ vāñchati māna eṣa dhigiti krodhādivālohitaḥ/
udayaddūrataraprasāritakaraḥ karṣatyasau tatkṣaṇāt phullatkairavakośaniḥsaradaliśreṇī kṛpāṇaṃ śaśī// Hanumannāṭaka, II.5, Sāhityadarpaṇa, VII.8

[4]:

yattvannetrasamānakānti salile magnaṃ tadindīvaraṃ meghairantaritaḥ priye! tava mukhacchāyānukārī śaśī/
ye’pi tvadgmanānukārigatayaste rājahaṃsā gatā-stvatsādṛsyavinodamātramapi me daivena na kṣamyate// Hanumannāṭaka, V.64, Sāhityadarpaṇa, X.62

[5]:

raktastvaṃ navapallavairahamapi ślāghaiḥ priyāyā guṇai stvāmāyānti śilīmukhāḥ smaradhanurmuktā sakhe māmapi/
kāntāpādatalāhatistava mude tadvanmamāpyāvayo stulyaṃ sarvamaśoka kevalamahaṃ dhātrā saśokaḥ kṛtaḥ// Hanumannāṭaka, V.24, Dhvanyāloka,2.42

[6]:

dhigdhikśakrajitaṃ prabodhitavatā kiṃ kumbhakarṇena vā svargagrāmaṭikāviluṇṭhanaparaiḥ pīnaiḥ kimebhirbhujaiḥ/
dhikkāro hyayameva me yadarayastatrāpyasau tāpasaḥ so’pyatrava nihanti rākṣasabhatāñjīvatyaho rāvaṇaḥ// Hanumannāṭaka, XIV. 6, Dhvanyāloka, III.72

[7]:

mainākaḥ kimayaṃ … vadhaṃ vāñchati// Hanumannāṭaka, IV.9, Daśarūpaka, IV.20

[8]:

utpattirjamadagnitaḥ … kiṃ kiṃ na lokottaram // Hanumannāṭaka,I.54, Daśarūpaka, II. 1-2

[9]:

ekenā’kṣṇā pravitataruṣā … kāruṇyasanjñau// Hanumannāṭaka., XII.17, Daśarūpaka, IV.34

[10]:

(a) sarvabhāṣā vicakṣaṇāḥca sa evamāha // Bālarāmāyaṇa, I. 10
(b) pāripārsvikaḥ sarvabhāṣacautreṇa teṇa bhanidaṃjaddā/ Kāvya Prakāśa, I.7

Last Updated: 01 July, 2023