5. Pravṛtti (traditions according to time and place)

The traditions of the language, attire and activity etc. of the character, according to time and place is called pravṛtti. Cf. —

deśabhāṣākriyāveṣalakṣaṇāḥ syuḥ pravṛttayaḥ/
lokādevāvagamyaitā yathaucityaṃ prayojayet//^[1]

Prabvṛtti, like vṛtti, is also a technical word, and like vṛtti this is also connected to the activities of the actor. With the difference in the tradition of the land, the Nāyaka’s character also differs in attire, language etc. and this very characteristic of a drama is the pravṛtti.

The difference between vṛtti and pravṛtti can also be clarified through the example that to make fun with words is an oral activity. It is included within Kaiśikīvṛtti whereas the decision as to which character will make fun in which language based on place, time and status will fall under pravṛtti.

While clarifying the nature of pravṛtti, Bharatamuni in his Nāṭyaśāstra has stated—

pravṛttiriti kasmāt? ucyate, prithivyāṃ nānādeśaveśabhāṣācāravārtāḥ khyāpayatīti|^[2]

This means that the activity that reveals the attire, language, agriculture and nature in the various diverse lands of the universe is pravṛtti. A person from a particularly special country belonging to a particular category (varga) will behave similarly in dressing, speaking etc. with others of that category. In this form pravṛtti can be considered as the behaviour of the entire category of that country. A composer acquires the knowledge of various language, attire etc. by coming in contact with the domain and essays his composition in that form.

Dhanañjaya has provided a detailed discussion of language related to pravṛtti. According to it one who is not of a lower status, therefore is a cultured person belonging to either higher or middle class, his language is Sanskrit.

The language of the women with self-control also is Sanskrit. In some cases, the language of queens, daughters of ministers and prostitutes may also be Sanskrit. Cf.—

pāṭhyaṃ tu saṃskṛtaṃ nṛṇāmanīcānāṃ kṛtātmanām/
liṅginīnāṃ mahādevyā mantrijāveśyayoḥ kvacit//^[3]

In this definition of Dhanañjaya whether the word kṛtātmānāṃ has been used as adjective or independently needs consideration. If it is considered as independent then its intent will be that the one who is kṛtātmā, his language will be Sanskrit. On the other hand if it is accepted as an adjective it can be considered as the adjective of nṛnāṃ or liṅginīnāṃ. The intent of kṛtātmanāṃ liṅginīnāṃ is that the language of a lower class person with self-control (kṛtātmā) and is cultured, is Sanskrit. Sanskrit is not the language of one who is mad, ill-starred (grahagrasta) and poverty stricken. It is considered as the adjective of liṅginīnāṃ also. Its intent then becomes that the language of those women who are self-controlled or sanyāsīnis is Sanskrit. But women who are a beholder of chadmaveśa cannot have their language as Sanskrit.

In addition to Sanskrit, Dhanañjaya has also given a detailed account of which language is to be used among the Prākṛta languages in dramas. Cf.—

strīṇāṃ tu Prākṛta ṃ prāyaḥ śaurasenyadhameṣu ca/
piśācātyantanīcādau paiśācaṃ māgadhaṃ tathā//
yaddeśaṃ nīcapātraṃ yattaddeśaṃ tasya bhāṣitaṃ/
kāryataścottamādīnāṃ kāryo bhāṣāvyatikramaḥ//^[4]

This means that the language of womenfolk is Prākṛta whereas those male characters who belong to the lower class their language is Śaurasenī. Those characters who are either Piśāca or those with extremely low personality belong respectively to Paiśācī and Māgadhī Prākṛta. The low characters speak the language of their respective lands. However, only in some cases like due to the nature of his job or duty, the characters of high class speak language which is an exception or deviation from his own.

In Mudrārākṣasa the language that has been used are Sanskrit and Mahārāṣṭrī along with Śaurasenī. In the drama the language of the characters belonging to the higher class like Rākṣasa, Cāṇakya, Candragupta, Malayaketu, Sūtradhāra etc is Sanskrit. In Mudrārākṣasa examples of changes in language can also be found due to attire (veśa vinyāsa). Rākṣasa’s spy Virādhagupta in order to get the news of Kusumpura put on the attire of Ahituṇḍika. He has, in his soliloquy and when communicating with his master Rākṣasa, used Sanskrit as his language. But while communicating with general public (loka) he used Prākṛta language. The other characters of the drama also use Prākṛta language only. Even Nipunaka, the spy of Cāṇakya, who disguises as the exhibitor of the Yampaṭa to acquire information has to converse in Prākṛta. He however maintains his Prākṛta with his master too. This is perhaps to constantly maintain his disguised form much in contrast to the spy of Rākṣasa who rather prefers to express his origin by speaking Sanskrit. Therefore, Mudrārākṣasa seems to be a deviation or an exception from the general principles of dramaturgy in the usage of language. Chandasnadāsa is a kṛtātmā, a person of highest quality. But against the principles of dramaturgy Chandasnadāsa did not use Sanskrit as his language rather he used Prākṛta. Again in this drama the womenfolk and the other lower class characters use either Mahārāṣṭrī or Śaurasenī Prākṛta. However, the dramatist has used Mahārāṣṭrī in the poems whereas in the prose he used Śaurasenī Prākṛta. Chaṇḍāla is an extremely low-class character and in his speeches one finds Māgadhī Prākṛta.

The following verses of Mudrārākṣasa are the examples of the application of the Mahārāṣṭrī Prākṛta in the drama. Cf.—

paṇamaha jamassa calaṇe kiṃ kajjaṃ devaehi aṇṇehiṃ /
eso khu aṇṇabhattāṇaṃ harai jīaṃ caḍaphaḍantaṃ // I.17
kamalāṇaṃ maṇaharāṇaṃ vi rūāhiṃto visambadai sīlaṃ /
sampuṇṇamaṇḍalammi vi jāiṃ cande viruddhāiṃ // I.19

Similarly, we can cite the following example from the first act as the application of the Śaurasenī Prākṛta in the drama–suṇādu ajja/
paḍhamaṃ dāva ajjassa ripupakkhe baddhapakkhavādo khavanāoi.^[5]

The dramatist has given an exemplary evidence of the combined use of Śaurasenī and Mahārāṣṭrī Prākṛta in the following verse—

Cf.—

purisassa jīvidavvaṃ visamādo hoi bhattigahiādo/
mārei sabbaloaṃ jo teṇa jameṇa jīāmo//^[6]

We can find the evidence of Śaurasenī as well as Mahārāṣṭrī in this verse through the use of ‘da’ in lieu of ‘ta’ as this is found only in case of Śaurasenī. In jīvidavvaṃ visamādo etc. instead of using ‘ta’ the ‘da’ has been used.

In the 7^th act of the play Mudrārākṣasa, through the speeches of the extremely low-class character Chaṇḍāla one finds the use of Māgadhī as follows—

ajja chandasṇadāsa ṇikhāde śule tā sajjo hohi//^[7]

Here in this example, in śule the use of tālavya śa is found. Moreover, for prathamā eka vacana the dramatist has not used the “o” but “e” instead.

Therefore, in Mudrārākṣasa based on the class of the characters, the dramatist has made use of language variations.

In the purview of pravṛtti, one also finds the importance of the mode of address based on the class of the character.

The mode of address for one character to another character is clearly stated by Dhanañjaya in his Daśarūpaka—

cf. bhagavanto varairvācyā vidvaddevarṣiliṅginaḥ/
viprāmātyāgrajāścāryā naṭīsūtrabhṛtau mithaḥ//
rathī sūtena cāyuṣmān pūjyaiḥ śiṣyātmajānujāḥ/
vatseti tātaḥ pūjyo’pi sugṛhītābhidhastu taiḥ//
bhāvo’nugena sūtrī ca mārṣetyetena so’pi ca/
devaḥ svāmīti nṛpatirbhṛtyairbhaṭṭeti cādhamaiḥ//^[8]

It means top-class character vidvāna (erudite), deva (god), ṛṣi (sage), sanyāsī (wandering mandicent) etc. are addressed as bhagavan, whereas brāhmana, amātya (minister) and elder brother as ārya. Similarly, the naṭī and sūtradhāra mutually address each other as ārya. Other examples of such befitting honorary addresses are the one like āyuṣman used by the charioteer for its master whereas addresses signifying love like vatsa are used by teachers or elders for his pupils, sons and younger brothers. While the Youngers addresse the elders or respected ones as tāta or sugṛhitanāma, the pāripārśvika addresses sūtradhāra as bhāva, sūtradhāra addresses the pāripārśvika back as mārṣa. Similarly, sevaka (attendents) refers their master i.e. the kings as deva or swāmī, while characters lower in class are addressed as bhaṭṭa.

In the drama, different addresses apt with their respective characters of different class have been included beautifully by the dramatist.

In Mudrārākṣasa, Candragupta, Cara, Siddhārthaka, Pratīhārī etc. for Cāṇakya, Malayaketu etc. for Rākṣasa, naṭī (actors) for Sūtradhāra and Sūtradhāra for naṭī, Rākṣasa for Kañcukī, Priyamvadaka for Ahituṇḍika, Kuṭumbinī for Candanadāsa and Candanadāsa for Kuṭumbinī uses the address ārya. In the same fashion, Cāṇakya addresses his disciple as vatsa, and son of Candandāsa uses to address Candandāsa as tāta. The dramatist has been very adept in judiciously choosing the correct addresses befitting the relationship between the characters and their classes. A very interesting address used here is vṛṣala, denoting love and affection, used by Cāṇakya for Candragupta as latter was a favourite disciple of the former.

In this way depending upon the character the dramatist has been successful in incorporating all the appropriate character-specific languages and addresses according to the natures of a nāṭaka (nāṭyapravṛtti).

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Daśarūpaka, II.63

[2]:

Nāṭyaśāstra, XIII.38 (prose)

[3]:

Daśarūpaka, II.64

[4]:

Ibid., II.65-66

[5]:

Mudrārākṣasa, p.52

[6]:

Mudrārākṣasa, I.18

[7]:

Ibid., VII.p. 453

[8]:

Daśarūpaka, II. 67-69