Vishnudharmottara Purana (Art and Architecture)

by Bhagyashree Sarma | 2021 | 59,457 words

This page relates ‘Types of Drama’ of the study on the elements of Art and Architecture according to the Vishnudharmottara Purana: an ancient text whose third book deals with various artisan themes such as Architecture, Painting, Dance, Grammar, etc. Many chapters are devoted to Hindu Temple architecture and the iconography of Deities and their installation rites and ceremonies.

1.4. Types of Drama

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Dṛśyakāvyas in Sanskrit are mainly divided into two groups, viz.,

rūpaka and
uparūpaka.

The Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa accepts twelve types of rūpaka viz.,

nāṭaka,
nāṭikā,
prakaraṇa,
prakaraṇī,
utṣṛṣṭakāṅka [utsṛṣṭakāṅka?],
bhāṇa,
samavakāra,
ihāmṛga,
vyāyoga,
vīthī,
ḍima and
prahasana.

But Bharata accepts ten kinds of rūpaka in the Nāṭyaśāstra.^[1] The Sāhityadarpaṇa also seems to follow the Nāṭyaśāstra in this context.^[2] In the Daśarūpaka also ten kinds of rūpakas are discussed.^[3] Actually prakaraṇī and utṣṛṣṭakāṅka [utsṛṣṭakāṅka?], these two types are not accepted by the Nāṭyaśāstra, Sāhityadarpaṇa and Daśarūpaka as the divisions of rūpaka.

The varieties of rupakas other than the nāṭaka are taken up for narration here.

1) Nāṭikā:

According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, in nāṭikā, there should be four acts and the pre dominant sentiment should be Śṛṇgāra.^[4] Nāṭyaśāstra also agrees with this viewpoint and said that nāṭikā should contain loads of female characters, dances, songs, love, enjoyment etc.^[5] According to the Sāhityadarpaṇa, the lady born in royal family having the interest on Music, Dance etc. should be the heroin of a nāṭikā.^[6]

2) Prakaraṇa:

The Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa states that the plot of a prakaraṇa should be imaginary.^[7] While the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa says only one line about prakaraṇa, the Nāṭyaśāstra gives three requirements of a prakaraṇa in an expanded way. According to the Nāṭyaśāstra, the characters in a prakaraṇa are Brahmin, merchant, minister, priest and officer.^[8] Following the Nāṭyaśāstra, the Sāhityadarpaṇa states that the hero of a prakaraṇa should be a Brahmin, minister or a merchant.^[9] In a prakaraṇa the heroin is suggested to come from a good family or sometimes to be a courtesan by her profession.^[10]

3) Prakaraṇī:

According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, prakaraṇī also should be imaginary like prakaraṇa and contain four acts.^[11] This is a new inclusion in the group.

4) Utṣṛṣṭakāṅka:

According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, the plot of utṣṛṣṭakāṅka [utsṛṣṭakāṅka?] should be taken from history or it should be imaginary, the dramatic style should be bhāratī and the karuṇa should be the pre dominant sentiment.^[12]

5) Bhāṇa:

Bhāṇa is a one act drama and full of fights and it should be presented by only one actor who has to talk through speeches in air.^[13] The Nāṭyaśāstra has the same view point with the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa in this matter. According to the Sāhityadarpaṇa, the one and only character of a bhāna is projected to be a cunning person.^[14]

6) Samavakāra:

According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, in samavakāra, the heroes may be gods or demons and it consists of twelve heroes.^[15] The Sāhityadarpaṇa states that there should be three acts in a samavakāra.^[16]

7) Īhāmṛga:

According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, īhāmṛga consists of many acts.^[17] But the Sāhityadarpaṇa fixes it in four acts.^[18] The Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa states that in īhāmṛga a gandharva i.e., a demigod^[19] should be the hero and śṛṇgāra should be the pre dominant sentiment which arises from the unsatisfaction of sexual enjoyment.^[20]

8) Vyāyoga:

The Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa states that in Vyāyoga, actions of one day are showed through one hero. The sentiment should be dṛpta.^[21] Though dṛpta is not included in the list of nine rasas, the Abhinavabhāratī clarifies that dṛptarasa is endowed with ojaguṇa and it is originated from vīra and raudra sentiments.^[22]

9) Vīthī [Vīthi]:

In vīthī [vīthi], there is no hero. According to the Sāhityadarpaṇa, in a vīthī, the hero should be imagined and the voice of the hero should be heared through ākāśabhāṣita i.e., a sound or voice in the air^[23] .^[24] This type of dṛśyakāvya consists of thirteen acts.^[25] But in the Sāhityadarpaṇa, only one act is considered.^[26] Bharata accepts thirteen kinds of vīthī in the Nāṭyaśāstra_.^[27]

10) Ḍima:

The Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa states that the plot and the hero of ḍima should be well known.^[28] In the Nāṭyaśāstra it is said that six sentiments except śṛṅgāra and hāsya are to be associated in a ḍima.^[29] According to the Sāhityadarpaṇa, ḍima consists of four acts.^[30] This book relates that the hero of a dima should be a devatā, gandharva, yakṣa, rākṣasa, mahānāga, bhūta, preta or piśāca.^[31]

11) Prahasana:

According to the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, the prahasana should be full of humorous disputations and it should have only one act and the characters like courtesans, viṭas are basically seen here.^[32] In the Nāṭyaśāstra, two forms of prahasana are accepted. One is śuddha i.e., pure type of prahasana which contains some comic conversations of some designated persons like bhagavatas, tāpasas, bhikṣus, śrotrīyas, vipras etc.^[33] The another one is saṅkīrṇa i.e., mixed type of prahasana where the courtesans, servants, eunuchs, viṭas and cunning and unchaste women come into view with their immodest appearance, attires and movements.^[34]