Triveni Journal

1927 | 11,233,916 words

Triveni is a journal dedicated to ancient Indian culture, history, philosophy, art, spirituality, music and all sorts of literature. Triveni was founded at Madras in 1927 and since that time various authors have donated their creativity in the form of articles, covering many aspects of public life....

Natya, the Celestial Art of Ancient India

S. R. Govinda Rajan

Natya, the Celestial Art of Ancient

India

"In the night of Brahma, Nature is inert, and cannot dance till Shiva wills it; He rises from His stillness and dancing, sends through matter pulsating waves of awakening sound, proceeding from the drum; then Nature also dances appearing about Him as a Glory…..

–ANANDA K. COOMARASWAMY 1

If the cultural standing of a nation is to be determined by the glory of her arts, then ancient India surely stands on a unique pedestal. The precision of the art of Indian music and the grandeur of her sculptural art have been admitted as some of the best by scholars of all lands; but grander and more precise is her celestial art of Natya. Sculpture represents ‘bhava’, but lacks the supreme eloquence of Life. Music has life, but is too abstract in conception. Natya is a live expression of grace and emotion. That such a wonderful art should have been so widely learnt and practised by our ancients, speaks greatly for their aesthetic culture and their emotional faculties. The rules and regulations for the practice of Natya have been developed to an amazing extent; so strict are they, that it is impossible for the vulgar to defile it. The music that should follow the Natya, the plan and construction of the ‘Natya Sabha,’ the kind of audience that should be entertained, the character and moral standing of the actor–every single minute detail has been tackled, and rules have been prescribed. "The Natya Sutra" of Krhsasva and the "Natya Sastra" of Bharatha are monumental treatises that have left nothing out of their purview, and these works are precise though voluminous, elegant though complicated.

The esteem and reverence with which this science was held by our ancients is sufficiently manifest from the fact that the greatest of Hindu deities, Maheswara, is depicted in the cosmic pose of a dancer. It is this, His role, that stands for evolution, that affords an "image of reality, a key to the complex tissue of life, a theory of nature, not merely satisfactory to a single clique or race, nor acceptable to thinkers of one century only, but universal in its appeal to the philosopher, the lover and the artist of all ages and all centuries"2 The glory of the endless dance of the Universe, the orderly and scientific movements of the luminous spheres have always had their charm for the human mind: but magnificent was the achievement of ancient India, when it represented them in the vivid form of Shiva’s Dance–the form that diffuses happiness in an atmosphere of serenity.

‘Natya Sastra’ is claimed to have been handed down to the mortals from Brahma, who is said to have culled the best elements from the four Vedas and created this science. Bharatha Muni was placed in charge of it, and ordered to propagate it amongst the mortals. The different aspects of Bharatha’s code of Natya are however claimed to have been taught him by Thandu or Nandi, Shiva’s mount: hence is the name Thandava sometimes given to Natya. Whether this legendary origin be accepted or not, it is more or less certain that Natya was widely practised even before the times of Bharatha. The "Natya Sutras" are dated much earlier than Bharatha’s work, the "Natya Sastra." References to the "Natya Sutras" have been found even in Panini’s Grammar. Various sources of information show that dances were held during Vedic rituals, during the coronations of kings, and during all functions of gaiety. But the credit for the evolution of an ordered and codified work on the subject should certainly go to Bharatha.

Thandu, according to Bharatha himself, taught him hundred and eight ‘Karanas,’ thirty-two ‘Angaharas,’ and four ‘Rechitas.’ The ‘Karanas’ are prescribed types of poses of the limbs and body. An ‘Angahara’ is the depiction of a swift course of actions. A number of ‘Karanas’ very often comprise a single ‘Angahara.’ A ‘Rechita’ is described as "throwing out" movements: whirling movements of the limbs and neck also constitute ’Rechitas.’ To exemplify these technical terms, it is best to consider a few typical cases. ‘Mathali’ is the twenty-seventh ‘Karana’ described by Bharatha, in the eighty-eighth verse. It depicts "tipsy reeling" and consists of bringing the legs together and parting them and throwing out the hands. The ‘Lina Karana’ describes how the hands should be brought together in the pose of worship and how the neck should be elongated. These two ‘Karanas’ combined with a few more movements in quick succession describe the fifteenth ‘Angahara,’ "tripping in drunkenness." The suitable combinations of these ‘Karanas’ and ‘Angaharas’ with a few more quick movements constitute the fundamental poses of ‘Bharatha Nrutha.’

Abhinaya is the more difficult section of ‘Natya Sastra.’ ‘Nrutha,’ whose principles are described in the foregoing paragraph, has no relation to the accompanying song, nor does it represent its meaning. "It simply enhances the elegance and excellence of singing. Usually Nrutha, by its very nature, is pleasing to the whole world." 3 But Abhinaya is intended to evoke ‘rasa’ in the audience by a vivid exposition of the beautiful ideas of the accompanying song. No instrumental music should follow Abhinaya, and the movements should be calm and slow. Bharatha discusses Abhinaya under four heads: the first that relates to the poses of the body (Angika); the second describing the vocal accompaniments (Vachika); the third that deals with dress and costumes (Aharya); and the fourth that describes states of the mind and how they are expressed (Sathvika). Definite rules as to how ‘Mukha Bhava’ should be exhibited, and how the thirty-six glances, the nine movements of "the eye-ball and eye-brows, the four methods of face colouration and the six kinds of smiles are to be manipulated have been discussed elaborately in the eighth chapter. The exquisite analysis of the minute details and the rules relating to them cannot of course be fully appreciated by an amateur. "Nothing is left to chance; the actor no more yields to the impulse of the moment in gesture than in the spoken word…..Under these conditions there is no room for any amateur on the stage. In fact, the amateur does not exist in Oriental Arts." 4

The musical instruments that follow Natya are always of the most harmonious type and capable of best attunement. Only skilled artistes are allowed to play on them. Greatest care is paid to ‘laya’ and ‘tala.’ In all cases the dance music is appropriate to the delicate and elegant aspects of the human mind. Performances should always begin after worshipping the Ranga Devas, the presiding deities of the stage.

Bharatha seems to have felt that the art of Natya is better expounded by women than by men. In fact, he has set apart a model of dancing (‘Kaisikhi’) exclusively for women. The qualifications he prescribes for a dancer are rather too exacting, though revelatory of the height of aesthetic taste. He requires a girl "very lovely, young, with full round breasts, self-confident, charming, agreeable, dexterous in handling the critical passages, skilled in steps and rhythms, quite at home on the stage, expert in gesture, with wide open eyes, able to follow song and instruments and rhythms, adorned with costly jewels, with a charming face, neither very stout nor very thin, nor very tall nor very short."5 If she is suffering from mental depression either on account of amorous relationships or the absence of her husband, she is unfit to give a performance. If a girl has been deserted by her lover, she should not practise the art. She is further required to exhibit her art only before a select audience of highly cultured men, experts in the laws of Natya. She should dress herself appropriately to the occasion, though she is given the right to adorn herself as she pleases.

A plan of the Dance Theatre has also been given by Bharatha. An oblong hall of medium size, usually thirty-two hand-lengths by sixty-four, is to be divided exactly into two portions along the length. The anterior apartment is to be the ‘Preksha Graha,’ the auditorium. The posterior apartment should be further divided into two more apartments, the hind one to be used as the make-up room, and the front one as the stage. On the stage are to be three platforms, the ‘Matha Varinis’ and the ‘Ranga Pitha.’ On the central ‘Ranga Pitha’ the presiding deities are consecrated. The walls may be gaily decorated with carvings and paintings, creepers and figures. The actors enter the stage through two trap doors leading from the make-up room.

It is a pity that such a noble art should have been neglected by modern India in spite of its perfected science, and that it should have fallen into depths of infamy through the personal disrepute of its traditional exponents. But there is still time and still the possibility to revive this great art. In the artistic renaissance that we see around us in this country today, let us hope that Natya "will come into its own and shine forth in all its pristine glory."

1 Arts and Crafts of India and Ceylon

2 A. K. Coomraswamy: Dance of Shiva

3 Dr. B. V. V. Naidu and others: Thandava Lakshanam

4 A. K. Coomaraswamy: Mirror of Gesture

5 A. K. Coomaraswamy: Mirror of Gesture

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