Indological Studies

Author(s): H C Bhayani
Publisher: Parshva Prakashan

Page 85

8. BHAVĀI AND THE FOLK ELEMENTS IN THE
CLASSICAL DRAMA
(1)
If we rely upon the legendary account of the origin of Bhavāi, the traditional folk drama of Gujarat, it cannot be dated earlier than the fourteenth century. The evidence of language, metre and the themes of the various 'Roles' (veśa) of the Bhavāí also support a date thereabout. But the term bhavāi itself was in vogue mueh, earlier, though its meaning then was 'show' or 'spectacle in general.
The earliest use of the word bhavāi is known from Lakşmi-. candra's Sāvaya-dhamma-dohā, an Apabhramśa verse composition descrbing religions condnct for the Jain lay follower. It is datable about the thirteenth century. Verse 77 of that work contains the following line (obviously it is a proverb) :
‘nirukkhai eramda-vaại kim na bhavāi hoi'*
'In a treeless tract, would not even a bunch of Erandas make a glamorous show ?
Thus it is obvious that restriction of the meaning of bhavās to a kind of dramatic performance was a later development. In an old Gujarati verse tale written in 1528 A. D., we find a mention of bhayājā i. e. the professional performers of Bhavāi. And in a sixteenth century work on Sanskrit lexicography bhavājā is given as the meaning of the Sanskrit word bhrūkusa (also spelt bhrukumsa etc.), which is further explained as 'male actor doing a female role'. We also find in works written round about the fifteenth century several occurrences of the verb bhavād in the sense of 'to put up a good show', 'to show with pomp and eclat.'
* In modern Gujarati the corresponding proverb is ‘ujjad gūm
māṁ erando pradhān'. 'In a deserted village, the Eramựa tree rules as the headman'.