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The Opponent of the Hero: Pratināyaka
A character who is an adversary of the hero or one who is the declared foe of the hero is called the Pratinayaka or villain. The Hero is always a Dhira character, possessed of excellent virtues; the villain, on the other hand, is always considered as avaricious, vicious, cunning, sinful and voluptuous as a person, who, at the same time, is possessed of great strength and resources.
Hemachandra describes the Pratinayaka exactly as Dhanañjaya does (D.R. 11.9), though he replaces the word Ripu with Pratinayaka, quite appropriately. This advarsary of the Hero, called Pratinayaka, is avaricious, Dhiroddhata (vehement), stubborn, criminal and vicious, e.g. Ravana is the Pratinayaka of Rama and Duryodhana is the Pratinayaka of Yudhisthira. The Characteristics of the Heroine
The Heroine is the other very important character in a Kavya who naturally occupies a very prominent place in a love-play. The proper portrayal of the character of the Heroine requires excellent dramatic or poetic skill on the part of the poet; for such a portrayal ensures the ultimate success of the work of art. Sanskrit writers on Dramaturgy and Rasa have developed the subject of Nayikābheda extensively as well as intensively, particularly with regard to the delineation of Rasa, especially the Śṛngārarasa.
In connection with the portrayal of a heroine's love, S. K. De writes:
"Love sways women's heart no less than it sways man's; but its effect differs in different types of men and the ways of wooing and love differ accordingly. The science of Poetics and Erotic take a delight in classifying these different types and analysing the varied effects of love on them. Thus we have arrangements into divisions and sub-divisions, according to rank, character, circumstances and the like, of all conceivable types of the hero, the heroine, their assistants and adjuncts, as
Jain Education International
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