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Shri Mahavir Jain Aradhana Kendra
www.kobatirth.org
Acharya Shri Kailassagarsuri Gyanmandir
who, with the directive of Brahma on the suggestion of Indra, initiated drama for the entertainment of the Gods. By way of a curse inflicted on the sons of Bharata, the sacred drama was later brought to the earth by King Nahusa so that, people of all castes, including the deprived sudras may have the benefit of hearing and seeing in practice, this fifth Veda." In Chapter 1, verses 7-12, sage Bharata clarifies that Brahma selected the (pathya) recitative aspects from Rigveda, aspects of music and song from the Samaveda, the details of expressive bodily representation (abhinaya) from Yajurveda, and the usage of sentiments (rasa) from Atharvaveda, and thereby, represented in essence, all the four Vedas within the Natyaveda. It was reconciled that the natya must represent all the three worlds, the realm of the Gods, the physical world of the mortals, and the netherworld, and hence, provide a fair representation to the ideas and actions of both the Gods and the demons. With this beginning, the author of Natyasastra, at once, declares drama as a sacred act protected and blessed by the Gods, and elevates the religious/spiritual status of the drama in the form of a yagna or ritual sacrifice to be performed as an offering to the Gods. Connecting a direct lineage of drama and the dramatists to Brahma the Creator himself, the author divinises the textual work, the content, and the modes, methods and poetics of performance mentioned
in it.
Sanskrit theatre, the earliest origins of which are not known, may have been well established prior to the composition of the Natyasastra. From the limited sources that have survived, one can surmise that Sanskrit theatre was deeply rooted in religiosity and spirituality and yet, maintained a relatively egalitarian relationship with reference to its female participants. According to the Natyasastra, women played a significant role in theatre. Female roles in Sanskrit theatre were generally performed by women: the variety of primary female roles defined in the Natyasastra include those of the divine women (divya), queens (nrpapatni), women from a respectable family (kulastri) and the courtesan (ganika); secondary female roles include the lead heroine's close friend(s) (sakhi(s), maids (paricharika), women body guards (sancarika) or yavani (a maiden of Greek, Roman, Persian or Arab origin), women waiting on the King (anucarika), door keeper (pratihari) and so on (Gupta 1991: 92-93). The leading female actress in Sanskrit-theatre, also called the nati, was one among the senior-most members of the dramatic group. She often played the role of the Sutradhara's wife and assisted him in conducting the Prologue. The celebrated Sanskritist, V. Raghavan notes that the Mahabhasya of Patanjali provides early reference to the term "bhrukumsa," used to denote a man who impersonates a woman (1981:13). There are few references in Sanskrit drama of a male actor playing a female role, albeit at the discretion of the director, however, that was not a regular practice. Women could also act male character roles in Sanskrit theatre. "There are even records which indicate that entire companies were composed of women. Actresses were usually regarded as better suited than men to sing, but were not thought fit to participate in battle scenes, as [male] actors were regarded as better suited to depict the sentiments of heroism and rage" (Richmond 1990:37). Quite contrary to the notion later developed in the brahmanic bhakti forms of performance, Natyasastra proposed that Some Issues on the Gender Politics in the Bhakti Genre of Indian...
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