Ashta Nayika
Encyclopedia
The Ashta-Nayika is a collective name for eight types of nayikas or heroines as classified by Bharata
in his Sanskrit
treatise on performing arts
- Natya Shastra
. The eight nayikas represent eight different states (avastha) in relationship to her hero or nayaka. As archetypal states of the romantic heroine, it has been used as theme in Indian painting
, literature
, sculpture as well as Indian classical dance.
The eight nayikas are:
(24.210-11), a key Sanskrit
treatise on Indian performing arts
, authored by Bharata
(dated between 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD). The classification is detailed in later works like the Dasarupaka (10th century), Sahityadarpana (14th century) and various other treatises on poetics as well as erotic Kamashastra
texts like Kuttanimata (8th-9th century) based on courtesans, Panchasayaka, Anangaranga and Smaradipika. Keshavadasa
's Rasikapriya (16th century) in Hindi
, also elaborates on the Ashta-nayika.
The Ashta-Nayika have been illustrated in Indian painting
, literature, sculpture as well as Indian classical dance. Notable medieval paintings that depict the Ashta nayika are the Ragamala paintings
, as those from the Bundi
school of painting.
A famous example in Indian literature is Jayadeva
's Gita Govinda
(12th century) as well as in the Vaishnava poet Banamali's compositions, Radha
dons the roles of the various nayikas while with her nayaka the god Krishna
.
The Ashta-Nayika is a central theme in Pahari embroidery used to decorate the Chamba Rumal
, especially produced in Chamba
, Himachal Pradesh
. The Ashta Nayika are usually portrayed in eight panels on the Rumal.
In the Shringara Prakasha, Bhoja relates the various nayakas and nayikas with musical raga
s and raginis (a female raga). Somanatha's Ragavibodha (1609) and Damodara's Sangitadarpana (c. 1625) continue this trend.
- the Hindu love goddess, waiting for her husband, the love god Kamadeva
. A Vasakasajja sculpture is found in the Lakshmana Temple in Khajuraho
and the National Museum, Delhi.
The Ragavibodha associates the raginis Bhupali and Todi
with Vasakasajja.
The Ragavibodha identifies the raginis Mukhari, Pauravi and Turushkatodi with the Virahotkanthita, while the Sangitadarpana names Patamanjari in this category.
on her feet or a vermilion tilak (mark) on her forehead. In Jayadeva
's Gita Govinda
as well as in the poem Kuru Yadunandana, Radha
is portrayed as a Svadhinabhartruka. In the latter, Radha commands her lover, the god Krishna
to rearrange her makeup which is in disarray due to their fierce coitus.
Many raginis like Malashri, Travanika, Ramakriti, Jaitashri and Purvi are associated with Svadhinabhartruka.
In the Sangitadarpana, the ragini Varati represents the Khandita Nayika.
The Sangitadarpana associates Vipralabdha with the ragini Bhupali. However, the Ragavibodha prsents the raginis Varati and Velavati as Vipralabdhas.
The Ragavibodha describes the raginis Dhanashri and Kamodi as Proshitabhartrukas.
The raginis Bahuli and Saurashtri are described having the traits of the daring Abhisarika.
Bharata Muni
Bharata was an ancient Indian musicologist who authored the Natya Shastra, a theoretical treatise on ancient Indian dramaturgy and histrionics, dated to between roughly 400 BC and 200 BC. Indian dance and music find their root in the Natyashastra...
in his Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
treatise on performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
- Natya Shastra
Natya Shastra
The Natya Shastra is an ancient Indian treatise on the performing arts, encompassing theatre, dance and music. It was written during the period between 200 BC and 200 AD in classical India and is traditionally attributed to the Sage Bharata.The Natya Shastra is incredibly wide in its scope...
. The eight nayikas represent eight different states (avastha) in relationship to her hero or nayaka. As archetypal states of the romantic heroine, it has been used as theme in Indian painting
Indian painting
Indian painting has a very long history, although the seasonally humid Indian climate was difficult for the long-term preservation of paintings and there are far fewer survivals than of other forms of Indian art. The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings of pre-historic times, the...
, literature
Indian literature
Indian literature refers to the literature produced on the Indian subcontinent until 1947 and in the Republic of India thereafter. The Republic of India has 22 officially recognized languages....
, sculpture as well as Indian classical dance.
The eight nayikas are:
- Vasakasajja Nayika : "one dressed up for union"
- Virahotkanthita Nayika : "one distressed by separation"
- Svadhinabhartruka Nayika : "one having her husband in subjection"
- Kalahantarita Nayika : "one separated by quarrel"
- Khandita Nayika : "one enraged with her lover"
- Vipralabdha Nayika : "one deceived by her lover"
- Proshitabhartruka Nayika : "one with a sojourning husband"
- Abhisarika Nayika : "one going to meet her lover"
History and cultural depictions
The Ashta-Nayika classification (nayika-bheda) first appears in Natya ShastraNatya Shastra
The Natya Shastra is an ancient Indian treatise on the performing arts, encompassing theatre, dance and music. It was written during the period between 200 BC and 200 AD in classical India and is traditionally attributed to the Sage Bharata.The Natya Shastra is incredibly wide in its scope...
(24.210-11), a key Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
treatise on Indian performing arts
Performing arts
The performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
, authored by Bharata
Bharata Muni
Bharata was an ancient Indian musicologist who authored the Natya Shastra, a theoretical treatise on ancient Indian dramaturgy and histrionics, dated to between roughly 400 BC and 200 BC. Indian dance and music find their root in the Natyashastra...
(dated between 2nd century BC and 2nd century AD). The classification is detailed in later works like the Dasarupaka (10th century), Sahityadarpana (14th century) and various other treatises on poetics as well as erotic Kamashastra
Kamashastra
In Indian literature, Kāmashastra refers to the tradition of works on Kāma: love, erotics, or sensual pleasures. It therefore has a practical orientation, similar to that of Arthashastra, the tradition of texts on politics and government...
texts like Kuttanimata (8th-9th century) based on courtesans, Panchasayaka, Anangaranga and Smaradipika. Keshavadasa
Keshavdas
Keshavdas was a Sanskrit scholar and Hindi poet, best known for his Rasik Priya, a pioneering work of the riti kaal of Hindi literature.-Life:...
's Rasikapriya (16th century) in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
, also elaborates on the Ashta-nayika.
The Ashta-Nayika have been illustrated in Indian painting
Indian painting
Indian painting has a very long history, although the seasonally humid Indian climate was difficult for the long-term preservation of paintings and there are far fewer survivals than of other forms of Indian art. The earliest Indian paintings were the rock paintings of pre-historic times, the...
, literature, sculpture as well as Indian classical dance. Notable medieval paintings that depict the Ashta nayika are the Ragamala paintings
Ragamala paintings
Ragamala Paintings are a series of illustrative paintings from medieval India based on Ragamala or the 'Garland of Ragas', depicting various Indian musical nodes, Ragas...
, as those from the Bundi
Bundi
Bundi is a city and a municipality of approximately 88,000 inhabitants in the Hadoti region of Rajasthan state in northwest India. It is of particular architectural note for its ornate forts, palaces, and stepwell reservoirs known as baoris...
school of painting.
A famous example in Indian literature is Jayadeva
Jayadeva
Jayadeva was a Sanskrit poet circa 1200 AD. He is most known for his composition, the epic poem Gita Govinda, which depicts the divine love of Krishna-an avatar of Vishnu and his consort, Radha, and it is mentioned that Radha is greater than Hari, and is considered an important text in the...
's Gita Govinda
Gita Govinda
The Gita Govinda is a work composed by the 12th-century poet, Jayadeva, who was born in Kenduli Sasan near Puri in Orissa. It describes the relationship between Krishna and the gopis of Vrindavana, and in particular one gopi named Radha...
(12th century) as well as in the Vaishnava poet Banamali's compositions, Radha
Radha
Radha , also called Radhika, Radharani and Radhikarani, is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda of the Vaisnava traditions of Hinduism...
dons the roles of the various nayikas while with her nayaka the god Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
.
The Ashta-Nayika is a central theme in Pahari embroidery used to decorate the Chamba Rumal
Rumal
A Rumāl is a piece of clothing similar to a handkerchief or bandana. It is worn by Sikh men who cut their hair and other male guests when they are in a Gurdwara...
, especially produced in Chamba
Chamba, Himachal Pradesh
Chamba is an ancient town in the Chamba district in the state of Himachal Pradesh, in northern India. According to the 2001 Indian census, Chamba has a population of 20,312 people...
, Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh
Himachal Pradesh is a state in Northern India. It is spread over , and is bordered by the Indian states of Jammu and Kashmir on the north, Punjab on the west and south-west, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh on the south, Uttarakhand on the south-east and by the Tibet Autonomous Region on the east...
. The Ashta Nayika are usually portrayed in eight panels on the Rumal.
The classification
The Natya Shastra describes the nayikas in the following order: Vasakasajja, Virahotkanthita, Svadhinabhartruka, Kalahantarita, Khandita, Vipralabdha, Proshitabhartruka and Abhisarika. The nayikas are further classified in two varieties of the shringara rasa, the rasa related to love: Sambhoga (love in meeting) and Vipralambha (love in separation). Vasakasajja, Svadhinabhartruka and Abhisarika are associated with Sambhoga; the others with Vipralambha.In the Shringara Prakasha, Bhoja relates the various nayakas and nayikas with musical raga
Raga
A raga is one of the melodic modes used in Indian classical music.It is a series of five or more musical notes upon which a melody is made...
s and raginis (a female raga). Somanatha's Ragavibodha (1609) and Damodara's Sangitadarpana (c. 1625) continue this trend.
Vasakasajja
Vasakasajja ("one dressed up for union") or Vasakasajjika is waiting for her lover returning from a long journey. She is depicted in her bed-chamber filled with lotus leaves and garlands. She is dressing herself for the union with her lover and "eager with expectation of love's pleasure". Her beauty is compared by Kesavadasa to RatiRati
Rati is the Hindu goddess of love, carnal desire, lust, passion and sexual pleasure. Usually described as the daughter of Prajapati Daksha, Rati is the female counterpart, the chief consort and the assistant of Kama , the god of love. A constant companion of Kama, she is often depicted with him in...
- the Hindu love goddess, waiting for her husband, the love god Kamadeva
Kamadeva
Kāmadeva is the Hindu god of human love or desire. Other names for him include; Atanu , Ragavrinta , Ananga , Kandarpa , Manmatha , Manasija ,...
. A Vasakasajja sculpture is found in the Lakshmana Temple in Khajuraho
Khajuraho
The Khajuraho Group of Monuments in Khajuraho , a town in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh, located in Chhatarpur District, about southeast of New Delhi, are one of the most popular tourist destinations in India. Khajuraho has the largest group of medieval Hindu and Jain temples, famous for...
and the National Museum, Delhi.
The Ragavibodha associates the raginis Bhupali and Todi
Todi
Todi is a town and comune of the province of Perugia in central Italy. It is perched on a tall two-crested hill overlooking the east bank of the river Tiber, commanding distant views in every direction.In the 1990s, Richard S...
with Vasakasajja.
Virahotkanthita
Virahotkanthita ("One distressed by separation") or Utka (as described by Keshavadasa) is the distressed heroine pining for her lover, who, due to his preoccupation, fails to return home. She is depicted waiting for him, sitting or standing on a bed or out in the pavilion.The Ragavibodha identifies the raginis Mukhari, Pauravi and Turushkatodi with the Virahotkanthita, while the Sangitadarpana names Patamanjari in this category.
Svadhinabhartruka
Svadhinabhartruka ("one having her husband in subjection") or Svadhinapatika(as named by Keshavadasa) is the woman who is loved by her husband and controls him. He is subjugated by her intense love and pleasing qualities. In paintings, this nayika is depicted with a nayaka, who applies mahawarMahawar
Mahawar is a caste of Koli Hindu and Koli Buddhist community , originating from historical Awadh region ....
on her feet or a vermilion tilak (mark) on her forehead. In Jayadeva
Jayadeva
Jayadeva was a Sanskrit poet circa 1200 AD. He is most known for his composition, the epic poem Gita Govinda, which depicts the divine love of Krishna-an avatar of Vishnu and his consort, Radha, and it is mentioned that Radha is greater than Hari, and is considered an important text in the...
's Gita Govinda
Gita Govinda
The Gita Govinda is a work composed by the 12th-century poet, Jayadeva, who was born in Kenduli Sasan near Puri in Orissa. It describes the relationship between Krishna and the gopis of Vrindavana, and in particular one gopi named Radha...
as well as in the poem Kuru Yadunandana, Radha
Radha
Radha , also called Radhika, Radharani and Radhikarani, is the childhood friend and lover of Krishna in the Bhagavata Purana, and the Gita Govinda of the Vaisnava traditions of Hinduism...
is portrayed as a Svadhinabhartruka. In the latter, Radha commands her lover, the god Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
to rearrange her makeup which is in disarray due to their fierce coitus.
Many raginis like Malashri, Travanika, Ramakriti, Jaitashri and Purvi are associated with Svadhinabhartruka.
Kalahantarita
Kalahantarita ("one separated by quarrel") or Abhisandhita (as named by Keshavadasa) is a heroine separated from her lover due to a quarrel or jealousy or her own arrogance. Her lover is usually depicted leaving her apartment disheartened, while she too becomes heartsick and repentant without him. In other portrayals, she is depicted refusing the advances of her lover or refusing a wine cup from him. In Gita Govinda, Radha is also portrayed as Kalahantarita in an instance.Khandita
Khandita ("one enraged with her lover") is an enraged heroine, whose lover had promised her to spend the night with her, but instead comes to her house the next morning after spending the night with another woman. She is depicted offended, rebuking her lover for his infidelity.In the Sangitadarpana, the ragini Varati represents the Khandita Nayika.
Vipralabdha
Vipralabdha ("one deceived by her lover"), also spelt as Vipralabhdha, is a deceived heroine, who waited for her lover the whole night. She is depicted throwing away her jewellery as her lover did not keep his promise. This is happens when a lover meets a Khandita and promises a tryst and breaks his promise.The Sangitadarpana associates Vipralabdha with the ragini Bhupali. However, the Ragavibodha prsents the raginis Varati and Velavati as Vipralabdhas.
Proshitabhartruka
Proshitabhartruka ("one with a sojourning husband") or Proshitapatika (as named by Keshavadasa) is the woman whose husband has gone away from her for some business and does not return on the appointed day. She is depicted seated mourning, surrounded by her maids, but refusing to be consoled.The Ragavibodha describes the raginis Dhanashri and Kamodi as Proshitabhartrukas.
Abhisarika
Abhisarika ("one who moves") is a heroine, who sets aside her modesty and moves out of her home to secretly meet her lover. She is depicted at the door of her house and on her way to the tryst, defying all kinds of difficulties like the storm, snakes and dangers of the forest. In art, Abhisarika is portrayed often in hurry towards her destination.The raginis Bahuli and Saurashtri are described having the traits of the daring Abhisarika.