Nandikeshvara
Encyclopedia
Nandikeshvara was the great theorist on stage-craft of ancient India, redoubtable rival of Bharata Muni
. He was the author of the Abhinaya Darpana (The Mirror of Gesture).
. The poet and playwright Bhasa who wrote in Sanskrit, scrupulously executed “in his stage direction a good number of theoretical instructions received from Nandikeshvara, overtly disregarding the strict injunctions formulated by Bharata as it is manifest in the spectacle of kutiyattam.” Bhasa’s plays had seemed, indeed, to ignore major inhibitions imposed by Bharata : for instance, that of fighting or inflicting capital punishment on the stage, etc. Even if it cannot be proved that the Kutiyattam is as old as Bhasa’s texts, nobody can disregard the considerable influence of this prince among playwrights on the traditional abhinaya we are speaking of, probably the oldest in the world.
, near Padmanabha-Pura in Kerala, found a bundle of about two thousand year old palm-leaf manuscripts containing eleven texts composed by the legendary dramatist Bhasa. They represented the Dravidisation of Sanskrit which had begun during the centuries preceding the Christian era.
Although Bhasa’s texts had mysteriously disappeared, his contributions had been, however, remembered by Kalidasa
himself in the 4th century in his play malavikagnimitra, by Banabhatta
in the 7th century in his harshacharita and, early in the 8th century, by Bhavabhuti
(author of the play malatimadhava). Thus, Bhasa had remained not only a model for his posterity but, in the 6th century - out of the theme of Charudatta accredited to him -, Shudraka had recreated the famous play known as the mrit-shakaTika. Even in the 12th century, Jayadeva
, author of the gita govinda, had hailed Bhasa as the “smile of the Goddess of Poetry”.
Between the two land-marks - Bharata’s Natya Shastra
(2nd century AD) and Matanga Muni’s Brihaddeshi
(c. 5th century) -, majestic stands out Nandikeshvara’s Abhinaya Darpana. Although the final penning of this work was known to have been completed after that of the natya-shastra, Indian and Western historians place Nandikeshvara’s school between the 5th and the 2nd centuries BC. After Matanga, Damodara Mishra in the Kuttini Mata (8th century), Rajasekhara
in his Kavya Mimamsa (9th century), Abhinavagupta
in the Abhinava Bharati (11th century), Sharngadeva in the Sangita Ratnakara (13th century) – among others – have continued paying tribute to Nandikeshvara’s specific contributions.
A number of details in the staging of the Kutiyattam affirm first of all specialists’ opinion that Nandikeshvara’s influence had been deeper and wider on the concerned population than that of Bharata, at least owing to the geographical distance. Moreover, these very details refer so often to passages of the Abhinaya Darpana that there is no hesitation in recognising the proximity of this theatre with the place and the epoch that were Nandikeshvara’s. It has been demonstrated that the actors of the Kutiyattam willingly learn by heart and put into practice instructions formulated by Nandikeshvara, without always knowing or acknowledging their source. This is, however, an unexpected yet irrefutable confirmation of my hypothesis about the relationship existing between Nandikeshvara and this traditional abhinaya.
(11th century) defined rasa in his kâvya-prakâsha as “the great savour that uplifts our spirit by endowing it with a taste of true grandeur… Something that has to be felt, that throbs around us, that penetrates and altogether fills our heart (…), that completely rids of all other sensation.”
Nandikeshvara distinguishes two sources of pleasure in the spectacle: first of all, a visual support; and another, auditory. The former is composed of dance, mimes, gestures, dramatic expressions of the eyes and the face. The second explores the innate and potential wealth of a language, phonic as well as semantic, and transfigures everything in contact with music : horizontally, owing to the rhythmic diversities (situated in Time) and, vertically, thanks to the ascending and descending impulses, as well as to the overtones on the scale of the microtones (situated in Space).
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...
. He was the author of the Abhinaya Darpana (The Mirror of Gesture).
His Influence on Bhasa
Nandikeshvara seems to have preceded Bharata, according to Ramakrishna Kavi. Some consider him even to be Bharata’s master. The most concrete example of Nandikeshvara’s teachings have survived thanks to BhasaBhasa
Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
. The poet and playwright Bhasa who wrote in Sanskrit, scrupulously executed “in his stage direction a good number of theoretical instructions received from Nandikeshvara, overtly disregarding the strict injunctions formulated by Bharata as it is manifest in the spectacle of kutiyattam.” Bhasa’s plays had seemed, indeed, to ignore major inhibitions imposed by Bharata : for instance, that of fighting or inflicting capital punishment on the stage, etc. Even if it cannot be proved that the Kutiyattam is as old as Bhasa’s texts, nobody can disregard the considerable influence of this prince among playwrights on the traditional abhinaya we are speaking of, probably the oldest in the world.
The Place of Bhasa
A few years before World War I, Pandit Ganapati SastriGanapati Sastri
Ganapati Sastri is one of the Indian names.* Ayyala Somayajula Ganapati Sastri, better known as Kavyakanta.* Charla Ganapati Sastri, Vedic scholar and translator.* Pilaka Ganapati Sastri, poet, translator and editor....
, near Padmanabha-Pura in Kerala, found a bundle of about two thousand year old palm-leaf manuscripts containing eleven texts composed by the legendary dramatist Bhasa. They represented the Dravidisation of Sanskrit which had begun during the centuries preceding the Christian era.
Although Bhasa’s texts had mysteriously disappeared, his contributions had been, however, remembered by Kalidasa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
himself in the 4th century in his play malavikagnimitra, by Banabhatta
Banabhatta
Bāṇabhaṭṭa , also known as Bāṇa, was a Sanskrit scholar and poet of India. He was the Asthana Kavi in the court of King Harshavardhana, who reigned in the years c. 606–647 CE in north India...
in the 7th century in his harshacharita and, early in the 8th century, by Bhavabhuti
Bhavabhuti
Bhavabhuti was an 8th century scholar of India noted for his plays and poetry, written in Sanskrit. His plays are considered equivalent to the works of Kalidasa...
(author of the play malatimadhava). Thus, Bhasa had remained not only a model for his posterity but, in the 6th century - out of the theme of Charudatta accredited to him -, Shudraka had recreated the famous play known as the mrit-shakaTika. Even in the 12th century, 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...
, author of the gita govinda, had hailed Bhasa as the “smile of the Goddess of Poetry”.
Abhinaya (Stage-craft)
Since about two thousand years, among the treatises on abhinaya known in India, there has been an uninterrupted flow of compilations containing the teachings and the reflections of several prestigious masters, with commentary by other specialists of successive centuries.Between the two land-marks - Bharata’s 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...
(2nd century AD) and Matanga Muni’s Brihaddeshi
Brihaddeshi
Brihaddeshi is a Classical Sanskrit text on Indian classical music, attributed to Matanga Muni. It is the first text that speaks directly of the raga and distinguishes the classical and the folk . It also introduced sargam notation...
(c. 5th century) -, majestic stands out Nandikeshvara’s Abhinaya Darpana. Although the final penning of this work was known to have been completed after that of the natya-shastra, Indian and Western historians place Nandikeshvara’s school between the 5th and the 2nd centuries BC. After Matanga, Damodara Mishra in the Kuttini Mata (8th century), Rajasekhara
Rajasekhara
Rajashekhara was an eminent Sanskrit poet, dramatist and critic. He was court poet of the Gurjara Pratiharas.He wrote Kavyamimamsa between 880 and 920 CE. The work is essentially a practical guide for poets that explains the elements and composition of a good poem. The fame of Rajashekhara...
in his Kavya Mimamsa (9th century), Abhinavagupta
Abhinavagupta
Abhinavagupta was one of India's greatest philosophers, mystics and aestheticians. He was also considered an important musician, poet, dramatist, exegete, theologian, and logician - a polymathic personality who exercised strong influences on Indian culture.He was born in the Valley of Kashmir in...
in the Abhinava Bharati (11th century), Sharngadeva in the Sangita Ratnakara (13th century) – among others – have continued paying tribute to Nandikeshvara’s specific contributions.
A number of details in the staging of the Kutiyattam affirm first of all specialists’ opinion that Nandikeshvara’s influence had been deeper and wider on the concerned population than that of Bharata, at least owing to the geographical distance. Moreover, these very details refer so often to passages of the Abhinaya Darpana that there is no hesitation in recognising the proximity of this theatre with the place and the epoch that were Nandikeshvara’s. It has been demonstrated that the actors of the Kutiyattam willingly learn by heart and put into practice instructions formulated by Nandikeshvara, without always knowing or acknowledging their source. This is, however, an unexpected yet irrefutable confirmation of my hypothesis about the relationship existing between Nandikeshvara and this traditional abhinaya.
Pleasure: its Sources
Mammata BhattaMammata Bhatta
Mammata Bhatta was a Sanskrit rhetorician noted for his text on poetics, the kâvya-prakâsha ....
(11th century) defined rasa in his kâvya-prakâsha as “the great savour that uplifts our spirit by endowing it with a taste of true grandeur… Something that has to be felt, that throbs around us, that penetrates and altogether fills our heart (…), that completely rids of all other sensation.”
Nandikeshvara distinguishes two sources of pleasure in the spectacle: first of all, a visual support; and another, auditory. The former is composed of dance, mimes, gestures, dramatic expressions of the eyes and the face. The second explores the innate and potential wealth of a language, phonic as well as semantic, and transfigures everything in contact with music : horizontally, owing to the rhythmic diversities (situated in Time) and, vertically, thanks to the ascending and descending impulses, as well as to the overtones on the scale of the microtones (situated in Space).
Object of the Stage-craft: Rasa
Describing the process of rasa, as object of abhinaya, Kutiyattam adepts quote in Malayalam : “It is the mouth that utters the song, the hand outlines the meaning, the look enlivens the sentiment, the feet catch the measure and go on beating it. Where go the hands, goes the gaze; where goes the gaze, poses the mind; where there is mind, settle down the sentiments; where the sentiments rule sovereign, rasa arises.” Closer to the poet Bhasa, they have been suspected of having certain distinct aesthetic principles that were, deliberately, not inspired by rules that Bharata had instituted. Guessing what that tradition is, the above quotation is exactly what the verse or shloka 37 of the abhinaya-darpana by Nandikeshvara describes in Sanskrit:- Yato hastastato drishTiryato drishTistato manah
- Yato manastato bhavo yato bhavastato rasah.