Rupaka:
"The general term for all Dramatic
Compositions is Rupaka, from Rupa form: it being their chief object to embody
characters and feelings, and to exhibit the natural indications of passion.
A play is also defined, a Poem that is to
be seen, or a Poem that is to be seen and heard.
1. The Nataka:
The Nataka, or the Play, par excellence,
comprises all the elements of a dramatic composition.
According to the Sahitya Derpana, the story
should be selected from mythological or historical record alone, bu the Dasa
Rupaka asserts, that it may be also fictituous or mixed, or partly resting on
traditiono, and partly the creation of the author.
Like the Greek Tragedy, however, the Nataka
is to be represent worthy or exalted personages only, and the hero must be a
monarch, as Dushyanta, a demigod as Rama, or a divinity as Krishna.
The action, or more properly the passion,
should be but one, as Love, or Heroism.
The plot should be simple, the incidents
consistent, the business should spring direct from the story as a plant from
its seed.
The compositions of Natakas are--
Sakuntala, the Mudra Rakshasa, the Veni Sanhara, Anergha Raghva and several
others.
2. The RUPAKA:
Rupaka is the Prakarana which agrees in all
respects with the Nataka except that it takes a rather less elevted range. The
fable is to be a pure fiction drawn from real life, in a reputable class of
society, and the most appropriate subject is Love.
The Mrichchakati, and Malati and Madhava,
belong to the class of Prakaranas.
3. The BHANA:
The Bhana is a Monologue in One Act, in
which the Peformer narrates dramatically, a variety of occurences, as happening
either to himself or others. Love, War, Fraud, Intrigue, and Imposition, are
appropriate topics, and the narrator may enliven his recitation by a
suppositions dialogue with an imaginary interlocutor.
The example quoted is the Lilamadhaukara.
4. The VYAYOGA:
The Vyayoga is a dramatic representation of
some military transaction, in which no part of the interest is derived from
female participation.
The Dhanajaya Vijaya belongs to this class.
5. The SAMAVAKARA:
The Samavakara is the dramatic representation
of some Mythological fable in three Acts.
The example quoted is Samudra Mathanam, the
Churning of Ocean.
6. The DIMA:
The Dima is a Drama of a similar but more
gloomy character than the last, and is limited to the representation of
terrific events, as portents, incantations, sieges and battles.
The example named is the Tripuradaha, the
destrcution of the Demon Tripura, by Siva and conflagration of the three
cities, over which he ruled.
7. The THAMRIGA:
The Thamriga is a piece of intrigue in Four
Acts, in which the hero is a God or illustrious mortal, and the heroine a
Goddess. Love and Mirth are the prevailing sentiments.
The example named is the Kusumusekhara
Vijaya.
8. ANKA
This is considered by some to be a piece in
One Act, but the others to be a supplementary Act, serving as as introduction
to a Drama.
The example named is the Sermisktha Yayati:
a piece termed Yayati Cheritra.
9.The VITHI
The Vithi is something similar to the
Bhana, it is in One Act, and may be performed by one actor, though the Dasa
Rupaka admits of two. In either case, it is a Love story, carried on in comic
dialogue, consisting of equivoque, evasion, enigma, quibble, jest, repartee,
wilful misconstruction and misapplication, ironical praise, extravagant
endearment, and jocaose abuse.
10.The PRAHASANA
The Prahasana is a farcical or comic satyr,
and might be thought to have originated like the old Comedy from the Phallic
Hymn.
Prahasana is a Drama in One Act, intended
to excite laughter. The story should be fictitious.
(Excerpts from "Select Specimens of
the Theatre of the Hindus, Translated from the Original Sanscsrit. by Horace
Hayman Wilson, Esq. in 1827)
