Indian Sanskrit Theatre

Indian Sanskrit Theatre

Theatre in India started at point in time before the common era (C.E.) and continued centuries after it. These ancient traditions can be traced back to the worship of the Hindu god Brahma, the god of creation. Brahma

symbolized the supreme reality that brings forth creation. And thus he was called the creator of the universe. Lord Brahma was the first member of the Hindu Trinity, a key element to the Hindu faith which also included Vishnu, the preserver, and Shiva, the destroyer. His divine consort was the Goddess Saraswati, the goddess of knowledge, wisdom, and science. She provided Lord Brahma with the knowledge necessary for the process of creation. Lord Brahma's four faces represented the sacred knowledge of the four Vedas.

These faces symbolized that Brahma was the source of all knowledge necessary for the creation of the entire universe.The four arms represent the four directions and thus represent the omnipresence and omnipotence of Lord Brahma. The Vedas are the most sacred of Hindu texts and provided the foundation of the entire Hindu religion. They were first written in Vedic, which was an early form of Sanskrit.

The Four Vedas include:

- Rig Veda: Divine Hymns

- Sama Veda: Musical Chants

- Yajur Veda: Sacrificial Ritual Chants

- Atharva Veda: Everyday Realities Of Daily Life

The parts of each Veda created the Natya, Hindu word for "theatre", which becomes the fifth Veda.

The Natya was available to every person of every class. It contained every kind of knowledge and art in Sanskrit theatre. Sanskrit theatre would later on cause the development of very elaborate codes that would create a manuscript called the Natyasastra("authoritative text on the theatre") which is an encyclopedia of information about theatre from the classical Sanskrit tradition. The Natyasastra was written around 200 B.C.E. and 200 C.E. To this very day, the Natyasastra is a huge influence on Indian theatre as it covers all the fundamental aspects of theatre.The theory of rasa is introduced in the Natyasastra. Rasa are tastes or flavors that contrast and complement each other and each one of them represents a different mood or feeling. An Indian sanskrit play should include a mix of rasa and a good Sanskrit drama should offer all eight of the rasa that the Natyasastra defines which include love, mirth, sadness, wrath, vigor, the terrible, disgust, and the marvelous. The overall purpose of the rasa is to make sure that the venue and the atmosphere of the performance contribute to the overall effect of the play itself and that it also highlights the important connection between the performer and the spectator.

Sanskrit performances began with a number of preliminaries that included the benediction of a god, for whom that particular play was like an offering. The plays were laso designed to ease the audience into the new, fictional world of the performance by interacting with the characters from the play. There are three types of stages: 1.) Square, 2.) Rectangular (the most recommended because of it's superior sightlines), and 3.) Triangular.

The locations of the plays, that is the scene locations of where the play was visually supposed to take place on the stage, were designated by simple set pieces representing mountains, houses, temples, etc. It focused on movement and broke down the body into parts with different positions for each. Combined the positions represented different emotional states and then it takes the form of dancing. All of the cotumes were highly ornamented based on what the actor's character was.

The Indian Sanskrit plays that have survived have been polished dramatic works written in poetic verse. The hero's struggle throughout the story to obtain something he desires is the main action which is very much similar to theatre works in the western world. The hero is always successful at the end of the play, but faces many challenges along the way. These plays reflect the Hindu values of their original cultural context such as the hero's ending represents one of the three ends of a Hindu life:

The main action is the hero's struggle to obtain something he desires. The hero is always successful in the end, but faces many challenges along the way. The plays reflect the Hindu values of their original cultural context; The hero's ending represents one of the three ends of Hindu life:

1.) Dharma: Duty

2.) Kama: Controlled sensual pleasure

3.) Artha: Wealth that allows one to provide for other

Examples of Sanskrit plays include Sanskrit drama. The combination of different genres and sanskrit resulted in what is a unique amalgamation that gave us the literary treasure of Sanskrit dramas plays. The famous dramatists of Indian Sanskrit theatre went by the names of Kalidasa, Bhasa, Shudraka, and Asvaghosa; each of them gave us many famous Sanskrit plays. With the recent revival of interest in Sanskrit theatre in these times, Sanskrit plays are gaining much popularity again among Sanskrit scholars and theatre enthusiasts. Some famous Sanskrit plays include Malavikagnimitram, Ritusambra, Mrichakatika, Natya Shashtra, and Bhasa's Plays

Katiyattam

Throughout passing time, Sanskrit drama as a performance had faded away. It evolved

and became developed into Kutiyattam, one of the oldest performance traditions in India dating back to the tenth century. It involved vivid make-up and costume designs that were custom in Indian Sanskrit as well as an elaboration of different body parts creating dances that represented emotions. Kutiyattam was performed by temple servants in a temple as part of a ritual sacrifice.

Kathakali

This vigorous Sanskrit performance was developed in the 17th century technically making it the 'new age' form of Sanskrit theatre. Kathakali was originally preformed by those in the warrior class. It developed it's own language of hand gestures and vibrant on-stage make-up and costuming which they adapted from Kutiyattam.

Both Kutiyattam and Kathikali are from the region of Kerala. The theory of rasa still serves as the basis of the acting techniques which shows the influence of natyasastra and Sanskrit drama. By this, it shows that Sanskrit has prevailed and it it assured that the survival of the history and legacy of Indian Sankrit theatre is kept in tact.

Works Cited:

“Brahma”. .2009. Gurjari.net. 08 October 2009. .

Felner, Mira and Orenstein, Claudia. The World of Theatre: Tradition and Innovation. New York: Pearson Education, 2006.

"Kutiyattam Kailasodharanam Kalamandalam Sivan Namboodiri". Invis Multimedia. 03 July 2009. Online video clip. Accessed on 08 October 2009. .

"Mahabharati (11-2 Kathakali)" Mahabharati . Dir. Peter Brook. 1989. Accessed on 09 October 2009. .

Indian Literature. 2009. iloveindia.com. 09 October 2009. .

"The Vedas." Comparative Religion. 2009. Interfaith.org. 08 October 2009. .