Sanskrit Theatre

Silk Road Trade

Silk Road

- Linking of silk road to trade in Indian ocean through Indus Valley region by Kushan Empire (c. 1st-3rd cent CE)

- India was believed to have the world’s largest economy during 1-1000 CE - ¼-⅓ of the world’s wealth

Classical Period, c.320-650 CE

Gupta Empire c. 320-550 CE

Gupta Empire

- advancements in science, technology, engineering, math, logic, literature, art, religion, and philosophy

- Considered Golden age of sanskrit drama

- Origination of Hindu-Arabic numerals (zero wasn’t introduced until 600-800 CE)

Historical Figures in the days of Sanskrit

Important scholars include Kalidasa, Aryabhata, Varahamihara, Vishnu Sharma, Vatsyayana

Figures

Kalidasa: poet

image: iloveindia.com

aryabhata and varahamihara: astronomers/philosophers/mathematicians

Images: quora

(right) Vatsyayana and (left) Vishnu Sharma: Authors

Images: Reader's Paradise and loyalbooks.com (respectively)

“Sanskrit drama was already a multilingual sphere, wherein characters were socially differentiated by whether they spoke Sanskrit or the Prakrits.” (Pollock 485)

—Sheldon Pollock, Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia.

Sanskrit or Prakrits?

Language

The Sanskrit language was the medium of communication among the priests and kings who dominated the social life. The Prakrits, spoked by the common people, were deemed one of the lower forms of language.

Prakarana Plays

Prakarana plays: similar to Roman comedies, these social plays often have urban settings and deal with everyday human characters and their interpersonal relationships. Themes included money, love, legal justice, and bourgeois honor. (Crash Course; A Treatise on Theatre)

Model of life

“In social terms, Sanskrit theatre offered a model of socially desirable behavior … A Sanskrit drama presents what should be rather than what is. With inherent faith in the future of man, it tries to explore inner realities. The playwright imbues his hero with sufficiently strong moral caliber which will enable him to overcome all the dramatic obstacles. Instead of exploiting obstacles in order to build up the dramatic tension that leads to an intense conflict, the play provides periodic, small-scale solutions, relieving tension at every stage. The playwright organizes his dramatic material in a manner which resolves the conflict.” (Baumer 114)

—Rachel Van M. Baumer, Sanskrit Drama in Performance.

Attendees

According to Bharata Muni, an ancient Indian theatrologist, troupes consisted of men, women, and mixed genders. Also, theatre was for all castes. Whether they be priests, warriors, merchants, or peasants—all were allowed to attend. (Crash Course; A Treatise on Theatre)

Audience of Sanskrit Theatre

Audience

· All classes (priests, warriors, merchants, and peasants) all attended the theatre

· Around 500 audience members could fit into a typical theatre

· Different classes had designated seating areas

Actors in Sanskrit Theatre

Actors

· Acting was incredibly specific and highly stylized

· Movements such as flaring nostrils conveyed vital information to the audience

· Bharata Muni wrote an entire book (the Natyasastra) on the different nose and eyebrow movements to be used by performers

· Acting companies did not discriminate based on gender: performers were female, male, and mixed-gender

· Theatre director (sutradhara) introduced actors and the play to the audience in the prologue and would guide and comment on the flow of the story

Director

Image courtesy of quora

Moods and Emotions

· Rasas- defined plays by kind of moods they aroused

· Bhavas- major human emotions that can be evoked

Emotion

Image courtesy of World News

Types of Plays

· Mahabhara- Epic tale of a battle between two groups of cousins

· Ramayana- Intimate family tale, always involves a monkey king

· Nataka plays- 5 to 10 acts, deal with gods and deamons

· Pratanaka plays- also 5 to 10 acts, closer in spirit to Roman comedies

· Dima plays- 16 heros

· Anka plays- 1 act plays in which women lament

The Recognition of Sakuntala

Sakuntala

The king spies on hermit girl and falls in love with her but cannot be with her because of her social status. He is asked to protect the hermitage through war and they confess their love for one another and get married. The girl offends a poet in her daydream and is cursed and the king forgets her until she brings him a token, but she had lost the ring he gave her in the river. A fisherman finds the ring in the belly of a fish and remembers his maiden when he sees her. He fights demons, and is taken by a chariot to his wife again.

The play is 7 acts, takes place over the course of several years in multiple locations, and is a mix of tragedy and comedy and a religious play

Sources Cited

Bibliography

Baumer, Rachel van M., editor. Sanskrit Drama in Performance. M. Banarsidass Publ., 1993.

Crash Course. “Nostrils, Harmony with the Universe, and Ancient Sanskrit Theater: Crash Course Theater #7.” Perf. Mike Rugnetta. YouTube video, March 23, 2018.

Pollock, Sheldon I., editor. Literary Cultures in History: Reconstructions from South Asia. University of California Press, 2003.

“Introduction to Theatre in India » Sanskrit Drama.” Introduction to Theatre in India RSS, www.yavanika.org/theatreinindia/?page_id=280.

“Sanskrit Dramas.” Asian Traditional Theatre & Dance, University of the Arts Helsinki, 22 Feb. 2018, disco.teak.fi/asia/sanskrit-dramas/.

“Nostrils, Harmony with the Universe, and Ancient Sanskrit Theater: Crash Course Theater #7.”

Youtube, Uploaded by Crash Course, 23 March 2018,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3mj4QQH8TM&index=8&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtONXALkeh5uisZqrAcPKCee

“History of India.” Wikipedia, 10 April 2018, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_India.

Thank you!