THE DASHARUPAKAS

Drama is also known as Rupaka, that which has a form, where different
aspects of life are visually represented by an actor of the play. The word
‘Rupaka’ is an etymological derivation from the word ‘Rupa’ meaning form.
According to the Natyashastra, chapter 10, Shloka 2, Natya or Drama can be
classified into ten types (according to some characteristic features portrayed
in them), they are:
1. Nataka
2. Prakarana
3. Anka
4. Vyayoga
5. Bhana
6. Samavakara
7. Veethi
8. Prahasana
9. Dima
10.Ihamriga
In Shloka 4, it is said that the production of a play is based on the lyrics or the
works of a poet. The predominant constituent of these works is the Vritti
(style). The ten types of plays are said to have evolved from these different
styles. In Shloka 7, Bharata states that Nataka & Prakarana comprise of all the
Vrittis (styles) and represent various types of situations.
In Shlokas 8 & 9, he mentions the other types of plays such as Bhana,
Samavakara, Veethi, Anka, Vyayoga, Dima & Prahasana, stating that these are
devoid of the Kaisiki Vritti.
Nataka & Prakarana evolved out of all 4 types of vrittis & are known as major
plays. The rest of the 8 types of plays where Kaisiki Vritti is not included are
referred to as minor plays.

Description of the ten types of plays:

Nataka:
The theme chosen for a Nataka must be from a well- known story (like The
Ramayana, Mahabharata & other popular Ithihasas). Dhananjaya believed
that a Nataka was a full-fledged drama consisting of all types sentiments,
emotions & characteristics. He also claimed that such a plethora of features
can only be seen in a Prakarana & not in any other types of plays, hence, he
believed that a Nataka was the root (prakriti) of all other forms of drama. At
the beginning of a Nataka, The Suthradhara (narrator) must perform the
preliminaries. After the preliminaries, The Suthradhara exits & another actor
(Sthapaka) enters & introduces the plot, the seed & the primary characters
who are a part of the first act. The hero of a Nataka must be an Uttama
Nayaka or a ‘Dheero Daata’. The hero must be well-known, of royal lineage,
of noble character or a sage king who has the blessings of the devas,
endowed with divine powers. He should be prosperous, powerful and yet act
with dignity, grace & elegance. His joy & sorrow must be expressed through
relevant Bhavas & Rasas. The Nayaka may also be a demi-god, god or
mythical characters.
The story presented is divided into segments through which the theme is
developed. These segments are called the Ankas or Acts. Heros display their
histrionics directly, however it should be brief. A nataka must comprise of a
minimum of 5 & a maximum of 10 acts. In between the acts, Pravesaka or
introductory scenes are introduced which serve as links between the acts &
also provides hints as to what is to come next. Apart from the hero,
characters like a queen, a minister, a gypsy chief, etc. must also be introduced
in an act.
The composition of an Anka:
The drama should be built around the ‘katha Vastu’ or the central plot. In an
Anka, scenes have to portray different tasks & happenings in a day, the hero
must be present in every Anka. Actions like livid anger, intense sorrow,
pronouncement of curses, a miraculous spectacle, marriage, death, war, the
siege of a kingdom are not displayed in an act. Such actions are conveyed to
the audience only through the pravesaka, introductory scenes, & only
through lyrical passages. The incidents occurring in the entire play should be
judiciously distributed among the acts. Events during a single day must be
briefly portrayed in an act. Events spread over a month or a year should be
presented only through Pravesaka after terminating the act at a suitable
point.
The characters in the introductory scenes should only be common folk and
the language should also be simple. Besides the Pravesaka, there are also
other scenes like the ‘Viskambhaka’ or supporting scenes. It includes
meddling or inferior characters & is introduced between the main acts.
Objects like chariots, elephants, horses, palaces, etc. cannot be presented
realistically on stage. They should be portrayed only through Aharya and
Gativichara or through models made from light/cheap materials. The hero’s
attendants should be restricted to 4 or 5 people. In a Nataka, all exiting
situations must be placed in the end. Wonder or Adbhuta must be the
primary rasa portrayed & evoked at the end of a Nataka.

Prakarana:
In this category, the central plot should be original, that is, a creation of the
author’s imagination drawn from real life & never from other sources like the
puranas. This type of play consists of characters such as Brahmins, merchants,
ministers, priests, officers of the royal court, leader of an army, etc. In
addition, characters like slaves, court maidens, courtesans, etc. may also be
introduced. Prakaraṇa should have two kinds of heroines, i.e. noble
(ābhyantarā) and courtesans (bāhyā). The noble type of heroine is from a
good family and stays in-doors, however, courtesan type of heroine stays
outside of the home and both heroines should not meet each other. On the
basis of the heroines, Dhanañjaya, unlike Bharata, divides Prakaraṇa into
three kinds, i.e. pure (śuddha), modified (vikṛta) and mixed (saṃkīrṇa).
The Natika is a hybrid variety of Nataka & Prakarana put together. Here, the
hero should be a king, however the story is an originally created one. The
main characters will be the King, The Queen & a female messenger. Besides
this, several female characters are also involved. The story revolves around
the King, his penchant for music & the women in his harem. Consequently
enjoying being in love, abundance of dance with graceful movements, music
& recitation of poetry in well arranged sequences are all its salient features.
It should also display royal manners, customs, composure, wrath, etc. The
number of acts is restricted to 4.

Anka:
The single act play can have a story from a well known or lesser known
work.it is predominantly based on events after a battle, where the negative
effects of war such as death, chaos & other tragedies prevail. The grieving
womenfolk who have lost their loved ones is the subject matter of the play.
The dominant emotion then becomes karuna rasa. It is presented through
Bharathi; Satvati, Arabhatti & Kaisiki vrittis are absent. The hero & other
characters should be human & not divine.

Vyayoga:
This is a short play consisting of one act wherein the story develops around
events that take place in one day. The hero should not be a divine character
but from a well-known source of royal or saintly lineage. The male characters
are fewer than in Samavakara. The female characters are also minimum
probably because of the short duration & limited space of the play. The story
should have episodes involving fights, personal conflicts, challenges, duels,
etc. which evoke excitement.

Bhana:
Dhanañjaya states that Bhāṇa is conducted by a single character, i.e. Viṭa,
who is cleaver and shrewd. He narrates that the plot of Bhāṇa should have an
imaginary story & imaginary characters. The conversation runs with an
imaginary person through question and answer. Hand & body movements
can be used for better communication of ideas. Dhanañjaya clearly states
that Bhāṇa should have heroic and erotic sentiments. Prahasana –
Dhanañjaya begins his description of Prahasana by saying that Prahasana is of
three kinds, i.e. pure, modified and mixed. The pure type of Prahasana
consists of the characters like Bauddha and Jain mendicants, parasites, male
and female servantsand Brahmins. It should be noted here that Bharata
includes the characters like ascetics in the pure type of Prahasana.
Dhanañjaya, like Bharata, clarifies that the pure type of Prahasana should use
appropriate language and costume and also should be full of humour. Again,
the modified type of Prahasana consists of the characters like eunuchs,
chamberlains and ascetics. However, Dhanañjaya rules that the characters of
the modified type of Prahasana should imitate the language and costume of
lovers. all types of Prahasana should abundantly apply six kinds of laughter,
such as smita, hasita, vihasita, upahasita, apahasita and atihasita.

Samavakara:
This is one of the minor plays. The central plot must be drawn from
mythological stories relating to devas & asuras. One of them must be the
hero, who is well known & exalted in nature. The theme should be based on
the three types of Vidrava (excitement), three types of Kapata (deceit) & the
three types of Shringara (love).
The three types of Vidrava can be due to:
a. Warfare & capture of a city
b. Natural calamities like floods, storms, gales or fires
c. Incidents like a rogue elephant wrecking havoc
The three types of Kapata or deceit can be in the form of:
a. A pre-meditated plan
b. An accident
c. An enemy’s strategy
The three types of Shringara or love are as follows:
a. Dharma Shringara: applicable to one who is duty bound, observing
austerities & thereby gains the desired welfare. This also involves an
innate sense of right & wrong.
b. Artha Shringara: when one is keen on money & love is merely governed
by material possessions
c. Kama Shringara: The true love between a man & woman; when they
love each other for who they are and all their actions are governed
solely by their love for one another
In the Samavakara, the number of acts, the duration of the acts & the
number of characters are all clearly stipulated. The number of acts should be
only three. The duration of the acts are as follows:
a. 1st act – 12 Nadigas
b. 2nd act – 4 Nadigas
c. 3rd act – 2 Nadigas
Nadiga is a time measure; 1 Nadiga equals 24 minutes and 1 Muhurta equals
2 Nadigas (48 minutes). Hence the Samavakara is a long play of 7 hours and
12 minutes. (12+4+2 Nadigas)
The characters in a Samavakara play should consist only of 12. The metre in
the verses used should be of complex nature. The theme employed in the 3
acts can be varied & need not necessarily be related to one another.
Samavakara is not considered to be a fully developed drama. The 4 th chapter
of the Natyashastra mentions Brahma as having produced a Samavakara play
titled ‘Amrita Mathana’, which is believed to have been presented before
Shiva by the sons of Bharata.

Prahasana:
This is a one act play in the form of a satire or comedy, hence humour or
Hasya is the dominant sentiment. This is of two types: Pure or Shuddha &
Mixed or sankirna. In the former category, saints belonging to different cults,
brahmins, etc. indulge in a comical conversation & arguments. In the latter
category, the main characters are from a low grade background & status like
rogues, courtesans & vitas whose behaviour, appearance, dress & language is
portrayed.

Dima:
Bharata states that it consists of some exalted type of heroes; however,
Dhanañjaya states that it should have some vehement types of heroes such
as gods, demons, Gandharvas, Yakṣas, Bhūta, Preta, etc. The total number of
characters should not exceed 16 & rasas like Shringara & Hasya are to be
avoided while vrittis such as Arabhatti & Satvati are utilised. Ḍima is full of
incidents like magic, illusion, war & wrath; that is why it is based on six types
of excited sentiments. Fury is used as the main sentiment in Ḍima. Incidents
depicting natural disasters can be incorporated in the play as well as strife
caused by discord, deceit & jugglery amongst characters. Natyashastra
mentions a play depicting the Tripura Dahana in Dima, which is believed to
have been performed by Bharata & his sons in the presence of Shiva.
Ihamriga:
This is a play of 4 acts with a well constructed plot causing discord amongst
female characters. The predominant emotion is here is Shringara or love. The
characters are to only be of divine origin. The protagonist should be
‘Uddhata’, that is powerful & dominant & is supposed to react vehemently to
feminine anger. While creating discord among the female characters,
kidnapping them & fighting an opponent can be portrayed. The actual act of
killing in a battle is not to be portrayed. The Rasa-Bhava combination that
applies to the male characters in a Vyayoga also applies to the characters in
Ihamriga.

Vithi:
This is the last of the Dasharupakas. It contains 13 segments all in one act.
This is also a short one act play with one or two characters in it. These
characters may be superior ( uttama ), meddling ( Madhyama ) or inferior
(adhama. Any sentiment/rasa can be depicted in this type of play.
‘Udhaatyakam’ is when an unknown word/concept is used in a particular
context. There are several aspects to this play such as avalageetam (doing
one thing & talking about another thing), avaspanditam(indirect & clever
deceit), asathpralaapa(when an irrelevant question is followed by an
irrelevant answer), prapancha (using the wrong word to compliment a person
unknowingly), Naali or Naalika (a riddle that evokes laughter), Vaakeli (2 or
more answers to one question), Adhibalam (giving a counter attack that is
stronger than the offence), Chala (deceit), trigatam (3 people inconversation;
the rasa depicted is hasyam), Vyaaharam, mridhwa or mridhwam (glorifying
faults & demeaning virtues) & Gandham (incoherent speech in the context of
fear or abusive language in the context of anger).
Assignment completed by:
Rithi Murari (MA Bharatanatyam; 2nd year)