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Home , Jyestha (goddess), Sthayibhava

PAPER 5 DANCE, POETS AND , RELIGIOUS PHILOSOPHY AND INDIAN CLASSICAL DANCE MODULE 1 DANCE, THE VISUAL IMAGE OF POETRY

Introduction

Movement somehow cannot lie. It’s a journey from the one who creates a situation, a story, a plot, a mood and sets the tune [our great poets were also composers] to the ones who bring it alive as a stage performance, enacting the same by not only respecting the intention of the lyricist in every word and meaning but also adding that extra dimension which is required in order to fully explore every possibility that may arise out of the poem. It is the imagination of the dancer and the competence of the singer and accompanying musicians that gives expression to the implicit, extended meaning of the sentences. After acting the word to word narrative with the help of Padartha Abhinaya / ऩदार्थ अभबनम , the Sanchari-Vyabhichari bhavas / संचायी व्मभबचायी बाव flow appropriately like a river with the help of deeper nuances in the musical composition. This would make the performance finer in the aesthetic aspect and would fructify. It is important to convey the exact intention, understood by the linguistic meaning of the poem, visualizing the situation or scene, studying the character whether divine, historic, legendary or day-to- day persons of ordinary background. Knowledge of the poet, the tune or Raga and rhythm or Tala employed [slow or fast, qualities of the Raga etc] will help in categorizing the types of heroes, heroines, actions and reactions. Angika / आंगगक, Vachika / वागचक and Satvika Abhinaya / सात्ववक अभबनम travel after introspection on the poem.

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When Manodharma / भनोधभथ or intuition acts, there is a voice from within that gets expressed at the spur of the moment, spontaneous and not practiced. The Sthayibhava / स्र्ामीबाव or predominant mood of the poem should never be lost by the dance; else the Rasa which was first known or experienced by the poet would not be successfully conveyed and transmitted. Just as the poet has given expression to his thoughts through the written words, the dancer has to express the suggested meanings of the same through the dramatic .

Subtle dimensions in process of creation of word

In this connection i.e.- Rasa, it is vital to know that it is the consciousness of the poet that is transferred to the dancer and then the spectator. Consciousness has vibration, Spanda / स्ऩंद, characterized by Sphota, sound. The sages spoke of four levels of speech- Para / ऩया, Pashyanti / ऩश्मति, Madhyama / भध्मभा and Vaikhari / वैखयी. The Rig Veda 1.164.45 says “चववरयवा啍ऩरयभभिऩदातनिातनववदयु ब्रह्भणामेभभतनवषण्, गुहात्रीणणतनहहिनीन्गमन्ििुयीमंवचो भनुष्मवदत्न्ि” (i.e. the cognoscenti know of the Vak that exists in four forms. Three are hidden and the fourth is what men speak).The subtle body is composed of seven Chakrās / चक्र or energy centres. Para is the first stage of sound in it’s unman fest stage and is the source of all root ideas and germ thoughts. Shabdabrahman / श녍दब्राह्भण manifests through his power of first as Para Vani / ऩया वाणी in the Mooladhara chakra / भूराधाय चक्र at the lowermost part of spine, then as Pashyanti /

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ऩश्मत्न्ि in the Manipura / भणणऩुय chakra at the navel, next as Madhyama in the Anahata / अनाहि at the heart and then eventually as Vaikhari in the Vishuddha at the throat [Saint poet Tyagaraja / वमागयाज says in his poetic composition, Shobhillu / शोभब쥍रू, Sapataswara – Nabhi / सप्िस्वय-नाभब, Hrut / कृ ि, Kantha / कंठ, Rasana / यसन]. This is the divine descent of voice. Descent indicates creation [from subtlest to the grossest] and ascent indicates dissolution [from grossest to the subtlest], Avarohan / अवयोहण and Arohan / आयोहण.

Para is indicative of a truth that there is a sphere of super- consciousness where the sound is heard in different dimensions. Pashyanti represents the intellectual consciousness, like an idea which has not yet been expressed in words. In this stage, sound possesses qualities such as color and form. In this stage the differences between languages do not exist, as this sound is intuitive and situated beyond concepts. Here is Iccha / इ楍छा शत्啍ि, the will. Madhyama represents the mental consciousness. Here there is a clear distinction between the sound and the object it denotes. This is more of a mental speech rather than the external audible speech. Within the Madhyama-vaak / भध्मभा-वाक् exists Jnana Shakti / ऻान शत्啍ि, the knowledge. Vaikhari / वैखयी represents the physical consciousness, an audible speech manifestation. Vaikhari is the sound which has come all the way from the root chakra with the force of , upwards to the throat, mouth, teeth and tongue, to become an articulate sound, audible to the external ear. Within the Vaikhari-vak exists Kriya-Shakti / क्रक्रमा-

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शत्啍ि, the power of action. The flow of Divine Consciousness from the inaudible seed of evolution to the audible Vaikharis the tree of art. The poet, actor, spectator are comparable to the root, tree, flower and fruit of the tree and the hearts of all are pervaded by Rasa which makes the journey from one to the other. So it was the spoken or the chanted word from the innermost recesses of the heart that led to so many different art forms, each with its special ambience and audience.

Kavya has always been a performing art.

Poetry in ancient India was never to be silently read but chanted, sung, performed and celebrated in the company of others. Literary and performing were not fragmented, as they seem to be today. It is only the skilled poet or the artist who is able to capture the heart-throbbing moment and convert it to a moment of in an artistic creation, whether it be through the lyrics of the poet or the brush of the artist or the histrionics of the dancer. When poetry was recited with a certain metre and melody, a song was created and performed on stage with gesture and movement as natya or dance drama. is not just an individual but also a universal being is the process of universalization and becoming one with the aestheticized universal being. It is liberation of a being from the narrow self and become one with the universal consciousness. This is essential for the poet who describes the actor who plays the role and the viewer or reader. This puts forth pralaya / प्ररम dissolution as a necessary condition. Dissolution or Death of ego filters out all identities that veil the universal consciousness and bestow grace of Rasa. It is said that the creator cannot see his own creation, if he starts seeing it, he

4 cannot create- he will develop a feeling of possession for the form being created by him.

Rasa - Dhvani / यसध्वतन of Kavya

Anandavardhana’s Dhvanyaloka / आनंदवधथन ध्वन्मारोक revolutionized literary theory by proposing that the main goal of poetry is the evocation of flavor (rasa) and that this process can be explained only by a semantic power which is beyond detonated meaning–that of suggestion. The commentary by , Lochana develops this well. Dhvani or suggestion is the soul of poetry. The words are the body of poetry and dhvani is the soul, the breath or Prana / प्राण. One can analyze by knowledge of grammar and the prosody, the body but the soul can only be felt directly by the sensitive by appreciation. The expressed meaning is important but the suggested meaning remains most important. It is compared to the relation of the meaning of individual words to the meaning of a sentence. We cannot grasp the meaning of a sentence unless we know the meaning of the words. But we do not form mental images of these words and then assimilate to get the - meaning of the sentence. When the sentence is finished, it’s meaning as a unit flashes through the mind. Similarly, dhvani, flashes into the mind of the listener when he grasps the prima facie meaning. In this theory, the basic postulate is that utterances possess a literal meaning and also convey a further meaning. Rasa – dhvani, flavour or emotion or mood or sentiment is the essence of poetry. Rasa is the realisation of one’s own consciousness. It is an ideal and impersonalised form of joy, universal in character and the aesthetic pleasure resulting from it, is general and not particular.

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Rasa can only be suggested but not described. It is Sahrudya / सदम, the connoisseur, who is capable of discerning the intricate cords of veiled word and senses the aesthetic relish. Anandavardhana clearly states that appreciation of poetry is essentially the same as the creation of it. Aesthetic experience, characterized by the immersion of the subject in the aesthetic object, is akin to the beatitude of or / ब्राह्भण or the Self.

Some features of kavya

In Indian tradition, a philosopher and a poet are expressed by a single term ‘kavi’ ie- someone with a vision. Anandhavardhana’s brilliant exposition of Dharmakirtis poems, also establishes the identity of Dharmakirti / धभथकीतिथ the poet and Dharmakirti the philosopher. However, the knowledge or Jnana Marga / ऻान भागथ was transcendental, yet insufficient to invoke in common parlance that which could infuse and suffuse. Pouring out from the hearts of some of the greatest of greats like Adi Shankara / आहदशंकय were our / स्िोत्र, Tantric / िांत्रत्रक and Agamic / आगभभक poems like Soundaryalahiri / सौन्दमथरहयी, Ardhanareshwarashtakam / अधथनायीश्वयाष्टकभ, Shivapanchaksharam / भशव ऩंचाऺयभ, etc. Shaiva Siddhantic / शैव भसधात्न्िक poetic works were created on Nataraja of Chidambaram [the eternal dancer] like Tirumandiram of Tirumoolar, Tiruvacahakam of Manikkavachakkar, Tevarams [three most prominent Tamil poets of the 7th century], the Nayanars - Sambandar, Tirunavukkarasar and Sundarar. All were paving way towards the poet- temple – dancer triad. In Vaishnavite devotion, Andal sings of her love for as Venkateshvara. The

6 devotional outpourings of were their hymns of worship to , known as Divya Prabandham / हदव्म प्रफन्धं.

Figuratives

Both the shabda and the form the body of kavya. Man possesses a deep passion for ornamentation of various things in his surroundings. Whatever is elegant is eternal. So, God is not only referred as eternal but also as beautiful, Bhuvanasundara / बूवनसुन्दय, Satyamshivamsundaram / सवमं भशवभ ् सुन्दयभ , etc. Alamkara literally means ‘that which enhances the beauty of speech’.

Hamsa / हंस (swan) in kavya literature, from a linguistic and aesthetic perspective is referred to in a wealth of Sanskrit poetry, prose and drama. Ashvaghosha \ अश्वघोष too used beautiful similes such as mountain to depict the beauty of the solid body, Kamadeva / काभदेव for Buddha, lotus for the eyes, hand and face etc. Lotus plays an important role in the literature and art of classical India. Vishnu is said to be Padmanabha / ध्भनाब, Padmodbhava / ब्रह्भा ऩोव, Padma / रक्ष्भी ऩा and so on. In the Kumarasambhava / कु भायसंबव, the analogy of lotus is often invoked in the description of / ऩावथिी. Lokokti / रोकोत्啍ि is one of the significant elements which beautify the poetry- when vast usage of of the literature is transformed into short but meaningful words, pure consciousness.

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Romantic Poetry By their very nature romantic moments are evanescent, spontaneous, and unrehearsed. It is sheer romantic beauty, be it of longing or rejoicing, of expectant waiting, of joy or remorse, of anger or jealousy, Shringara rasa is indeed a testimony of the creative imagination of the poet and the dancer, followed by re-creation of that emotion by the spectator. The origins are to be found in poetry, which in its primeval form was oral and from that many new art forms were to emerge. The Gupta period saw the emergence of romantic mahakavya/भहाकाव्म (epic court poetry), natya / ना絍म (drama), muktaka / भु啍िक (miniature poetry) and khandakavya / खंडकाव्म (lyrical poetry). The names of Kalidasa / काभरदास, Bharatrhari / बयात्रहयीु and Amaru / अभ셁, among many others, are written in letters of gold in the genre of romantic literature. Kalidasa out beats other poets in the description of the and the beautiful within natural phenomena. Kavyesunatkamramyam / काव्मेशुनाटकभय륍मभ (tatraramyam Sakuntala / ित्रय륍मभ शकु न्िरा, i.e. among all the literary discourses, drama is the most charming genre and even among the dramas Abhijaana Sakuntalam / अभबऻान शाकु न्िरभ is the most delightful one) is a popular maxim. Bharatrhari’s shringara has an unmistakable undercurrent of vairagya / वैया嵍म or renunciation. Even when Bharatrhari speaks of the pleasures of the moon and the beloved’s face he says sarvamramyamanityamupagatecitte ne kinchitpunah / सवंभय륍मभअतनवमभुऩागिगे चवि े ने क्रकत्न्चप्वऩुनह, i.e.- once the mind has sensed impermanence, nothing is the same. Amaru paints the

8 varied moods and nuances of love with words that evoke colourful scenes, sonorous with music. Khandakavya-two most important are Ritusamharam and Meghadutam that set the precedent for those in the tradition. Kalidasa’s evocation of the romantic emotion depict a graceful sensuality and restrained passion in a world where trees yearn for the touch of a woman as much as a man would long for her embrace, messages are conveyed through clouds and the changing seasons are understood as the changing colours of love. The nocturnal tryst of the abhisarikanayika / अभबसरयकनातमका is revealed at dawn by the mandara / भंदय flowers that have fallen from her hair and the golden lotuses, off her ears. Meghadutam / भेघदिु भ is the epitome of the Virahotkhandita nayika / ववयहोिखंडडिनातमका. Considered the high point of Tamil literature, Sangam poetry, consisting of about 3500 poems, was romantic, called aham meaning inner or household. It also contained heroic poetry called puram meaning outer or public.

Some images from it- The dancing peacock was like you, the guileless deer looked like you, the jasmine bloom smelt of you. Tamil poets also celebrate the courtesan although her position is secondary to that of the wife. She stands at the entrance to her home or visits festivals where she can display her attractiveness. The wife’s reaction is seen in- Let him come here. I shall seize his garland and his upper garment and tie him down to me with my long tresses. The Tamil poet assumed the personality of the heroine and addressed God as she would a lover. Bhaktishringara / बत्啍िगरंगाय arose in the Tamil country from a bed rock of romantic poetry on the

9 one hand and a joyous life-affirming view on the other; it also eventually led to the creation of the Bhagavata Purana / बागवि ऩुयाण. The epistemology of metaphysics of bhakti / बत्啍ि is the same passionate longing for the love of Krishna, from which was to arise Prema bhakti or loving devotion to Krishna and which took the form of bhakti shringara of Chaitanya / चैिन्म in Orissa and Bengal and bhakti shangar of Vallabhacharya in Gujarat and Rajasthan.

Tulsidas and Mira in the field of romantic poetry, ritikavya / यीतिकाव्म, celebrated the romantic love of and Krishna in sensuous and worldly terms; bhaktikavya was entirely devotional in character. Of the other poets in this genre the names that have influenced dance are those of Vidyapati / वव饍माऩति, Keshavdas / केशवदास and Bihari / त्रफहायी. Vidyapati describes spring nights of longing that are made up of flowers in groves, humming bees, trumpeting elephants, moonlight, sandal paste and a bed of kunda / कंु ड flowers.

In the genre of romantic poetry the Vasanta Vilasa / वसंि ववरास occupies an important place for several reasons. Written in old Gujarati in the 15th century and illuminated by the Vasanta Vilasa forms a part of the phagu / पागु literature and celebrates the longing and joys of a nayika in the season of spring. The poetry of nayikabheda takes us inside the mind of the nayika and forms an important part of the treasure of shringara rasa kavya.

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Shadrituvarnan / षडॠिुवणनथ or the description of the six seasons, vasanta / वसंि, grishma / ग्रीष्भ, varsha / वषाथ, hemanta / हेभंि, shravan / रावण and shisira / भशभशय is an important part of the kavyaliterature in Sanskrit. Kalidasa says- Of all the seasons vasanta or spring is most important to those in love, the blossoms of spring are like arrows of . The mango tree bent with red sprouts kindle ardent desire, the ashoka tree that bears blossoms red like coral makes the hearts sorrowful, the atimukta / अतिभु啍ि creepers whose blossoms are sucked by intoxicated bees excite the minds, the kimshuka / क्रक륍शुका grove bent with blossoms appears like a bride with red garments. However, did not have barahmasa / फायहभासा poetry which was a description of the seasons of the twelve months in Hindi dialects. Barahmasa compositions of Keshavdas - Chaitra- charming creepers and young trees have blossomed and parrots, Baisakha- the earth and the atmosphere are filled with fragrance but this fragrance is blinding for the bee and painful for the lover who is away from home. Jyestha- the sun is scorching and the rivers have run dry. Ashadha- strong winds are blowing, birds do not leave their nest, Shravana- rivers run to the sea, creepers have clung to trees, lightning meets the clouds, peacocks dance, announcing the meeting of the earth and the sky. Bhadrapad- dark clouds have gathered there is thunder as rain pours, lions roar and elephants break trees. Ashvin- the sky is clear and lotuses are in bloom, Kartika- woods and gardens, the sky are clear and bright lights illuminate homes, the universe seems to be pervaded by a celestial light. Margashirsha- rivers and ponds are full of flowers and joyous notes of swans fill the air, this is the favorite month of Krishna. Pausha- the earth and the sky are cold, people prefer oil, cotton, betel, fire and sun shine. Magha- forests and gardens echo with the sweet notes of birds and bees hum, all

11 directions are aromatic with musk, camphor and sandal. Phalguna- women and men in every home play with gay abandon. Surdas brought out the subtle nuances of philosophy and romance, in the togetherness and separation of the gopis, who are at once lovers and devotees at the same time. Surdas is able to bring out the subtle nuances of the Vaishnava philosophy of bheda-abheda / बेद- अबेद, different-and-yet-not-different, of transcendence and immanence.

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