m<OU 166789 m -eg OSMANIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Call N".r)3 3' Accession No. 3 Author . AfemuU /cei T (1 A This book should ne returned cjn or before the date last marked belo\\ . / NANDIKESVARA'S ABHINAYADARPANAM A MANUAL OF GESTURE AND POSTURE USED IN HINDU DANCE AND DRAMA English Translation, Notes and the Text critically edited for the first time from original manuscripts with Introduction BY MANOMOHAN GHOSH, M.A., PH.D., KAVYATlRTHA. With Illustrations SECOND EDITION (Revised) FIRMA K. L. MUKHOPADHYAY CALCUTTA. 1957 Published by Firma K. L. Mukhopadhyay 6/1 A, Banchhararn Akrur's Lane, Calcutta. Price Rs. lO'OO Printed by J. C. Sarkhel, at the Calcutta Oriental Press Private Limited, 9 Panchanan Ghose Lane, Calcutta 9. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION The first edition of the Abhinayadarpanam published twentythree all the late years ago was welcomed by interested persons including A. K. Coomaraswamy whose translation of the work named The Mirror of Gesture (Cambridge, Mass. 1917) directed my attention to this Sanskrit text. Still for various reasons I could not think of it a publishing its second edition even after was out of print for long time, and there was some demand for it. One such reason and an important one too, was that I then engaged myself in studying the and Natyasastra and was planning a translation of this important work, thought that this would be of greater use to readers interes- ted in the subject. Coomaraswamy also published in the meantime a revised edition of The Mirror of Gesture (New York, 1936) and utilised my work for the revision. This also relieved me for the time being from the urgency of undertaking a second edition. But, for the last or of three four years, even after publication the first volume of the translation of the Natyasastra, Calcutta, 1951, I have been receiving earnest enquiries from various quarters whether a of be available. copy the Abhinayadarpanam niay still Some of the enquirers gave me to understand that they had read the translation of the Natyasastra but still required a copy of the Abbinaya- darpanam. Hence, I could no longer remain indifferent in this regard, and have come gradually to believe that a new edition of this work may remove a real want of a class of readers. It seemed that its very brevity while it dealt with all essential gestures and postures used in Hindu dance and drama, had made it something like a favourite of the student of these arts. My hesitation about publishing a was thus second edition finally overcome. On taking up the prepa- ration of a copy for the press I found that some of the views expressed in the introduction and notes have undergone some change during the last idea twentythree years, and my about the need of readers of is also the I have the book no longer quite same. So slightly modified the introduction and notes by making necessary emendation and omission here and there. It may be hoped that these changes have added to its usefulness. If some readers may still require additional are to refer information on certain topics they requested very kindly to the translation of the Natyasastra which, treats of all relevant matters in much greater detail. 3 ist March, 1957. MANOMOHAN GHOSH CONTENTS Subjects Page Preface to the Second Edition ... ... ... lii Notes on Illustrations ... ... ... vii Abbreviations and Symbols ... ... ... viii INTRODUCTION ... ... ... i (1) PRELIMINARY ... ... ... i i. The Present Edition ... .. ... I 2. The Translation ... ... ... 2 2 3. Critical Apparatus ... ... ... 4. Reconstruction ... ... ... 5 6 (2) ABHINAYA: ITS MEANING ... ... 6 5. Drama and Hindu Plays ... ... 6. Object of Hindu Plays ... ... 7 & 7. The Technique o Plays ... ... 8 8. Abhinaya ... ... ... 9. Importance of the Study of Abhinaya ... 14 (3) ABHINAYA: ITS HISTORY ... ... ... 17 10. The Origin of Abhinaya ... ... 17 11. The Development of Abhinaya ... ... 20 12. The Literature on Abhinaya ... ... 22 (4) ABHINAYADARPANA ... ... ... 24 13. Scope of the work ... ... ... 24 14. The Abhinayadarpaiia and the Bharata-Natyasastra ... ... 26 15. The Abhinayadarpana and the Bharatainava ... 29 16. The Abhinayadaipana and the Samgitaratnakara ... ... ... 31 VI 17. The Style and the Method of Treatment ... 31 1 8. The Author of the work ... ... 32 Place of Nandikesvara 19. The ... ... 33 20. The Time of Nandikesvara ... ... 33 21. The Antiquity of the work ... ... 34 TRANSLATION & NOTES ... ... ... 39 ILLUSTRATIONS ... ... 73 THE SANSKRIT TEXT ... ... ... 81 Select Glossary ... ... ... Corrections ... ... ... Index ... ... ... ... 149 NOTES ON ILLUSTRATIONS In Page 73 Pataka, Tripataka, Ardhapataka, Kartarimukha, Mayura, Ardhacandra, Arala, Sukatunda, Musti. ,, 74 Sikhara, Kapittha, Katakamukha, SucI, Candrakala, Padmakosa, Sarpaslrsa, Mrgaslrsa, Simhamukha (side}. > 75 Kahgula (side), Alapadma, Catura (side\ Bhramara, Hamsasya, Hanisapaksa, Sandamsa, Mukul, Tamra- cuda. 76 Trisula, Vyaghra, ArdhasucI, Kataka, Palli, Anjali, Kapota, Karkata, Puspaputa. ,, 77 Sivaliriga, Katakavardhana, Kartarisvastika, Sakata, Samkha, Cakra, Samputa, Pasa. ,, 78 Kurma, Matsya, Kilaka, Varaha, Garuda, Bherunda, Nagabandha, Khatva. Simhamukha Catura ,, 79 Kangula (front), (front), (front) and Svastika. N.B. For Simhamukha see pp. 74 and 79 and for Kangula, Catura and Svastika see pp. 75 and 79. ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS A. = Manuscript of the text in the Adyar Library. AD = Abhinayadarpana B. = Manuscript of the Bharatasastra Grantha Bh A = Bharatarnava. Ch.ed = Chowktamba Edition. I. = Manuscript known as the Abhinayadarpnnam from the India Office Library. Mbh = Mahabharata. MG The Mirror of Gesture, ed. Coomaraswamy and Duggirala (Cambridge, Mass.) 1917. NS Natyasastra. P. = Manuscript of the so-called Bharatarnava from Poona. R. =Ramayana. SR nrSamgltaratnakara. V. =Manuscript of the text in Visvabharati. Note Numerals in the Select Glossary refer to the number of slokas and their translation. INTRODUCTION (O form i- THE PRESENT EDITION. Though the Nataka a typical our Hindu drama, forms, a large section of Sanskrit literature, knowledge about the way in which the art of producing a play 1 to a developed in India, is still very inadequate. This is due mostly lack of sufficient materials. The only work which gives us a clear is Yet and comprehensive idea of the Hindu stage the Natyasastra. for the Indian thea- study of history of the development of ancient trical this in is not art, work, though very important many respects, quite sufficient by itself. We need therefore make no apology in offer- ing for the first time a critical edition of Nandikesvara's Ahhinaya- darpana which exclusively treats of gestures in a manner rather different from the NS., which also has these among other things as its subjects of treatment. The Mirror of Gesture published with an illuminating introduction by A. K. Coomaraswamy, claims to be a translation of this work. But on comparing it with our text, it has been found out that the text used in preparing the MG is not exactly identical with the AD, though the former has absorbed a major part of the latter work and supplemented the same by making occasional quotations from other works of the class an feature same (see 2). And important of our text is its treatment of items like postures and movements etc. dependent on feet, such as Mandala, Sthanaka, Carl and Gati, which although omitted by the original of the MG, is indispensably necessary for the complete understanding of Hindu histrionic art. it does not the a The MG, though fully represent AD, has been very useful contribution to our knowledge regarding the production of 1 This was written in 1934. Conditions have changed since the publica- tion o the translation of the NS. in 1951 by the Asiatic Society. 2 For the of meaning this term and the following ones, see "Select Glossaiy' at the end* 2 ABHINAYADARPANAM text of the it bd Hindu plays. The present edited AD will, may such a for in it some fresh materials hoped, supplement knowledge ; have been brought to light for the first time. 2. THE TRANSLATION. The translation has not been made very will literal. Students of Sanskrit however experience little difficulty about the language of the AD. A few words which have been used in it and for this reason offer to with special import may difficulty readers, have been explained in the Select Glossary. CRITICAL 3. APPARATUS. The present text has been reconstruc- ted from five manuscripts, of which two arc complete and the rest The two fragmentary. complete MSS, do not fully agree with each other the in which regarding order various topics have been treated. In this respect the fragmentary MSS, also vary with the complete ones as well as among themselves. The following description of the MSS, will among other things notice this mutual variation. of the M. A Devanagarl transcript the only complete MS, (in of the work of the collection in Telugu script) (No. 304 made 1894) in the possession of the Madras Government Oriental MSS, Library xxix of the of a (vide p. Report Search of the Sanskrit and Tamil MSS the for year 1893-1894 by Sheshagiri Shastri). V. A MS in in plain-leaf (fairly complete) the Telugu script, the possession of the VisvabharatI, Santiniketan. It bears the number Its size is x i" it 3038. 16-2" and has 29 leaves. This MS puts the bandhavd-hasta-laksanam last of all and omits the navagrahahasta- laksanam, navarasab and avasthabhedah (dasavasthati). And moreover its treatment of the nrttahastah and pada-bhedah is incomplete. 1 leaf in with a A. A palm MS (not complete) the Telugu script Telugu ttka from the Adyar Library. It has 53 leaves. It bears the is x number XXII. C. 25. Its size 5-8" 1-4". 2 in the A. Another palm-leaf MS (not complete) Telugu script from the Adyar Library. It bears the number XXII. C. 38. It size is8 5"x 1-2".