A History of Indian Literature v3.c35.s2.8

v3.c35.s2.8

The first and the last three sections relate to the origin of the art of drama and are wholly mythical. The gods, under the leadership of Indra, expressed their desire for some sort of entertainment that should be enjoyable by the eye and delightful to the ear at the same time, to the creator Brahman, the grand’Father, who was pleased to create, as a fifth Veda—the Nāṭyaveda. It was proposed that the drama should be staged for the first time on the occasion of the flag ceremony (*dhvaja-mahaḥ*) to celebrate the defeat of the demons by the gods in honour of Indra and in his palace. Bharata and his disciples made arrangements for its staging. They selected as its plot the victory of the gods over the demons. The gods, when they saw it, were very much pleased, and they distributed rewards to the actors. The demons, who too were there, became very much angry and they threw all sorts of obstacles, catastrophically paralysing the tongue, the mind and the skill of the actors with demoniac magic. Indra became very angry and severely chastised the demons. The actors were again busy with preparation for the stage and again the aggrieved demons presented obstacles in their way. Adequate security measures were taken by the gods; then they requested the creator Brahman to find out if the matter could be settled by mutual agreement. Accordingly Brahman approached the demons and inquired as to what the trouble was with them. The chief of the demons replied that both the gods and the demons had in the creator Brahman their common grand’Father and as such the grand’Father ought not to have done this. Brahman appeased them by explaining that the Nāṭyaveda he had created would depict both the noble as well as the ignoble activities of the gods as of the demons, and concluded by saying: “This art has been created by me as reflecting of life and activity of the world, with all the different sentiments amidst changing situations and in their entirety as a centre, where the activities of the people (the highest, middle and lowest) converge—so as to have the same as a medium of education and as a force, giving impetus to bravery and as a source of entertainment, pleasure, etc. There is no learning, no craft, no science, no fine art, no religious exercise (yoga), no ascetic discipline, that is not witnessed in this Nāṭyaveda”¹. In the last two sections is described how the drama that was first staged in the court of Indra in the presence of gods by the disciples of Bharata and Nārada came to the earth in consequence of a curse from the sages, (whom the actors had ridiculed rather vulgarly) to the effect that they would have to lead a despised life, maintained by their women and children. At this Indra and other gods expressed their fear to the sages that the art of drama might perish, to which the latter said that they had not meant so and that it would not be so. Thereupon, Bharata taught this science to the apsarases so that it might not die out. At the time king Nahuṣa was ruling over the earth. He was a great friend of Indra. The king of men requested the king of gods to depute the apsarases (actresses) to stage a drama in his palace on the earth. But the gods led by Bṛhaspati objected to the free association of the divine beings with the human’s. Nevertheless, they advised Bharata to go to the earth and organise the drama there. The latter asked his children and disciples to go to the earth and wished them to be born there. They instantly obeyed and through them developed on earth the drama. To minimise the effect of the curse god Brahman blessed that it should never die.