1.3. Elements of Drama (d): Dramatic Postures

In Drama characters are projected through their postures. So, various postures connected to sitting, standing and lying down positions always convey certain amount of important information to viewers about the dramatic characters. This way a massage is created through a non verbal communication by the actors and it reaches directly to the minds of the viewers. Before the curtain gets up, the actors should stay in some particular postures on the stage and as soon as the curtain gets up, the audience can assume the particular situation by seeing the postures of the actors. There is a detail discussion about different kinds of dramatic postures for different situations in the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa.

These are taken up here for discussion.

i) Sitting Postures:

In the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, nine kinds of upaveśana i.e., sitting postures are accepted for Drama. These are named as:

1. svastha,
2. mandālasa,
3. klānta,
4. svasthālasa,
5. viṣkumbhita,
6. kaṭuka,
7. muktajānu,
8. jānūgata and
9. vimukta.^[1]

The word svastha denotes the position of ease.^[2] When a person is sitting at ease by holding legs at a distance, keeping hands on waist and thigh and raising the chest in a relax mood, it is called svastha posture.^[3] In this context the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa seems to follow the Nāṭyaśāstra.^[4] The word mandālasa is the alamgamation of two words viz., manda i.e., slow^[5] and ālasa i.e., lazyness.^[6] To show worry, sadness and separation as well as excitement, the actor should stretch one leg and sit on other and this position is called mandālasa posture.^[7] In the 4^th act of Abhijñānaśakuntala, it can be seen that Śakuntalā was worried and was lost due to the separation with her husband Duṣyanta. If the drama Abhijñānaśakuntala has to be enacted in a stage, the character of Śakuntalā has to sit in the mandālasa posture as this posture is suggested to take in grief by the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa. Moreover, after placing one knee on ground in muktajānuka posture the lover tries to please the beloved.^[8] The word Klānta denotes fatigue.^[9] So, the posture called Klānta indicates the situation of being grabbed by a strong person or bitten by an enemy or being depressed.^[10]

ii) Lying Down Postures:

Some particular postures are recommended in the Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa as śayyāsthāna, which are adopted by the actors at time of lying down in a Drama. These postures are—

1. sama,
2. ākuñcitaka,
3. prasārita,
4. vivartita,
5. udvāhita and
6. nata.^[11]

When a person is relaxing on a bed with up warding face and loose hands, that posture is called sama.^[12] The ākuñcitaka posture establishes the fact that a person is suffering from cold and it is reflected by curving all limbs and contracting knees.^[13] The prasārita and udvāhita posture are almost similar as in both position one hand is used as pillow and the person is sleeping at ease.^[14] Lord Viṣṇu is seen to be in this position at the time of resting on the bed of anantanāga. In the vivartita postion, the actor should bring his face down to show that the person is hit by weapon or he is acting the role of a dead or a drunken person.^[15] The nata posture is used to show laziness, tiredness and physical exertion by loosing hands and strengthening the thighs.^[16]

The discussion about sitting and lying down postures are not seen in the Nāṭyaśāstra as well as in the Abhinayadarpaṇa.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

svasthmandā lasaklātaṃ svasthālasamathāpi ca/ viṣkumbhitaṃ tatkaṭukaṃ muktajānu tathā samaṃ/ jānūgataṃ vimuktaṃ ca sthānakānyupaveśane// Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.22.1-2

[2]:

V.S Apte, The Student’s Sanskrit English Dictionary, p.631

[3]:

[...] Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.22.2

[4]:

hastau kaṭyūruvinyastau svasthe syādupaveśane/ pādaḥ prasāitaḥ kiñcidekaścaivāsanāśrayaḥ// Nāṭyaśāstra, 13.197

[5]:

V.S Apte, The Student’s Sanskrit English Dictionary, p. 425

[6]:

Śabdakalpadruma, Vol.1, p.181

[7]:

[...] Viṣṇudharmottaeapurāṇa, 3.22.4

[8]:

[...] Ibid., 3.22.13-14

[9]:

V.S Apte, The Student’s Sanskrit English Dictionary, p.169

[10]:

[...] Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.22.5-7

[11]:

[...] Ibid.,3.21.1

[12]:

[...] Viṣṇudharmottarapurāṇa, 3.21.2 ā ṅ ḥ ś ā ā ī

[13]:

[...] Ibid., 3.21.3

[14]:

[...] Ibid., 3.21.4 & 6

[15]:

[...] Ibid., 3.21.5

[16]:

[...] Ibid., 3.21.7