Research study on Bharata's work

BHARATANATIYA SASTIRAM: Translated into Tamil from the Sanskrit original by S.N. Sriramadesikan; International Institute of Tamil Studies, C.P.T. Campus, Adyar, Chennai-600113. Rs. 150.

CONTRARY TO the common belief that the Natya Sastra of Bharata Muni is a treatise solely on dance, it is a huge compendium on dramaturgy dealing, besides music and dance, with playwriting, production, stage construction, semantics, make-up and a host of other allied topics.

Much of the available information about Sage Bharata is vague and controversial. "Bharata" ordinarily meant a dancer-actor and Vedanta Desika has suggested that it might be an acrostic of the first letters of the terms Bhava, Raga and Tala.

Though many a writer had referred to the Natya Sastra of Bharata and assigned it to the second century A.D., the original text had been eluding scholars until the last quarter of the 19th century.

The credit of unearthing the manuscript of the work goes to European scholars like Fitz Edward Hall, Paul Regnaud, Heymann and J. Crosset. The edition, published in Paris by Crosset in 1898, still remains one of the best specimens of modern Western scholarship.

Meanwhile, two Indian Sanskritists, Shivadatta and Kashinath Panduranga Parab, published from Bombay the original text in 1894.

The later discovery of the commentary on the Natya Sastra by the Kashmirian, Abhinavagupta, gave a new impetus to the study of the work and the pioneer Manmohan Ghosh published the first English translation in 1951.

This was followed by similar translations by a board of scholars, Adya Rangacharya and P.N. Unni. The Telugu translation by P.S.R. Appa Rao is a classic.

Strangely enough, no scholar had come forward to render the treatise into Tamil although the Natya Sastra tradition is quite strong in Tamil Nadu. Nowhere in India have the 108 Karanas of the Natya Sastra been depicted by sculptures on temple towers like those at Chidambaram, Kumbakonam and Thanjavur. Dance Gurus like Chetlur Narayana Iyengar and Mangudi Doriraja Iyer have, in their Tamil writings, revealed their knowledge of the Natya Sastra but they have not attempted a translation. Fifty years ago Karanthai Tamil Sangam of Thanjavur published a work in verse called Bharata Sattiram by Arabatta Navalar of Tirupperunthurai but it is not a translation of the Natya Sastra. The present complete translation into Tamil prose thus becomes an epoch- making publication in the annals of dance literature in the Tamil language.

The translator needs no introduction to the world of Sanskrit scholarship. For over five decades, he has been rendering invaluable service to the translation of the literary treasures of the past in the spheres of science, art and philosophy, too numerous to be mentioned here. Even as a student he exhibited a flair for rendering into perfect Sanskrit verse Tamil works like the Tirukkural, Naladiyar, Pathupattu and Tiruppavai. His magnum opus is the translation of three Sanskrit works on Ayurveda running to nearly 6000 pages. He is the recipient of many awards and titles from government and private institutions.

The book under notice is not a mere literal translation but the result of considerable research and comparative study. The language of the original is terse and there are hundreds of technical terms for which there are no Tamil equivalents. Terms like "Mattavarani" defy translation. Realising this problem, the author has furnished at the end of important chapters a summary in lucid Tamil. The original slokas have not been reproduced but have been grouped to maintain continuity and have been paraphrased. There are illustrations of the 108 Karanas and 38 hand gestures. The author has written an illuminating preface of 108 pages on the various forms of Indian classical dance and allied subjects, besides furnishing a glossary. Elegantly printed on good quality paper, the book has been priced moderately.

T.S. PARTHASARATHY

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