Bharata Muni
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MAY THERE BE GOOD
NĀṬYA ŚĀSTRA
/THE SCIENCE OF THEATRE/
applied by the enlightened Bharata
So, the second chapter in the Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata.
1/ Having heard Bharata’s speech, the sages again addressed him: “O Noble One, now we wish to hear about the sacrifice performed on stage.
2/ What is this ritual? What are the rules of worship? And how in the future should people consecrate the building of Nāṭya?
3/ But since in this material world the magic of Nāṭya begins precisely with the construction of a house for Nāṭya, you should first give its description.
4/ Having heard the questions of those sages, Bharata said: “Let it be heard how the sacrifice is to be performed within the walls of Nāṭya.
5/ However, since, unlike the gods, who create their heavenly abodes and gardens merely by thought of abodes and gardens, human purposeful labors must always be accompanied by effort, such is the becoming of all people living in the world,
6/ then first learn in what manner the house for Nāṭya should be constructed, how its site should be chosen, how it should be consecrated, and in what way worship and the rite of sacrifice should be performed.
7/ Having examined the three forms of the theatre building created by the wise Viśvakarman, according to the teaching of the śāstras,
8/ rectangular, square, and triangular, whose sizes, respectively, are large, medium, and small,
9/ whose proportion is determined by the relation of hasta - daṇḍa /cubit to staff/, and it is as follows - 108, 64 and 32,
10/ where - containing 108 hasta - a large building, 64 - medium, and 32 - small,
11/ Brahmā established: “Let a large building be for the gods, a medium one for kings, and a small one—let all others possess.” By tradition, of all buildings, the medium one is preferable. Here both recitation and singing are clearly audible. For each building, there exist three different ways of conducting the ceremony—for rectangular, square, and triangular forms, i.e., large, small, and medium. Let those performing Nāṭyaveda know this.
12/ The following proportion was established by Viśvakarman, and it is precisely this that must be observed in all three forms of all three types of theatre buildings.
13/ Here are the names of its components: atom, dust particle, thickness of a hair, larva of the tiniest insect, the tiniest insect, a barley grain, the width of a thumb, hasta, daṇḍa.
14/ 8 atoms make up a speck of dust, 8 specks of dust, they say, make up the thickness of a hair, and 8 hairs should be the size of a larva. The tiniest insect should consist of 8 of its own larvae,
15/ and 8 insects, as should be known, are already a grain of barley. Also 8 barley grains are the thickness of a thumb. Likewise, 24 thumbs constitute a hasta,
16/ and 4 hasta, they say, determine the daṇḍa. Based on these measurements, I will explain further.
17/ Let here, in this material world, the length of the building for Nāṭya be 64 hasta, and the width 32.
18/ And henceforth, the organizers should not make a theatre building due to which the bhāva of the action taking place there would not be visible.
19/ So, if a building is too long, the sound of the recited verse easily rises upward, and the voice, not soaring by nature, becomes quite unmelodious and harsh.
20/ And because the hall is too long, abhinaya and the subtlest movements of the pupils, accompanying various bhāva, will be indistinguishable.
21/ Therefore, of all forms of buildings for Nāṭya, the middle one is preferable. There both the spoken text and the singing will be clearly audible.
22/ I remind you that the gods create by thought, while man and his entire life are an achievement through physical exertion,
23/ and man must not compete with the gods in the ability to create. Here I give a description of the building Nāṭya only for people.
24/ The organizer, you should first inspect the plot of land, and then, with good intentions, begin the measurement.
25/ The site for the Nāṭya house should be chosen where the ground is level, stable, firm, and black, not pale, in color.
26/ Having first removed pieces of wood, potsherds, grass, and bushes, one should plow it with a plow and, once purified, mark it out with a measuring cord.
27/ three northern constellations - Saumya, Viśākhā and Revatī, as well as Hastī, Tiṣya and Anurādhā are favorable for rituals connected with Nāṭya. And the white measuring cord should be stretched under the influence of the constellation Puṣya.
28/ This very thread must be woven by sages from cotton fibers, balbadja grass, sedge, and bark. Unbreakable it must be.
29/ If that thread is torn in half - the king’s death is inevitable; if into three parts - expect rebellion among the people.
30/ if that thread breaks into four parts, it is believed that the death of the organizer of Nāṭya is inevitable, and, finally, if this white thread falls from the hands, then some loss in the country will certainly occur.
31/ Therefore, carefully stretching the thread, always hold it firmly. Measurements for the house of Nāṭya should be made with great care and caution.
32/ Now, on a day considered auspicious, and at the appropriate moment of a favorable lunar day,
33/ after the Brahmans have made a libation of water in the name of peace, that thread should be stretched and a distance of 64 hasta measured. Then this length should be divided in half.
34/ The far part should be divided in half once more, and the first of these two equal halves is the stage,
35/ And in the second part, the dressing rooms should be placed. Thus, having divided the stage into parts,
36/ under a lucky star and to the sound of conches, kettledrums, and drumbeats, begin laying the foundation of the building.
37/ However, before that, one should remove those who may cause harm—these are people not consecrated by sacrifice, tireless heretics,
38/ of low origin and dishonest. With the onset of night, one should offer a sacrifice to the four directions.
39/ with various food and gifts, incense, as well as flowers, leaves, and fruits. White food - to the east, dark - to the south,
40/ yellow - to the west, and red - to the north. Each cardinal direction and its corresponding deity
41/ the offering is presented with the full recitation of mantras. Along with this, the brahmins should be given rice cooked in milk with ghee,
42/ to the king - a honey mixture, and to the organizer of Nāṭya - rice balls. And only after this, with a favorable alignment of the planets, should the foundation of the building be laid by the wise.
43/ At an auspicious moment and on a suitable day of the lunar calendar, having laid the foundation, one should begin the construction of the walls.
44/ Then, having completed the raising of the walls, under auspicious signs and a favorable moon, one should proceed to the installation of the columns.
45/ Columns should be erected when the Moon is in the constellation Rohiṇī or Śravaṇa. This should be performed by a priest possessing this knowledge, after three nights of fasting.
46/ Thus, the installation of the columns should take place on a day designated by astrological calculations and at sunrise. The foundation of the first column—the Brahman Column—should be consecrated with an offering of clarified butter with mustard.
47/ and offer rice cooked in milk to the priests as food; only white objects must be used in the ritual. The base of the Kṣatriya Column should be adorned with flower garlands and cloths,
48/ everything must be red, and the twice-born are given an offering of rice balls. The Vaiśya column is located in the northwest,
49/ to her everything yellow must be offered, and to the twice-born — rice with ghee. The Śūdra column — support in the northeast.
50/ Food prepared for the twice-born should be almost black in color — this is rice with a seasoning of sesame. At the base of the aforementioned Pillar Brahman, adorned with a white garland of flowers,
51/ a golden earring should be placed. At the base of the column called Kṣatriya, copper is buried,
52/ to the base of the Vaiśya column silver is offered, to the base of the Śūdra column iron is granted.
53/ And thus, at the base of each column a jewel is embedded. Now, on the day proclaimed blessed and auspicious, surely with the cry “victory!”
54/ the rite of establishing the columns, previously adorned with flower garlands, should be performed with an unrestricted distribution of jewels, cows, and garments.
55/ Now the columns should be raised. They must be set firmly, without shaking or tilting them.
56/ Here is the evil that is possible during the erection of columns: drought is inevitable if a column totters, and with a tilt — the danger of pestilence,
57/ and upon a concussion there will be very great danger from the enemy’s army. Without these errors, the column should be set up for good fortune.
58/ When consecrating the “Brahman” column, gifts must be made to the priests and cows, and when erecting the column, the remnants of the sacrificial food should be given to the builders.
59/ As a reward to the priest and the king, the wise teacher in Nāṭya should offer honey and milk for enjoyment,
60/ and among all the others, salted rice with sesame is distributed. Here is the main prayer, recited according to the rules when raising the columns:
61/ “As immovable as Mount Meru and the mighty Himavan, so may you remain still and bring victory to the best of men.”
62/ Doors, walls, and dressing rooms should be constructed in the same manner, with the help of worship and ritual sacrifice.
63/ Around the raṅgapīṭha, a mattavāraṇī should be built.
64/ attached to the 4 pillars, a proportionate raṅgapīṭha, 1.5 hasta high.
65/ Raṅgamaṇḍapa should be equal in height to these two and adorned with flower garlands of various colors, incense, fragrances, and fabrics,
66/ as well as with gifts and offerings pleasing to the spirits. Into the bases of the columns, for good fortune, iron should be placed,
67/ and rice with sesame is given to the brahmin as food. Thus, after performing the ritual, one should construct the mattavāraṇī,
68/ then, through the proper ritual and sacrifice, the raṅgapīṭha should be made, and the raṅgaśīrṣa, furnished with six wooden supports.
69/ Here, too, there should be two doors leading to the dressing room. Now one must carefully fill the space marked for raṅgaśīrṣa with black earth.
70/ For this purpose, carefully harness two white bulls to the plow and till the earth, having first cleared it of clods, grass, and stones.
71/ Then the men—workers who have overcome bodily ailments—must carry this earth, in parts, in new, previously unused baskets, to the site prepared for the raṅgaśīrṣa.
72/ Thus, carefully and according to the rules, the raṅgaśīrṣa should be made. Its surface should not be like a turtle’s shell /dome-shaped/ or a fish’s back /pointed/.
73/ Raṅgaśīrṣa should be smooth, clean, and even. The wise place precious stones here at the sacrifice—in the east, a diamond,
74/ cat’s eye - in the south, crystal - in the west, coral - in the north, and in the middle - gold.
75/ Further, having made the raṅgaśīrṣa, it is necessary to construct the dārukarma /wooden decoration/, joined with the parts uha and pratyuha, using various crafts.
76/ Furnished with various sañjāvana, adorned with images of wild animals, she should remain here fully ornamented.
77/ Also furnished with details of nirvyūha and kuhara, where numerous beautiful round windows are placed,
78/ which should be stretched out in a line, like sitting doves, and adorned with columns resting on a well-tamped surface.
79/ So, having performed darukarma, one should proceed to the construction of the walls. A door should not be made opposite another door or corner, window or protruding objects /hooks?/, or a column.
80/ Nāṭyamaṇḍapa must be covered with a stone floor, and over it a wooden one.
81/ A slight breeze or calmness creates a deep resonance, therefore the nātyamaṇḍapa should be made by the organizers without drafts,
82/ and then the orchestra’s sound will not lose its skill. Now, having made the walls according to the rules, they should be whitewashed.
83/ It is necessary to prepare lime and carefully distribute it over the entire surface of the previously cleaned walls.
84/ Then the walls must be painted. This should be done in spring. The paintings should depict men and women,
85/ patterns of climbing plants and subjects that benefit the mind. Thus should the rectangular building Nāṭya be made by the organizers.
86/ Now I will tell about the features of a square building. All its sides must be equal to 32 hasta.
87/ It should be located on favorable land. All, without exception, the previously mentioned rules and auspicious signs for a rectangular building must be observed.
88/ The square building Nāṭya should be constructed according to the same laws. Having made an even square and divided it with a measuring cord,
89/ a strong brick wall must be built around the entire perimeter. Inside, behind the raṅgapīṭha, the organizers of Nāṭya must place 10 sturdy columns.
90/ for supporting the maṇḍapa, and also a colonnade outside the auditorium, shaped like steps.
91/ The seats in the auditorium should be made of brick and wood, and arranged so that each successive row is one hasta higher than the one before.
92/ The places for people observing the raṅgapīṭha should be made correctly. Another 6 other columns, as indicated, should be positioned according to the rules directly behind the seats.
93/ The knower should set up in support of the nāṭyamaṇḍapa another 8 sturdy columns, placed above those.
94/ Now the stage should be made measuring 8 hasta.
95/ Here, experts must erect columns to support the canopy. They should stand on the ground, and their tops adorned with female statues.
96/ Then the dressing room should be made just as carefully. One of its doors should open onto the stage.
97/ And the other door, for the entrance of spectators, should be made on the facade.
98/ Thus, the raṅgapīṭha should be made eight hasta in size, square, with a level floor and adorned with an altar.
99/ But first, a mattavāraṇī of the specified size must be made, with four columns near the altar.
100/ The stage can be either raised or at ground level. In a rectangular structure it should be high, but in a square one it should be level with the ground.
101/ So, according to these rules, a square building should be constructed. Now I will tell about the peculiarities of a triangular building.
102/ It should be built by the organizers of Nāṭya with three corners, and in the middle there should be a triangular stage.
103/ The door should be made where the corner of the building is. The other door, however, is behind the stage.
104/ All rules for establishing walls and columns for a square building apply also to a triangular one.
105/ Exactly so, according to this description, the wise should make a house for Nāṭya. Next I will speak about the rules for conducting worship.
Such is the second chapter in Bharata’s Nāṭyaśāstra, called The Construction of the Nāṭya Building.
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Continuation – in the following publications https://t.me/natyashastra 🙏