Bharata Muni
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MAY THERE BE GOOD
NĀṬYA ŚĀSTRA
/THE SCIENCE OF THEATRE/
applied by the enlightened Bharata
So, the third chapter in the Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata.
1/ In this beautiful building of Nāṭya, fully constructed according to the rules, one should place cows and twice-born continuously repeating prayers for seven days, thereby performing the sacrificial rite.
2/ Then, when night falls, having sprinkled the body with water consecrated by prayer, let him take his place on the fore-stage of the theatre.
3/ the Nāṭya master in new garments, having fasted for three nights, initiated, focused, possessed of a pure soul and the power of spiritual fire.
4/ Having bowed to the Great God, by whom all worlds are created, who is being itself, the progenitor of all born, as well as to Vishnu, Indra, and Guha /Shiva/,
5/ Sarasvatī and Lakṣmī, Fortune, Wisdom, Courage and Memory, the Moon, the Sun and the winds, the guardians of the world /lokapāla/ and the Aśvins,
6/ Mitra, Fire, the stern, the varṇas, the Rudras, Time and Strife, Death, Fate and Necessity,
7/ the weapon of Viṣṇu and of the king of the nāgas Vāsuki, Thunder, Lightning and the oceans /water and air/, the gandharvas, the apsaras and the holy sages,
8/ of bhūtas, piśācas, yakṣas, guhyakas and mighty lords, asuras and vighnas that create obstacles to Nāṭya, as well as the remaining daityas and rākṣasas,
9/ also of young maidens Nāṭya and of crude deities.
10/ Thus, having bowed with folded hands to these, and to others as well, and also to the divine sages, thereby invoking them to occupy their respective places, he should pronounce the following:
11/ “May this night, O lords, our offering be accepted by you, and may support for Nāṭya be granted from your retinue.”
12/ And, having honored all the musical instruments gathered in one place, for the success of Nāṭya, one should bow to Jarjara in this manner:
13/ “O weapon of the great Indra, creation of all gods, slayer of the danavas and destroyer of the vighnas,
14/ bless the king with victory and doom the enemies to defeat, bow to the cows and brahmins, and strengthen Nāṭya!”
15/ Thus, according to the rules, having performed the night service in the building of Nāṭya, with the arrival of day it should be continued.
16/ Worship on stage should be conducted under the influence of three eastern constellations – Ārdrā /gentle/, Maghā /reward/, and Yāmyā /belonging to Yama/ or under the influence of the constellations Āśleṣā /embrace/ and Mūla /foundation/.
17/ The teacher of Nāṭya, focused, initiated, and endowed with the power of spiritual fire, should light the lamp of the stage and perform the ritual of worshiping the gods.
18/ At the end of the day, in the harsh and terrible time of Yama, he must, having made a ritual sip of water, arrange the divine images according to the rules.
19/ Here should be red threads for amulets, incense with the scent of saffron, red flowers, and also a red fruit,
20/ and barley grains and mustard seeds, husked rice and whole rice grains, snake-flower flour and husked black mustard.
21/ In the places corresponding to the different gods, all these things should be placed. But first, in that place, according to the rules, a ritual circle should be drawn.
22/ That full circle should measure 16 hasta and have four entrances in four directions.
23/ In the center of that circle, two lines should be drawn – horizontal and vertical. In the spaces formed by these lines, images of the gods should be placed.
24/ First, Brahmā, seated on a lotus, should be placed in the center of that circle. The god Śiva, surrounded by bhūtas,
25/ Nārāyaṇa and the great Indra, Skanda, the Sun, the Aśvins and the Moon, Sarasvatī and Lakṣmī, Faith and Wisdom should be placed in the east.
26/ In the southeast — the god of fire together with his wife Svāhā, the universal gods with the gandharvas, rudras, and a multitude of serpents /sarpa/.
27/ In the south, one should place Yama and Mitra, with a retinue of pitṛs, piśācas, uragas, and guhyakas.
28/ Rākṣasas and bhūtas should be placed in the southwest, and in the west – seas and oceans and Varuṇa, the lord of sea monsters.
29/ In the north-western direction, seven winds should be placed, and there let Garuda reside with all the feathered ones.
30/ On the northern side, one must place the Giver of Wealth /Kubera/, as well as the goddesses - patronesses of Nāṭya with yakṣas and guhyakas.
31/ And the northeast should be given to the leader of Shiva’s retinue - Nandi, to the multitude of bhūtas, and to the holy sages.
32/ Also, at the southern column the eternal youths /sanatkumāra/ and Dakṣa dwell, and at the northern one the gross deities have settled for worship.
33/ According to these rules, all deities that are to be propitiated should be placed in their appropriate places.
34/ Their images should be placed according to their merits, and according to these merits, each one should be honored.
35/ To the gods one should offer a garland of white flowers, but to the gandharvas, the fire god, and the Sun, one of red.
36/ One should offer to the gods, in turn, incense, garlands, and frankincense, and then, according to the rules of worship, offer sacrificial food.
37/ Brahma should be offered a honey drink, Sarasvatī - boiled rice, and Śiva, Viṣṇu, Indra, and other gods are treated to sweet balls.
38/ Offer rice porridge with ghee to the Eater of sacrifices /fire/, present molasses as a gift to the gods of the Moon and the Sun, and to the all-gods, gandharvas, and divine sages—sweet rice with milk.
39/ Yama and Mitra are honored with cakes and sweet balls, while the pitṛs, piśācas, and uragas may be satisfied with ghee and milk.
40/ The multitude of bhūtas should be greeted with prepared meat seasoned with peas and crushed sesame, as well as wine.
41/ The same rules govern the ritual for mattavāraṇī. Hosts of rākṣasas are also honored with boiled meat.
42/ The dānavas should be served with offerings of wine and meat, while to the other hosts of deities the wise one will give cooked rice with sweets.
43/ Fish food should be given to the oceans and rivers, and for the worship of Varuṇa, rice with ghee should be offered.
44/ Various succulent fruits should be offered as gifts to the holy sages, and to the winds and winged ones—a motley porridge.
45/ Worshipping Kubéra with all his retinue, and each of the patronesses of Nāṭya, one should offer them cakes and a mixture of rice as food.
46/ Thus, a sacrifice of various foods must be performed, and this offering should be consecrated with the following prayer:
47/ “O god of gods, possessor of the great portion, father of all worlds, accept fully this my sacrifice, purified by prayer.
48/ O god of gods, possessor of the great portion, lord of the gaṇas, destroyer of Tripura /Śiva/. O Lord, may the offering, purified by prayer, brought by me, be accepted by you.
49/ O Nārāyaṇa /Viṣṇu/ all-pervading, he from whose navel grows the lotus, the highest of gods. May this sacrifice, purified by prayer, be accepted by you, O Lord.
50/ O lord of the immortals /Indra/, conqueror of enemy cities, O wielder of the Thunderbolt, O mighty one, may this offering, purified by prayer, be accepted by you, O Lord, according to the ritual.
51/ O Skanda, leader of the divine army, O fortunate one, beloved son of Śiva, may this offering be accepted by you, O Six-faced one, with a satisfied heart.
O great god Gaṇeśa, greatest yogin, highest of all gods, accept the offering, O Lord, protector from obstacles, which always arise.
52/ O goddess, she whose portion is great among the gods, O Sarasvatī, beloved of Hari, may the offering presented by me with humility be accepted by you, O mother.
53/ O descendants of Pulastya, born for various reasons, kings of the Rākṣasas, possessed of great truth, accept my offering.
54/ O Beauty, Fortune, Thought and Wisdom, O goddesses, worshipped in all worlds, accept this my offering, purified by mantra.
55/ O Maruta, who enlivens the world, who knows the virtues of all beings, may the offering presented by me, consecrated by prayer, be accepted by you, O Lord.
56/ O mouth of the gods, best of the celestials, Marked by smoke, devourer of the offering, may now be accepted by you, O Lord, the sacrifice offered with humility.
57/ O best of all planets, brightly shining Creator of the day, may now, O Lord, be accepted by you the offering presented by me with devotion.
58/ O Soma, lord of all planets, king of the twice-born, beloved of the world, may this offering, purified by prayer, presented by me, be accepted by you.
59/ O each of you who command the hosts of deities, you who go before the Lord of joy /Śiva/, may my offering, brought with humility, be accepted by you.
60/ Homage to all the pitṛs /ancestors/, — may they accept this offering. Homage to all the bhūtas, to whom this offering is always pleasing. O Lord of the senses /god of love/, praise to you! And to you this offering is eternal by law.
61/ O Nārada, O Tumburu, O Viśvāvasu, best of the gandharvas /bringing healing/, O you gandharvas, accept the sacrifice offered by me.
62/ O two lords, revered in the world — Yama and noble Mitra, accept this my offering, purified by prayer.
63/ Homage to the dwellers of the watery abyss, homage to the pannagas /serpent-like demons/. Venerable ones, destroyers of evil, may they direct good fortune Nāṭya.
64/ The lord of all waters, the revered god Varuṇa, seated on the Swan, must be fully satisfied together with the ocean-sea, the river, and the stream.
65/ O son of Vinatā /Garuḍa/, possessed of great truth, lord of birds omnipresent, may the offering brought by me, purified by prayer, be accepted by you, O Lord.
66/ The guardian of treasures, lord of the yakṣas, protector of the world, master of wealth /Kubera/, together with the guhyakas and yakṣas — must accept my offering.
67/ Salutation to the patronesses of Nāṭya, beginning with Brahmī. By them, charming and pure, may my offering be accepted today.
68/ May Rudra’s weapon fully accept my offering, and may Vishnu’s weapon also accept it, humbly presented by me.
69/ O Bearer of the end /fate/, o Measurer of the term /time/, — two lords of all destructive forces, o Death, o Destiny, establishing the order of things, — may my sacrifice be accepted.
70/ And these objects, conductors of divine forces, located in the mattavāraṇī, — may they accept my sacrifice, purified by prayer, favorably.
71/ And you, gandharvas, and gods connected with the ten directions, the sky, the airy space, and the earth — for you too is this sacrifice.
72/ Further, a pitcher filled with water and adorned with a flower garland should be placed in the center of the stage, and gold should also be laid there.
73/ Having covered all the musical instruments with cloths, one should perform the rite of sacrifice with incense, flowers, frankincense, food, and drink.
74/ Having thus honored all the divine forces, one should pay special respect to Jarjara, the destroyer of obstacles.
75/ Her upper part should be covered with white cloth, the Rudra portion with blue, the Vishnu portion with yellow, the Skanda portion with red,
76/ the lower part is covered with variegated cloth. Incense, garlands, and ointments should be offered according to each, with the wish for their well-being.
77/ Having done all this in exactly this way, with incense, garlands, and ointments, one should recite a prayer addressed to Jarjara for the eradication of obstacles:
78/ “O great power, O heart of lightning, O mighty in body, created by the gods under the guidance of Brahmā for the destruction of obstacles!
79/ May Brahmā protect your head with the entire host of gods, the second part — the Destroyer (Śiva), the third — the Arouser of men (Viṣṇu),
80/ the fourth part — the Youth /Skanda/, and the fifth — the best of the pannagas. May they always protect you and, for the benefit of the gods, be gracious.
81/ O destroyer of evil, born precisely under the constellation Abhijit /victorious/, bringing success and victory to the king!”
82/ Having honored Jarjara, and having completed all the sacrifice, one should make a libation to the fire, saying thus:
83/ “O Eater of offerings! Wash with radiant glow the figures of the king and the dancing women—may their splendor increase!”
84/ And torches, lit from the sacrificial fire, to the sound of musical instruments, should illuminate the king and the dancers. Then sprinkle them with water purified by prayer, saying thus:
85/ “Born of a noble lineage and adorned with many virtues — may these qualities endure forever!”
86/ Having spoken those words for the success of the leader, the wise one should utter a prayer in praise of Nāṭya:
87/ “May the gentle mothers who grant good fortune protect us – Eloquence, Perseverance, Wisdom, Modesty, Success, Beauty, Memory, Thought.”
88/ And, having performed, according to the rules, the sacrificial libation of oil, previously consecrated with a mantra, the teacher of Nāṭya should endeavor to break the vessel that held this oil.
89/ If that pot does not break, for the master there is danger from the enemy, but if it breaks, then the wise master will destroy the enemies.
90/ So, if the pot is broken, let the teacher of Nāṭya take a burning torch and illuminate the entire stage with it.
91/ having run around it with inarticulate cries, noisy claps, and stamping, he will place that blazing lamp in the center of the stage.
92/ Now the scene of the battle should be reproduced on stage. Let it unfold to the roar of conch shells, the beating of drums, and the howling that resounds from all sides.
93/ Here, through lighting, one must achieve the visibility of broken, cut, burst, bloodied, and wounded bodies and objects. This is a sign of high mastery.
94/ A correctly offered sacrifice to the stage, truly, should bring benefit to the master, to vigorous youths and weakening elders, as well as to all the people.
95/ But an inaccuracy in the performance of the sacrifice or an error in the placement of the divine forces disgraces Nāṭya and brings harm to the leader.
96/ One who does not adhere to the rules of performing the sacrifice attains only diminishment and quickly becomes a plant or an animal.
97/ The ceremony of honoring the gods on stage is absolutely equal to the sacrifice in the temple. Therefore, without honoring the gods of the stage, one should not even begin the performance.
98/ The gods, being respected, respect and honor in return, being honored. Therefore, with all due care must the ritual of worship of the stage be performed.
99/ Fire fanned by the wind does not burn as quickly as an improperly performed ritual of sacrifice on stage.
100/ The ritual of honoring the stage should be performed by a Nāṭya teacher, versed in the sciences, self-controlled, possessing the power of spiritual fire, having attained peace of mind, and initiated.
101/ If anyone with a restless spirit, without prayer, offers a sacrifice, avoiding the established rules, in that case, he is as if casting reason into the fire.
102/ Thus, this ritual of worshiping the deities of the stage, the rules of which are described above, must be performed by the organizers of Nāṭya in a new building, before the beginning of the performance.
Such is the third chapter in the Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata, called worship of the gods of the stage.
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Continuation – in the following publications https://t.me/natyashastra 🙏