Bharata Muni
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1/ Now I will tell about the types of songs that were called dhruvās by brahmins such as Nārada and others.
2/ Ṛk, panic and gāthā, as well as the seven traditional types of songs, having seven different meters, are called dhruvās.
3/ Dhruva is so called because in it words, varṇas, alaṃkāra, tempo, jāti, and pāṇi are constantly connected with one another.
4-6/ The five classes of dhruvā always have the following parts (aṅgas): mukha, pratimukha, vāihāyasaka, sthita, pravṛtta, vajra, sandhi, saṃhāraṇa, prastāra, upavarta, māśaghāta, caturasra, upapāta, praveṇī, śīrṣaka, sampiṣṭaka, antahāraṇa and mahājānika.
7/ Songs consisting of one, two, three, and four vastu are respectively called dhruva, parigītika, madraka, and catuṣpada.
8/ Dhruvā is so named because in it words, varṇas, alaṅkāra, tempo, jāti, and pāṇi are constantly connected with one another.
Five classes of dhruvā
9-13/ The five classes are: praveśikī (entrance songs), additā, avakṛṣṭā, sthitā, and khañja-nāṭkūṭā.
14/ Furthermore, there is a classification of antara for transitional contexts.
15/ The tāla in a dhruvā, being tryaśra or caturaśra, must consist of six or eight kalās respectively.
16-23/ Caturasra or tryasra is prescribed depending on the character — superior or inferior.
24-27/ Three classes and five types of dhruvā used in dramatic performance are defined.
Pada and its constituent parts
28/ The vāstu of the gandharva, consisting of notes, tāla, and words, will be called pada when it reflects notes and tāla.
29-35/ The distinctions are established between correctly and incorrectly composed padas.
Fundamentals of metrics
36/ It is said: “Meters with an odd number of syllables should be used in the mukha.”
37/ Regarding the types of characters, the following is distinguished: “The class of parts called vṛtta will be applied to higher characters, vivadha — to middle ones, and ekaka — to lower ones.”
Catalogue of metres
38-40/ Trisyllabic feet: hri, atyukta, tati, dhriti, rajani.
41-45/ Four-syllable feet: pratiṣṭhā, supratiṣṭhā, bhrāmarī, jaya, vijaya.
46-50/ Five-syllable feet: vidyud-bhrānta, bhūtala-tanvī, kamala-mukhī, guru, śikhā, ghana-paṅkti.
51-60/ Six-syllable feet: tanu-madhya, mālini, makaraka-śīrṣa, vimala, vīthi, gira, jala, ramyā, kāntā, paṅkti, nālinī, nīlatoyā.
61-80/ Seven-syllable feet: drutagati-capala, vimala, kāmini, bhramaramālā, bhogavatī, madhukarikā, subhadrā, kusumavatī, muditā, prakāśitā, dīptā, vilambitā, cañcalagati.
81-100/ Eight-syllable meters (the anuṣṭubh class): vimalajāla, mahī, nadī and others, representing the “praveśikī-dhruvās,” used in entrance scenes.
101-120/ Extended meters (from nine to thirteen syllables): rucirantā (nine syllables), pramitā (ten), gataviśokā (eleven), viślokā-jāti and lalitā (twelve).
121-150/ The catalogue continues through successively lengthening metrical units, reaching meters with nineteen syllables, including kanaka-latā and mukha-capalā, intended for “comparison of gods and kings.”
Five defining aspects
151-154/ “These five causes are: genus (jāti), occasion (sthāna), variety (prakāra), measure (pramāṇa), and name (nāma).”
155/ The number of syllables constitutes the meter; an odd or even number of syllables establishes the variety; tāla measures of six or eight kalās determine the measure; cases give names through contextual application.
Five occasions for performance
156/ Praveśikī: “Themes of various rasas, sung at the entrance of characters [onto the stage].”
157/ Naiśramikī: exit songs, where “the characters… indicate their departure.”
158/ Antara: songs sung when “connoisseurs, disregarding the rules, sing a dhruva of medium or slow tempo in a fast tempo.”
159/ Prasādikā: “A song which, after [sudden] distraction, calms the spectators… who are enjoying a different rasa.”
160/ Antara (transitional): used when “the characters are gloomy, distracted, angry, sleeping, intoxicated.”
Application to context
161-163/ Where characters experience “captivity, obstruction, falling, attack of illness or… are dead or in a faint,” one should use “apakṛṣṭa-dhruvā in the rasa karuṇa (sorrowful).”
164/ Contexts involving “grief at the sight of… the slain or wounded” require “a slow tempo and… the karuṇa rasa.”
165/ “Calamity, intolerance, beholding something supernatural” require a “quick tempo.”
166/ “No dhruvā should be sung when there is an exit of weeping or singing persons, when there is haste in their coming, or when they announce something.”
Six categories of dhruvā
167/ Śīrṣaka: located “at the head.”
168/ Uddhata: sung in an “elevated manner.”
169/ Anubandha: begins “like a performance.”
170/ Vilambita: moves “always slowly or not very quickly.”
171/ Addita: arises “in connection with the rasa śṛṅgāra (erotic).”
172/ Apakṛṣṭa: sung “in other states,” beyond the original context.
Application by character types
173-175/ Higher characters (gods and kings) receive the varieties śirṣaka and addita; middle characters merit the classes druta-vilambita; lower characters use the varieties naṭkūṭa and khañjaka, which “belong to the rasas hāsya (comic) and śṛṅgāra (erotic).”
176/ “Adita in slow tempo should not be sung for lower characters.”
Thematic comparisons
177-179/ “Dhruvas for men and women… should pertain to [subjects] comparable to them in quality.”
180/ For gods and kings, appropriate objects of comparison include “the moon, fire, the sun, and the wind.”
181/ For supernatural beings (daityas and rākṣasas), comparisons use “clouds, mountains, and seas.”
182/ For the celestial categories: “Siddhas, gandharvas and yakṣas” are connected with “planets, stars and bulls,” while ascetics correspond to “sun, fire and wind.”
183/ Comparisons with animals vary according to the status of the character: “An elephant in musth and a swan are compared to the highest characters.”
184/ As for the female representation: “Night, earth, moonlight, a lotus lake, a female elephant, and a river possess sufficient qualities for comparison with the wives of kings.”
Temporal and contextual rules
185/ “Praveśikī-dhruvā should be sung to denote events occurring in the first half of the day.”
186/ “Excited (dīpta) dhruvas should be sung to denote midday.”
187/ The sorrowful varieties are suitable for the “afternoon and evening time.”
188/ Movement determines the metrical choice: “In the case of chariots, arrows, horses, elephants, celestial chariots, swings, and birds as means of conveyance, the expert should compose the dhruvā with words and syllables that can be pronounced quickly.”
189/ On the contrary, “bulls, elephants, lions and bears” require “heavy syllables that can be pronounced with force.”
Language prescriptions
190/ “The language used with dhruvā should be Śaurasenī.” The exception is the “naṭkūṭa [class],” where “Māgadhī” becomes appropriate.
191/ “Songs in Sanskrit are prescribed… for celestial beings; but for humans, half-Sanskrit [songs] should be used.”
Metric prescriptions for celestial contexts
192-194/ Suitable meters include “mālā, vaktra, putavṛtta, viśloka, cūlikā, udgāta and aparavaktra.”
195/ Musical systems suitable for divine characters use “jāti, including gāndhāra, ṣaḍja, madhyama, pañcama, and dhaivata.”
The mechanics of performance
196-198/ After placing the instruments and the preliminary chant, the performers should “apply āśrāvaṇā, included in bahirgīta,” pass through the “pūrvaraṅga” (preliminary ceremonies), and use the formalities of “raṅgadvāra.”
199/ “When making steps across the stage during singing or for [any other] purpose, one should perform six parivarttas.”
Rules of graha (musical beginning)
200-203/ “The song should begin its parivarta without any [sound of] instrument, and in the fourth parivarta there should be a graha of the instrument.”
204/ Certain types of characters receive established modes of graha: “In the śirṣaka of the uddhatta-class dhruvā, the graha must be through pradēśinī, and in the vilambita-āddita-dhruvā, it must be through sannipāta.”
Qualities of singers
205-206/ Male singers must possess a “young age, a loving nature, and a throat full of sweet voice,” with a thorough knowledge of “tempo, tāla, the division of kālas, their measure, and their application.”
207/ Female singers are required to have “a good physique, brilliance, courage, and sweetness, as well as a voice that is soft, sweet, and has a charming resonance… harmonious and auspicious,” with the ability to “properly observe a pause” and to display mastery in “songs together with their tāla and tempo.”
Requirements for instrumentalists
208-210/ Performers on the vīṇā must be “properly skilled in the use of pāṇi, tempo, and yati, correctly distributed [across the various parts of the song],” and possess “nimble hands in producing sweet sounds.”
211/ Flute performers must be “strong and attentive,” with knowledge of songs and their tempos, capable of producing notes that are “full-bodied, as well as sweet and pleasant,” with “strong breath.”
Gender differences in performance
212-214/ “As a rule, songs naturally suit women, and recitatives likewise suit men. For women’s voices are naturally sweet, while men’s voices [are naturally] strong.”
215/ Exceptions are acknowledged as “incidental qualities,” not natural properties. Female performers taking male roles must do so “with great care,” since “women are by nature capable only of graceful movements,” whereas male performers achieve “sauṣṭhava through persistent exercises and practice.”
Requirements for the teacher and the student
216/ Teachers need “memory, intellect (medha), judgment (mati), positive and negative reasoning (uhāpoha), and the ability to instruct students.”
217/ Students need “intelligence, memory, readiness to serve (ślāghā), devotion [to the cause], a spirit of competition (saṃgharṣa), and enthusiasm.”
Voice qualities
218-220/ Six qualities of the voice: volume (“audible from afar”), density (sweet without diffusion), smoothness (loud without harshness), sweetness (avoidance of discord in the higher registers), thoroughness (avoidance of excess or deficiency), and “distinct connection with the vocal registers” (achieving sweetness through the “three places” — head, throat, chest).
Flaws of the voice
221-224/ Five vocal defects: — Kapila: an unnatural voice with a gurgling or phlegmatic quality. — Unsteady: irregular volume or a thin quality. — Sandaṣṭa (“bitten”): arising from excessive use of the teeth. — Kākī (“crow-like”): a harsh quality that fails to achieve proper contact with the vocal registers. — Tumbakī (“nasal”): a voice associated with nasal resonance.
Final synthesis
225/ “Dhruvas, depending on context and created to express the rasas appropriate to the situation, adorn the drama just as stars illuminate the sky.”
226/ The concluding verses affirm the attribution of authority: “This is gandharva, which I have now described. It was once described by Nārada. The man (lit. son of Manu) who will prompt its performance will receive the highest honor in this world.”
Here ends chapter thirty-two of the Nāṭyaśāstra of Bharata, treating of the dhruvā songs.