Pūrvaraṅga (Prelude) in Bharatanāṭya

Deities placement in Pūrvaranga vidhi of Nāṭyaśāstra

Śuddha Pūrvaraṅga or Raṅga Pūjā Vidhānam or Raṅgadaivatapūjanaṁ, the third chapter of Sage Bharata's Nāṭyaśāstra, elaborates regarding the ritualistic worship of the (newly constructed) stage or performance area before starting off with the performance. Stage was considered as a sacred place; in order to ward off the evils, to protect the artists and to contribute to the success of the play, deities were placed in all directions with Brahma in the centre. Based on the śloka-s 22 – 33 which elaborate on the placement of various deities, Gandharvā-s, Ṛiṣi-s, Vāstu deities, etc installed on the stage, a pictorial representation of the same is given here.

Rituals in prelude

Pūrvaraṅga vidhi - meaning, ‘the preliminaries of a play’ of Nāṭyaśāstra narrates about the procedure of rituals to be followed before starting the play/performance on the stage. The rituals like Jarjara Pūjā, Nāndī (Benediction) etc attribute to the success of the play, overcoming the Vighna-s (obstacles). Sage Bharata also refers to Actors paying obeisance to Brahma; worshipping Brahma (Brahma maṇḍala - Brahma’s circle) using flowers in the following śloka:

“puṣpāñjalyapravargasca kāryo brāhmōtha maṇḍale

raṅgapīṭhasya madhye tu svayam brahmā pratiṣṭitaḥ”

This translates to, “Then the Director should offer flowers in Brahmā’s Circle (Brāhma-maṇḍala) which is another name for the centre of the stage where the deity is supposed to be present.”

In the later stage of this ritualistic procedure called as Citra Pūrvaraṅga meaning Mixed Prelimineries, Bharata says that the white flowers should be scattered all over the stage and the Aṅgahāra-s should be performed by the dancers.

“siddhā kusumamālābhirvikireyuḥ samaṅtataḥ

aṅgahāraiśca devyastā upanṛtyeyuragrtaḥ”

Dr Manmohan Ghosh translates this as, “[And in the mixed Preliminaries thus begun] clusters of white flowers should be scattered all over [the stage], and the Aṅgahāras should be performed by [dancers dressed as] goddesses.”

Patterns of Prelude in Bharatanatya

Having known about the significance of these pre-performance rituals, are these ritualistic worships practiced in Bharanāṭya? Are these procedures relevant in a Bharatanāṭya recital today!?

Puṣpāñjali

puṣpa+añjali meaning holding flowers in the hand; offering prayers and oneself to the Raṅgādhidevata-s. Though it has its roots in the Temple dance tradition, it is an invocatory nṛttabandha (Pure dance composition) in current times; indicates salutations to the stage (centered by Brahma) where the dancer offers flowers for removing the obstacles and prays for a successful dance recital.

Following the tradition of Nāṭyaśāstra, the post Bharata period text called Abhinayadarpaṇa authored by Nandikeśwara, also documents about starting the performance with a prayer, praising Lord Gaṇapati, the sky and praying to the earth. One should pray to the Goddess of Raṅga who brings out the Bhāvā-s and Rasā-s to the Pātra (actor/dancer). Abhinayadarpaṇa mentions the śloka for Puṣpāñjali in the following way,

“vighanāṁ nāśanaṁ kartuṁ bhūtanāṁ rakśṇāyaca |

Devanām tuṣṭaye cāpi prekśakāṇām vibhūtaye ||

Śreyase nāyakasyātra pātrasaṁrakśṇāya ca |

Āchāryaśikśāsiddharthaṁ puṣpāñjalimthārabhet ||”

This nṛttabandha acts as Nāndīstuti comprising of śloka-s on deities like Gaṇapati, Śiva, Sarasvatī etc. The Puṣpāñjali śloka of Abhinayadarpaṇa itself is also danced for along with sollukaṭṭu-s

Toḍayamaṇgaḷam

As the name suggests, this is an auspicious invocatory kīrtana in the praise of a deity, popular in Bhāgavata meḷa tradition. Earlier it was said to be equivalent to the Nāndi of Pūrvaraṅga; involved iṣtadevata stuti. Legendary Bharatanāṭya dancer Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam says that, the adhipati of each direction is praised in this composition. In a Bharatanāṭya recital, Toḍayamaṇgaḷam follows the Bhajana sampradāya and finds its place in the first part of the dance recital. ‘Jaya Jaya’ is a very common phrase observed in the composition.

Mallari

The term Mallari or Mallāri means procession of the deity. It was performed in temples to celebrate the victory of the God over the evil. Mallari was initially performed in Nādasvara tradition as a musical form before it found a place in the first half of a Bharatanāṭya recital. Consequently, the rhythmic pattern which suited the procession of the deity now has Mṛdaṅga syllables and are choreographed/danced for with trikāla jati.

Alaripu/Alārippu/Alarippu

Alar means flower/blossom. Unlike Puṣpāñjali, flowers are not offered on the stage. This is the first nṛttabandha in the Bharatanāṭya Mārga. Alaripu has a distinctive feature of employing Añjali hasta in different positions to convey Praṇām-s to various Gods, Guru-s and audience. With Añjali hasta held above the head indicates salutations to the Supreme power/deities, Añjali in front of the forehead represents salutations to the Gurus and Añjali in front of the chest conveys salutations to the audience. Movements of the head up-till the feet is prevalent here, the eye movements are said to be salutations to the Sun and the Moon. It can also be understood that Alaripu being the first composition in a dance recital prepares (blossoms) the body and mind for the rest of the nṛtya that follows. Alaripu, gives an auspicious beginning to the recital; this could be one of the main reasons for Alaripu to be the first in a Bharatanāṭya mārga.

Kauta

Even though Kauta is not a part of the Bharatanāṭya Mārgaṁ, it is very popularly seen as an invocatory composition in current times. Originating from the temple dance tradition, Kauta/Koutam/Kautvaṁ is a composition that describes/praises the deity and the respective attributes. Kauta takes the name of deity it is composed on. Namely, Nateśa, Gaṇeśa, Subrahmaṇya, Navasandhi Kauta and so on.

Navasandhi Kautvaṁ was traditionally performed in all the nine directions while circumambulating the Garbhagṛha (Sanctum sanctorum of the temple) while the procession of the God is carried out starting from the main entrance of the temple. Dancers offer salutations to each dikpālaka-s and dance in each of the directions. This Kautaṁ has a specific Hastābhinaya (Hand Gestural representations) and Nṛtta as prescribed in the Āgama-s (Rule book on ritualistic practices). Each Kautaṁ is composed in the specific Rāga and Tāḷ̣a that is favorable to each deity.

Cūrṇike

Smaller compositions that consists of praising the Lord and/or chanting the good deeds of the King are called Cūrṇike. These are in the form of a prayer as well and sung in a specific Rāga (usually Karnāṭic Raga called Ārabhi) without repeating the verses.

Cūrṇike was very much prevalent in the Pūrvaraṅga (preliminary of a performance) of Sadir dance. Reciting Cūrṇike introduced the details about the performance to the audience and set the right environment for the performance to begin. This was in the form of an auspicious beginning, also involved Abhinaya. Before the beginning of the performance, the dancer places her hand on the Mṛdaṅga and recited the Cūrṇike. In another traditional practice, the dancer would bring colorful sticks, place them in the center of the stage and pay obeisance.On returning back, Cūrnike would be sung in Ārabhi Rāga in one go with repeating the verses.

Such Cūrṇike-s included praises on Bharata Muni, description of Raṅgādhidevatā, description of the King/patron and so on. During the times of Mysore King’s rule, Cūrnike was initially recited/sung in Bharatanāṭya. Later on it was danced for after the Raṅgapūja (worshipping the stage).

From being a part of the Pūrvaraṅga, this composition finds a place in the second half of the Bharatanāṭya mārgaṁ in the form of a stuti (prayer). It was also a traditional practice to present Cūrṇike in extempore style while lunch is served to the Brahmins on Pūja or Madhyanna Bhojana ( in between the Lunch time) and such other special occasions during ceremony and rituals. This was a way to offer gratitude and satisfaction to the Paramātma within. Singing Cūrṇike is still in practice in Mogeri and other parts of South Canara. Rāga-s Mālkauns (Hindoḷa is the equivalent ra­̄ga in Karnatic Music system) and Bhimpalas (equivalent ra­̄ga in Carnatic Music system is Abheri) are employed while singing Cūrṇike; and other śloka-s (Chants).

Contemporary practices

Thus, one can observe that the invocatory nṛttabandha in a Bharatanāṭya recital follows the concept of paying respect to the deities, thereby wishing for a successful performance. Mallari, Toḍayamaṇgaḷam and Kautam are also invocatory compositions in a Bharatanāṭya recital today. Cūrṇike is mainly an Abhinaya composition based on a deity or a Nāyaka (Hero) and finds a place in the second half of the present day Mārgaṁ. Alaripu is a unique way of starting a dance recital by using the bodily movements (hand gestures) to denote salutations. Flowers are held in hand or suggested using gestures in Puṣpāñjali and hence can be considered as a shorter version of Pūrvaraṅga vidhiḥ.

References:

1.      Nagar, R.S. NāṭyaśāStra Of Bharatamuni. Parimal Publications Delhi, 2012.

2.      Ghosh, Manmohan. Nāṭyaśāstra. Chowkhamba Sanskrit Series Office Varanasi, 2012.

3.      Manorama, B.N. Nritya Marga Mukura. Sanidhya Prakashana Madikeri, 2011.

4.      Ghosh, Manmohan. Abhinayadarpana. Firma K.L.Mukhopadhyay,1957.

5.      Oral documentation from Dr Manorama B N - Śastraraṅga Internship offered by Noopura Bhramari.

6.      Dr. Manorama B.N. Bharata Nāṭyabōdhini. Noopura Bhramari and Kalagowri Publications Bengaluru, 2018.

7.      Oral documentation from Sri Gurumurty, Hindustani musician.

Authored by - Seema K S, Bengaluru; ; Published by NoopuraBhramari IKS Centre- titled as 'Relevance of Pūrvaraṅga in Bharatanāṭyam'[1]–, As a part of Śāstra ranga Internship programme.