Drama: Born from Vedas, dressed for stage

The story behind the birth of dramatic literature is that, after the creation of the Universe, there was a need for the creation of the fifth Vedas, which would bring pleasure/soothing to both eyes and ears. The four Vedas were designated for Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaisyas. But for Shudras, there was no Veda, and the Shudras had no right to enter into the Vedas. For that reason, the fifth Veda was needed to give rights to the Shudras.

Hymns were borrowed from Rg Veda, music from the Sama Veda, acting from Yajurveda and feeling and appreciation from the Atharva Veda. The fifth Veda was created, and consequently a dramatic stage was enacted on the supervision of Bharat and his 100 disciples, and thereafter the first ever drama was performed wherein the subject matter was the dominance of Debatas.

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It was desired that the fifth Veda of heaven should be popularised on earth. Bharat’s sons were sent to earth, and a special class was created about drama for them; for publicity and imparting education through natyavedas and this is called Bharat’s “Natya Shastra”.

In the Rg Veda, there are several Suktas, i.e. Sambad Sukta or dialogue hymns. These Suktas are more than 20, and we find reference in Jama-Jami (RK Samhita 10.10), Pururba Urvashi (RK.Sa: 10.95), Pani-Sarasa (RK.10.108), etc. In Keith’s Sanskrit drama, this information and ‘Shlokas’ are the first forms of the dramatic literature. But those were not actually evident in the ritual literature. The famous German Scholar Hertel had said that thereafter a complete dramatic element was found in the Vedic bed ‘Suparnadhaya’.

In the Yajurveda, even if there are references of the intelligentia, there was no reference of dramatic actors. But a similar word is found in ‘Bajasaneyee’ Samhita’ and Taittiriya Brahman.

Those who participated in dramas were characterised as ‘Kushilob’, which has its origin in the teaching of Vishwamitra to Ram’s two sons, namely Kush and Lob.

The western scholar Weber said that India, after coming into contact with Greece, developed this dramatic literature, and during the tenure of the Greek Kings in India, they used to perform drama in stages. It is also believed that Alexander was in favour of dramatic performance, and during his war victories, he used to get enjoyment from dramatic performances.

The western scholar Weber emphasised that the words “Yabani’ and ‘Yabanika’ used in dramas were derived from the Greek influence. But the characters like Vita Vidushaka, Sutradhar, who appear in Sanskrit dramas get resemblance in Greek dramas, and as such, the influence of Greek dramas in Sanskrit dramas is not accepted.

The drama which has developed in India has the originality of fundamentals in reflecting Indian society of real life, and in Sanskrit dramas, there were no tragedies, which were largely found in Greek dramas. The Greek dramas had established the fact that it was the inscrutable fate which was the destiny of human beings, and fate ultimately had ruled human life.

The Greek tragedies used to introduce a chorus group of Singers to harmonise a tense situation in dramatic scenes, who used to give comic relief.

In English literature, the dramas of Shakespeare took an absolutely new turn, where Shakespeare introduced the idea that tragedy happens because of the protagonist. Shakespeare introduced choric characters instead of the chorus of Greek dramas to have otherwise the same comic relief in tense dramatic situations leading towards tragedy. The tragedy was classified as that kind of drama which had started happily but ended unhappily.

The tragic character got a new stage in the subsequent development of drama and came to be used to depict the fall of an ordinary person representing a tragic character. John Galswarthy’s Justice is an example of a tragedy of a bank employee called Falder. This was also for development and change of status in society.

There are also instances in Sanskrit dramas and English dramas of performing one-act plays with single moving action, devoid of the five-act plays’ exposition, rising action and catastrophe/climax, etc.

The one-act play of Synge named “Riders of the Sea” is a tragedy relating to the fishermen going to sea and dying for generations, and the mother hopelessly trying to save the only surviving son from going to sea. But ultimately, when the last son also dies, the mother prays to god for peace and harmony for the doomed humanity.

The American dramatist Arthur Millar, in his 20th Century drama, “The Death of a Salesman” projected the death of an ordinary person as a tragic event. By that time, social conditions of individuals from the ‘King’ to ordinary men were evident in society.

George Bernard Shaw, the famous 20th-century dramatist, defined drama in four words- ‘No conflict, no drama’. What Shaw wanted to mean was that unless there is conflict, there is no development of story, interaction, and representation of society. Drama is the most realistic device other than novel and poetry, which were/are made for home reading, and drama was meant for stage acting, reflecting the echo of real-life society. The attempt was made by dramatists and/or in dramatic performance to make drama more lively and lifelike by introducing a device which is called ‘drama within the drama,’ thereby making the original drama more realistic. The dramatists used to create individual characters, all different from each other, representing individual traits evident in society, using devices such as ‘Soliloquy’.

Bengali dramas, which were mostly staged in theatres/theater used to give a message to the audience that the theatre, which is being performed, is nothing but a reflection of social lives and the audience used to identify themselves with the characters; enjoy comic relief and detachment from the boredom of life. Apart from that, the theatres where dramas were being performed of late, Shambhu Mitra, Ajitesh Bandyopadhyay, Utpal Dutta and others, used to reflect different social ideas and culture satire of different nature/kinds.

It is not disputed that the origin of drama was Bharat’s Natyashastra, which developed in different forms down the line and down the ages for society. It can be gathered that life itself is a drama made of ups and downs. Tragedy, tragic comedy, and comedy, which are being enacted and performed in dramatic stages, are essentially the mirror of society, and a dramatist is only successful if his drama is performed on stage, depicting real life through individual characters.

(The writer is the Additional Solicitor General of India, Ex Alumni, English Department, University of Calcutta)