Essay name: Arts in the Puranas (study)
Author:
Meena Devadatta Jeste
Affiliation: Savitribai Phule Pune University / Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute Pune
This essay studies the Arts in the Puranas by reconstructing the theory of six major fine arts鈥擬usic, Dance, Architecture, Sculpture, Painting, and Literature鈥攆rom the Major and Minor Puranas. This thesis shows how ancient sages studied these arts within the context of cultural traditions of ancient India.
Chapter 6 - Literature in the Puranas
8 (of 59)
External source: Shodhganga (Repository of Indian theses)
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TEXTS ON POETICS AND DRAMATURGY
Bharata's Natyasastra (500 A.D.) is the earliest
available work on poetics and dramaturgy.
13 Bharata compiled
his work with a view to instructing the dramatist, the stage
manager, and the actors with regard to the ways and means of
producing the drama, giving them the necessary constituents
of the drama and the manner and material of their presentation.
Bharata himself refers to the dramaturgic tradition set by
Brahma in the very first verse. This tradition is clear from
Abhinava Bharati where the word 'Matatraya' (three views) is
14 used.
About
Natya sastra contains the full exposition of the unique
Rasa theory, of dramaturgy, and of four figures of speech and
the gunas and the dosas of the Kavya. About 600 A.D. the
numerous figures had been defined and rules had been laid down
for the guidance of poets by the various rhetoricians.
this time works dealing with poetics were composed such as
those of Bhamaha (Kavyalankara) and Dandin (Kavyadarsa).
Bhamaha, Dandin and their successors like Vamana, Kuntaka,
Udbhata, Rudrata and others have discussed the various elements
constituting Sahitya, its function or purpose, expression of
poetic genius, characteristics of Kavya and drama, literary
style (R墨ti), literary embellishments (Alankara), sentiments
(Rasa) and other things.
