A Brief View on the Plot of Sanskrit Drama : Theories in the Nāṭyaśāstra with the application on the Nāgānanda

This paper examines the concept of itivṛtta in the ancient Indian treatise on dramaturgy, the Nāṭyaśāstra (NŚ), focusing on its meaning, components, and application in actual dramatic works. Itivṛtta, a theory that addresses the narrative of a play through the modes of action and psychological changes of characters, encompasses not only the constituent elements of the plot used by playwrights to effectively convey the theme of the play, but also the organic relationships that connect these elements. Related theories to itivṛtta include avasthā, which demonstrates the developmental stages of a main character's psychological changes and actions, artha-prakṛti, which refers to the structural development elements of the plot, and sandhi, which deals with the connection of each stage or narrative. As a preliminary study on the plot theory of Sanskrit drama, this paper primarily focuses on avasthā and artha-prakṛti, which serve as the central axes of the overall narrative progression. In Chapter II, the concepts of the constituent elements of the theory are explored. Subsequently, in Chapter III, an analysis is conducted using the 7th-century Sanskrit drama Nāgānanda (Nāg) to understand how these theoretical elements are applied in actual dramatic works. This analysis reveals that the development of the narrative is intertwined with the characteristics of the drama. For instance, in Nāg, the male protagonist's core actions towards the fruition of the play are unfolded in Acts 1, 4, and 5, whereas Acts 2 and 3 feature completed episodes and auxiliary events among the constituent elements for the play's development, displaying a relatively disconnected aspect from the other acts, thereby highlighting the complex characteristics of Nāg.