TEXT 185
'udghatyaka' nama ei 'amukha'--'vithi' anga
tomara age kahi--iha dharstyera taranga
SYNONYMS
'udghatyaka' namaa dancing appearance of the player, technically known as udghatyaka; ei amukhathis is the introduction; vithi angathe part is called vithi; tomara agebefore you; kahiI say; ihathis; dharstyera tarangaa wave of impudence.
TRANSLATION
"This introduction is technically called udghatyaka, and the whole scene is called vithi. You are so expert in dramatic expression that each of my statements before you is like a wave from an ocean of impudence.
PURPORT
In this connection Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura again quotes the following verse from the Sahitya-darpana (6.288):
udghatyakah kathodghatah
prayogatisayas tatha
pravartakavalagite
panca prastavana-bhidah
Thus the technical names for the five kinds of introductory scenes of the drama are listed as udghatyaka, kathodghata, prayogatisaya, pravartaka and avalagita. When Srila Ramananda Raya inquired which of these five Srila Rupa Gosvami had used to accomplish the technical introduction to his drama Lalita-madhava, Rupa Gosvami replied that he had used the introduction technically called udghatyaka. According to Bharati-vrtti, three technical terms used are prarocana, vithi and prahasana. Thus Rupa Gosvami also mentioned vithi, which is a technical term for a certain type of expression. According to the Sahitya-darpana (6.520):
vithyam eko bhaved ankah
kascid eko 'tra kalpyate
akasa-bhasitair uktais
citram pratyuktim asritah
The vithi beginning of a drama consists of only one scene. In that scene, one of the heroes enters the stage, and by means of opposing statements uttered by a voice from the sky (offstage), he introduces the abundant conjugal mellow and other mellows to some degree. In the course of the introduction, all the seeds of the play are planted. This introduction is called udghatyaka because the player dances on the stage. This term also indicates that the full moon enters the stage. In this case, when the word natata ("dancing on the stage") is linked with the moon, its meaning is obscure, but because the meaning becomes very clear when the word natata is linked with Krsna, this type of introduction is called udghatyaka.
Srila Ramananda Raya used highly technical terms when he discussed this with Srila Rupa Gosvami. Rupa Gosvami admitted that Srila Ramananda Raya was a greatly learned scholar of bona fide dramatic composition. Thus although Srila Rupa Gosvami was quite fit to answer Srila Ramananda Raya's questions, due to his Vaisnava humility he admitted that his words were impudent. Actually both Rupa Gosvami and Ramananda Raya were scholarly experts in composing poetry and presenting it strictly according to the Sahitya-darpana and other Vedic literatures.

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