Social Attitude towards Performing Artists in Ancient India

Abstract

Performing art had been an integral part of ancient Indian society since time immemorial. The Dharmashastras, the codified laws governing the ancient Indian society, given by the famous lawmakers of ancient India like Manu, Yajnavalkya, Apostamba, Gautama, Narada, Brhaspati and others, upheld the low morals of the performing artists in general and actors in particular. They were barred from being witnesses in the law court or being invited to a shraddha ceremony. Householders were forbidden to accept food from them. The rule of adultery was also against them. The heterodox sects which had come up as a protest against Brahmi nical orthodoxy was also against performing art. The art of using makeup, dressing up and engaging in leisurely pursuits like singing, dancing and playing musical instruments were considered immoral by the puritan sect. Buddha himself a puritan was totally against all kinds of exuberance and excitement. The performing artists especially the actresses were considered to be debased and immoral. The rise of the universal monarchy of Magadh under the centralized bureaucracy of the Mauryas had ushered in the rule of the paternal despot. Ashoka under the guidance of his philosophy of Dhammavijaya had sought to control the lives of his subjects, which would be morally suitable. The secular festivals or Samajas were seen as economic waste and immoral by the pious and puritan despot. He even went to the extent of banning these festivities. Ashoka had however encouraged state sponsored shows to propagate his ideas of Dhammavijaya and centralisation. The secular literature of Kautilya and Vastsyayana had presented a mixed picture of the acting professionals in ancient India. The performers were accepted as taxpayers and were recruited by the agents of the king as spies in the elaborate espionage system of the Mauryan state. The Arthashastra also advocated that the theatre personnel could provide distractions to bring out the enemy during the siege of a fort. However Kautilya clubbed all kinds of performing artists with the prostitute and even set them to be governed by a department headed by the ganikadhakshya. The Kamasutra of Vatsyayana also projected this picture of ambivalence. The Mahabharata equated the performing artists with beggars, eunuch and madmen. Their importance was grudgingly accepted, but the performing artists were treated with contempt and disdain by the ancient Indian society.