Nayaka-Nayika

Naayaka-Naayikaa in Indian Dancing !

Naayikaa Bhedaa

Naayikaa, in common terms, the heroine, is the main character potrayed by the indian dancer. Naayikaa actually means a woman in love. Naayikaa , as represented in traditional pieces , is mostly the devotee who has been seperated from her Lord, the Naayaka (A Diety or The God), and yearns to be united with him. The devotee is the eternal Naayika while the deity is the the eternal Naayaka. The dancer expresses every mood of a woman who yearns for her lover. Depending upon the kind of state and mood she is with respect to the Naayaka, there are various classifications of Naayikaas or the Naayikaa Bhedaas.
Depending on the 'avasthaas' that is the states, of the naayikaa, there are eight classifications called as the AshtaNaayikaas.

Vaasakasajjaa: Uchite vaasakeyaatu rati sambhog laalsaa Mandanam kurute hrushtaahaa saavai vaasakasajjaa

Virahotkanthitaa: Anekakaarya vyasangaat yasyaa yasyeta na aagachchatti Priyakaraha yasyaa na aagamana tasyaa dukhaartaa virahotkanthitaa

Svaadhinabhartrukaa: Surtaa atirasaihi baddho yasyaahaa paarshvagataha priya Saamode guna sanyuktaa bhaveta svaadhinabhartruka

Kalahantaritaa

Irshyaa nishkraanto yasyaa na aagachchati Amarshavarsha santaptaha kalahantaritaa bhaveta

Kalahantaritaa Naayikaa is the one who has fought with her lover for a triffle reason and so her lover has gone away. She has abused her lover in front of her sakhis and now is full of remorse and lamenting her actions. She sighs deeply, restless, sorrowful and displeased. She is also known as Abhisaadhitaa and Kopitaa.

Khanditaa: Vyasangaat uchite yasyaa vaasake na aagachchata priya Iditadana aagamanaardu khandite abhidhiyate

Khanditaa Naayikaa is the one who is enraged with her lover for being unfaithful to her. She is offended, hurt, angry and disappointed with her lover who has gone to another woman. She is sorrowful, restless, in turmoil, breathes deeply, retorts to her lover, is indifferent to his sweet words and does not allow him to come near her.

Vipralabhdhaa: Tasmaat bhuta priya praapya gatvaa sanketameva Na aagataha kaaranen vipralabhdhaatu saamata

Vipralabhdhaa Naayikaa is the one who had been waiting for her lord but now is disappointed. Here the Naayaka has broken his promise by not turning up at the tryst. She feels deceived and so is grieved, distressed, anxious, depressed, tearful and heartbroken.

Proshitabhartrukaa: Gurukaaryaat vashaata yasyaas viproshita Priyasaa rudhaalakaha keshaataha bhaveta proshitabhartrukaa

Proshitabhartruka Naayikaa is the one who is suffering the pangs of seperation as her beloved is away on a long journey. She is sleepless, emaciated, neglectful of her appearance-e.g has let her hair uncombed, prostrate, inactive and counts the days of his return. She is also known as Proshitapriyaa.

Abhisaarikaa: Hitvaa lajjaa samaa ishtaa maden madnenvaa Abhisaariryate kaantaa saabhaveta abhisaarikaa

Abhisaarikaa Naayikaa is the one who boldly goes out to meet her lover, leaving modesty behind, uncaring of the world and intoxicated with the feeling of love. She is very happy and crosses all the obstacles in her way. This naayikaa is also described as-

Divaabhisaarikaa- She goes out in the day light, wears any clothes and pretends to go to draw water or attend some festival.
Jyotsnaabhisaarikaa- She goes out in the moon light, wears white clothes scented with camphor.
Tamobhisaarikaa- She goes in the darkness of the night, wears black, blue and red clothes, holding a blue lotus scented with kasturi

Abhisaarikaa

Vaasakasajjaa	one who dresses up for the union with her Lord
Virahotkanthitaa	one who is distressed by the seperation from her lover
Svaadhinabhartrukaa	one who is happy, proud and contented as her lover is devoted to her
Kalahantaritaa	one who has fought with her lover for a triffle reason and her lover has gone away
Khanditaa	one who is enraged with her lover for being unfaithful to her
Vipralabhdhaa	one who had been waiting for her lord but now is disappointed
Proshitabhartrukaa	one who is suffering the pangs of seperation as her beloved is away on a long journey
Abhisaarikaa	one who boldly goes out to meet her lover

Depending upon the 'Gunas' or the qualities, the Naayikaas are classified into following categories :
Uttama (Superior)- She is always balanced, self controlled and good irrespective of her lover's behaviour.
Madhyama (Mediocre)- She retaliates in the same way her lover behaves with her.
Adhama (Inferior)- She lacks self control and reacts against her lover in anger, jealousy and indignation.

Depending upon the 'maturity' or the age, the Naayikaas are further classified as :
Mughdhaa (Innocent)- She is young, inexperienced and shy in love and unable to give expressions to her thoughts and feelings. She could also be futher divided into :
Gnata-yavana who is a young heroine with awareness (18-19years old).
Agnata-yavana who is very young and unaware (13-14 years old).
A mughdhaa naayika cannot experience all of the emotional states described above except that of a Vasaksajjaa Naayika.
Madhyaa (Adolescent)- She is partly experienced in love and possesses desire and shyness in equal measures.
Pragalbhaa (Mature)- She is a woman who is mature in the art of love .She is in full beauty and able to express her sentiments fully.

Depending upon the 'temperaments' of the Madhyaa and Pragalbhaa Naayikaa, there are the following categories :
Dheera (Self controlled)- Madhyaa greets her deceitful lover with sarcasm and indirect comments where as Pragalbhaa is indifferent to the love shown to her but yet respectful towards her lover.
Dheeradheera (Partly controlled)- Madhyaa rebukes her lover tearfully where as Pragalbhaa alternates between constancy and prudence. When indignant, she talks with sarcasm.
Adheera (Lacking self control)- Madhyaa yells/scolds her lover harshly where as Pragalbhaa expresses her feelings with anger, hurting and putting him to shame.

Depending upon the type or the' kind', the Naayikaa are classified as :
Sviyaa or Swakiyaa- She is woman who is wedded and faithful to her Lord alone. Proshitabhartrukaa and Svaadhinabhartrukaa Naayika can be only Sviyaa and not Parkiyaa or Saamanyaa.
Prakiyaa or Anyaa- She is married but is in love with another man.
Saamanyaa or Saadharna- She belongs to any man for a price but is well versed in arts and courteous.

Depending upon the'relationship' with the Hero, they are divided into :
Jyesthaa- the older one.
Kanishthaa- the younger one

Naayaka Bhedaa

The Naayakaa or the hero with whom the heroine is in love is equally important and is classified depending upon the type, nature, moods and emotions.
Depending upon the 'kind' or the type, the Nayaka is classified as :
Pati (Husband)- He is the one who is married according to the Vedic rites and is faithful to his wife.
Upapati (Paramour)- He is the one who is married but is in love and attracts the attention of another woman.
Vaishikaa- He is the one pays and enjoys women.

Depending upon their 'characteristics in Love' or the Shringaara Sentiments, a Naayaka can be :
Anukula or Atula- He is the one who is faithful. He pleases and is pleased only by his wife.
Dakshina- He is the one who is impartial. He has several wives but treats them all impartially by speaking with tenderness to all.
Shatha- He is the one who is cunning. His love is known to all.
Dhrushtaaa- He is the one who is shameless. He is unfaithful to his beloved and secretly does her harm.

Depending upon the 'qualities', the Naayaka is classified as :
Dheeralalita- He is brave, happy and carefree. He is an art lover, well mannered, having a sense of beauty and strong. For e.g, Lord Krishna
Dheerodaatta- He is noble and brave. He does not possess false pride and is forgiving in nature. For e.g, Lord Rama
Dheeroddattaa or Uddatta- He is passionate, able and ambitious. He is also fickle minded and is proud of his prosperity. For e.g, Duryadhona and Ravana.
Dheerashanta- He is kind, virtuos, brave and of good character. For e.g, Buddha

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