From Asta Nayika to Bhakti Reconfiguring the Heroine in Sankaradevas Ankiya Nat A Comparative Aesthetic Study of Classical Heroine Archetypes and Transcendental Devotional Consciousness in Early Assamese Drama

Dr. Manikangkana Barman , Antaripa Das

Index Terms—Aṣṭa-Nāyikā, Aṅkīyā Nāṭ, Śaṅkaradeva, Bhakti Aesthetics, Śṛṅgāra Rasa.

heroine (nāyikā) in Śrīmanta Śaṅkaradeva’s Aṅkīyā Nāṭ through the critical matrix of classical Indian aṣṭa-nāyikā-bheda, śṛṅgāra rasa, and Vaiṣṇavite Bhakti aesthetics. Challenging the reductive critical tendency in modern scholarship to impose classical Sanskrit dramaturgical categories—specifically Bharata Muni’s situational eightfold heroine states (aṣṭa-nāyikā)—as static, prescriptive templates onto medieval Assamese vernacular drama, this article demonstrates that Śaṅkaradeva appropriates classical dramaturgical conventions primarily to serve the theological objectives of Eka-Śaraṇa-Nāma-Dharma. Focusing on Rukmiṇī across Rukmiṇī-Haraṇa and Pārijāta-Haraṇa, the Brahmin wives in Patnī-Prasāda, Satyabhāmā in Pārijāta-Haraṇa, the Gopis in Keli-Gopāla, and Sītā in Rāma-Vijaya, the paper analyzes how romantic and erotic paradigms (śṛṅgāra) are systematically redirected toward spiritual surrender (bhakti). Rukmiṇī’s dramatic trajectory reveals an ontological development from active, longing pursuit (kāntā-bhāva) to detached devotional serenity (śānta/dāsya). Concurrently, the journeys of the Brahmin wives in Patnī-Prasāda and the Gopis in Keli-Gopāla reconfigure the classical abhisārikā into an embodied, metaphysical "Devotional Abhisāra," wherein the physical journey symbolizes the soul's transcendence over mortal embodiment. Furthermore, Sītā in Rāma-Vijaya is repositioned not as a secular mortal heroine, but as a supreme devotee (paramā bhaktā) whose longing spans lifetimes of ascetic discipline (tapasyā), culminating in absolute divine refuge (śaraṇāgati). Integrating close textual analysis of primary Brajavalī dramatic literature with performance analysis of costume iconography (āhārya), metric song registers (aṅkīyā gīta), and the continuous framing role of the Sūtradhāra, this study establishes that Śaṅkaradeva’s heroines possess active dramatic and devotional agency. The female persona in Aṅkīyā Nāṭ operates as a theatrical vehicle transmuting worldly emotion (laukika bhāva) into transcendental devotional consciousness (alaukika bhakti rasa).

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"From Asta Nayika to Bhakti Reconfiguring the Heroine in Sankaradevas Ankiya Nat A Comparative Aesthetic Study of Classical Heroine Archetypes and Transcendental Devotional Consciousness in Early Assamese Drama ", IJSDR - International Journal of Scientific Development and Research (www.IJSDR.org), ISSN:2455-2631, Vol.11, Issue 9, page no.a753-a760, September-2026, Available :https://ijsdr.org/papers/IJSDR2609080.pdf

Volume 11 Issue 9, September-2026

Pages : a753-a760

Paper Reg. ID: IJSDR_311789

Published Paper Id: IJSDR2609080

Downloads: 000107

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Country: Nasatra, Barpeta,, Assam, India

Published Paper PDF: https://ijsdr.org/papers/IJSDR2609080

Published Paper URL: https://ijsdr.org/viewpaperforall?paper=IJSDR2609080

ISSN: 2455-2631 | IMPACT FACTOR: 9.15 Calculated By Google Scholar | ESTD YEAR: 2016

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