CC Antya 1.134
Bengali
রায় কহে, — “কোন্ আমুখে পাত্র-সন্নিধান ?” রূপ কহে, — “কালসাম্যে ‘প্রবর্তক’ নাম” ॥ ১৩৪ ॥
Verse text
rāya kahe, — “kon āmukhe pātra-sannidhāna?”
rūpa kahe, — “kāla-sāmye ‘pravartaka’ nāma”
rūpa kahe, — “kāla-sāmye ‘pravartaka’ nāma”
Synonyms
Translation
Rāmānanda Rāya inquired, “How have you introduced the assembly of the players?”
Purport
Rūpa Gosvāmī replied, “The players assemble at a suitable time under the heading of pravartaka.
In a drama all the actors are called pātra, or players. This is stated by Viśvanātha Kavirāja in the Sāhitya-darpaṇa (6.283):
divya-martye sa tad-rūpo miśram anyataras tayoḥ
sūcayed vastu-bījaṁ vā- mukhaṁ pātram athāpi vā
sūcayed vastu-bījaṁ vā- mukhaṁ pātram athāpi vā
The meaning of āmukha is stated by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in the Nāṭaka-candrikā:
sūtra-dhāro naṭī brūte sva-kāryaṁ pratiyuktitaḥ
prastutākṣepi-citroktyā yat tad āmukham īritam
prastutākṣepi-citroktyā yat tad āmukham īritam
When Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya inquired about the arrangement for introducing the assembly of players in the drama, Rūpa Gosvāmī replied that when the players first enter the stage in response to the time, the introduction is technically called pravartaka. For an example, see verse 136 below. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that the introduction, which is technically called āmukha, may be of five different kinds, according to the Sāhitya-darpaṇa (6.288):
udghātyakaḥ kathodghātaḥ prayogātiśayas tathā
pravartakāvalagite pañca prastāvanā-bhidāḥ
pravartakāvalagite pañca prastāvanā-bhidāḥ
“Introductions may be classified as follows: (1) udghātyaka, (2) kathodghāta, (3) prayogātiśaya, (4) pravartaka and (5) avalagita.” These five kinds of introduction are called āmukha. Thus Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya asked which of the five introductions had been employed, and Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī replied that he had used the introduction called the pravartaka.