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{{Infobox performing art|name=Prahallada Nataka|image=Hiranyakasipu in Prahallada Nataka.jpg|caption=''Raja'' or Hiranyakasyapa of Prahallada Nataka. (A. Rajendra Patro as Hiranyakasyapa)|medium=[[Odissi music]] dance-drama|types=''ekaka'' (singular), ''badi'' (two-troupe competition)|ancestor=|descendant=|culture=[[Odia culture]]|era=19th century}}{{Italic title}}

'''''Prahallada Nataka''''' ({{lang-or|[[:or:ପ୍ରହଲ୍ଲାଦ ନାଟକ|'''ପ୍ରହଲ୍ଲାଦ ନାଟକ''']]}} ''Prahallāda Nāṭaka''), or simply ''Raja Nata'', is a traditional play native to the Indian state of [[Odisha]]. The musical-drama tells the story of [[Vishnu]]'s man-lion [[avatar]], [[Narasimha|Nrusingha]] or [[Narasimha]], and is based on a text by Raja Ramakrusna Chhotaraya, King of Jalantara, a small kingdom in former southern Odisha, now in the [[Srikakulam district|Srikakulam]] district of [[Andhra Pradesh]].<ref name="Kulke 2013">{{cite encyclopedia|year=2013|title=Crisis and Contestation in the Prahlada Nataka of Ganjam|encyclopedia=Imaging Orissa|publisher=Prafulla Publication|editor-last=Kulke|editor-first=Hermann|author=[[John Emigh]]}}</ref>

== History ==
[[File:Prahlada Nataka at Crafts Museum.jpg|thumb|276x276px|Hiranyakasyapa (standing on the ''mancha'') orders his ''duari'']]
The district of [[Ganjam district|Ganjam]] had eighteen feudal chiefs, or [[Zamindar of Natore|''zamindars'']], who called themselves Rajas. They were patrons of art, literature and culture. The ''Prahallada Nataka'' was born in one such kingdom, or ''zamindari''.<ref name="Pattanaik 1998">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UXJ1AAAAIAAJ&dq=inauthor%3A%22Dhirendranath+Patanaik%22|title=Folk Theatre of Orissa|last=Pattanaik|first=Dhirendra Nath|publisher=Orissa Sangeet Natak Akademi|year=1998|location=Bhubaneswar|pages=29–36}}</ref>

The primary text of the ''Prahallada Nataka'' was written in the mid-19th century by Raja Ramakrusna Chhotaraya.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Pani|first=Jiwan|title=Back to the Roots : Essays on Performing Arts of India|publisher=Manohar|year=2004|isbn=8173045607|location=New Delhi|pages=106-110|chapter=Indian Folk Theatre|author-link=Jiwan Pani}}</ref> Dr. Bhagaban Panda dates it to 1829-1927, Suresh Balabantaray places its creation from 1857-1905,<ref name="Balabantaray 2006">{{Cite book|title=ରାଜା ରାମକୃଷ୍ଣ ଛୋଟରାୟ ବିରଚିତ ପ୍ରହ୍ଲାଦ ନାଟକ|last=Balabantaray|first=Suresh|publisher=Bahi Patra|year=2006|location=Bhubaneswar|language=or|trans-title=Raja Ramakrusna Chhotaraya birachita Prahlada Nataka}}</ref> and Dr. [[John Emigh]] dates it to 1870-80.<ref name="Emigh 2001" /> Ramakrusna was the Raja of the small princely state of Jalantara in the southern part of Odisha that borders [[Andhra Pradesh]]. Although attributed to the Raja, the majority of the text may have been written by poet Gaurahari Parichha of [[Paralakhemundi]].<ref name="Kulke 2013" /><ref name="Emigh 2001">{{Cite journal|last=Emigh|first=John|author-link=John Emigh|date=September 2001|editor-last=Katyal|editor-first=Anjum|title=Use of Adversity: Embodiments of culture and crisis in the Prahlada nataka of Orissa|journal=Seagull Theatre Quarterly|publisher=Seagull Foundation for the Arts|volume=31|pages=33–55}}</ref><ref name="Patnaik 2018">{{Cite news|url=https://www.telegraphindia.com/states/odisha/rare-art-form-finds-few-takers-150-year-old-traditional-dance-languishes-in-neglect/cid/455439|title=Rare art form finds few takers - 150-year-old traditional dance languishes in neglect|last=Patnaik|first=Sunil|date=28 December 2010|work=The Telegraph|access-date=18 October 2018}}</ref>

While multiple other plays on the same theme exist, Ramakrusna's is generally considered the best example of the routine and was imitated by other Rajas, including Kishore Chandra Harichandan Jagaddeb Ray of Surangi, Padmanabha Narayana Deba of [[Paralakhemundi]], and Ramachandra Suradeo of Tarala.<ref name="Pattanaik 1998" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name="Balabantaray 2006" />

The original manuscript was preserved in the Madras Oriental Manuscript Library and collected by the Directorate of Culture of the Government of Orissa on March 8, 1938, and securely kept in the erstwhile Ravenshaw Library (now Kanika Library). The [[Odisha State Museum]] kept a paper manuscript of the text, copied some time in the 1920s.<ref name="Balabantaray 2006" /><ref name="Chhotray 1973">{{Cite book|title=ପ୍ରହ୍ଲାଦ ନାଟକ|last=Chhotray|first=Raja Ramakrushna|publisher=Directorate of Cultural Affairs|year=1973|editor-last=Panda|editor-first=Bhagaban|series=Orissa Oriental Text Series (Oriya)|location=Bhubaneswar|language=or|trans-title=Prahlād Nāṭaka}}</ref>

In the last century, as many as 172 troupes performed the play in the [[Ganjam district]]. As of the late 1990s, the play was performed by approximately 57 village theatre companies, due to dwindling audiences.<ref name="Kulke 2013" /> Only about fifty troupes exist today, as the number of professional Rajas declined from 150 to 20.<ref name="Patnaik 2018" />

== Performance ==
[[File:Guru Simanchala Patro, Prahallada Nataka.jpg|thumb|338x338px|Guru Simanchala Patro, renowned for his musical prowess and lively ''abhinaya'' of Hiranyakasyapa. He received the ''[[Sangeet Natak Akademi Award]]'' in the year 1990 for his contribution to the art form.]]Each performance lasts 12 hours. The complete play, as enacted in royal courts of Odisha's southern ''gadajatas,'' often took as long as 7 nights.

''Prahallada Nataka'' has multiple characters, but only a few remain relevant throughout the play. These include [[Hiranyakashipu|Hiranyakasyapa]] '''Raja''<nowiki/>'; his wife, ''Lilabati''; their son, [[Prahlada|Prahallada]]; and the ''sutradhara''. Occasionally, Hiranyakasyapa's ministers ''Biprachitti'' and ''Trimastaka,'' along with the sentry, or ''duari'', occupy the stage throughout the play. Female characters are portrayed by male actors.

''Prahallada Nataka'' is performed in an open-air setting. It uses a unique seven-stepped platform called the ''mancha''. This is wooden platform, around six feet high. The top of the platform has an area of abour 6 x 4 feet, on which is placed the throne of Hiranyakasyapa. The ''mancha'' is usually collapsible and easily dismantled. It is erected before the performance begins. The space in front of the ''mancha'' is used as the stage. This space is identified as Hiranyakasyapa's Royal Court (containing seven steps that represent his overlordship of the seven worlds). A chair fitted on top of the platform acts as his throne. A temporary pillar is constructed opposite to the ''Mancha'' for the last scene, where Nrusingha emerges.<ref name="Balabantaray 2006" /><ref name="Chhotray 1973" />

The mask used for Nrusingha is usually one or two centuries old. It receives regular worship in a village shrine throughout the year and is worn only during a performance. As a mark of respect, the performers maintain ritual purity, which usually means abstaining from non-vegetarian food and liquor.<ref name="Chhotray 1973" />

=== Music ===
{{Odissi Classical Music sidebar}}Music is the life of Prahallada Nataka. Since music is dominant, the lead singer, also known as the ''Gahaka'' must be an excellent vocalist. He also has to memorise the entire repertoire of songs. The Gahaka, apart from being the singer also acts as the interpreter, commentator and director of the performance. He does not have any elaborate makeup or costume but has specific songs and dialogues. He sings eulogies of deities, introduces the audience to situations and speaks the asides of a character. As an interpreter, he has the task of explaining to lay spectators the cryptic dialogues of the play. This is the reason why the ''Gahaka'' is also known as the ''Sutradhara'' in the tradition, allied to the use of the term 'Sutradhara' in Sanskrit plays.<ref name=":0" />

Prahallada Nataka has a repertoire of over three hundred songs. All the songs are classical, based on [[Odissi music]] and employ traditional ragas & talas unique to the Odissi tradition. Dhyana-shlokas of the respective ragas are sung before beginning any given song. The songs frequently employ ''padi'', a characteristic feature of Odissi music. The percussion instrument used in the music of Prahallada Nataka is a [[mardala]]. The ensemble, which typically stands on one side of the ''mancha'', includes ''[[Mardala]]'', ''Mukhabina'', ''Gini'', ''Jhanja,'' and a [[Harmonium]].<ref name=":0" />

== Recognition ==
Several performers have received awards from the [[Sangeet Natak Akademi]], India. These include Raghunath Satpathy (1980), Simanchal Patro (1990), Krishna Chandra Sahu (2000) as ''Akademi'' Awardees and Brundaban Jena (2006), Pramod Kumar Nahak (2008) as ''Yuva Puraskar'' Awardees.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://sangeetnatak.gov.in/sna/Awardees.php?section=all|title=SNA {{!}}{{!}} List of Awardees|website=sangeetnatak.gov.in|language=en|access-date=2018-10-26}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}
<references group="https://sites.google.com/site/ourbdpur/prahallada-nataka-a-folk-drama" />{{Odia culture}}

[[Category:Arts of Odisha]]
[[Category:Ganjam district]]
[[Category:Odia culture]]
[[Category:Artforms based on Odissi music]]

Prahallada Nataka - Revision history

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