Shloka 36
Adhyaya 1 — Jaimini’s Questions on the Mahabharata and the Origin of the Wise Birds
गुणरूपविहीनायाः सिद्धिर्नाट्यस्य नास्ति वै ।
चार्वधिष्ठानवन्नृत्यं नृत्यमन्यद्विडम्बनम् ॥
guṇarūpavihīnāyāḥ siddhir nāṭyasya nāsti vai |
cārv-adhiṣṭhāna-van nṛtyaṃ nṛtyam anyad viḍambanam ||
Sesungguhnya, nāṭya (seni drama) tidak akan mencapai kejayaan apabila kosong daripada sifat-sifat dan bentuk yang wajar. Nṛtya (tarian) tanpa asas yang memikat bukanlah tarian yang sebenar; ia hanyalah tiruan dan senda-gurau yang meniru.
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FAQs
Excellence requires both inner substance (guṇa) and proper expression/structure (rūpa). Without a sound basis (adhiṣṭhāna)—training, rasa-awareness, and disciplined execution—performance becomes empty display. Ethically, the verse discourages superficial imitation and promotes integrity in practice: true art is not mere motion, but meaningful, well-founded expression.
This verse is not primarily a Pancalakṣaṇa element (sarga, pratisarga, vaṃśa, manvantara, vaṃśānucarita). It belongs to ancillary didactic material (upadeśa) within the Purāṇic narrative frame, offering normative guidance rather than cosmological or genealogical enumeration.
On a symbolic level, ‘nāṭya’ can be read as life-performance: without guṇa (inner virtues) and rūpa (right conduct/ordered expression), one’s ‘siddhi’ does not arise. ‘Nṛtya’ without a ‘charming foundation’ suggests spiritual practice without śāstra-grounding and inner refinement—appearing active yet lacking transformative essence—thus becoming viḍambana, a hollow imitation of realization.