Dear colleagues,
Allow me to join the discussion. The garbhāṅka, “embryonic act”, is a late development (see Nāṭyadarpaṇa I 27) which appears in authors (Bhavabhūti, Harṣa, etc.) well after the Nāṭyaśāstra (probably 2nd c.) and Kālidāsa. Nevertheless, it is a major constituent element of Indian theatricality, as much as a universally shared dramatic feature, which is referred to as “theater within theater” or “play within a play”.
The Nāṭyaśāstra theorizes this dramatic structure, which it very aptly names nāṭyāyita, the “quasi-drama” (verbal adjective of the denominative of nāṭya, “theater”, with one of the well-known meanings of the denominational formation: “which behaves like”, “which is perceived as”), and deals with it not only as a section of the plot, but also as the acting register expected of the actor on such occasions (the nāṭyāyita is a part of the sixfold acting protocol defined under the heading of the sāmānyābhinaya). 
In his commentary, Abhinavagupta offers very interesting examples of this “theater within the theater” (also referring to and even citing dramas now lost). His testimony is that of a theater-goer.

I examine this dramatic pattern in: Poétique du théâtre indien. Lectures du Nāṭyaśāstra. Publications de l’EFEO 169. Paris : École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 1992 (p.377-384 and p.444ff.) and in some other essays, particularly:
1. 1990:  « The Sāmānyābhinaya or How to Play the Game ». Indologica Taurinensia 15-16 (1989-1990), p. 67-77
2. 1995: « Abhinavagupta, Exegete and Connoisseur of Theatrical Practice. An Essay on the “Nāṭyāyita” ». Indo-Iranian Journal 38 (2), p. 149-165.
3. 2000: « L’épopée mise en scène. L’exemple de l’Uttararāmacarita ». Journal asiatique 288 (1), p. 83-111.
With best wishes

Lyne Bansat-Boudon
Directeur d'études pour les Religions de l'Inde
Ecole pratique des hautes études, section des sciences religieuses
Membre senior honoraire de l'Institut universitaire de France

De : INDOLOGY <indology-bounces@list.indology.info> de la part de Christopher Austin via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Envoyé : vendredi 15 novembre 2024 16:10
À : indology@list.indology.info <indology@list.indology.info>
Objet : Re: [INDOLOGY] Inset plays / Play within a play
 
Hello Rembert and list,

To the list thus far I would add 
and somewhat more peripherally
Best,
Chris

Dr. Christopher R. Austin
Dalhousie University
Associate Professor, Religious Studies (Dept. of Classics)
Treasurer, Canadian Society for the Study of Religion (CSSR)
Trésorier, Société Canadienne pour l'Étude de la Religion (SCÉR)
christopher.austin@dal.ca
Faculty page
Academia.edu page
From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces@list.indology.info> on behalf of Rembert Lutjeharms via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2024 7:06 AM
To: indology@list.indology.info <indology@list.indology.info>
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Inset plays / Play within a play
 
CAUTION: The Sender of this email is not from within Dalhousie.

Dear colleagues,

I am looking for any scholarly literature on the use of inset plays
(i.e. dramas performed by the characters within a play) in Sanskrit
drama.

I am aware of only two such studies: David Shulman's "Embracing the
subject: Harṣa's play within a play" in Journal of Indian philosophy
25 (1997), and Gerald Carney's "Entering the dynamics of Vaiṣṇava
devotion: the inset play in act III of Kavikarṇapūra's
Caitanyacandrodaya" in Journal of Vaisnava Studies 5.1 (1996-1997).

I would be very grateful for any additional studies you could point me to.

Thank you.

Best wishes,
Rembert

--
Dr. Rembert Lutjeharms
Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
13-15 Magdalen Street
Oxford OX1 3AE United Kingdom
Tel.: +44 (0)1865 304300

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Lyne Bansat-Boudon

Directeur d'études pour les Religions de l'Inde

Ecole pratique des hautes études, section des sciences religieuses

Membre senior honoraire de l'Institut universitaire de France

De : INDOLOGY <indology-bounces@list.indology.info> de la part de Jonathan Edelmann via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Envoyé : vendredi 15 novembre 2024 17:23
Cc : indology@list.indology.info <indology@list.indology.info>
Objet : Re: [INDOLOGY] Inset plays / Play within a play
 
Greetings Rembert,

Tony Stewart's The Final Word (OUP, 2010) on page 167 discusses the garbhāṅka, play within a play, and the power of that literary device to convey a drama's message.

Sincerely,
Jonathan Edelmann
 

On Fri, Nov 15, 2024 at 10:12 AM Christopher Austin via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
Hello Rembert and list,

To the list thus far I would add 
  • Austin 2019 - Pradyumna - Oxford University Press, chap 7
  • Mitra 1983 - Studies on the Dramas of Rājaśekhara, Calcutta - 143-153
  • Shulman 2006 - in Masked Ritual and Performance, ed. Shulman and Thiagarajan, U Michigan
and somewhat more peripherally
  • Dällenbach 1977 - Le Récit Spéculaire Éd. du Seuil
  • AVW Jackson 1898 - "Certain Dramatic Elements in Sanskrit Plays" American Journal of Philology 19 (3)
Best,
Chris

Dr. Christopher R. Austin
Dalhousie University
Associate Professor, Religious Studies (Dept. of Classics)
Treasurer, Canadian Society for the Study of Religion (CSSR)
Trésorier, Société Canadienne pour l'Étude de la Religion (SCÉR)
From: INDOLOGY <indology-bounces@list.indology.info> on behalf of Rembert Lutjeharms via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info>
Sent: Friday, November 15, 2024 7:06 AM
To: indology@list.indology.info <indology@list.indology.info>
Subject: [INDOLOGY] Inset plays / Play within a play
 
CAUTION: The Sender of this email is not from within Dalhousie.

Dear colleagues,

I am looking for any scholarly literature on the use of inset plays
(i.e. dramas performed by the characters within a play) in Sanskrit
drama.

I am aware of only two such studies: David Shulman's "Embracing the
subject: Harṣa's play within a play" in Journal of Indian philosophy
25 (1997), and Gerald Carney's "Entering the dynamics of Vaiṣṇava
devotion: the inset play in act III of Kavikarṇapūra's
Caitanyacandrodaya" in Journal of Vaisnava Studies 5.1 (1996-1997).

I would be very grateful for any additional studies you could point me to.

Thank you.

Best wishes,
Rembert

--
Dr. Rembert Lutjeharms
Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies
13-15 Magdalen Street
Oxford OX1 3AE United Kingdom
Tel.: +44 (0)1865 304300

_______________________________________________
INDOLOGY mailing list
INDOLOGY@list.indology.info
https://list.indology.info/mailman/listinfo/indology

_______________________________________________
INDOLOGY mailing list
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