Knowing and Being

Abstract

This essay, a highly original study of Kūṭiyāṭṭam as an historical phenomenon and developing art form, offers an ontology of performance in relation to a highly specific epistemology embedded in the Kūṭiyāṭṭam tradition. The author distinguishes Kūṭiyāṭṭam in general and Mantrāṅkam in particular from other performative traditions in South India on the basis of the distinctive truth-value that emerges on stage (in relation to other philosophical streams such as the Advaita). He also reviews the historical evidence on dating and proposes a new hypothesis about the historical moment when Kūṭiyāṭṭam as we know it took shape. He talks about the two manuals that were known from the early period, the Dhananjayadhvani and the Saṃvaraṇadhvani and outlines their impact on the performance of Sanskrit drama in Kerala.