320. 356 CHAPTER VI

356 CHAPTER VI

It is because of this that the number of acts in a drama can never exceed ten 1. In English, the stages of a comedy are generally called (i) cause (ii) growth (iii) height (iv) consequence and (v) close. In the case of a tragedy, however, the last two are differently called, because of the difference in the turn that the action takes. They are called (i) fall, because it represents the fall of the hero from the height which is reached by him; and (ii) catastrophe, because herein he meets his doom. In Sanskrit also they are called by words which have almost the same implications as the first five, mentioned above. They are (i) Arambha (ii) Yatna (iii) Prāptyāśā (iv) Niyatāpti and (v) Phalāgama2.

This is, however, to be noted here that there is nothing in Sanskrit, corresponding to fall and catastrophe in English tragedy, because in Sanskrit we have no tragedy in the strict sense of the word. We shall explain later on why we have no tragedy in Sanskrit.

THE CONCEPTION OF THE FIVE STAGES ELABORATED.

Bharata does' not generally illustrate the rules, which he lays down for the dramatist. It is because of the very nature of the work. He writes aphorisms or Sutras, the most inportant characteristic of which is the extreme brevity. In fact, no writer of the aphoristic literature illustrates the rules. In Pāņini's grammatical book, Aştādhyāyī, for instance, no illustrations are found. The point in hand, however, does not become clear without illustration. We will, therefore, illustrate the five stages by examples, taken from the story of Ratnavalī of Harșa, from which illustrations have been chosen by most of the

4. D. R. 7. 2. D. R. 5.