332. 368 CHAPTER VI

368 CHAPTER VI

Sāgarika's room. As the king touches her body to remove her from the fire, the fire, which was a work of magic only, goes out. All feel surprised. Vasubhuti, the war- officer of the king of Ceylon, recognises Sāgarikā to be Ratnavalī and the plot is revealed. Then comes Yaugan- dharayana and explains the purpose of the secrecy that he maintained about the identity of Ratnavali and the plot is completely disentangled.

V. THE CLOSE (PHALAGAMA).

The stages of action are so presented that one natur- ally leads to another till the fruition of the action. The last stage does not take much time. The adversary having been defeated or the obstacle having been overcome, and the plot having been disentangled, the fruition of the action should not take time. In the present case it is represented by the attainment of sovereignty by the king and his union1 with Ratnavali.

THE MEANS TO THE END (ARTHAPRAKRTI) 2

The analysis of the existing dramatic literature reveals the existence not only of the main plot, which has been analysed above into five stages of action, but also of some additional elements, which cannot strictly be spoken of as the component parts of the main. These additional elements are found not only in Sanskrit dramas but in English dramas also, for instance, in those which are the products of the mature genius of Shakespeare. In them we find not only the five component parts of the dramatic action, discussed above, but, in addition to these, very freque tly a sixth also, the introduction or exposition, containing, as it were, the seed or circumstances, from

1. D. R., 6. 2. A. Bh. (MSS) Ch. 19, V. 19.