333. THE TECHNIQUE OF SANSKRIT DRAMA 369

THE TECHNIQUE OF SANSKRIT DRAMA 369

which the business arises. In Julius Cæsar, for instance, the first scene is of an introductory nature. The poet seems to take us in medias-res, while he is in reality building up the foundation of his plot. Further, in "As you like it" we find sub-plots:

I. The love-story of Celia and Oliver.

2. The love-story of Phebe and Silvius.

3. The love-story of Touchstone and Audrey.

Similarly in Sanskrit drama we generally find an intro- ductory scene in the very beginning, technically called Vişkambhaka, as for instance in Ratnāvalī, which is very much like the introductory scene in Julius Cæsar, men- tioned above. Further, in most of the dramas of which Rama is the hero, we find sub-plots, such as the story of Vali and Sugrīva or that of Sravanakumara.

The question naturally arises : what is the dramatic purpose of introducing these additional elements ? The dramaturgists in Sanskrit have given only one answer to this, i. e. they are the means whereby the wished-for object is reached. They are technically called Arthaprakrti, the means to the end. According to the Sanskrit dramaturgists, there are five such means: (i) Bija (ii) Vindu (iii) Patākā (iv) Prakarī and (v) Karya. The end, to which they lead is the attainment of the desired end by the focus of the situation.

(I) THE SEED (BIJA) AND ITS PSYCHOLOGICAL NECESSITY.

Æesthetic experience from the Indian point of view is due to the subjective realisation of a basic mental state. The spectator is a passive recipient of the presented. In this experience the faculty of independent judgement is prefectly 47

370 CHAPTER VI inactive and there is total suspension of the personal volitional power. All this is necessary because the subjec- tive realisation of the basic mental state is due to identifica- tion with the focus of the situation. His attitude and judgement, no less than his will, are determined by the presented. He looks upon the presented not as an indivi- dual A, B, or C would do so independently, but as the focus of the situation or the dramatist would have it looked upon. The Dramatist, therefore, has got to take the earliest opportunity of determining the attitude of the audience towards what he is going to present. An Indian dramatist, following the age-long tradition, does this, not in a blunt manner, but dramatically. This means of determining the attitude of the audience is called seed (Bija). The seed has more than one purpose to serve or func- tion to perform. The aforesaid is only one of them. The other is simply informative. The main plot presents only a certain portion of the hero's life. It is, therefore, necessary that the audience should know the circumstances from which the action arises. To inform the reader or the audience of such circumstances, is the other purpose of the seed. If we analyse the introductory scene of Ratnavali, the double purpose of the dramatist is revealed. It inspires a fatalistic attitude in the audience. It makes them take the presented events as mostly predetermined by the arbitrary decree. It sets their quest for the cause of the presented events at perfect rest. This is what the very first verse does by saying, "The fate, when favourable, brings the wished-for object from another island, as also from the ocean, nay, even from the end of the quarter." To understand the full value of such a remark in the very beginning of a drama and its effect on the audience,