24. NĀȚYASĀSTRA 21

NĀȚYASĀSTRA 21

भावs of शृशार, रौद्र and वीर and that what are called सन्ध्यक, पृत्यक्न and agu in another tradition or authoritative work are regarded by it as alańkāras. 1 We can carry the matter back still further if we consider the implications of two verses in the Kumārasam bhava of Kā- lidāsa VII. 91 and 95.2 These refer to certain verses of the 6th, 21st and 22nd chapters of the extant Nātyasastra. Accepting the first half of the 5th century as the date of Kalidāsa ( on which most scholars are agreed ), it follows that the present Nātyaśāstra existed at least a century or two earlier than 350- 450 A. D., i. e. in the 3rd or 4th century, if not earlier. It may further be noted that in the drama ( prakarana ) called Śāriputraprakarana, fragments ofwhich were recovered by Prof. Lüders, there is a remarkably close coincidence between its technique and that of the Nātyasastra. In the present state of our knowledge the only work which could have been drawn upon by Aśvaghosa (who flourished about 100 A. D. ) must be deemed to be the Nātyasāstra. Vide Keith's H. S. D. p. 82-85 for this play and two others and Dr. B. C. Law on 'Asvaghosa' p. 33 ff. Songs and instrumental music occupied a very high place in Vedic times as will be briefly pointed out in part II. Before Pāņini Națasūtras had been composed by Šilālin and Krśāśva (IV. 3. 110, 111). But they appear to have been altogether forgotten and I have not been able to find their names men- tioned in any work on dramaturgy. Their names survive only in Sailālin and Krsāsvin ( and Bharata ) as synonyms for nata (acc. to the Amarakosa). The अमरकोश vesrse is 'शैलालिनस्तु शैलूषा जायाजीवा कृशाश्विनः । भरता इत्यपि नटाश्वारणास्तु कुशोलवाः॥'. The words

I यच्च सन्ध्यअ्वृत्त्त्यक्गलक्षणाद्यागमान्तरे। व्यावर्णितमिदं चेष्टमलक्कारतयैव नः॥ काव्यादर्श II. 367. Vide नाटयशास्त्र 21. 58-69 for 64 सन्ध्यक्, 22. 25-64 for वृत्तिs and their angas, chap. 17. 1-42 for 36 लक्षय. The commentators are agreed that आगमान्तरे means भरते. 2 तौ सन्धिषु व्यजितवृत्तिभेदं रसान्तरेषु प्रतिबद्धरागम्। अपश्यतामप्सरसां मुहूत प्रयोगमाधयं ललिताङहारम्॥ कुमारसंभव VII. 91; 'प्रमथमुखविकारर्हासयामास गूढम्'॥ VII. 95. The five सन्धिs are named in नाटयशास्त्र 21. 37, the वृत्तिs in 22. 24-57 and 65 (for कैशिकी in शृह्गार). नाटयशारत्र 22. 17 has the words सुललितैरहहार :- नाट्यशार्र VI. 44 is शव्ारो विष्णुदैवत्यो हास्य: प्रमथ- दैवतः'. So हास्य comes naturally to प्रमथs.