51. 48 HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POETICS

48 HISTORY OF SANSKRIT POETICS

have used a recent transcript which is ms. No. 41 of 1924-28 in the Bhandarkar Oriental Institute. It is rather corrupt and incomplete, as it extends only up to chap. 32, verse 376 ( ध्रवाध्याय of Ch. edition) and then breaks off. So far as I know no complete ms. of the अभिनवभारती on the whole of the नाट्यशास्त्र is available at present anywhere. But even this incomplete commentary of अभिनवगुप्त furnishes very valuable information about the commentators of Bharata and about writers on the histrionic art. In the following I propose to give a brief account of the commentators of the Nātyasastra.1 According to the सङ्गीतरत्नाकर of शार्ग्देव the expounders of Bharata were लोल्लट, उद्धट, शङ्कुक, कीर्तिधर and अभिनवगुप्त (व्याख्यातारो भारतीये लोल्लटोद्भटशङ्कुकाः । भटटाभिनवगुप्तश्च श्रीमत्कीर्तिघरोऽपर: ॥ I. 19). A separate section will be devoted to Udbhata, but here a few words may be said about his commentary on भरत. उद्ट is mentioned by अभिनव on the following points. (1) On नाट्यशास्त्र VI. 10 (quoted above) the views of शद्धs are quoted and Abhinava says that लोल्लट did not accept them (vide अभिनवभारती G.O.S. vol. I. p. 266); (2) On नाव्य. IX. 182 अ.भा. (vol. II. p. 70) notes that उद्भट read the verse differently as 'उत्तानोधस्तलस्त्र्यश्रोग्रगोधोमुख एव च । पञ्च प्रचारा हस्तस्येति भट्टोद्भटः पठति; (3) about समवकार (a kind of रूपक) the नाव्यशास्त्र (18. 76) reads 'उष्णिग्गायत्र्याधयान्यन्यानि च यानि बन्धकुटिलानि । वृत्तानि समवकारे कविभिस्तानि प्रयोज्यानि॥'. अ. भा. notes that उद्भट reads नैव प्रयोज्यानि for तानि प्रयोज्यानि;2 (4) उद्दट appears to have critici- zed भरत himself as to the four वस्तिs, भारती, सात्वती, कैशिकी and आरभटी. भरत (20. 99-100) defines the play called उत्सष्टिाकाक as full of women's lamentations and as bereft of all afas except भारती. But in करुण when there is a swoon or death there can be no speech and no भारतीवत्ति (which acc. to नाव्य. 22. 25 is या वाक्प्रधाना & c. or 20. 26 in GOS ed.). For this and other reasons उद्धट gives up the four वसतिs and proposes only three व च्तिs viz. न्यायचेष्टावृत्ति, अन्यायचेष्टावृत्ति and फलसंवित्ति वृ त्ति (for मूर्छा and मरण) or

I For some further information consult Dr. Raghavan's paper on 'Writers quoted in the Abhinavabharati' in J. O. R. Madras, vol. VI. pp. 149-170 and pp. 199-223. 2 नैब प्रयोज्यानीत्युद्भटः पठति सग्धरादीन्येव प्रयोज्यानि नाल्पाक्षराणीति स व्याचष्टे । म. भा. vol. II. P. 441. The Ch. ed. (20.80) reads as उन्भट does.