1. Sanskrit Drama and Dramatists Kulkarni

" ऊँ भूयानसि महानसि "

SANSKRIT

Drama & Dramatists :

(Their Chronology, Mind and Art)

(With the text of Dasharupakam Pr. I and III)

BY

K. P Kulkarni, M. A , B T

Sometime Lecturer in Sanskrit

Gujrath and Elphintone Colleges

author of

"Philology and Marathi"

1927

Price Rs. 2-8-0

Presented

by

V

V

ATIKAR

B

A.

320,

'Bharat

Pratap

325

Sadashiv,

Poona

city

and

Published

by

K

P

KULKARNI

M.A.

B.T.

Varada

Prakash

Peth,

Satara

City

PREFACE

The necessity of such a book as the present one giving

an aesthetic appreciation of the Sanskrit poets was first felt

by me while lecturing to my students at the Gujrath

College. A greater portion of the present book is the out-

come of a course of lectures that I had to deliver to them.

I had to revise the whole in the light of the latest re-

searches in chronology and to rewrite it in order to suit

the book form

I do not think it necessary to offer any apology for

writing this book. The university has introduced the

study of Sanskrit dramatics amongst the subjects to be

studied for the B.A. (Languages). There are some excel-

lent books but as they are either in French or German,

they are not available to our students. Keith's book,

though scholarly and masterly, leaves room for a detailed

study of every play, for the right interpretation of tradi-

tions, for the application of canons of criticism not only

of the West but also of the East and for a dispassionate

consideration of the researches announced by scholars on

this side of ours in vernacular magazines. It is these

features that distinguish this book

I have divided the book into eight chapters. The

first gives all the theories propounded by various oriental

scholars regarding the origin of the Sanskrit Drama. A

rational interpretation of the tradition given in the

Nātyashāstra is attempted towards the end of it. The

second chapter gives the build and the principles of the

structure of the drama. It includes a discussion of the

formative, imaginative historical and spiritual aspects

of Sanskrit Drama. The principles stated in this are induc-

tively applied to the several dramas in subsequent

chapters The plan of discussion that has been adopted is

established on the basis of practical experience in the

college classes--first the chronological data--then the plot

construction--then the characterization, and lastly the

style

It was my ardent desire to include in the book the

philological data offered by the Prākrits of the plays and

to see how far they enable us to arrive at the approximate

chronology of the poets But for better reasons I reserve

it for another treatise which I intend to issue very shortly

first for private circulation amongst the scholars and

professor-friends of mine

I shall feel my labours amply rewarded if this present

attempt of mine succeeds in meeting the demands of the

students for whom it is intended I leave it to the readers

to judge how far it has fulfilled the original aim and how

far it has come up to the level of scholarly and scientific

research. I cannot help feeling that there is room for

difference of opinion on questions of chronology and appre-

ciation, proportion and emphasis It has been my effort

to settle the questions on the basis of all available evi-

dence

I tender my sincere thanks to all my professor-friends

who very kindly went through the pages of the manuscript

and made some valuable suggestions

I am particularly thankful to Mr. S R Sardesai, B A

L L B for going over the proofs with a very vigilant eye

and Mr V. V. Atitkar,B.A for taking out the book through

the press with untiring and speedy efforts I tender an apo-

logy for some mistakes that have crept in with regard to

the diacritical marks

Various books have been of service in the preparation

of this book and those specifically drawn upon are duly

acknowledged in the proper places But I mention two

as the cause of special obligation,' Sanskrit Drama ' by

Keith and ' Hindu Theatre ' by Wilson.

I cannot let go unmentioned the efforts of my young

children—Dādā and Bachu for arranging and Lakhā and

Indu for disarranging the slips of the index

SATARA

Ganesh Chaturthi

18—6—1927

K P Kulkarni.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

The origin of Sanskrit Drama. 1-25

Drama, its definition and constituents 1

Dialogue hymns 2. Theories about them 3

M.Muller, Oldenberg, Shroeder etc Religious

pastimes 4 In Brahman period, 5. Sutra period 6

References in Pāṇini 5 Patañjali 7. Keith's

theory, Mahāvrata 8 References in M-Bhārata 9

The Secular origin Pischel's Theory–Puppet

show The Lalita or Gondhal 12 Theory of

Windisch, Greek origin 13 Levi's theory The

scythian origin 16 Traditional theory–The

Nāṭyashastra 19 Interpretation of t-adition 22

Conclusions 23

CHAPTER II.

The mould of Sanskrit Drama 26-72

Pre-Bharat Dramatists 26 Bharat 27 Dra-

matist–his requirements 27 (प्रतिभा वृत्तपत्ति,

अभ्यास ) 28 Drama–its aim 28. Its contents 29

Its types–ten 30 Trageḍy 33 Vastu –Sources 34.

Its kinds, its divisions 36 Divisions of action 37,

Sandhis 38 Stages 41 Dramatis personæ 44.

Prākṛts 45 Nāyaka, four types 47 Viḍu-

shaka 48, Sakāra 50 Nāyikā 51. General prin-

ciples–Impersonality. Brevity Concentration,

Crces–lighting, Parallelism, Contrast in plot

in character 53-58 Sentiments, Bhāvas, Vibhā-

vas, Anubhāvas, Rasas-Shringār, Adbhuta-Sub-

normal, Supernormal 58-62. Representation:

Prastāvanā etc. 63. Dress 64. The languages 65.

Vṛttis, Rītes, Style-qualities-Intellectual and

Emotional, Metres, their propriety 66-69.

Theatre: Kinds, Divisions, Curtains, Scenes,

Characters 69-72.

CHAPTER III

Pre-Kālidāsan Drama 73-117

( I ) BHĀSA

The nature of the plays 72. The author-

ship 76. References to Swapna 76 The archaic

forms 79. Date of Pāṇini 80. Bhāsa and Chā-

nakya, Dharmashastra, Rama incarnation Ma-

ttavilās Prahasana 82. The two dates 82 Our own

date 82. The plays, their order 83. their divi-

sions His influence on other poets 84. The

Pratidnyā Y The plot, Characters, compared

with others 85 The Swapna 89 Pratimā 92

Style 94

( 2 ) SHUDRAKA

Mṛchhakatika 95 Author,References from

old books 97 ( Ani-Akbari, Kshiraswami, Raja-

shekhara. Skanda P Col. Wilford Internal

evidence 98. Date 100 The plot, the thesis, of it

Contrast 101 Characters Chārudatta, Vasanta-

senā, distinguished from other heroines 113

Shakāra 114. Style 117

3

CHAPTER IV

Kālidāsa

118-125

Goethe's praise 118 Traditions His date :

tradition Gāthā Saptashatī, Urayur (Vaidya)

Bhuța Medalļan Priority to Ashwaghoṣa 120,

Astronomical evidence 121 Vikramāditya, a

title of Skanda Gupta, or Chandragupta Opinions

of Scholars Jyotirwidābharana 122 The order-

of the plays. The aim Mālrıkā A. 124 Vikra

ma-U 131 Apabhransa verses 135 Shākuntala

The ring and fish in Herodotus.139. Threads in

the plot 142 The super-human element 144 Two

aspects in Dushyanta His defects 148 Theory

of Character 149. Style 152

CHAPTER V

Bhavabhuti the Poet-Dramatist

153-177

The passage in M V 153 Tradition 153

His patron 155 His relations with Kumarila

Internal evidence Date 151 Thesis of the

play 157 Mahāvircharita 150 Mālatī-Mādhao-

plot and Character 163 Uttarāmacharita 170

Characters Rāma, Sita 174 Merits of the poet's

style 177.

CHAPTER VI.

Harsha -The patron poet

178-193

Three Harshas 178. The author 179 Ratnā-

vali 180 Priyadarshikā c185 Nāgānanda 188.

4

CHAPTER VII.

Bhatta Narayana

Veṇī-Samhāra

194-201

Veṇī-Samhāra—The Romance of War. The poet, personal history 195. Plot 196, Characters 198 Yudhiṣṭhira—Nāyaka ?

CHAPTER VIII.

Viśākhadatta

203-212

Mudrārākṣasā—The Political Drama The special feature 203 The author 204. The plot 207 The characters 209. Chāṇakya, Rākṣasa compared 211 The style 212

Appendix

1-12

Index

1-4

Books consulted and abbreviations used

A. Γ —Ānandāśrama T V Series,

A. T —Ātmarāveda

B N —म न cr Bharata Nāṭyashāstra. (Nirnaya-sagar)

Cā.—Chāyādatta

D Q—Deccan College Quarterly

D R.—Dasharapakam

Ind Ant—Indian Antiquary

J R A S—Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society.

K D—Keith's Drama

K. P—Kāvyaprakāśna (Chandorkar)

M A.—or Mālikā A. Mālikāgnimitra

M K.—Mrichakatika

M M.—Mālatī-Madhao

M V.—Manāvirachsnita

Nāg—Nāgānanda

P D—Priyadarshikā

Prandya—Prat dnā-Yaugandharāyana

P R—Pancanātra, T V Series

R V—Rigveja

R M—Rādhādhrao-Vilāś-Champu. Rājwade

Rat—Ratnāvali

R T—Rajatarangini

Sāk—Shākuntala

S D—Sāhityadarpana Kane)

S B. E—Sacred Books of the East series

S V or Svapna—Svapna Vāsavadatta, T. V Series

2

S. V.—Samaveda

T. V—Trivandrum Series ( Ganapāti Shastri )

U R—Uttararāmacarita

V. U—Vikramorvashīyam

Veni—Venishambhāra

Y. R—Yajurveda

In addition to the above-mentioned books, the following ones are also consulted.

Indian Studies, Weber

Bhandarkar Com. Vol.

Oriental Conferences proceedings

Sylvan Levi-Indian Theatre

Hindu Theatre, Wilson

Modern Review numbers

Vividha-Dryāna-Vistāra

Vishwa-Bhārati

Historical Quarterly.

ERRATA

Page

Line

For

Read

7

29

From

Form

8

Foot

notes

Kieth

Keith

12

7

tne

the

16

21

Kshatyap

Kshatrapa

16

23

Laguage

Language

16

30

allen

Fallen

24

9

Commonlty

commonalty

27

11

tech

nique

technique

31

note

कतपृत्ता

ऋतपृत्ता

80

18

Vatsyayam

Vātsyāyan

98

18

ex

tensive

extensive

113

27

villianous

villainous

113

31

waman

woman

114

8

charactar

character

128

note

2

भद्र

भद्र

136

3

skermish

skirmish

145

10

forcily

forcibly

148

note

प्रत्याय

यत्तीव

प्रत्याययतीव

149

15

situable

suitable

157

1

every

very

159

9

M

charitra

M-charita

160

23

touse

to

use

ॐ भूयानासि महानासि

Sanskrit Drama & Dramatists

(Their Chronology, Mind and Art)

CHAPTER I.

The Origin of Sanskrit Drama

DRAMA is essentially a social form of art, having a

two-fold function to discharge Though to educate in-

tellectually, morally, sucially and spiritually is its

premier function or aim, it cannot be considered as of

greater human importance than its other function which

is the delight and joy consequent upon the enjoyment of

any art Drama presents a composite or cumulative

organization of all fine arts that rouse and raise the man

above the rest of creation, forcing him to detach himself

from the trivial things of daily existence and to concen-

trate his mind and senses on the themes and characters

presented in it The principal arts that combine to make

the drama effective and impressive are poetry, music and

dance by means of which even the primitive man sought

amusement. The primitive man had a drama-like pastime

of his own, though crude and unpolished, and though it

did not possess any of the contrivances producing the

most histrionic efforts as in the case of the full-fledged

drama of the present times.

2

The classical sanskrit drama is not an upshot of a moment It has attained to its present form by a process of gradual growth starting from the crude pastime of the primitive Aryans, and traversing a long range of time from the hoary antiquities of the Arctic region It is, therefore, no wonder that the origin of Sanskrit Drama owing to its passage from such a staggering antiquity should be shrouded in mystery of time and should consequently have given rise to diverse attempts on the part of scholars The primitive Aryans though savage and barbarous had their ways of amusement, such for instance as the dance—the motner of all arts, with its lusty and vigorous movements of the body, accompanied by the ballads or bardic songs sung with keeping time and in concert

The way in which they were sung. gave them a force of dialogue and a consequent dramatic touch. The most ancient record of the Aryans—historical and poetic—the Rigveda contains fifteen of such songs in one mandal or other giving either lively disputes or debates between rita' deities regarding their power It is in these dialogue hymns of the Rigveda. Samvadsuktas as they are called, that the origin of the sanskrit classical drama is traced There is conversation in them but underneath it, the action moves by exhibiting passions, motives and feelings of the speakers in a natural, easy, vivid, interesting and therefore dramatic way. In a certain hymn ( I, 165 ) there is a dispute between Indra and Maruts—a group of deities. ' This dialogue was repeated at sacrifices in honour of the Maruts or that possibly it was acted by two parties, one representing Indra the other the Maruts and their followers ' The same mandala contains reference to maidens " who deck in splended raiment, dance

1 MaxMuller S B E XXXIII P 182

and attract lovers" The famous historical dialogue

between Vishvāmitra and the rivers is found in the third

book The fourth book, besides giving a dialogue between

Indra and Varuna gives an instance of confused dialogue

in which three parties Indra, Aditi and Vāmadeva take part.

Vasishta is talking with his sons in a certain hymn in

the seventh book. The tenth and the last book contains

some of the note-worthy dialogues. The lively debate

between Sarma and the Panis, the conjugal coaxing that

Yami practises with her brother Yama, and the more

known anecdote of Purūravas and Urvashi point out un-

mistakable germs of dramatic element in them ' Regarding these hymns, be it remembered, that though they per-

tain to deities of the Vedic pantheon still, they are more

of secular character than of religious one and this

accounts for their disappearance in the younger Veda

that is not throughily ritualistic in contents and applica-

tion Their absence does not therefore indicate the total

discontinuance of the efforts at dramatics on the part of

those people

These hymns, according to Maxmuller, were recited

and represented after the completion of a ritual Windisch

detected similarities in them with old Irish songs and

maintained that the riks must have been alternated with

prose passages thrust in for the sake of exegencies and

therefore impermanent. The connecting links were suppli-

ed by a class of rhapsodists called Granthikas, according

to Pischel who interpreted the word etymologically. Such

alternations of verses and the elucidating prose passages

were noticed in the legend of Shunahshepa given in the

Aitareya Brāhman ( vii 13 ) and in some stories of Buddhi-

stic Jātakas by Oldenberg who put forth a novel theory of

1 I 99 R V I 92', 165, III 33 , IV 19, 42 , VII 33 , X 10, 95 &c.

Akhyan type of literature from which he himself had to retrace owing to defective reasoning in parallelism with Pali Jatakas which is only accidental and in the loss of prose passages which is incomprehensible when not syllable of the sacred literature was allowed to be either blurred or slurred or. Besides the rise of Granthikas or pathakas is quite of a late date-perhaps post-Brahmanic or post-epic, when legendary or folk-lore type of literature came into being.

There are other scholars like Shroeder' Winternitz Hertel who being either weighed under some etymological considerations or those of christian mystery plays, saw cult-dramas in the dialogue hymns and set them down as the antecedents of the present yatra and lilās of the Krishna-Vishnu or Rudra-Shiva cults

The Suparnadhyaya, a hymn both curious and late is a full fledged mystery according to Hertel

The simplicity of the derotion of the Rigveda gave pıace to the complexity of the sacerdotalism of the younger Vedas and along with that the dramatics of the time assumed an aspect ritual in the sense that the worship and the purchase of the soma were involved in it to some extent The peroration of a sacrifice was celebrated by a representation in which the priests of the sacrifice played the rôles of different deities The Vājasaneyi Samhitā of the White Yajurveda makes mention of Sālusa-an actor The Sāmveda is another redaction of the Rigveda made expressly for putting the riks to tune and therefore " shows that the art of music had been fully developed by the Tedic age." Along with songs the Samveda refers to ceremonial dances in which respect it is corroborated by the Atharveda that says " Men dance and sing to music-

1 Mysterium and mimus in Rigreda

2 Sylran Levi Theatre 307

c

to the sound of drum1" Music, song and dance—the three

main constituents of drama and closely related to one

another from ethnological point of view seem to be very

much developed in the Vedic period.

The amusements of the Brahman period are charac-

teristically ritual. The same abusive talk of Yama and

Yami or Sarma and Panis gets reflected though tinged

with ritual aspect. in the Mahāvrat2 festival in which a

Vaiśhya of white colour falls out with a śūdra of black

colour for a piece of round white skin. It also contains

information about a quarrel and the consequent abusive

language indulged in by a Brahmin and a girl of loose

morals The festival is performed at the winter solstice

and hence is believed to have a fertility significance3.

The Kauṣītuki Brāhman recognises the prevalence of

dance, song and music In the same Mahāviat, maidens

dance round the fire as a spell to bring down rain—a

practice which is continued even to this day The matrcns

in dance, song, music, abusive conversation and blows

even in religious festivals or rituals presuppose their

free prevaler.ce in popular mimes of the time4 The rarity

of references to such vulgarities shows the sparing use

made by the austere sages in the puritan atmosphere

of the ritual This naive and vulgar aspect of tl e popu-

lar festival must have depreciated its value in the opinion

of the ancient seers who in later literature of sutias and

shāstras exhort the young srātakas to ward them off trom

the practic of silpa—dance, song and instrumental music5

1 A V XII 141

2 Sakhayana Arauyaka

3 Ibid Kieth

4 Hillebrandt and Konow—Indian Drama 42

5 Gr?hyasutra II 73 Paraskara

6

The same deprecatory attitude towards drama continues up to the time of the Epics—Mahābhārata in which Draupadi is compared with Sailushi1 which signifies actress—and Rāmāyana in which Sitā reproaches her husband for having given her over to others as a Sailusha gives over 'is wife, and Sailusha is a 'man who is a Jārajāri2—living on the prostitution of his wife,' according to the commentator It is this attitude that accounts for the little attention at the hands of Upanishadic, sutra or smriti writers who were occupied with themes at once metaphysical and philosophical

By the time of the sūtra period, the literature or the practice of dramatics religious or secular, latent or patent must have grown in bulk and must have created the necessity of canonizing them. Two of such attempts are noticed by Pānini1 when he refers Shilālin and Krishāsva in connection with the formation of their names assumed by their followers. The passage runs thus —

शिलालिनो मिक्षुनटसूत्रयोः शैलालिनो नटाः ॥ 4-3-110

कृष्णाश्वस्याश्वमेधविहीनः । लघाविनो नटाः ॥ 4-3-111

Lery sees in the aphorisms of Krishāshwa and Sailāli first fruits of the labours of ancient Indian dramatic theoreticians,2 but owing to the quaintness of names sees in them ironical appelations of Krishashwa, the Indo-Iranian hero having meagre horses and Shilāli having got stones for his bed"

The scattered shreds of Sanskrit drama unite and present a full-fledged drama at the time of Patanjali3 who while discussing the use of the imperfect tense of action

1 Taitt parian 17, 43 Rumarana II, 30, 8

2 Lery Theatre 300

3 The date of Patañjali (150 A.D.)

which a persn has himself witnessed, refers to two events viz, "the slaying of Kamsa and the binding of Bali" staged by ti o parties of professional actors who had dyed their faces in some colour.

ये तावदेतौ शौभानिकौ नामितौ प्रत्यक्षम् कंसं घातयन्तौ प्रत्यक्षम् वालि वन्धयन्तौ इति चित्रोपु कम्? चित्रोपु अपि उद्धूणां निपातितताश्र प्रहारा दृश्यन्ते कंसर्जणयस्थ । तत्रैषु कथम्? यत्र श्रद्धागदुमालम् लक्षिते तेऽपि हि तपा उत्पत्तिप्रभृत्या विनाशात् ऋद्धिद्रव्यैश्च्छाणा सतां बुद्धिविपयान् प्रकाशयन्ति । अतथ्य सतां व्यामिश्रा हि दृश्यन्ते। केचित् कंसभक्ता भवन्ति केचित् वसुदेव-भक्ता । वर्गोन्यत्व सल्‍वपि पुण्यान्ति । केचित् कालसुखा शवान्ति केचित् रक्तमुखा ।

The passage is drawn on in extenso on account of its importance It mentions three kinds of representations that were current in times of Patanjali, one given by human actors who performed the whole scene by assuming the roles of characters to make the story more vivid and impressive, the other, by means of paintings or picture-scrolls and the third by a set of professional reciters -granthikas or kathaks It also shows that the material for representation was taken from the fountain-head of the folk-lore or epic-lore which can be traced back to the Brahmanic times or even before Geneelogical ballads and tables of ancient Bharats, Sudasas, Tritsus,

half historical, half mythical gathas were suig aloud at the end cf long sacrificial sessions even before the Rāmāyan and the Mahābhārat There were rhapsdists and rhapsodists before Vyās and Vālmiki, before Kusha and Lava This gatha literature from Vedic time downwards, of which the two epics from the most important connecting links isa rich mine which is often explored

and laid under by all later writers—sanskrit or prakrit,

escred or profane

The supposition that the representations referred to in

the above passage were only manual acts not accompanied

by speech, that they were mere dumb shows1 would defeat

the very purpose for which they were intended. It is impos-

sible that such strongly emotional mannual acts would be

both adequately expressive and impressive without human

accent On the strength of a reading of a certain manus-

cript to the effect that the followers of Krishna are said to

have painted their faces red, while those cf Kamsa painted

black and that the red colour cf Krishna's followers then

proclaim him as the genius of summer who overcomes the

darkness of the winter”, Keith says “It is difficult not

to see in the Kamsavadha at the hands of Krishna the re-

fined version of an older vegetation ritual in which the

representation of the out-worn spirit of vegetation is des-

troyed ”2 He traces it back to its primitive form in his

favourite theme, the Mahārrata ritual and establishes the

fact that the origin of Sanskrit drama has got its ultimate

source in vegetation ritual and thereby religion Every

ritual is celebrated in strict religious piety and comes in

course of time to be clothed in allegorical significance by

the simple credulence of the later followers A secular

festival even on account of extreme popularity is admit-

ted into pious religious fold and a similar allegorical

significance clusters round it That must have been the

case with Kieth's Mahārrat ceremony as Hillebrandt

rightly observes on the strength of the indecorum in the

passage-at-arms between the Brahmacharin and the girl

or between the Vaiśya and the Sudra

1 Sanskrit Drama Keith

2 Sanskrit Drama Keith

9

In addition to the evidence adduced above, Patanjali

gives Sutras referring to the proverbial hunger of the

actors'.

All the redactions of Mahābhārat2 were completed by

the time of Patanjali and the evidence that it offers

corroborates what Patanjali says regarding the full-fledged

drama of the time Harivamsa, a supplement to the

Mababharat says that Kamsavadha, Pralambvadha and

Chānūramardana were performed by Apsaras as and after

that Nārada amused the audience by presenting mimicry

by imitating Satyabhāma, Krishna, Arjuna and Baldeva.

The other sister-epic Rāmāyana mentions Nata Nartak-

actors, dancers and the sāmāj3 the audience or the popu-

lar festivals and controverts the theory of the dumb-show

by mentioning Vyāmiśraka4 which according to the

commentator, means a play in which both the Sanskrit

and Prakrit were employed

The secular aspect of the Sanskrit drama is mani-

fest from the great fondness the Budhists had for fine

arts-painting, sculpture and drama and Budhists were

no admirers of Hindu religion and ritual Lord Budha

exhorts one who had taken orders "to gaze on the drama

of the Great Law." The knowledge of the drama is includ-

ed among the Buddha's accomplishments mentioned in the

Lalit Vistār. Dramas were performed on occasions of

ceremonies according to Mahāvamsa An actual per-

formance of a Budha natak given before the king of

1 नटस्य श्रृणोति ग्रनृत्यतः श्रृणोति I.4, 29. अगासीनञ्र. 2, 4,

77. नटस्य भुक्तम् II, 3, 67, नटसाधन III 2, 127.

2 Hopkins Epic 400–200 A D and C V Vaidya

3 II 67, 1'

4 II 1, 23

Sohhārati referred to in the Avadānasatṛk translated

into Chinese in 300 A. D gives a very remote antiquity

to the drama A Deccanese actor represented the life of

Budha before the king Bimbisāra The Sitābenga cave

on the Kimgad hill in Chaota Nāgpur takes the antiquity

of the drama still further back to 300 B C by giving the

signs of grove used as a theatre ' where poetry was re-

cited, lore songs were sung and theatrical performances

were shown "1 Samāgas were there at the time of the epics

and Aśoka who has condemned them in his edicts on

account of the animal-fights that were shown in them.

This gets support from the specimens of full-fledged

dramas of Bhāsa published in the T V series

The two independent currents of the popular pas-

occasion of presentation was of course the ritual cere-

mony such as the Aśwamedha or the Pitṛmedha and the

material that was availed of, came from the old lore-

saga epic or gatha-that was floating on the lips of

society in the form of ballads and songs that became

drama as soon as their recitation was accompanied by

mimic gestures ' The old gathas-sagas or legends of

epic nature were loudly recited in public by professional

ruansodists -kathaks, pạthaks or granthiks associat-

ing and dividing to themselves the roles and thus produc-

ed the drama There was gatha lore even before the re-

direction of the epic as instanced by the Brahmanic and

pre-branmanic sagas of Shunashepa in Aitareye Brah-

mana, of Pururavas and Urrashi in the Shatapath, of

Nachiketa and Yami, of the Upanishads, of Savitri, of

1 Bhāṣa

Udayana. of Jataks of Pali Though most of them were merely isolated pieces Still their epic character is quite clear1 The famous warriors of tie epic—Shantanu,

Krishna, Arjuna and others find mention in the pre-epic literature, and lead us to suppose that the cults of Krishna, Shiva, Vishnu, Rama must have influenced the mind

of the people even before their deification in the epics. The use of Sanskrit language, the mixture of prose and poetry, the Krishna worship and the linear simplicity of

the recitation of the gatha-samhita are the characteristics both secular and religious The Vidushaka of the drama is inexplicable from the religious point of view.

The language he speaks and the mirth that is produced at his cost in spite of his Brahmanic birth indicate that this figure must not have been an outcome of religious Brahmanic pastime but have been taken from the popular

mime and must have been the descendant of the Brahmacharin that falls out with the haters of the Jahavrate or of the Vrishalapi of Rg X 83 The languages, Sanskrit or Prakrit were used according to the status of the characters because they were current as the lip-languages and

not as the book-languages of the people. Both Sanskrit and Prakrit had yet to be fossilized into literary forms which they did after a pretty long time—the former after 400 B C and the latter after 400 A. D roughly.

Some scholars take a clue from such words as Pan-chalika, Putrika, Puttali Duhitrika—all meaning puppets made of wood and attribute the origin of the drama to the dumb puppet-shows, the favourite pastime of the people

"The simple puppet-show is everywhere the most ancient form of dramatic representation and it was so in India2."

1 Oldenberg Z G Prosa

2 Pisckel. Home of the puppet-play P S

12

The prototype of the Sūtradhāra who pulls the threads behind the puppets and thus moves them is found in the drama and it is he who is responsible for weaving the different threads of the plot-texture. The Indian Drama is therefore a gradual evolution of the puppet-play strictly a secular past-time as is borne out by the fact that a damsel is introduced in Brihatkatha as the daughter of the asura Maya using a puppet and that a talking puppet impersonating Sita is actually introduced by Rajshekhara in his Bal Ramarana Side by side with the puppet-play there was in ancient time another pastime-the shadow-play instances of which are supplied by later writers, by the shadow-Sita in the U R. and by shadow-Urashi in V U Even Vidushaka is associated with these dumb-shows as a stinjin character "The Shaubhikas of Mababhasya were persons who explained matters to the audience to supplement either dumb-actors or shadow figures"

This theory is opposed by Hillebrandt according to whom the puppet or shadow-play is an imitation of drama which again is nothing but an imitation of human life The sutradhara of the drama has nothing to do with the threads but has mainly to measure and lay out the land for the theatre and secondarily and figuratively to measure the threads of the plot "The drama as comedy is a national expression of man's primitive life of pleasure and appreciation of humour and wit and it cannot therefore be evolved from the puppet or shadow-shows

The old popular mime that was staged under the auspices of the ritual and that had got its body and perhaps its spirit from the old gatha literature, received

1 Laders

further impetus when the whole floating mass was put

together in the epic in such a way as it could very well

be laid under and represented. The epics with all the

legends and myths, with their intrinsic and inherent

dramatic element gave rise to many other attempts on the

part of reciters either to expound or to represent the

stories in the form of Kirtans or Purānas which were a sort

of monologues. As the cults of Kṛṣṇa Rāma and other

divine incarnations spread their influence, the monologues

were changed to dialogues or polylogues or processions

called Yatras or Lilās in the north or Lalits—and Gon-

dhals—dramatic performances in Maharashtru. On the

score of their historic aspect the yatras of the north and

the Lalits and the Gondhals are wrongly said to have

originated and influenced1 the Sanskrit Drama while

reverse is the case The Drama had already attained to

its full form at the time of Bhāsa and Ashvaghosa and

Patañjali It is the drama therefore that gave rise to

these mimic dramatic performances which are certainly

post epic efforts The Gondhal of Mahārāshtra comes

still later It could not have been there before Maha-

rashtra was colonized by the Mahārājlks and Nagas of

the North and Maratha nation and language were evolv-

ed which are dated approximately at 400 A. D.2 The

Gondhal therefore is an imitation of the Kirtan of Brah-

mins administered and altered according to the needs of

the people in the lower strata, and perhaps presents both

the Aryan and non-Aryan elements.

The theory put forward by Windisoh and Hermann

Reich which adduces Greek origin to the Sanskrit Drama

is based on wrong assumption The Mṛcchhakatika which

1 Dr Belwalkar, D Q

2 V K Rajwade—R, M. Champfu

they both have taken to be the oldest and the typical

Indian drama and which forms the basis of their theory

has been conclusively proved to be an enlarged and im-

proved edition of an earlier play Chārudatta1 and avail-

able upto four acts written by Bhās who lived certainly

prior to the influence of the tornado of the Macedonian

invasion Besides borowal is one thing and infiuence is

quite another thing The indegenous Indian drama might

have come under a strong influence of the Greek plays on

account of the intellectual contact especially in the period

of Menander's conquest or which even prior to that was

aided by the brisk exchange of trade between Alexandria

and Ujjain through the port of Baryagaza The hords of

the tornado of the Greek invasion and the subsequent

settlements of them on the Indus and the trans-Indus

province might have erected theatres for staging the

Attic comedies that might have influenced and given an

impetus to the Indian drama that had sprung into being

before the advent of the Greeks It is within easy com-

prehension to attribute quite independent origns to both

the dramas Similar thoughts have often occured quite

independently to different persons. The drama when

once originated will undergo similar development and

the scenic requirements for it will also be identical in

most countries. The divisions of the play into five acts,

the entry and exit of all actors, the asides, the scenic con-

ventions are but superficial similarities and could very

well have been developed independently in both the

countries

These scholars however ingenious, scholarly and

scientific their researches may be, start with certain pre-

possessions under which they labour so much that they

1 Belwalkar M K and Ch

try to bring forward to a later date the antiquity of

every thin, Indian and trace its origin in some exotic

civiliza'tion like that of Greece which according to them

is the mother of every thing Western Hellenism is

sought to be traced in language, society, religion and even

philosophy of India The Bhagavadgita has not escaped

from being traced to Hellenic influence. As the Hindu

scholars are exhorted by them to be free from the influ-

ence of tradition which colours their views, so these

scholars also require to be told to be free from the bias of

Hellenic influence

The word Yavanika or Javanika is taken to mean

"Gracian cloth" though the use of the curtain by the

Greeks is much questioned. The pati ro apati is said " to

be a persian tapestry brought to India by Greek ships

and merchants" The introduction of yavanis--Greek

maidens--is due to the fondness of Indian princes for

their fascinating looks. The Vidushak, though Brahmin

by birth, is said to be the imitation of the confidential

slave of the Greeks, and Vita, of the Greek Parasite.

Though the action in most of the Sanskrit dramas traverses

a long period of a number of years and though it is a

complex texture of a number of threads, still unity of both

time and action is sought in them The divisions of

Sanskrit drama rest on an analysis of the action and

though such divisions are not recorded in the Greek

drama still the acts are said to be the prototypes of the

acts of the Greek drama. The characters of one are high,

middle and low while those of the other are ideal, real

and inferior The similarity of episodes is also pointed out

The ring in Shāk and Malvikā, the seal in the Rām and the

Mudrā R , the jewel in the Nag and V U, the garland in

M. R and the scented garment in the the M. K. are

dramatic contrivances most pleasantly devised and designed; still atrempts are made to show the debt of fancy coming from Greece. The theory of greek origin is too full of prejudices to command our acceptance in face of the strong proof advanced by Pātanjali against it At the most it can be said with Weber that the Sanskrit drama may have received an impetus by the representation of the Greek plays at the courts of the kings in Baktria, the Punjab and Gujarāth.'

The Sanskrit drama which combined in it both the religious and the secular elements and which in its course of development came within the sphere of influence of the Greek plays, must also have come under the influence of the Kshatrao rulers of Mālva and Āutrica It could not have been originated either in Ujain-Mālva or in Saurensa-Mathurā The drama which took its manner from the Vedic dialogues and its matter from the epic-sage-lore and characters from such festivals as the Mahāvrata and which was canonized by Krishashira and Shilali could not have waited to take its life from the Kshatrap rulers though under whose auspices the Sanskrit language was secularised as is maintained by Levi on the strengtu of the laugunge of the earliest inscription But there is a good deal of material against this In the first place the Kshatrapas who are wrongly identified with satraps were men of indegenous Hindu extract and had not a drop of foreign blood running in their reins They revived every thing that was ancient and traditional, religious and lingiustic and must have revived the Sanskrit language which had perhaps fallen into a little disuetude. The same patronising attitude towards the Sanskrit language is noticed in the inscription of

1 Indian studies Web--

Ushavdat (124 A D) and in the still earlier inscription

of the Sunga dynasty The champion of the vernacular

Ashvaghosha who was inspired perhaps with the desire

of handling Sanskrit in as facile a way as of the orthodox Brahmins could accept it as the vehicle for his

drama The use of a particular language in a drama is

generally in accordance with the actual state of things and

though it was the case with the Sanskrit drama at some

period of its development, still the use of different prakrit

languages in the later dramas must be attributed to

literary purposes rather than to any attempt to imitate

the speech of the day On the same ground can be dis-

proved the theory of Konow who accepts Muttura and not

Ujjain as the centre of the origin of the Sanskrit drama

on the basis of sauraseni being the normal prose tongue in

the fragments of the dramas of Ashwaghosha and in the

dramas of Bhāsa The support which Levi takes from a

passage of Bharat's work on dramaturgy is equally

insecure He says that the terms 'Swamin' Sugritna-

man, Bhadramukha, Rāshṭriya are borrowed by Bharat

from the actual state of things being appellations in force

in official etiquette in the Kshatrap court. The passage

in question is in the first place corrupt and secondly

nothing more is gained by this similarity which is too

flimsy to warrant an inference regarding the origin of the

drama. It can at best be said that the drama received

further impetus and revival under the patronage of the

Kshatrap kings of both Ujjain and Muttura.

All the theories that have been advanced by several

eminent orientalists regarding the origin of the Sanskrit

drama, however plausible, ingenious and scholarly they

may be, unfortunately have not got in them the strength

of tradition and consequently are not able to stand. +Inter-

pretation is very scarcely attempted with regard to tradition which always builds a huge structure on simple truth The Sanskrit drama on account of its origin being buried under boary antiquities and its long life of growth, came to be clustared round by tradition. In the absence of complete dramatic works as such, the ancient writers did not possess that historical or chronological sense to trace the evolution of the theatre by means of the direct or indirect eridence of Indian literature Though the Samhitās, the Brāhmans, the epics and the grammatical works furnish positive eridence about the origin and the condition of tae theatre, about the forms of representation and dramatic art and thus present scattared cunstitunt elements which, grouped together may erolve a drame, still at the time of Bharat, the famous writer on dramatics, blind credulence clustered round the tr ta and buried it down from the riew of persons. Bharat, the celebrated author of Nātyashāstra possessed a genius of the same type, though not of the same masnitude, as that of Vyās of the epic fame or Manu of the smrti fame There was always a mass of material flostiag over the society mastered by scholars orally but no attempt was made to systematise and organise the whole bulk. It was only a Vyās or a Manu who with his comprehensive vision could take a complete riew and could restore order in the chaotic form of Literature The various incidents. ancedotes, experiences, traditions, histcries that all have been coglomerated in the famous epic were so many disjoined fethers flying anywhere according to the force of circumstances Vyās caught hold of them and put them together supplying at the same time the soul of unity which that disjointed stuff required. In the case of Manu again, the several canons

people

It

was

condemned

very

severely

by

the

custodians

of

moral

code.

The

terms

such

as

Rūpajīvi

and

Jāyājīvi—“

living

on

their

charms

or

on

the

charms

of

their

wives”

are

sufficiently

condemnatory.

In

Jain

works

such

as

the

Ārangasutta

and

Rajprasniyā

there

are

condemnatory

or

remedial

remarks

on

such

ideal

enjoyments

as

arts

akin

to

the

drama.

Bharat

had

to

widen

this

narrow

angle

of

vision.

The

arms

of

which

he

hemmed

in

this

fine

art

and

the

rulers

of

the

age.

Every

writer

maintained

that

his

subject

was

the

best

of

all,

that

it

emanated

from

the

mouth

of

Brahman

and

that

it

had

the

Vedic

tradition,

that

it

could

secure

for

the

men

all

this-worldly

and

other-worldly

ends.

It

is

this

henotheistic

tendency

that

has

led

Bharat

to

say

that

of

the

chief

constituents

of

the

drama

the

element

of

recitation

was

taken

from

the

Rigveda,

song

from

the

Sāmaveda,

mimetic

art

from

the

Yajurveda

and

sentiments

from

the

Atharvaveda.

The

traditional

view

about

the

origin

of

Sanskrit

drama

is

given

by

Bharat

in

his

Nāṭyaśāstra

in

the

following

words:

“When

Brahma

was

a

sage

in

the

Kṛta

age

and

when

Bharata

was

preparing

for

the

Treta

Age,

when

popular

morality

was

in

the

grasp

of

greed

and

of

desire

and

the

world

is

deluded

by

envy,

by

resentment

and

by

real

and

woe,

when

the

Devas,

Dānavas,

Gandharvas,

Yakṣas,

Rākṣasas,

Mahoragās,

and

the

Lokpālās

entered

upon

Jambudvīpa

then

Indra

and

other

Devas

said

to

Brahma,

“We

desire

a

pastime

to

be

seen

and

heard.

This

matter

of

the

four

Vedas

should

not

be

heard

by

the

Śudras,

pray

therefore,

shape

another

and

fifth

Veda

for

all

the

castes.”

Saying

to

them,

“So

let

it

be”

and

turning

away

from

Indra.

He

who

knows

the

essence

of

every

matter

seated

in

ro?a

posture

called

to

his

mind

the

four

Vedas,

thinking:

'Let

me

make

a

fifth

Veda

to

be

called

Nātya

(Drama)

combined

with

epic

story

tending

to

virtue

wealth,

(pleasure

and

spiritual

freedom)

yielding

fame—a

concise

instruction,

setting

forth

all

the

events

of

the

world

about

to

be,

containing

the

significance

of

every

scripture

and

for

marding

every

art

Thus

recalling

all

the

Vedas,

the

Blessed

Brahma

framed

the

Nātya

Veda

from

the

several

parts

of

the

four

Vedas

as

desired.'1

The

first

exponent

of

this

cumulation

of

the

different

materials

or

a

practical

representation

was

a

play

named

Amṛtmanthan—the

churning

for

nectar—which

was

staged

by

Nārada

and

others

at

the

festival

of

Indra.dhaj.

The

stage

was

presided

over

and

furnished

by

many

deities.

The

first

play

the

theme

of

which

was

about

the

fight

between

the

Suras

and

the

Asuras

was

running

its

course

when

all

of

a

sudden

some

hindrances

appeared

and

the

Sūtra-dhāra

fainted.

The

Asuras

were

dissatisfied

because

the

drama

depicted

them

own

defeats.

They

were,

however,

calmed

down

by

the

god

who

was

thereafter

named

तत्

Then

the

theatre

came

to

be

protected

by

deities

not

a

nook

being

left

without

any

deity

presiding

over

it,

the

centre

of

it

being

occupied

by

the

father

of

the

science

of

dramaturgy.

At

some

other

play,

it

is

said

that

the

sons

and

disciples

of

Bharatmuni

the

actors

who

in

a

comic

vein

made

fun

of

some

holy

sage,

were

cursed

in

consequence,

with

the

loss

of

their

status

which

thereafter

came

to

be

on

a

par

with

the

Sudras

King

Nahuṣa

was

the

first

man

to

establish

a

theatre

on

earth

"

1

Coomaraswamy's

translation—Mirror

of

Gesture

Bharat thus considered first the formetiol or the crea-

tion of the scienccf dramaturgy followed by the discussioll

of two.other.points, namely, the preventioll of the obstruc-

tions and the proteclion of the theatre There were four

Vedas and oring to the purity and reverence in which

they wereheld, the fourth class of the Hindıı caste-srstem

was debarred from a study of them It was for their

interest that a fifth additiollal Veda was fashıoned which

was called the नाट्यवेद 1

The Nātyaveda, therefore, according to traditioll

contains the isolatioll and the elabcratioll of certain

specific featııres of the alredy exıstıng four Vedas-

recitsticll from the Ṛgveda, music from the Sāmreda,

the gestııres from the Yajurveda and the emotıons from

the Atharvaveda Both the Gandharvas and the Apsaras

took part in the play.

The social stıtıs of the actors was

very lo-. The first play was staıed on the cccasioll of a

religiolls festiral in honour of Indra's bruner

the staff of ı.hıch was seizell by Indra to best off the

Asuras h.lıad risen in ı.rath and whıch thence,orı.ard

came to be stıled as नड़र and to be used as a protectioll

at the begıllıing of the drame. This flaz-staff whıch

was dcorate1 ı.ith flowers and buntings and the salu-

tatioll offered to it at the prelimineries of the draııa have

gir en ri.e tı a ı.rong notioll ı.ith some scholars ı.ho

conneı.ıg with the ceremollies of bringıng in the May-

pole from the ı.oods supported by the comparisoll made

by Groı.se of the Holi and the Mıy-day rites

1 ॠ च वेदविदरोरसि साध्व कल्पनाहतु ।

तन्मात्रुज अमृत विदं पठन् सार्वकामदम् ॥ नाट्यशास्त्र १.

23

Another tradition tells us that it was Brahmadeva who put together the science of singing or music from the Sāmveda and taught it to his five disciples-भरत, नारद, रंभा, हह, तुंवर, who were excultant on learning it and gave an examination in it before Mahadeo who was a great appreciator. These five disciples wrote five Samhitās. The Bharat Samhitā came to this world, that of तुम्र went to heaven, those of Tumburu and Huhú went to the nether region Bharat started the dramatics, Narada started the instrumental or the stringed music and Rambhā started dancing

These are traditions no doubt but they should never be discarded because they are traditions, but should rather be availed of for the right and rational interpretation because they contain the opinion and doctrines of the people, accumulated from times immemorial that load it with the subterfuge of blind, unscientific and irrational superstition The origin of the fine arts was completely lost sight of, hidden so much away in the dim distance that it came to be associated with the divine fountain head who is the source of all that is good. These traditions reveal among many others, the following things regarding the Sanskrit drama -

(1) That the origin of dramatics was buried in dim, hoary antiquity and was beyond the ken of even advanced people. Being a social form of art, it must grow with the society,

(2) that it was Bharat who put together all the canons and evolved his Nātyashāstra on the basis of sutras already existing,

(3) that the material for representation was taken

from the epic and the pre epic literature—the exploits of

Suras against the Asuras,

(4) That the occasion selected for representation

was some religious festival like the banner festival,

(5) that the Gandharvas and the Apsaras—men and

women played the different roles ,

(6) That the art of dramatics being perhaps much

indulged in by the commonalty was not held in gracious

looks by the austere Brahmins. that the social status of

the actors was very low—on par with that of the Sudras,

(7) that the fun was sought at the cost of some holy

sage and consequently of Brahmins,—which must have

given rise to the funny character of Vidushaka,

(8) that the people had begun to appreciate the value

of this social thought rigorous and specific literary art as

being the source of all enjoyment, counsel in matters of

sentiment, mood and rite,

(9) that attempts were made to rehabilitate the

degraded art by connecting its constituents with the

most sacred heritage of the people. namely the Vedas,

(10) That the singing, dancing, and drama were

inseparably connected and had sometaling divine in them,

that they all emanated from some etherial beings

The following verses may be read in connection with

the traditions.

नानावादोपपन्न । नानादेशान्तनातनृत्यम् ।

लोकरत्तानुकरण । नाटयन्तनमयार्थतम् ॥

उत्तमान्नवध्यान । नराणा हृदयन्धनम् ॥

हितोद्देशजनन । इति त्रिविधसुखोदितम् ॥

तत्रांता तन्वी तनु | ने-तान्ती तर्पातनां

दिङ्मात्रनत्ना राठे । नारमेलन्नजाततनु ॥

म ता

स्य तन्वे विषा ने नार-डिण्डिमे ।

इ नते नो इन्कतत: न ॥ ८ ॥

नार्य तन मते तु मत्तोन्नते नते ।

स्वान्ते माङ्गलये लोके नृप'तनु-मते ॥ ९ ॥

देवतार्पणार्थस्य रसोन्मादिरस्य ।

न-यत्तो नमताने नेपथ्यार्पणादिति ॥ १० ॥

तनु न ति त ।

नारङ्गरागो द्रुत यत्र न य-चेत ॥ ११ ॥

न त देवोपरोड्य नात्रान न जातीय !

तनुगात्रापर हि न नमनं -तन्व' न्नु ॥ १२ ॥

नात्रात्र्य पुग्नं चेद ने(हिनि करोम्यहम् ॥ १३ ॥

न तान भाटामृदङ्गन+नेा आनतेन न ।

स्य तन्वङ्गनिजातना तन्वानन ॥ १४ ॥

नाट्यशास्त्र १ अध्याय.

CHAPTER II

The mould of Sanskrit drama

Bharat was the first accredited promulgator of dramatic thought. There were Nātyasūtra writers like Krishās̄wa and Shilālī and dramatists like Bhāsa, Shudraka and Ashwagosha Shāradātanaya a writer on rhetorics belonging to the 12th or 13th century, refers to one Subandhu,—a pre-Bharat writer on dramatics He in his वाग्भटालंकार says, “Subandhu enumerates five divisions of Nātakas गुङि, प्रकरन, भास्वर, वलित, समग्र This Subandhu lived in the court of the Mouryan sovereign Bindusāra, the son and the successor of Chandragupta and served him also as minister.

Subandhu was first imprisoned by Bindusāra and later on released after his binding himself to ni, sovereign's heart by writing the story of Vatsarāj, viz—वासवदत्तानामपायार. Even so early as the period of the Mouryan emperors Chandragupta and Bindusāra, Sanskrit drama was in a very highly developed stage and ministers were engaged not only in writing dramas but also in taking part in their representation This Subandhu is of course different from his name-sake, the author of the prose romance which came to be written in the period of the decline of the Gupta kings

All the same it has to be admitted that there is no work on dramatics which can be definitely set down as having been written before Bharat Bharat lived in the 3rd or 4th century after Christ Levi relies upon the royal titles Swami, Sugrihitnāman, Bhadramukha, Rāshtriya

which are simultaneously found in the Nātyashastra of Bharat and in the inscriptions of Rudradāman and

Rudrasen, two rulers of Kshatrap dynasty of Gujarath and says that Bharat must have flourished under the warm

patronage of those rulers, that is, in 200 A.D. Harprasād Sastri also puts him there, while MacDonnel takes him

to a later date (700 A.D). But these dates refer to the extant work Nātyashāstra and its author. The name of

Bharat as the prime dramatist was already before that since the plays of Bhāsa that point out a markedly wide

divergence of technique from the one mentioned in the Nātyashāstra, make mention of Bharat and his epilogue.

The dramatics when once set high and infused with the divinity in a henotheristic spirit by Bharat received

attention from the writers of Purānas Agnipurāna—a work of 700 A.D. on account of its debit to Amarkosha

gives a full treatment Dhananjaya Mammatā, Viśwanath and a horde of others have treated the subject in all

its aspects and have evolved from it the aesthetics and the psychology of sentiments

According to the Hindu notions of aesthetics, a dramatist does not differ very much from a poet. A

dramatist has to be a poet first and a dramatist afterwards. The requirements and the equipment that a

dramatist has to set up are the same as those of a poet He must have the प्रतिभा or the power of imagination in

an unlimited quality by which he can work wondious deeds (अपूर्ववस्तुनिर्माणसमर्था प्रज्ञा) or by which he can make

novel lustrous revelations (नवनवेन्द्रमेशालिनी प्रज्ञा) or by which he can give descriptions par excellence (वर्णनानिपुणत्व)

In short, he is the god creator of the universe of poetics and as such can subject the world to any transformations

that he pleases.

अथारे काव्यसंसारे कविरेव प्रजापति

यथास्मै रोचते विश्व तथेदं परिवर्तते ॥ वचनालोक २२२

In addition to this power of alchemy he must possess

शास्त्रार्थ—word-knowledge and अभ्यास—constant practice

The purpose of writing a drama is thus set forth by Bharat in the following verse

दु स्वार्थान सदर्थ्याना गेकार्ताना तर्पस्तिनाम्

वि शान्तिजनन काले नाट्यमेतन्नचया हतम्

He also says to the effect " I made this play as following the movements of the world whether in work or play, profit peace. laughter, battle lust or slaughter

yielding the fruit of righteonsness to those who follow the moral law, pleasure to those who foliow best, a restraint for the unruly, a discipline for the followers of a rule,

creating a vigour in the imootant, zeal in the warriors, wisdom in the ignorant, learning in scholars, affording sports to kings; endurance to .he sorrow-stricken, profit to those v ho see'd advantage, courase to the broken—willed

It affords excelient counsel, pastime weal and all else It is a pastime a source of wit and humour. the soul of joy and delight

The ultimate aim is the supreme bliss which is said to be पर सुखप्रपोन्दनमालिभूत आनन्द

To the readers, it gives solace, instructions in knowledge, of religion morality and philosophy, proficiency in the arts and way of the world

To the dramatist it brings fame and wealth (काव्यं यशसे अर्थकृते)

One of the aims of the sanskrit dramatists appears to be the revival of the epic-religion by means of renewing the memories of the people by rehabilitating the characters of the epic and strengrhening the belief of the people

The drama is thus a source

of religious instruction The philosophers like Shankar,

the sacerdotalists like Kumārila, the Sovereigns like the

Guptas were doing work in great earnestness to with-

stand the onward march of the heretic religions-Buddhism

and Jainism The beliefs in the potency of sacrifice, the

karma and the transmigration theories were at stake and

were restored by learned erudite exegetic expositions by

philosophers and Mīmāṃsakas. The poets and the

dramatists also added their mite to the general fight

against them Theirs was an appeal to heart rather than

to the head

The dramatic poets more than any other artists

reproduce the life of men around them exhibiting their

aims, hopes, wishes, aspirations, passions in an abstract,

concise way which is more intensely coloured than the

deffuse facts of daily experience It comprehends both the

aspects of the human activity benevolent as well as

malevolent, the play, pastime, merry - making and the

scuffle, the duel fight and the slaughter It shows the pur-

suit of men of both pious and impious temperaments, the

restraint of the turbulent. Bharat says "I made this drama

according to the seven lands and so you (अमरैस) should not

feel resentment towards the immortals The drama is to

be understood as witnessing the deeds of Gods and Titans,

Kings of the spheres, and the Branman sages Drama is

that which accords to the order of the world its weal

and woe and it consists in movements of the body and

other arts of expression. The succinct view appears in

न तच्छन्तं न तच्चरं न सा विद्या न सा कला।

नाट्यं यौगं नटत्कर्म यत्नाद्येष्वस्मिन् दृश्यते॥

The various types of human activities and the

characters that live them during their life time form the

basis for the classification of the sanskrit drama Bhāna' or the one–man drama—a sort of monologue, must be the

earliest form of drama—or a " fermal version of a primitive mimetic performence " The performer therein

narrates dramatically a variety of occurences as happening to himself or to others Love, war, fraud, intrigue,

imposition are appropriate topics and the narrat or may enliven his recitation by a suppositious dialogue with an

imaginary interlocutor. " An appeal is made to heroic and erotic sentiment by the discr iption of heroism and beauty

in the verbal manner e g श्रीदास्वात्सक Vithi is of the same type with one act and one actor narrating a love story in

a comic dialogue consisting of equivocation enigmas and quibbles There are fragment speeches in the air The

first act of ūālati-ūādhao is an instance in point

Vrāroṣa is also restricted to one act and one action and traverses the length of only one day It excludes

female participation on account of the military transaction that it represents, The theme is legendary in character and god, or royal sage or man takes part in it

This type of one act play following as it were the unities of time, place and character gave rise to अंक or act

having characteristics either supplementary or introductory and written in a pathetic style, and covering

over the period of one day.

When such ankas were put together, a full drama was evolved. It was a Dima2 or Ihāmriga or a nāṭikā if

the acts were four

1 मागस्तु धूर्त्तनारितं स्वल्पसूत परेष्ट वा । यत्रोपवर्ग्येदक्षो निपुण पण्डितो विट-

[ID R 3. 49

2 डिमे वधू प्रभृतिंस्त्याज्यास्तक केशिकां विना ।

c

c

31

Dima, presents terrific events, portents, incantations, sorcers, combats, eclipses represented by gloomy charac-

ters eg Tripurdāhr Ilāmriga as tho name signifies, was a hard search after a maiden and henceo depicted the

topic of love or mirth. Nātika1 is a love romance and as such is very favourite with the dramatist. Its theme

generally is an intense and a thorough enjoyment of life, healt'i and vigour, a readines to take things as they

come, a freedom from over-anxiety about the morrow, an absence of psycholoical or metaphysical iddling. This

play is sometimes tarmed as lesser heroic comedy or sentimental comedy with a frame-work of intrigue con-

sisting of the efforts of the hero—a gay king to attain marriaze with the heroine who is a disguised princess.

The meetings—sweet and secret—are arrangzed by the confidnt's of both. They have to struggle against the

gealousy of the queen, a lady of mature character who at lest is forecd by the circumstances for the final

acceptance of the siturtion and tho consequent sanction of the nupituls of buth. "The life at the court gives the

opportunity for intriducing music, sonc, and dance as

1 नाटिका यत्र नायात प्रेम्णा चतुरानन ।

मुख्याोऽङगद्वितीयस्तु स्यानायको न तु ।

स्यादन्त उत्कृष्टन्या संगीत व्याप्तता तथा

नटनाट्यरागा ननग्रात नाटिका नृपवंशजा ।

स प्रचतंत नैतास्या देव्या श्वासेन शक्तित

देवी भंगतुरर्ज्जयेन्ट प्रगतभा नृपवशाजा ॥

पदेपदे मानवती तदृशे संगमो द्रयो

राति- स्याद् केशिकी स्वतपविमर्शा सधयः पुनः ॥ S. D.

elements in the entertainments "मृपदर्शिका. रत्नावली, मालवि-

काग्रिमित्र are famous instances of Nāṭikā.

The Nātaka is a more complex play. It has got a

number of secondary incidents and pīaveshas This form

of drama is quite free from the restrictions of art. It is a

form of drama par-excellance, serving different purposes

It accomodates itself not only to the grace and charm

of Kālidās but to the unmeasured and irregular genious

of Bhavbhuti It permits the political drama of Vishākh-

datta as well as the philosophical disquisitions of

Krishnamisra and the devotional fervour of Kavi

Karnapura"1 The notable instances of this form of

drama are शांकुंतल, उत्तररामचरित, मुद्राराक्षस, वेणीसंहार, चैतन्यचंद्रोदय.

The Prakaraṇ like the Mrāchhakatika or the Mālatī-

Mādhav takes the theme from a pure fiction or from real

life in a reputable class of society Love is its predo-

minent subject The hero is a member of ministerial rank

or a Brahman or a merchant It is of two types a shudha

one if the heroine is a maid of a family and a sankīrṇa

one if the heroine is a courteran It is a kind of drama

or a comedy portraying the manners of the people of the

common strata in the society It takes it name from the

hero or the heroine Though it may have as many acts

as those in a Nātak still it differs from it, in the

status of the hero and the heroine There are slaves,

Vitas and rogues of various kinds.

Prahasan is a farcical or comic satire on the vices of

Brahman or ascetics. It has for its person heretics,

Brahmans, cheta, Chetī, Vīta It is both pure and mixed

1 K D

Sam̀avakār1

is a supernatural drama in which characters

are divine or semi-divine. Heroic sentiment is por-

trayed in it

Prakarnikā, Sattak and many others are minor Ru-

pakas or Uparupakas

The Bhāvprākāsh of Shārdātanaya says that Suban-

dhu enumerates five divisions of Nātakas as :-

1 Purna,e g Kratyā-Ravan , 2 Prashānt, e g. Sva-

pnavāsvadatta , 3 Bhāsvar, e g Mārīch-Ravan , Chandra-

gupta, Binding of Rām and Laxman by Nāgpash 4 Lalīt,

e. g Vikramorvashiyam, Vatsrāj and Vāsavadattā

5 Samagra,e g Mahānātak

Tragedy is as a rule prohibited from being shown on

the stage The very thought of producing a tragedy-

showing a calamitous end was alien to Indan mind It

means of entertainment or a pastime-or weal to the world

This tendency of obverting a calamitous end strengthen-

ed and grew into a tradition which was too strong for the

dramatists to break. Drame was not the proper field to

show the worst results of retribution or Nemuses for which

the philosophy and the Karma theory offered ample solu-

tion Fate is nothing outside man. He is what he has

made himself on the strength of his accumulated action

in past lives There is no scope for sympathy for the

worst plight of a man because it is all of his own making

All the evil that he gets is a just retribution. The rule

laid down by Bharat prohibiting a tragedy is strictly

followed by dramatists that came after him. Bhāsa who

1 कार्यं समवकारेऽपि आमुख नाटकादिवत् ।

ख्यां तं देवार्षरं वस्तु निर्विमर्शीस्त सध्यैः ॥ P0.R

is a pre-Bharat dramatist is credited for having written

the only tragedy in Sanskrit literature His play, Urubhanga is termed a tragedy because it offers a calamitous

end to Duryodhana, the enemy of Vishnu But the play fails to satisfy the rules of tragedy laid down by Aristotle The

proper subject for a tragedy according to him, is the spectacle of a man, not absolutely or eminently good or wise,

who is brought to disaster by some error or frailty in him Pity must be roused by undeserved misfortune and terror by

misfortune befalling a man like ourselves All this is absent in the Urubhanga of Bhāsa The devotees of Vishnu are

sure to regard with relish, the fate of the enemy of that god, the evil Duryodhana. The idea, therefore, of producing a

tragedy is entirely wanting in the theory of Hindu dramatics as it is in practice. The severe injunction upon

dramatist refraining them from producing a tragic end could not check the dramatic muse of some writers who

were made of that stuff Some of their plays are, to all outward appearances, comedies in which the tragic end is

perforce suppressed owing to the dramatic canons or to the tradition-built taste of the people which the dramatist

dared not offend. The Uttararāmcharit and the Venisamhār are instances of suppressed tragedies or tragi-comedies

with reference to Sītā and Ashwathāman respectively The absence of tragedy makes clear the purpose of writing a

play v hich is well expressed in their dictum " All our efforts are for your pleasure '

The difference in the several types of the dramas mentioned above, had for its basis, the difference in

the subject matter or the raw material w hich w as selected for being fashioned The traditional saga of the Gāthā

literature, the Epics-Rāmāyana and Mahābhārat, the later purānas and the works like the Brihatkathā of Gunādhya

were the inexhaustible rich mines always at their command which the writers could draw upon whenever they liked Such of the writers again as happened to bask in the warm patronage of some kings compensated, by returning an encomium on their virtues and exploits by taking a theme from history There were other free lancers who afforded a full flight to their soaring muse and invented new themes and plots There were other dramatists who with their meagre talents took and dwelt upon the lesser personages and themes of the available sagas "The Hindu Theatre affords examples of the drama of domestic as well as of heroic life, of original invention as well as of legendary tradition" 1

The वस्तु—the plot or incident or the subject-matter falls, therefore, into three clear divisions--1. Prakhyāta—the incident which is very much familiar from tradition, 2 Utpādya—that which is invented by the writer, 3 Misra—one which combines in it both the characteristics

The Vastu or the incident which is thus once adopted from tradition or from invention is sifted in point of the mutual connection of the different threads of the plot—the main currents being separated from the minor ones This divided the plot into two—1 अधिकारिकम्2—which is the main because it pertains to the accomplishment of the desired object of the hero and 2 प्रासंगिकम्3 which is the subsidiary one that accelerates the speed of the accomplish-

1 Wilson Theatre

2 आकार फलस्वाम्यमिकारोच तत्स्व तनिवर्त्यमभिच्यापि ऋते स्यादविकारिक ॥ ९ ॥ D. R.

3 प्रासंगिकं परार्थस्य स्वायो यस्य प्रसंगित ॥ D. R.

ment

This

latter

again

falls

into

two

classes

पताका'

and

प्रकरी²

that

deal

with

secondary

topics

that

rise

according

to

the

exigencies

and

that

refer

primarily

to

the

accomplishment

of

the

desires

of

minor

characters

and

secondarily

to

that

of

the

hero

Of

the

two,

Prakari

is

less

in

length

and

strength

than

Patākā

The

Patākā

which

is

a

secondary

incident

is

to

be

distinguished

from

the

पताकास्थानक

which

is

the

Dramatic

irony

either

of

situation

or

of

words

due

to

the

happy

coincidence

of

utterances

These

three

divisions

have

got

three

more

sub-divisions

according

as

the

topic

dealt

with

is

Prakhyāt—well-known

in

history

or

tradition

or

Utpādya—invented

by

the

genius

of

the

dramatist

or

Misra—mixed.

These

are

nine

in

all

There

are

some

incidents

in

the

theme

that

have

histrionic

virtue

in

them,

and

are

most

effective

when

shown

on

the

stage

while

there

are

others

that

offend

the

public

eye

and

decorum

if

shown

on

the

stage

They

are

either

too

indecent

or

obscene

or

too

void

of

sentiment

to

be

vividly

represented

and

therefore

require

to

be

suggested

only.

They

are

दृश्यश्रव्यम्

and

सूच्यम,

respectively

There

is

again

a

third

classification

of

वस्तु

based

upon

the

nature

of

the

particular

material

such

as

प्रकाशम,

स्वगतम,

अपवारितम,

जनान्तिकम,

They

are

more

stage-directions

than

different

divisions

of

Vastu.

The

means

for

giving

effect

to

the

Sūchya,

the

suggestive

material,

are

the

Vishkambhak,

Praveshak,

Chulikā,

Ankāsya,

and

Ankāvatar

Vishkambhak,3

1

2

नाटचन्ध पताकास्थ्यं प्रकरी च प्रदेशभाकू

॥

D

R.

3

वृत्तवृतिंप्यनाणाना कयागाना निर्देशक

॥

D

R.

अपेक्षितं परिल्ज्य नोरम वत्थुिविस्तरम्

यदा सदस्सेच्छेप कुर्योदृश्िफभक तदा

॥

D

R.

३

indicates the different units of the story, both past and future, through the medium of mediocre character if it is pure, and of mediocre and low characters if it is Mishra. Praveshak1 does the same function through the medium of low characters but it intervenes between two acts

The Chulikā is an utterance behind the curtain by some characters The Ankāsya is an utterance of a character at the end of an act and it suggests the nature and the advent of the incidents in the following act The Ankāvatār differs from the Ankāsya in actually representing the incidents referred to, at the end of the previous act

These means of presenting the material, sifting it first according to its suitability serve as so many devices for securing economy in plot-construction The portraying of every minor incident will make the play prolix and prolixity is a serious defect in a dramatist who does never enjoy absolute freedom regarding the length of his play as his broiler artist - the novelist does. A drama is always intended, as Aristotle says, for "a single hearing" The action with its salient features brought out, passes through five conditions which are called the Arthaprakritis-the means for the accomplishment of the object The whole action is surveyed from beginning to end, is cut into five suitable partitions and is made to run its course through them. The essential interest of the action does not lie in the straight, linear dynamic movement of it but lies in the circuitous movement that it takes, lies in the rise and ebb, in the fluctuating development of it The five divisions in the action are -Beeja, Bindu, Patākā, Prakari, and Kārya.

1. तद्वदेवानुदात्तोक्त्या नो चपात्रप्रयोजित:

प्रवेशोऽङ्कद्वयस्यन्त शेषार्थस्योपसूचकः ॥ D. R. 9

1 Beeja1 is the seed of the action and when sown spreads itself and grows into a tree, yielding the final fruit It is the initial incident

2. Bindu2 shows a further developnent of the action keeping unity in the variety of tae incidents of it It is the internal tared that goes through and binds together the differant shreds and acquaints theme when it is likelr to be lost sight of, in the maze of the minor incidents.

3 Patākā and 4 Prakari are already explained above ( page 36 )

5 Kārya3 is of course the final achievement or the conclusion

Corresponding to these five stages in the development of the action, there are five Sandhis4 viz Mukha, Prati-mukha, Garbha, Avimarsa, Nirvahana These five divisions or joints on the body of the plot are at the basis of the fire acts of the drama and therefore obey the exigencies of the stage-ma-agement They contain elements of such nature as offer tension and relaxation to the feelings of the or-lookers alternately

1 Mukha5 gives time for the seed to grow and sees the possiblity of giving rise to various imporis and sent1-ments The germination and transformations of the seed, the possiblity of the adverse fortune, the food for

1 बीज—स्वल्पमात्र सुसूष्ट बहुधा यद्विमपत्ति, फलावसान ॥

2 विन्दु—प्रयोजनान विच्छेदे यतवि छेदकारणम् ।

यावत्मनोऽनिर्वन्धस्य ॥

3 कार्यम्—चतुधिकारिक वृत्त तदर्थी द समार्भ ॥ भ ना.

4 संधि—अन्तरेकार्यसंघव ॥ भ. ना

5. मुख—चौजममुत्पत्ति नानार्थरसमभवा ॥ D R.

onticement, the shrewd devices, the advent of pleasure,

satisfaction or misery, the inordinate initial enthusiasm,

the disclosure of secret, the efforts of rana.ino, the

obstacles and the rupture-are some of the many

incidents that are depicted in the Mukha--Sandhi

2. Pratimukha' has reference to the Bindu as the

first has to the Been It gives full scope for all to

vigour and activity of the principal character to put

forth for the final and speedy achievement of the object

No obstacle appears in this sandhi 'J'he end which is

sown in the first sandhi shoots up a little after its germ-

nation and is both visible and invisible to some extent.

The seed manifests itself in any one of the following

ways:-

The desire for mutual union, pursuit of the Person

which disappears after having manifested first a little.

advent of adverse fortune efforts for acquiring it a piece

of humour between the hero and the heroine, frequent

encouragement, a sudden impediment that could

the prospective union, the persuasive imp rinitie- the

shaking off of the dependencr ontini or oninis for

faithlessmess in love etc

3 Garbha The Bija which was sown and

and disappears a little is moulded again in

part The recomplishment is within it of

of a sudden 'o tumultuor con-in and doth

accomplishment beyond it It

1

अङ्ग—अङ्गीभाव—विमर्शः ।

— विरुद्ध—विरुद्धतरत्वं । D D

2

प्राप्ति—प्राप्त्याशा—समर्थनम् ।

is taken off The action thus goes in a zigzag course

showing the rise and fall not only of the incident but also

of the sentiment It depicts the several guiles that are

practised for union, the information about the where-

abouts of the party, the several inferences about the

attitude of the other party, the talk of compromise, the

plumbing of the sentiments of others, the apprehension

from the enemy and the consequent confusion The Beeja

shows its sprouts in this part and points to the easy and

speedy acquisition of the fruit

4 Avamarsha 1 The import of the Beeja which is

disclosed in the preceding Sandhi is again tested The

test comes through excitement, anger, calmity or an

enticement The excitement or anger is roused by a

fault-finding utterance or by an attempt to imprison or

murder or by the contempt of the elders These things

infuse the strength to pacify or to withstand. The

calamity may be due to one's own disrespect. An

attempt is made to pacify all the elements that have dis-

turbed the course of the action

5 Nirvahana2 completes, unites and focuses together

all the scattered shreds of the story The resolution of the

plot that begins in the previous part is completed in this

The initial incident and a very significant utterance with

reference to it are brought before and significantly welded

together It gives the Prasād, Ananda, Varāpti, and

Prashasti, ( satisfaction, bliss, gift of boon and blessing )

1 क्रोधेनावनृश्येयता वयसनाद्वा विलोमनात्

गर्भोनिमिच्चवीजार्थ सोडवमर्योदरसंश्रय । D. R

2. वीजवन्तो मुखाद्यार्या विप्रकीर्णा यथायथम् ।

एकार्थसमुपनयने तत् निर्वहण तदा ॥

41

Again of the five Sandhis, the first Mukhasandhi gives the initial incident and some exposition on it and is similar to Protasıs of the greek drama ; the Pratimukha shows the action ıts rrowth or the complications of the incident and resemblcs the Epıtasis of the greek drama, the Garbha shows the climax or the crisis or the turning point of the plot-structure and resembles the Peripeteia of the greek play The two Sanskrit sandhis—the Āvamarsha and Nirvahana—depict both the denouement and the conclusion of the plot The falling action is shown in these and therefore they are similar to Catabasis of the greek play

The fluctuations in the actual course of the incident due to the rise and ebb of the energies of the principal characters are shown in as many stages viz —

Ārabdha¯ is the initial effort directed towards the acquisition of the great fruit and is connected with the Beejā and is in proportion to the eagerness of the characters It consists in a determinate will of the character saying “ I am sure to accomplish the end, come what may ”.

Prāratna¯ e —When such a commencement is made with determinate will, it becomes incumbent upon the characters, to lay down a scheme and to create and adopt the employment of means for its speedy accomplishment The possibility of hindrance is to be averted

Prāptyāshā¯ 3 —Clouds suddenly appear on the horizon and put out of sıght, the object when it is just within it.—

1. आत्मगुण्यमावमारम्भो फललाभाय भृष्यते ॥

2. प्रयत्नस्तु तदप्राप्तौ व्यापारोऽतित्वरान्वित ॥

3. उपायापायगृदृ+या प्राप्तयाशा प्राप्तिसंभवः ॥

The cup which is full to the brim and which is taken up to the lip and is on the point of being quaffed off is at once snatched from off the lips The arrival and utterance of Gautami ( रे चक्रवाक आमन्त्रयस्व सहचरीम् ) in the Shākuntala or the arrival of the queen Aushinary in the Vikramorvashi or that of Vāsavdattā when the union was quite imminent and 'within sight are some instances in point. It is a winding turn in the course of the plot

4 Niyatāpti1—After the winding, the efforts again take an onward, straightforward course, giving a turn to the rocky impediments in the way and the accomplishment of the object comes to be fully and distinctly viewed.

5 Falāgama2—This is the last accomplishment of the object—the crowning success,—not only the union of the hero and the heroine but all the attending pleasures, the obtainment of all earthly bliss

The Sanskrit drama in general presents three types of plot There are plots designed on "single hearing plan", for instance the dramas of Bhāsa like tha Noutavākya and the Madhyamavyāyosa Such dramas of single hearing are the earliest types of the drama The drama of "expansive plan 'is instanced by the Mālatī-Mādhav or Mrichhakatika They are admirable examples on an immense scale of the unification of the complex materials that are made to balance and illustrate one another These are thus the instances of both brevity and prolixity In some others, the plot is neither too brief nor too prolix as in the Ratnāvali or the Mālvika or the Vicramorvasheyam where the plot appears in a condensed form Though the dramatists

1 अपायाभावत प्रासिनियताप्ति सुविश्रिता ॥

2 समन्रफलसपाति फलयोगो ययोदित ॥ D R

present a great skill in the design of plot and in giving it

as far as they can, an appearance of pyramidal structure.

still it has to be admitted that the plot-structure in the

Sanskrit drama is more stereotyped, more conventional,

more rigid and more conforming to the laws of dramatics.

The Sanskrit dramatists are with a few exceptions, poets

first and dramatists afterwards Of the two important con-

stituting elements of a dramatist—the plot-construction and

the characterization, the first is always sacrificed for the

other and both are sacrificed for poetry This is but a

natural outcome of the restrictions imposed upon their

genius by the scientific canons There is always a set

mould both for the plot and the person to be cast into and

there is very little departure from it. The only field where

they are allowed a little of liberty is in the manner of ex-

pression and in the emotions The scope which the poets

have given to their genius in these two departments have

made them master-painters of sentiments and their acompa-

niments. The ancient Sanskrit drama is again more

conventional than real, gives more the recognized forms of

beauty than the representation or the imitation of actual

life The realism of the actual life is seen in the Mrichha-

katika but in most of others, the poetic fancy soars high

and high and its flights are far removed from the world of

actuality The fancy does come down in obedience to

poetic truth or poetic fidelity with the result that there are

son e instances like Śākuntala and the Mālatī-Mādhav

where we get the ideal probability

There is with Sanskrit dramatists a set idealism in

literature which has led to repetitions and analogies of

thought and expressions "Similes, metaphors, stock

witticisms of Vidushaka, poetic conventions had become

quite fossilized in Sanskrit drama. The familiar tree

44

Asoka, the bird chakravāka, the bee, the rescue of the hero

or the heroine from the clutches of an infuriated elephant

are incidents found with every dramatist All this was

common property, the literary stock-in-trade of every

dramatist and poet 1" This was the common fountain of

idealism the rules of which have been already given by

the writers on rhetorics Shūdraka is the only play-wright,

who got himself disentangled from the set idealism and

preached realism in his play The realism of Shudraka

has reference to logical or practical universe The hunger

of Sutradhāra, the fast of his wife, the impoverishment,

the pursuit of the harlot by the city-lewds, the broil of

gamblers, the bankruptcy and the consequent house break-

ing of Sharvilak are all incidents of common occurence-

thoroughly realistic

Dramatis Personæ.-The plot and the characters

are inseparably and mutually connected. The plot gets

a dynamic force by means of the movement of the

different characters and the characters on their part

are developed by the action, the story, the incident

and the situation There was a number of items in the

preliminaries iat were gone through before the actual re-

presentation of the Sanskrit drama But they were all

finished behind the curtain Hence the first character

that apI eared on the stage before the people is the Sutradhār

He is a character that is not at all involved in the course

of the drama but stands apart a little from the characters

and speaks with somewhat greater authority. He along

with the Praveshaka and the Vishkambhaka fulfils the

interpretative function of the greek chorus He puts the

spectators in possession of all the initial information that

is necessary for the proper understanding of the play He

1 Di Sukhathanhar's articly B O A

presents a set programme versified to some extent and it

has very little dramatic effect He is the Director of the

company, the principal manager who regulates the thread

or rules of the drama He is generally a Brāhmin and

therefore qualified to recite the Nāndi—the opening

benediction employing a tone neither high nor low"1

Quite a number of qualities are desiderated in him.2

He must be very skilful in the presentation of

the play, must have information about the various arts

and sciences, the use of metres, the use of all kinds of in-

struments He must be conversant with the manners and

the morality of the people He must know the heavens,

geography, genealogies of kings He must be perfect in

limbs, free from disease, sweet-tongued, forgiving, re-

strained, courteous3 etc After the formal utterance of the

benediction a reference is made by him to the author,

giving all that is allowed by the proverbial reticence of the

Sanskrit dramatists If the manager of the company happens

not to be a Brāhmin, he seems to have had no right to the

title of Sutradhāra nor could he recite the Nāndi in which

case, the benediction is uttered by a Brahmin and the

further action or the play establisḥed by the Sthāpak who

possesses all the qualities and the appearance of the

Sutradhāra In the dramas of Bhāsa, the Sutradhāra

appears on the stage after the Nāndi as is clear from

1 Hindu Theatre, Wilson

2 नाट्यप्रयोगकुशलः ; नानाशीलसमन्वित.; सर्वशास्त्रविचक्षण: ;

छन्दोविनानतत्त्वज्ञ , काव्यराश्रविचक्षण: सर्ववादित्रतत्त्ववाद

3 स्मृतिमान्मतिमान् धीर उदार सिमतवाक्शुचि

अरोोगो मधुर क्षान्तो दान्तश्र्च प्रियवद

सर्वदोषविनिर्मुक्त: सत्यवाग्दक्षिणसुस्थिरा । नाट्यशास्त्र

सूत्रधारकृतारंभै (Bāna H. C). He is therefore a 'Sthāpak and

the introduction is called the Sthāpanā

The Sutradhāra is accompanied by attendants, one or

two, who are a little inferior to the Sutradhāra in point of

qualities He must be intelligent, beautiful, conversant

with the means and materials to be used on the stage.

It is Sutradhāra and Pāripārshvak1 that play the roles of

the different principal characters in the sequel The

Nati is his wife with whom he holds a conversation

dealing with the usually familiar topics of the household

She possesses all the qualities of the Sutradhāra. She is a

lady of a few words, very clever, modest, devoted to the

service of the elders The erudition, the information, the

versatility are also required of her2 The Sutradhāra,

his wife and attendants are very solicitous of the public

pleasure and entertainment Theirs is a pleasant and

happy household

The dramatis personæ other than the characters

mentioned above ( Prayō tris of the play ) fall into three

groups-high, middle, and low-according to their consti-

tuting merits or demerits.

The hero is taken from the Uttam class and is

presented into four different types according to his status

If he is a god or a demi-god, he is Dhīroddhata, if a king he

is Dheerlalita, if a warrior or minister he is Dheerodātta

1 सूत्रधारगुणेश श्रृङ्गारमप्रकृति उज्ज्वलस्वभावं मेवावी

नियानन सटेकरणक्रियं* ॥ भ ना॰

2 मितभाषा विदग्धा च सलज्जा न च निप्रुरा । कृताशीतगुणोपेता गुरूणा

शासने रता ॥ भ ना॰

minor episode requires an independent hero called Peetha-

marda who is a little inferior to the hero to whom he acts

as a devoted friend and follower He serves as a good

counter-foil or a parasite for increasing the aurora of the

hero Makaranda in the Malati-Madhao belongs to this

class.

The Dhiroddhata type of hero mentioned above is also

called the Pratināyāka-the counter hero or the villain

of the play He is शठो वीरोद्धत स्थेय पापकृत्यसनो नृपः , and he

is instanced by Rāvana in the Vircharit or Duryodhana

in the Venisamhār

The Vidushaka' or the merry, facetious buffoon is the

most important character in the Sanskrit drama He is as

indispensable to the stage as the hero to whom he acts a

jocose companion and a confidential friend He typifies

the lighter aspect and by his sallies and feats in mimicry,

relieves the tension of the feelings brought upon by the

serious sentiment of the hero He is a dwarf, old and

gray and with distorted features He is a Brahmin by caste

but speaks the prākr t He is said to be the successor of

the Brahmachārin of the Mahāvrata ceremony who uses

abusive language to a maid with whom he falls out He

and the maid, both figures from old; popular dramatic re-

presentations are conjointly responsible for giving food for

humour in the dramas. " His attempts at wit which are

never very successful and his allusions to the pleasures

of the table of which he is a confessed votary are absurdly

contrasted with the sententious solemnity of the despair-

ing hero crossed in the prosecution of his love-suit2." The

1 वामनो दन्तुर कुञ्जो द्विजन्मा विच्चततापन

खलति पिङ्गलाक्ष स विचेयो विदूषक ( भ ना.)

2 Monier William Sah.

clumsy interference of the Vidūṣaka in the intrigues of

his friend only serves to augment his difficulties and

occasions many an awkward dilemma As he is the uni-

versal butt and is allowed in return full liberty of speech,

he fills a character very necessary for the enlivenment of

the otherwise dull monotony of a Hindu drama Māṇavaḳa

is his name and he is always by the side of the hero. He is

the companion of his sports and promoter of his amuse-

ments. " The Prākṛit drama depicts him as the type of

Braḥmaṇa vha) serves as a go-between in love-affairs

masking his degraded trade under the cloak of religion."

Konow takes him to be a figure from the popular drama

who loved to make fun of the higher classes He cannot

certainly be taken to be the transformation of the slave

of the Greek drama because he is Braḥmin by caste and a

Braḥmin can never be a slave.

The other characters of parasite type that create a

sort of rollicking humour in a Sanskrit play are Vita, Cheṭa

and Śhaḳār. Vita1 is a man who is courteous, shrewd and

street. He is of a poetic bent of mind, very quick at re-

partees and leads up a discussion skilfully Viṭa is a

clever jester, quick of retort, singularly audacious and

with a special aptitude for sudden and disconcerting

turns in conversation which enable him to leave the

field with all the honours of victory. Cheṭa2 is made

of the same stuff though a little deformed. He knows

1. देवो, सत्कारकुलो नृपो नृपतिः नृति. । उदारनेहसो

नर्त्ती च नृत्तम्‌॥

2. कन्याप्रियो वहुलो वित्रोडो गन्त्रेदेवकः । मान्याग्र-

तिथः, केशो हेमवत्कः॥

4

the sense of propriety and knows also when and how to keep the dignity of others He is conve%ant with all

arts and diverts the minds of others by the fund of stories which he has at his command

But more funny, more depraved is the character of Shakāra 1 He is taken from the अयम class of characters

He is fond of gaudy clothes. He is very easily excited and very easily pacified He speaks the Māgadhī prākrit

He is shown in the Mrichhakatikā of Shudraka ( for the treatment of which see later) Though he creates laughter

in season and out of season still there is a system in his foolery and he never loses sight of the object to be accom-

plished Levi, possibly led by the title of this character, sees in it the traces of the Shaka influence on the Sanskrit

drama He says, "The character of Shakār may be regarded in this light, in its hostility to the Shakas. It

reveals a period when either a prince was opposed to the Shaka-Cythian-rule or the Shaka dominion had just

fallen The Mrichhakatikā may retain a confused version of the events of 00 A D" (For the discussion of the

Shaka influence on the Sanskrit drama see ante, page 17 ) He is an ideal but, perhaps the most foolish person

ever presented on the stage A complete igncramus, utterly incapable of grasping witticism, he is anxious to

pass as a man of parts and tumbles into every word-trap that other characters lay for him A perfect and entire

coward, he is fain to believe himself a perfect fire-eater He swallows compliments on his personal appearance

1 उज्जवलवल्लाभरण कुष्यत्यनिमित्तत प्रसिद्धति च |

अधमो मागधीभाषी भवति शकारः ॥ B N.

without the dimmest suspicions. He is a source of end-

less enjoyment and profit to the audience

The action hinges upon these four characters, Cheta,

Veeta, Shakār, Vidushaka! and gets as much a dynamic

force as with other characters 'They do not stand apart

as the Sutradhār, his wife and attendants do. Hence they

cannot be put under the class of Prayoktris as has been

wrongly done by Bharat in his Nātyashāstra

There are other male minor characters in the play,

for instance, the ministers, the priests, the harem-keepers,

the rassals, the warriors and the several other servants.

They discharge their own functions severally and con-

jointly, form a very good back-ground by increasing the

aurora in which the principal characters are introduced

They are all the coadjutors of the hero'

The heroine or the Nāyikā, the chief of the female

characters, presents four types quite similar to the types

of the hero. They are Dheerā, Lalitā, Udāttā and

Nībhritā or Salajjā The essential qualities that are

desired of a heroine are well expressed in the following

line,—विधया तिसृभिर्मधुरः प्रणयग्लपितकण्ठः (B. N.) The' heroine

of the Dheerā type must be a celestial lady ; the Lalitā, a

wife of a king , the Udāttā, a house-wife and the Nībhitā

a haters. The heroine is again classified into three

classes as Sweeyā, Anyā, and Sādharanstree. The Sweeyā,

1. कतिपयपुरोदितैर्‌वर्मसहाय । सुहृत्कुमाररटचिक्रादण्डे सान्न्त

सैनिका अन्तःपुरे वर्षवराः किराताः मूकवामनाः ।

म्लेच्छार्भटप्रतापाश् च स्वकीयैर्‌प्य् अन्‍यसैनिकैः ॥ D. R.

52

is either the senior queen like Tāratadattā or the junior queen like Ratnāvalī Toe Anṛē is a princess belonging to others, but who is an aspirant to the honour of tae queen Be it noted to the honour and high moral tone of the Hindu drama that the Parakeerā or she who is the wife of another person is never made the object of dramatic intrigue Sāgarikā in the Ratnāvalī, Mālavikā in the Nāgānanda and Mālatī are instances of this type

The Sāinīrcastri is a Gaṇikā or hetara and is defined as प्रगल्भाश्यौत्पुय

The interest in the feelings of the heroines divides them into three classes as Mugdhā—the innocent; Lāḍā—the young and sportive and Praṇayopā—she blind with love, voluptuous. There are hero nes who have got their lovers deeply attached to them (Srājiniṣṭhā), who adorn their household (Tisakṣajñā), who are eager for the arrival of their lovers, (Ti-alokānthitā), who feel grieved to see their lovers estranged to others (Inanditā). who are separated on account of some petty love-quarrel (Kalahāntaritā), who are put on the wrong track (Vipralabdhā), whose lovers are on a long journey (Prahita or Prā), who themselves make the advances of love or proceed on a visit to their lovers (Avisṛṇikā The beauty, the lustre, the sweetness, the gentleness, the nobility, the courage, the sentiment—all these virtues that are born with the heroines They also display the natural sport gaits and gestures

In the confidants of the heroine in her affairs of love are her friends and maids, nurses and neighbours, female relatives and artissans The Dootis or Sākhās of the hero nes are generally smart waiting maids clever, quick-witted, with an eye on the main issue They have got a very keen enjoyment of joke, practical or otherwise.

53

They play their cards with marked success and secure the downfall of the king's friends.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES.- The raw material for both the plot and the characters is taken by the Sanskrit poets mostly from the epics, and is fashioned, moulded and made adaptable to the stage. The epics on account of their expansive plan of structure can afford to take notice of only the broad features. The minor details in situations and characters are totally neglected The dramatist takes notice of such subtle details, associates them with characters and interprets thereby the general principles of human life. The Sanskrit dramatists have thus been saved from the trouble of using the creative imagination to bring into being new plots and characters and to make the audience sufficiently equipped to receive them The audience is always in full possession of the necessary initial information about the plot and the characters The efforts which are thus saved in one branch of imagination, viz the creative, are put forth in its other two branches, viz the associative and the interpretative The old plots and characters are rehabilitated to suit the exigencies of the stage and with their help quite an interpretative commentary is offered on the analysis of the sentiments of the human heart

The plot in Sanskrit drama rises, attains to a high pitch and falls-resolves It is thus a pyramidal structure and the various sandhis or acts represent the various important stages in the rise and fall of it. The minor incidents are arranged in strict sense of propriety as in the plays of Kālidās and Shī Harsha The important ones are repeated and focussed for magnifying the results as in

54

the Mritchhakatika and thus unity and oneness are produced regarding the fruit of the action In spite of the solitary instances wherein the unity and proportion of the play are violated, for instance the plays of Bhavbhuti, still the Sanskrit drama in general satisfies the principles of art-construction, viz the proportion, the repetition, the focussing, the similarity and contrast, unity and oneness

The skill in plot-texture appears to the utmost in the scene of ornament of Vasantsenā in the Clay-cart, in the ring- episode in Shākuntala, in the Jṛimbhakāstra in Uttarāmcharita, in the Bakulmālā in the Mālatī-Mādhao, in the ring-incidents of Rākshasa The following are again the best scenes from the point of view of plot, character and sentiment the separation of daughter in Shākuntala and bidding her farewell, disowning of her by Dushyanta, the separation and union of friends Vāsanti and Atreyi in U Rām , Chārudatta being taken to the gallows, the feigned quarrel between Chānakya and Chandragupta, the brave altercation between Karna and Ashwnthāman, the heroic and desperate dialogue between Madhao and Aghorghanta

Though comedies, they contain in them the conflict of views interest, or sentiment that is most essential for the action of a drama There is conflict in the Uttar-rāmcharita in the character of Rāma between the two very important constituents of character—the sense of Duty and Conscience Sītā to him " was above suspicion " but his duty as the king required him to abandon her There is conflict between the innocence and simplicity of boyhood typified by Rāma and the ire of Jāmadagnya in the Mahāvircharita There is conflict in the Mudrārākshasa.

Nāṭakaḥ prakaraṇaṃ bhāṇaḥ vīthī prahasanaṃ Dimaḥ

Vyāyoga samavakāraḥ preksārtham ṣaṭ pravartate

Ityaṣṭau rūpakāṇy āhur natāḥ sūtradharaḥ sakā

Caturdaśa prakārāṇī tatra bhedāḥ prakartate

Bhāṇa Vīthī prahasana Upa-rūpaka ity api

The brevity in handling the plot noticeable in Sanskrit

dramas is due to the practice of the poet of borrowing

from them in a writer or a third

personage : or it forms part of the

narrative mood ; or it is carried by Bhrāṇa, a

property like Kālidāsa and Harsha and is openly

discussed by Bhasabhaṭṭa and Bhāsa

The dialogues, the aidsos,

the soliloquies add not only a dynamic element to the plot

but enable the readers to enter into the hidden recesses of

the hearts of the characters. Bhāsa and Vishākādatta are

the masters of dialogue The dialogue is a means of charac-

terization because it unfolds the character by means

of the utterances not only of the character but of

others about him It is the dramatist's only substitute for

direct analysis It has immense value in the exhibition

of passions, motives, and feelings It must have organic

connection with the action which runs underneath it It

should be natural, appropriate, dramatic, easy, fresh, vivid,

and interesting All this can be said of the dialogues of

Bhāsa.

Besides brevity and impersonality, there is another

feature in the characterization of the Sanskrit drama and

that is 'concentration'-emphasis upon those qualities of

a character that really influence the action The chivalry

and gallantry of Dushyanta, Pururavas and Udayana,

the chastity and purity of Rāma, the filial affection of Kanva,

the love and respect for the self and the family of Sītā and

Shakuntalā, the friendly regard of Makarand and Mādhav,

the loyal and cautious politics of Chānakya and Rākshas,

the steadfastness and resignation of Chārudatta, the sacrifice of

Vasantasenā, the maternal care and shrewdness of Kāman-

daki and Sārkhāyani, the proverbial jealousy of the queens

and many others are gradually and unmistakably evolved

and emphasised They are focussed and are made to

influence the course of action conjointly

There is one more condition of characterization that

is found in Sanskrit drama - the method of cross-light-

ing The characters are unfolded by means of presenting

parrallel and opposite characters The Sanskrit poets

create parallel figures in their plays which produce a good

failing curses and counter-curses in the Śakuntala.

The ancient eagerness of the lovers as opposed to the jealousy

of the queens in the V. C. and in the Priyadarśikā. The

conflicting interest of the rivals in love in the Mālavikā-

Māgno and the Vikramaśakāra, the fulfilment of each in

the Mudrārākṣasa are instances where contrast as a

design in plot works powerfully.

The principle of contrast is as much important in the

development of plot as it is in that of characters The

rise and fall of actions are but the two ends of the con-

trast and the sharpness of the contrast between them,

the more vivid are they The Panātmnāns present nothing

but contrast between two aspects of the same thing and

cause surprise in the situation, which is revealed in an

ironic way or both the characters and the spectators

The dramatic irony concerns itself with the

hopes and apprehends a though unexpected use of word or

use of situations where according to it seemed as verbal

irony and irony of situation The Mudrārākṣasa is

replete with verbal irony when the word 'paṭṭa' is

uttered in a reference to Cāṇakya and 'grhīta' with

reference to Rākṣasa All the emissaries of Cāṇakya

that enter into the close and confidential service of

Rākṣasa who in his turn surprise finds them to be

its enemies men, create so many ironies of situation

The circumstance in Tejomayī-nā is another instance of

the irony of situation or.

The deep curse of sentiments is another important

feature in the structure-cum-character of the Sanskrit drama

and it is achieved at the sacrifice of corn the plot and the

character The Sanskrit dramatist is first a poet, second-

ly a sentiment- critic and last a dramatist The

ancient Indian traditions held that a dramatist should set

59

before him for his chief object the creation of sentiment and Rasa—(Rasodbhāvana), which hasled to some defects in the plot-construction.

The main object of a dramatic work is the evolution of some Rasa by means of Vibhāvas and anubhāvas.

" The Rasa is a phenomenon which is both semiphysiological and semi-psychological.

The human sentiments, their rise and fall, are biologically connected with similar disturbance in the biological kingdom.

The supra-human or the infra-human is as much subject to emotional disturbance as the purely human.

It is this that gives rise to phenomenon which the western criticos term as "Pathetic fallacy" or "Sympathetic illusion" which consists in transferring mental or emotional states of human beings to things in the animal kingdom

All the stimuli or the Uddipan-Vibhāvas are means of causing fallacies, illusions, or miscreations

They are, therefore, pathetic fallacies and they abound in both Kālidās and Bhavbhuti

"There are certain permanent or dominant moods of the human mind (Sthāyibhāvas) which generally lie dormant, but are aroused when appropriate stimuli are applied.

The stimuli in a dramatic representation are words and gestures ( Abhinayas ).

As the painter produces an illusion by means of brush and colour so the dramatist by words so rouses some of the dominant moods that for the moment the spectator or the reader forgets himself and has an æsthetic enjoyment of a particular kind

The resultant æsthetic enjoyment or pleasure is called Rasa

The dominant moods are eight in number rati-love, hāsa-laughter, shoka-grief, krodha-anger, utsāha-energy, bhaya-fear, jugupsā-concealment, vismaya-surprise

When they are roused by vibhāvas-stimuli, anubbāvas, and vyabhichari bhāvas, they attain to the condition of the several eight

60

sentiments or rasas-shringar-the erotic, hāsya-the comic,

karuna-the pathetic, raudra-terrific, vīr-the heroic,

bhayānak-the dreadful, bībhatsa-the depraved, adbhuta-

the wonderful There is one more sentiment-shānta or

the calm which is found in poetry and not in a drama

which contains gestures and movements that work against

it There are other minor rasas, for instance, vātsalya

or fīliality, bhakti or devotion, kärpanya or poverty,

shraddhā or faith

The love to a man or woman is roused by such causes

as moonrise, the spring, flowers, bowers These means are

called the Uddīpan vibhāvas and the man and the woman

are called the ālambanavibhāvas-the sub strata for the

emotions The external manifestations such as movements

of eye,glances that convey the working of the emotions are

called the anubhāvas There are secondary moods (fleeting)

beings called the Vyābhichārībhāvas1

The Shringār2 or Erotic is full of refuldgence and is

the product of the permanent mood-love It concerns itself

with whatever is pure, chaste, refulgent and beautiful. It

has reference to men and women. It is of two kinds

Sambhoga and Vipralambha The Sambhoga is produced

by gardens, ornaments, meeting with persons

sports and other things and is given expression to through

sportive words ard glances The other, Vipralambha, is

given expression to by despondency, fatigue, jealousy,

suspicions, anxiety, dreams, &c The pathetic or the Karuna

is expressed through tears, lamentations, drying of the

1 Kaucs Sabītyadarpana

2 रतिरत्नाचिप्रसव उज्जवलदेवपातमः. 1

mouth and is the result of curse, calamity, loss of beloved.

The comic or* the Hāsya is produced by quaintness in

dress, speech, taste, deformity in limbs and is expressed

by contracting and enlarging the eyes, the nose and the

mouth It mu t contain the three most important elements

of the comic—the degrad tion, the incongruity and the

automatism in manners, whic are satisfied by the charac-

ters like the Vidushaka, or t ie Shakār and the Shekhar

in Nāgānanda The Roudra or the terrific has reference

to demons and goblins, and is the result of anger, insult,

excitement, malice jealousy, both harshne s and highness

of tongue. The hāroic or the Vira his got reference to a

noble, heroic character and is expressed through determi-

nate resolution, modesty, strength, valour, exploits etc. The

fearful or the bhayānaka is expressed by an uncommon cry,

resort to desolate forest, the slaughter of one's own kith.

Tue bibhatsa consists in hearing and witnessing what is

unwholesome, undesirable, revolting to taste. The last-

adbhuta or the wonderful consists in the surprise with

which a man is taken The surprise is the result of some

illusion or magic, or of the intervention of some super-

human influences

In the actuality of life there are forces—call them

abnormal, sub-normal or super-normal—that work indirect-

ly upon the human mind The propensities, benevolent or

malevolent, innate or otherwise are floating in nature and

take refuge with a suitable soul The wierd sisters in

Macbeth, the ghost of Hamlet, the Rākshasa and Rākshasi

in Venisamhāra, the river deities in U Rām are so many

propensities of the characters given flesh and body to Their

appearance and occurrence baffles solution and, therefore,

the solution of such inexplicable things is based upon the

traditional belief's in angels, ghosts, spirits, omens, astro-

logy-dreams-that possess enormous influence upon the easily credıble minds

The solution of the inexplicable enıgmas takes the people by surprise and gıves rise to the sentiment of surprise ( Adbhuta ) The potency of the curse of Durvasa in Shāk, the intuitive knowledge of Kanva, the flight of Shakuntalā in the aır, the sudden disappearance of Sītā, the use of tırasakarını with whıch Sītā and Urvashı witness the bereaved condition of their lovers-about Āryaka and Pālaka in the Claycart, about Sāgarıkā in the Ratnāvalı and the Priyadarshıkā, the philosophy of flesh and blood of Rākshasa and Rākshası and the explots of the child-heroes–Lava and Bharat are all instances of Adbhuta rasa

REPRESENTATION -The performance of a Sanskrit play began wıth a dance both violent and tender, followed by a song whıch was recıted both in standing and sıttıng postures. Before the actual recitation of the Nāndı there was a number of prelimınarıes' that were gone through. The drums were beateen, the sıngers and the musıcıans entered, tried their' voices , the instruments were adjusted so as to produce a sweet triple symphonv The Sutra-dhāra raised the banner with a song scatiering flow ers Then was repeated in a medium voice, the Nāndı2 consist ing of one or more verses of two or four lines, calling

1 पूर्वरंग = प्रत्याहार, अवतरण, आरंभ, आश्रावणा वाद्यर्र्ति, उत्सापन, परिवर्तन, नान्दी, त्रिगत, प्ररोचना

2 नान्दी:- आशीर्वचनसंयुक्ता नित्यं युग्मार्थमुज्यते ।

देवद्विजनृपादीनां तस्मान्नान्दीति सज्ञिता ॥

for blessings and offering salutation by the Brahmin Sutra-

dhāra The characters then moved and danced on the

stage There was a funny talk between the Sutradhāra

and the Vidushaka. The Nati appeared and announced

the contents of the drama The Sthāpak-a non-brahmin

manager came and opened the introduction. Then the

introduction crmmenced It had thirteen different ways

of introducing the matter and the characters, the chief of

which are a Kathodhat.-"the words of the Director may

be, caught up by a character entering from behind a curtain

Yaugandharāvan catches up the consolation offered to

the actress which is applicable to his own scheme Bheema

denounces the benediction of his adversaries in the Veni-

samhara " Pravarlaki may enter who has just been

mentioned by the director in a comparison with the

season of the son ( Pri adarshikā ) "Prayogātishaya,

where the Sutradhāra actually mentions the entry of

character of the drama as in Shākuntala, ' Uddhātya-

abrupt dialogue as a means of connection as in Mudrā-

rāk hasa "1.

After the introduction, came the body of the play

which was cut into suitable divisions or Ankās in which

food was given to the nourishment of several sentiments

with due sense of propriety and with due vigilance as re-

gards the chief aim to be achieved Last of all was

uttered the Bharat-Vakya or the epilogue in which pious

wish was expressed for prosperous times both to the audi-

ence and the characters or to the sovereign patron. Cur-

tain was dropped at the end of every act and all characters

made an exeunt.

1 K D

64

The dress and the colour varied according to the

status and the clan to which the particular character

belonged The ascetics were clothed in barks of trees

proper to taeir way of life. The keepers of the harem put on

a red jacket The gandharvas, the yakshas and other

semi-divine beings and kings in general had to put on gay

garments, the parents put on colourless garments The

pastoral and other low class people used dark blue clothes

The mad characters were shown in dirty clothes.

The kings were shown in bright sable complexion.

The fore.ters like the Kirātas, the Dravidians, the Barbaras

the Ādhras, t ie Pulindas and the Deccanis were painted

in pitch-dark The Yavenas, the Sythians, the Palhavas,

the Balhikas, the Brahmıns and Kshatriyas were shown

redish-yellow. The Pānchālas, the Shursenas, people

from Mazadha. Vanga, Anga and Kalinga were dyed in

black colour

The ornaments that were put on by the characters

were made of thin copper plates1, of abhrak, of reeds and

they were coloured, so also the instruments and the

armours were made of bamboo reeds even or of earth and

then they were coloured and wrapped up in cloth The

flimsy substance was specially selected, for it mattered

very little if they were crushed to pieces in a scene of

altercation or fight

The languages differed again according to the status

of the charact rs The gods, the angels, the Brahmins, the

heroes of the four types spoke in Sanskrit Other charac-

ters le.s in dignity made use of any one of the several

1 तस्मात्ताम्रमयं पत्रकारक रञ्जिततरपि ।

मृण्मयंरपि साधूनि च्छते: कायोण्याभरणानि च ॥

Prākrits suited to the caste and country from which they hailed

The heroines used two languages The Shauraseni with them was the normal vehicle of prose and the Mahā-rashṭri of poetry.

There were other seven languages: Māgadhi spoken by the keepers of the kings' harem; Ardhamāgadhī by the Che's and the merchants, the Prāchya or the Eastern dialect by the Vidūshaka; the Avanti by deceits; Shauraseni by the heroines and their maids, the Bālhikā and the Deccani dialects by the people coming from those particular countries.

The Mrichchakatikā shows quite a variety of prākrits with some minor subtle distinctions

In spite of the strong injunctions that the usage of the plays as regards the language should be nothing but copying the actual practice in real life still the languages—Sanskrit and the Prākrits had fallen into dis-uetude and had become quite artificial by the time of the Sanskrit classical drama.

At the time of Bhāsa the languages—Sanskrit and the Prākrits were the lip-languages and not the book-languages of the people' The Sanskrit ceased to be a spoken language perhaps after 200 B. C contemporaneously with the time of Patanjali

Then the Pāli and the Prākrits took its place and continued to hold it for the next 400 years—upto the time of Hāla Sātavahana or Vatsyāyana.

Then the domain was given to the Apabhramsas to traverse upto 500 A. D.—upto the advent of the modern vernaculars.

On the languages depended the Vṛittis or the styles.

What the sentiments are on the psychological side, the Vṛittis are on the intellectual side of words As the actions produce the sentiments so the iwords produce the Vṛittis.

The Vṛittis tell about the languages, the coun-5

tries, the dress, the customs, and manners

They have got the power of both the expression and the suggestion

They are four in number viz. Kāishikī (graceful), Sāttvati (grand), Ārabhati (violent) and Bhāratī (verbal).

Of these the first pertains to the sentiments of comic, pathos and the erotic, makes use of song, dance, lovely raiments and expresses itself on the substrata of both males and females

It has got four ways of expression -Narman-wits of love, Narmaspunja—loveat the first sighte q meeting' of the king and Mālvika, Narmasphōta—suggestion of rasa, Narma-garbha—hiding of secret signs c f. Vatsa, comes in the garb of Manoramā

The Sāttvati has got reference to the heroic, wonderful and sometimes pathos and erotic

Its subjects are virtue, courage, self-sacrifice, compassion, righteousness, and is expressed in four ways challange or Utthāpaka,e q Vāli defies Rām in M V Sanghātya—breach of alliance e.g in M R Parivartak—change of action, e q Parashurām offers to embrace Rām in M V and Samlāpa-dialogue of warriors

The third Ārabhati refers to fury, horror and the means of expression are magic, conjuration, underhand devices and the elements are sankshipti—as in Elephant of mats in Rat, Vastūsthāpanā—creation of an object by magic means, Sampheta—angry meeting as between Mādhao and Aghorghanta, Avapata—scene of attack—the escape of monkey in Rat.

The last Bhāratī refers to words and has for its means the human voice

It expresses all sentiments

The introduction of M. R and Veni are instances of this Vritti.

Each one of the four Vrittis is associated with one of the four Vedas and has undoubtedly got something to do with the countries and the people who dwell in it

The ritas (रीतस्) are six according to Bhoja. They are Āvanti,

Māgadhi, Vaidarbhi1 Lāṭi,2 Gaudi2, Pānchāli 3 Of these the

important are 3rd, 5th and 6th. The Vaidarbhi shows

"majesty elevation, clearness precision, beauty elegance

metaphor homogeneity, softness and natural flow. The

Gaudi has fondness for long compounds and relies on

force and beauty. The Pānchāli has sweetness and

softness

The Vṛittis or the pravṛittis and the ṛitis include in

them all the intellectual and the emotional qualities of the

style. Of the intellectual qualities clearness is produced

by refraining from the use of ambiguity, simplicity by

refraining from the use of old obsolete words and long

compounds and a load of attributes which render the style

cumbrous (c.f Bāna and Bhatt Nārāyan), impressiveness

is produced by the employment of contrast and similes

which are replete in Sanskrit literature, by the isolation

of sentences (as in Bāna) and lastly the picturesqueness

is produced by the description of the still life as in the

forest Dandakā or Jābāli's hermitage or by the description

of action involving movements as in the fight of Lava

and Chandraketu, Rāma and Jāmdagnya The chief

attraction of it lies in the creation of images. It is

opposed to artificiality (as in Bhatt Nārāyana).

Of the emotional qualities, the strength causes the

expansion of heart and rises in vehemence in the senti-

1. वैदर्भी—असूयादोषमात्राभि: समग्रगुणगुथित॥

त्रिपन्यीस्वरमधुराभया वैदर्भीरितिरिप्यते

2 वैदर्भीपन्चवार्या श्रेयसी करुणा भयानकासृद्यो·लाटीं गोतों रात्रे कु्र्यात।

3. पाञ्चाली—१ वंशः केल्पे पुनर्दरो । समस्त पञ्चपदो वचच पाञ्चालिका-

मता । अतः प्राज्ञप्रे स्यात्वा सारभूतार्थगर्भैकवाक्यार्था रीत्ति:'1

ments of horror and fury. It is expressed by compound

letters, conjunct consonants formed of cerebrals other than

na, by long compounds of words formed of palatal and

cerebral sibilants Sweetness is the source of pleasure

and appropriate to the sentiment of lore, pathos, and calm

It is produced by the use of mutes, nasals, ra and short

syllables Both strength and sweetness are the outcome

of ideality that depends upon the powerfullness of emo-

tions and the adequateness of the manner of expression.

The violation of the self-respect and the honour of the

wife. the insult and the slaughter of the father of Ashwat-

taman, the slaughter of the brothers of Duryodhana give

rise to powerful emotions that produce the ideality.

The " Ludicrous " quality appears in the description of

Jaddravida dharmika in the M. II , in the Charvaka scene

in the Veni. and by the Vidushaka in almost every drama.

The basic principle of this quality is the degradation of

the comic character from the normal standard of humanity,

and the automatisms and the incongruity of its actions.

Sympatiy is seen in the case of some dramatists like

Bharabhuti and Bhatt Narayan who enter into the chara-

cters themselves and consequently get reflected. The

last and imporiant quality of style in Sanskrit poet is

' Harmony' The sound is never at variance with the

sense that is expressed. Even the different metres have

been made the handmaids of the sense and the sentiments

to be given expression to Contempt is expressed by

Drutarilambita Eulogy, sublimity, sorrow for past glory

are expressed in Anushtubh. Shikharini is appropriate

for grief, heroism and roughness in description Realistic

descriptions are given in the Mandakranta. Cruelty,

mercilessness, valour, established maxims are the

proper subjects for the Shardulvikridita. Hopelessness,

disappointment, indifference are expressed by both Aryā

and Praharshini. Defiance is expressed by Vasantatilakā.

Though these are the results of direct analysis of the

various metres employed in the plays still no strict and

fast rule can be laid regarding the employment of metres

The Nātyashāstra says—the erotic sentiment demands

metaphors and prefers the Aryā The heroic prefers the

use of short syllables, similes, metaphors The sentiment

of fury adopts the same metres with short syllables

similes, metaphors. The pathos prefer long syllables.

Of the seven tunes in the symphony of music the ma

and pa should be used for comic and erotic, the sa and ri

for the heroic and the wonderful, the ga and ni for the

pathos, and the dha for terror and horror The various

terms that occur in the fourth act of the Vikramorvashiyam

when the king in a fit of insanity, raves show the high

level that was maintained in music. The king there

sings in as many as eight different tunes viz Charchari

Khandaka, Khuraka, Kulilikā, Mallaghati, Khandikā,

Chaturasraka, Dwipadikā etc.

THEATRE.—The Sanskrit dramas were performed in

a temple of god on the occasion of a festival of that god

(e. g Kālpriyanāth of Ujjain) or in the palace of kings

on the occasion of a special rejoicing or solemnity like

that of royal marriage (e g Shri Harsha) or on the open

space like the bank of a river (e. g in the case of Bhav-

bhuti's plays). As early as the Mauryan king Bimbisāra

the Sanskrit plays were represented before the kings. A

Boudha nātaka was performed before the king of Shobhāvati.

The Kuttinimātā of Damodar, a book written in the reign

of Jayāpīda of Kashmere (800 A. D.), gives an account of

the performance of the Ratnāvali of Harsha. The moun-

tain caves were used for the recitation of the epics as is

shown by Rāṃgarha hill in ChhotāNāgpur In the

palaces of kings there was a Chamber or hall known as

Sangītashālā—Music Saloon in which dancing and sing-

ing were practised and sometimes exhibited (for instance

Mālvika, Vāsavdatta, Āranyakā). When such chambers

were not available, the performances were given in a

building called the prekshāgriha, set apart for public

entertainments Bharat in his Nāṭyashāstra refers to three

kinds of theatres The first was the spacious one

called the Vikrishta or Jyestha having the length of

108 hands (hand=18 inches), the form of a moun-

tain cave It had two floors and was divided

into Nepathyagriha Rangashirsha and the place

for the audience It was not recommended so much as

the acoustic effect was diminished by its expanse The

second was called the chaturasra of medium size, 64 hands

long and was intended for kings It was divided into

three parts–Nepathyagriha, Rangashirsha, Rangapitha.

It was not exactly a square but a ten-cornered building

and the rangapitha a four-cornered one The level was

raised and supported by four pillars. The third called the

Tryasra or a triangular one was intended for the

common people It had two doors, one at the apex

and the other in the middle of the base of the triangle,

the base forming the stage. The Nepathyagriha was the

most backward room in a hindu theatre, where the deco-

rations were kept and where the actors attired them-

selves and remained in readiness before entering the

stage, whither also they withdrew on leaving it The

rest of the house was divided into two, one for the audi-

ence and the other stage The auditorium was marked

off by pillars, in front a white pillar for the Brahmins,

red one for Kshatriyas, in north-west, a yellow pillar for

71

Vaiśhyas, and in the north-east a blue-black pillar for the Shudras. The pillars were richly decorated with garlands. The seats were of wood or of bricks arranged in rows The ranga or the stage was in front of the spectators adorned with pictures. Behind the stage there was the curtain called पाटे or अपाटे and behind the curtain there was the tiring room. When a character made appearance in hurry, or alarm, he entered with a toss of the curtain (अपाटेपेण) The actors were thus hidden from the audience by a screen, through which they entered or made on exit Though there was nothing complex in the scene arrangements still there was a number of stage-directions for the characters which they could not give effect to and consequently left to the imagination of the audience Janāntikam, swagātam, ātmagatam (जनान्तिकं, स्वगतं, आत्मगतं) were so many different forms of soliloquies and as such did enable the hearers to enter into the inmost recesses of their hearts and to know its subtle working; but in addition to that they were stage-directions that secured economy in the stage arrangement. The same can be said of Ākāsha-bhāshita—utterances behind the curtain signifying horror, confusion, or voices of gods. The scene-arrangement was very simple and limited, there being perhaps only two curtains, one between the stage and the audience and the other between the stage and the tiring room The stage was divided into three parts, the front stage was used to represent any open space, street, square or field The back stage represented a room in a palace or council chamber or any interior, and the third the upper stage was used for any elevated spots, walls of palaces or towns This was also used as the stage for the drama within a drama, the instances of which are in the Ratnāvalī, Mālvikā and Uttararāṃcharita.

72

The other accessories of the stage were also limited and much had to be supplied by either the imagination of the audience or by the description of the Sutradhār or by gesticulations of the actors " Thus though the car of Dushyanta might have been represented on the stage the horses would be left to the imagination and the speed of the chariot indicated by the gesticulations of the charioteer.1 " A car might have been brought on the stage in the Mrichhakatika The dramas of Bhāsa and the Uttarāmcharita required the presentation of the aerial chariots of gods Seats, thrones, weapons were made of bamboos or of mechanical mass or of cloth.

Discrimination was shown in giving the different roles of character to be presented in the play Males were as a matter of course represented by males Females also were represented by females in general, instances are found showing that it was not altogether uncommon for men or lads to personate female characters like the Bouddha priestess, Kāmandaki in the Mālatī-Mādhao or Sankrityāyani in Priyadarshikā The roles of gods and goddesses were played by persons who were neither tall nor short, neither fat nor lean, but lustrous and beautiful. Those of demons and goblins were played by the stunted and the pigmy, having a roaring voice, and a furious look The king's roles were played by persons with good limbs and character, with shrewdness and learning The servants and the Vidushakas were represented by persons of the ugly appearance, stunted stature, deformed limbs.

1 K D

CHAPTER III

The Pre-Kālidāsan Drama

(1) BHĀSA

As far as our knowledge of the Sanskrit dramatists goes, we can say that to Bhāsa belongs the palm of being the pioneer Sanskrit dramatist. It was he who broke the ground first The drama and the dramatist were not held in high esteem by the general public The keenness of this feeling was made blunt by Bhāsa What Marlowe did for Shakespeare in paving the way for him, Bhāsa did for the later Sanskrit dramatists. His plays, therefore, deserve to be looked to with great Clemency and they command the respect of all lovers of Sanskrit dramaturgy,

not because they are the finished products of a tried hand but because they are the first specimons of a fully developed child in drama who had to write because he was inspired from within to write, overcoming not only his own dis-

inclinations but also the religious and the social bias of those who surrounded him. These plays show what the play was like which our old fathers read and staged not influenced in the least by the Hellenic influence a stamp of which has been detected by some on the Kālidāsan and the post-Kālidāsan dramas

The later poets found the bony structure in the dramas of Bhāsa and they by means of their genius clothed the bony skeleton with the romance of words and ideas. The plays of Bhāsa are like the morality or miracle plays of the English theatre. Some prominent or note-

worthy episode is taken from the epics or the purānas or

the legend, arranged, sifted and a kind of dramatic

interest is created in it by means of apportioning suitable

dialogues to the characters. The original episode which

it forms part of, is as it were a grain in the great ocean

of the epics and therefore receives a very scanty attention

of the author though he possessed a master-mind The

later men with genius comes up, notices the charm in

the gaps of the broader aspects neglected by the epic

poets and he makes the detached incidents very interest-

ing by filling the gaps with new material of his own in-

vention. The action which in the hands of the epic

writer goes by leaps and bounds, runs very slowly in the

hands of the later writer, who concerns himself with only

one solitary theme or episode The same thing can be

said of characters. The epic writer creates a number of

men and women and theratore misses even the most pro-

minent features of the chracters Such unjust treatment

of chsracters in big books offends the moral sense of read-

ers. A later writer can justify his production or imita-

tion by saying that it was necessary to remove the in-

justice in the moral world and thus to rehabilitate the

characters. It is this function that is expected of the later

dramatists and Bhāsa has discharged it in the case of his

epic-puranic, the legendary or folk-lore plays Bhāsa

is the first known dramatist to put an episode of romance

from the epic or the folk-lore in dramatic structure. It

cannot be said with any scientific accuracy whether the

dramatic mould of the Bhāsa's plays could be attributed

to some written work on dramaturgy or whether it was

his own The only known work of established repute is

the work of Bharatmuni but the question of its date is

yet a debatable point The dramas of Bhāsa show clear-

indications

of

defiance

rather

than

of

obedience

to

the

rules

of

Bharat

However

great

antiquity

Bharat

may

claim,

he

may

even

say

that

he

was

the

stage-manager

in

the

theatre

of

Indra,

still

we

can

say

that

at

the

time

of

Bhāsa

the

dramaturgy

was

not

cast

into

a

definite

and

accurate

science

The

common

technique

of

the

Bhāsa's

dramas

is

certainly

very

crude

and

is

at

variance

with

Bharata's

rules

The

scenes

of

death,

battles,

slaughter,

plays

and

games

that

are

prohibited

by

the

canons

are

shown

by

Bhāsa

(cf

combat

of

Arishta

and

Krishna,

the

slaying

of

Kamsa,

Dasharath's

death,

the

death

of

Chanura,

Mushtika

lying

on

the

stage)

Vāli

and

Duryodhan

perish

on

the

stage)

There

is

a

game

of

ball

shown

in

the

Swapna.

The

common

technique

of

plot-construction

of

Bhāsa

referred

to

by

Bāna

fully

applies

to

these

thirteen

dramas

(Nāṭakchāra)

They

begin

with

Sutradhāra

giving

the

salutation

and

not

with

Nāndi.

They

give

a

number

of

characters

or

Bhūmis

(the

Swapna,

16;

the

Pratidnya,

16,

Avimāraka

20,

Bālcharita

30).

They

have

in

them

the

Patikās

or

secondary

episodes

viz.

Padmāvatī

in

Swapna;

of

Bharata

in

Pratimā;

of

Sugrīva

in

Abhishekha;

of

Sankarshana

in

Bāl-Charita.

There

is

in

the

plays,

no

Prastāvanā

but

Sthāpanā.

There

is

no

reference

to

the

poet's

name

in

any

one

of

them.

There

is

free

use

of

magic

in

Dūtavākya,

Avimāraka

and

M

Vyāyoga.

The

Bālcharita

and

Pancharatra

make

use

of

dance

as

an

ornament

of

the

drama.

The

whole

dramatic

design

is

under

an

overwhelming

influence

of

epic

tradition

and

epic

recitation.

The

bharatvākya

or

the

epilogue

1

मूत्र गारुत्मतारंधन्वान्तकं भूतिमिन्।

1

सप्ताश्वशैलेऽपि

भासो

देवकुले

रिव।

1

ह

च।

9

is not regular but varied. राजासिंह प्रशास्तु न Cs the usual

burden of it But it expresses the ups and downs in his

life Sometimes he desires for the disappearance of the

misfortunes, at others, he desires for an universal rule of

his. These facts about the common technique, as well as

the prākr1ts and other coincidences of metre, style, words,

phrases, ideas and idioms point to the fact that the dramas

are distinctly the outcome of one and the same pen-

manship.

The dicision regarding the authorship of one of the

thirteen plays will automatically decide the authorship of

all The Swapnı drama which was a great favourite with

the old rhetoricians is identical with the Swapnavāsav-

dattā in the T V series which were unearthed by the inde-

fatiguable soholar of Trevendrum, the late Garapati Shāstrı

One of the four mss says in the colophone "Swapna-

nātakamavasıtam " while the other three say "Swapna-

Vāsavdattā samāptā " The illustration referring to the

marriage between Padmāvatı and Udayana-Vatsa given by

Sarvānanda (of 1200 A D ) in his commentary of the

Amar ıs instance the Arthashrıngār is found in the

Swapna of the T V Serıes ¹ Sport is prohibited by the

canons of dramıtıcs to be shown on the stage but the

rhetorıcıan Abhınavagupta (1200 A D ) refers to an in-

stance of a game being staged which is met with in the

Swapna (act II) when Padmāvatı and Vāsavdattā play

with a ball ² Kshırswāmı the commentator of Amar

ıllustrates the terms Devı and Bhattını by Vāsavdattā

and Paımāvatı repectively which cannot be taken to

1 पद्मावतीपरिणयोडर्थशृङ्गार स्वप्नारवदत्ते

2 × कचिदिकीड यथोक्तमप्रस्तावदत्तायाम् Ch. I.

refer to the characters in the Brihatkathā because the

terms are strictly dramatic terms, nor can they refer to the

characters in the sister plays of Harsha because there is

no Padmāvatī as second heroine. They must therefore

refer to the characters in the play of Bhāsa. Another

rhetorician, Shāradātanaya while making an exposition

on the five Sandhis illustrates them with situations in the

Swapna and quotes as an illustration of the Beja Sandhi,

a verse which is actually found in the Swapna of T. V.

Series 1 Bhojadeva in his Shrngarprkāsh describes the

dream of Udayana which is exactly found to be the dream-

scene in the Swapna-Nāṭik of T V. Series.2 Vāmana's

instance of Vyājoktī is the same verse in the fourth act of

Swapna, and the line yō bhartṛiṇdasyā kṛte na

yudhyet' is also taken from the same drama and not from

the Arthashastra because the rhetoricians are sure to draw

upon the books of poetics and dramatics rather than of

politics The Swapna-Vāsavdattā is ascribed to Bhāsa

again by Rājshekhara in his anthology and by the two

disciples of Hēmachandra in their Mirror of Dramatics

(Levi--two plays)

In all the thirteen plays the writer has maintained

cruel reticence about himself disregarding even the usual

formality of mentioning his name that is followed by one

and all dramatists in Sanskrit The only course left for

1 चित्रप्रसक्तः कामो मे वीषया प्रतिबोधितः

तां तु देवों न परयामि यस्या घोषयति प्रिया S. V. and भाव प्र. 8 ch.

2 शरच्छशांकगौरेण वाताविद्धेन भामिनी । काशपुष्पलवेनैव साक्षुपातं

मुखं मम ( व्याजोक्ति )

3 यो भरतृपिण्डस्य कृते न युध्येत

us is to glean the information given in his own book and

in the books of others and to decide his time and

surroundings His plays show that he is a devotee of

both Shiva and Vishnu, that he reveres Brahmins and

condemns Buddhism and Jainism with the words Nagnāh

andhsnaramanakāh 'The references to Magadha Rāja-

griha, Venurana, Nagvana show his familiarity with the

province of Magadha and not of Ujjain as is maintained

by some The patron Rajsimha who is so often mention-

ed in the epilogues is not the Western Kshatrap king

Rudrasimha, nor the King Rājassimha of the south who

ruled in 700 A D, but some king of Northern India whose

kingdom was bounded by the Himarat on the north and

Vindhya on the south and by the two seas on the East

and West.

Dramatics and rhetoricians from the twelfth century

backwards up to the first, refer to the great name of

Bhāsa as a dramatist of established repute and draw upon

his plays Sarvānanda, Shāradātanaya (both of 1200 A D)

Bhojdera (11th), Abhinargupta (10th), Vāmana (8th) have

been already referred to. The famous dictum which com-

pares the plot-architecture of Bhāsa with that of a sacred

temple comes from Bāna (700 A D) Vākpati of 800 A D

refers to Bhāsa as a friend of fire Rajshekhar the author

of the anthology cannot be the same man who wrote

the three dramas Dandi (600 A. D.) quotes from

Bālcharita and Chārudatta. The reference to Bhāsa in the

introduction of Mālvika of Kālidās takes us back to 600

A. D The influence of Bhāsa on Shudraka is too obvious

to be set aside The Mrichhakatika of Shudraka is an en-

larged edition of Charudatta of Bhāsa, and Shudraka

lived by the beginning of the Christian era. Another evi-

79

dence has beez quoted by Ganapati Shāstri from Bhāmaha1

who is wrongly taken by him to be prior to Sātvahan

and thus belonging to 100 B C. But Bhamaha belongs to

800 A. D. because he presupposes the Kāshikā and the

Nyāsakār both belonging to 700 A D. 2

The lower limit of the date is fixed by Kālidās. The

upper date is also definitely fixed by the Nirvāna of Lord

Budha (543 B C) The deprecatory remark about the

Budhistic monks (Nagnandhashramanakah in A V.),

the use of the word Shramana and not of Pravrjit, the

references to Rajgriha, Venuvan and Nāgvan that rose

into prominence with Budhism take Bhāsa long after

Budha. The society of his times though under

Brāhmanic influence dreaded always the onset of the two

heretic faiths, the Buddhism and the Jainism. The Meta-

thetic confusion of king Brahmadatta and his capital

Kāmpilya made by Vidushaka in S. V is clearly due to

his knowledge of the Jātaka stories The poet must have

lived, therefore, long after Budhism had deeply planted

its foot and was gradually making an onward march.

Another support is lent to this by the reference to the king

Darshake3 of the Shaishunāg dynasty ( 500 B. C) whose

name must have taken a long time after his death to be

incorporated in a dramatic play

The archaic or the un-Paninian4 forms of grammar

cannot take Bhāsa prior to Panini Though Panini lived

1 हतोऽनेन मम भ्राता मम पुत्र. पिता मम ।

काव्यालङ्कार of भामह and प्रतीज्ञा.

2 Prof Phatak

3. एपा खलु महाराजदुहितुः भगिनी पद्मावती नाम. Ś V.

4 काशिराजे, गजः, यथाप्रज्ञा, रुचिरे, पपो लभेत, दिवाते, वत्से.

and wrote his śāmmar in the 700 B C still it is not

that the grammar at once attained fame as soon as it was

written It took a long time to settle and to become an

authoritative book which it did not certainly do before

Patanjali, who as tradition says, took to writing his Mahā-

bhāshya because the old books had become obsolete

The verse1 which is common to both the Arthaśhāstra

and the Pratidnyā might possibly have been borrowed by

both from some common source because a book of drama

will never be laid under by such a puritan writer as

Chānakya and that too in a work on politics and not on

rhetorics Besides the Artneshāstra is not credited with

such a great antiquity by some scholars on the score of

its divergence from the account of the Indikā of Megas-

thnes and the writer's geographical vision being confined

to Southern India We for ourselves think that the

Natyashāstra of Bharat, the Arthashāstra of Chānakya

and Kāmsūāstra of Vatsyāyam appear characteristically

to be similar and must therefore have been the outcome of

the same times and tendency. They all are secondary

compositions, half-metrical1, half-prose based upon ancient

treatises of sutra-type. The occurrence of the word

Surunga which is derivable from the Greek Syrinx sets

the Nātyashāstra down as a post-Gracian composition.

The passage in the mouth of Rāvana in the Pratimā

is very significant It is not simply a bragging utterance.

It refers to " Mānavyam Dharmashāstrām" the date of

which is pretty certainly fixed from 200 B. C. to 200 A. D.

1 नव द्वाराच सलिल्य पूर्ण शुचिस्कृत दर्भेष्टकोत्तररायम्

तत्स्थ्य मा भूदरक च गच्छेत योभर्तृपीडितस हते न युद्धेत

प्र. IV and अrye शा.

( Dr. Bühler ).1 Bhāsa, therefore, comes after the compilation of Mānava-dharma shāstra ( 200 B. C ). The theory about Rāma being the incarnation of Vishnu which is referred to in the Nāndi of A. V. but which did not come in vogue up to the time of Patanjali and certainly not at the time of Pānini who refers to Vāsudeo and Arjuna but not to Rāma, was not accepted at the time of the Rāmāyana ; and the Rāmāyana is dated at somewhere prior to the Mahābhārata that refers to Rāma's story, Bhāsa naturally, therefore, comes after the composition of Rāmāyana. The plots of A V., S V. and Pratidnyā are found in the two later Sanskrit adaptations of the original Brihatkathā in Paishāchi belonging to Gunādhya of 100 A. D. But nothing is gained from this argument because it is not certain that Bhāsa modelled his plays on Brihatkathā It is possible that he may have taken the plots from the folklore then existing Bhāsa, therefore, must have lived before Kālidāsa and after the composition of Mānavadharmashās-tra, and Rāmāyana, after the Rāma-incarnation theory came into vogue. The date falls between 200 B. C. and 600 A. D. and as Kālidāsa refers2 to him as an old ancient writer Bhāsa must have lived long prior to him; before Ashwaghosha whose Prākrits are assuredly and unquestionably so akin in character The profuse use of short metres and the scanty use of the long ones and his pre-Bharat dramatic technique are other arguments in favour of the priority of Bhāsa to Ashwaghosa Bhāsa's. Chāru-

1 मो काव्यपगोत्रोदस्मि साङ्गोपाङ्गं वेदसधीये मानवोयं धर्मशास्त्रं माहेश्वर योगगात्रं वार्हस्पत्यस्मृतिशास्त्रं मेधातिथेन्योयशास्त्रं प्राचेतसं श्राद्धकल्पं च

2 प्राप्त्यवत्त्वीनिदर्शनकथाकवित्वप्रबन्धसौहृदात्। (मे.)

6

datta has been drawn on profusely by Shudraka belonging

to 100 B C Bhāsa lived definitely in 200 B C

The above discussion is enough to dislodge from their

position those scholars who notice in the present plays

signs of the times as late as 700 A. D1 and support it on

the strength of Mattavilās-prahasan of Mahendravarman,

a Pallava King They have got two arguments, one about

the patron-Rājasimha referred to in the Bharat-vākyas

and the other about the Prākrits The first has already

been dealt with The purity of the ancient Mss de-

pends much upon the copyists The Prākrits of Bhāsa

do show some clear signs of antiquity even after making

due allowance for the neglegence and the caprice of the

copyists The archaisms pointed out and the conclusions

arrived at by Dr Sukthankar who put them to scientific

test are noteworthy1†

Some scholars2 put Bhāsa as early as 500 B C on the

strength of the pre-Paninian archaisms and the verse

that is found buth in Pratidnyā and the Arthashāstra the

author of wh1ch is put by them to be posterior to Bhāsa

Both these points are dealt with already

The tradition contained in the line* cannot be given

any credence as it will necessitate the identity between

Bhāsa and Dhavaka and consequent contemporaneity

with Harsha on the strength of the line+ but about whose

1 Ernelt, Deodhar, P1shoratis and Radd1

2 Gan1pati Shastri, Khuperkar

= धावकोडपि हि यद्वासः कर्त्तानामग्रिमोSभवत् ।

• श्रीहर्षपौत्रेधावककार्त्तीनाथमिव वनम् । K P

‡1 The promiscuous use of the doubts—अहआं, अहाणं,

2 अर्ह with unassimilated conjunct rh

patronage to Bhāsa both Bāna and HuenTsang are

silent This identity between Harsha and Bhāsa is again

supported by the similarity both verbal and conceptional

along with the verses that have been alleged to be from

the Karivimarsha of Rājshekhara. 'But the attempt is

described as subversive of the accepted chronology of the

Indian writers '

Some again doubt the authenticity of the plays on the

ground of the crudity and puerility of them which they

say is impossible to be harmonized with the encomiums

showered upon the poet by Kālidāsa and others. But that

very puerility of the plays indicates the stage prior to those

of Kālidāsa and Harsha The pity is that Kālidāsa and

other poets could not have pre-guaged their greatness

before they were actually great

Bhāsa wrote thirteen plays that formed his Nātak-

Chakra, the composition of which shows three clear periods

in his poetic career During the first, the one-act plays

like Madhyam-Vyāyog, Dootvākya, Dutghatotkacha, Karna-

bhāra, were composed The second shows a little advance

in plot-construction in Panchrātra, Pratidnyā and Chāru-

datta The third is a period of finished products as typified

by Ch Pratimā, S V , A V The plays fall into two divi-

sions, (1) The epic-purāṇic (2) The folklore or the saga

3 अतः not used in any other mss, found once in

Bhāsa, noticed by Varuchi.

4 आम archaic found in the Turfan mss "Yes"

5 करिअ occurs also in Turfan mss and therefore

archaic

6. दित्स, दित्सा, दिम्स, दिस्स।

7 खु.

8 Pronouns तुवं and वयं sanctioned by Vararuchi.

plays , the best in him being disclosed in the first as regards both the conception of a theme and the execution of

it, whilst in the latter the conception being too dominant and powerful for the execution With more research the

remaining acts of Chārudatta and some more plays that are referred to will be discovered

The debt, both conceptional and verbal, that the later writers owe to Bhāsa is immense Shudraka has planned

his whole drama on Bhāsa's Chārudatta The sameness of story, character, language are too clear signs to deny

copying The only departure consists in removing the defects of crudity The wearing of bark-garments of Sītā

in Pratimā and of Shakuntalā in Shāk , the recognition of Vatsa and Sak, the watering of plants, are some of the

numberless similarities between Kālidasa and Bhāsa Bhavabhuti has taken the picture scroll in S. V and the capture

of Kurungi in A. V and set them in his U R and M M The variety and the bluntness of characters that we

met with in Panchrātra is shown by Bhatta Nārāyan The whole plot-texture and the romance of the scene are

copied by Harsha in his two sister plays The scene of Chandandās and his son is modelled upon a similar scene

in Urubhanga

THE PRATIDNYA-YOUGANDHARĀYANA :-This play extends over four acts The whole drama is a short re-

presentation But even in this short compass, the action makes a very rapid progress The story was held in high

esteem on account of its romance The attractive features of the original story are clothed in still more attractive

garb and when there was some link missing it has been supplied by the poet The action in the first act takes

long strides and the same pace is kept up even in the

85

succeeding acts. Characterization is not attempted ;

poetic muse is not invoked These things are there but

have been treated as quite subservient to the main thing

viz. the plot or the action The originality of the poet

does not lie in the invention of the plot because it was

already there nor in the idealization of the action but lies

in adding motion to the plot, in making it look like ordi-

nary incident of daily occurence and rendering it adapt-

able to the stage. How has he achieved this ? Chiefly by

means of dialogues The characters talk rapidly without

using a single superfluous word Every word, every move,

every gesture, makes towards the final achievement.

Just at the out-set, there seems to be an error about the

identity between Pradyota and Mahāsena Bhāsa identifies

the two—Mahāsena of Ujjain and Pradyota of Magadha.

Shri Hersha has fallen into the same error, while the

Brihatkathā makes a distinction between the two, and

gives two different daughters who are afterwards wedded

to the king The above error is due to the sameness of

romantic atmosphere in which both Vāsavadattā and

Padmāvatī breathe

In the first act the business is monopolised by Young-

andharāyuna while in the second it is, Mahāsena that does

it The various attempts made by the father to find out

suitors for Vāsavadattā are shown in the second act

Various messengers come to his court, ask for the hand of

his daughter on behalf of their masters Bharatrohak

catches Vatsa alive by a very skilful plan—wooden

olephant The name of Vatsarāj is very dramatically

introduced to the king when in an anxious moment he is

taking stock of all his high relatives and seeing whether

there is any proper suitor for his daughter The scene

The third act deals with Vidushaka, Shrimanaka and Yougandharayana giving the humour in the first part and

seriousness in the second. The humour as usual turns upon the sweet-balls and the struggle for them between Vidu-

shaka and Unmataka The humour is very crude as com-

pared with that in other dramas Other vidushakas talk upon sweet-balls but the discussion is interspersed here and there

with his rise and witty remarks and is also accompanied with his being involved in the love affair of his

friend. All this is not found in the Vidushaka of Bhāsa

The third act presents a good scene in which the two

ministers of the king hold a conference Both of them

present themselves in the different garbs and have to save

their incognito appearance. When they find the

Agnigṛha to be quite devoid of men, they speak out their

hearts and think upon a plan for the rescue of their master

The fourth act depicts Gātrasevak and his drunken-

ness, the interview of the two hostile ministers, the cap-

turing of Yougandharāyan, the flight of Vatsa with the

princess and the final marriage It commences with a

praveshak which is meant to carry some hints about the

elopement of Vatsarāj with Vāsavdattā which is the Kārya

of the piece

Characters —Yougandharāyan is faithful and dutiful to his master He works for the good and the pros-

perity of his master by means of a marriage alliance

But he appears too much on the scene, talks too much of

his powers, swears too much to achieve his ends and ulti-

mately is not able to put forth as much as he promises.

The goal is attained not through the agency of his powers

but through the powers of the king and through the laxity

shown by the opposite party in their manouvres The

other party is deliberately treacherous to its own cause and within its own ranks. Yougandharāyana towards the end looks like a defeated man whose cause is baffled by the superior machinations of his adversary Bharatarohaka who makes his appearance before him when he is taken as captive Harsha's Yougandharāyana does not brag so much. He is as keen in his devotion to his master, as vigilant in securing his prosperity and as ingenious in inventing new means and methods for bringing near the king's wedlock The remarkable thing about him is that he makes his appearance at the opening! of the play and then disappears to appear towards the end of the action.

He remains behind the curtain and pulls the wires by which all the characters move and talk. Bhāsa's Yougandharāyan is on the stage all the while, makes a great show of spreading a net-work of spies and wants to resemble Chānakya but therein he fails. In the first place the cause is not a worthy one, secondly he has not that tact and power of organization of Chānakya. By his multifarious activities he wants to pass off as a man of action but his utterances and achievements point to a different direction He is a fatalist. He is always prepared to give the enemy his due1 He is vain when he compares him with Drouni 2 He is roused to his sense of honour and dignity as a minister by the utterance of the king's mother and quits in a sentimental and a sensational mood he takes water in his hand and lets it down vowing3

He is outwitted by Mahāsena He is non-plussed when he hears that the device of escape he had suggested cannot

1. साधु मोः शाल्ड्रायन साधु । अवस्था खलु नाम अनुगुणमपि सुहृदने कल्पयति।

2 गुरोरवजितं हत्वा ज्ञान्तं दृढनिमिच्च स्थितम्

3 मोचयामि न राजानं नारीं योगनदरायण:

be availed of since the King had cast a love-glance on the

princess and could not, therefore, approve of his unworthy

device He does not stop to think the feasibility or prac-

ticability of his schemes His impetuous nature, his in-

considerateness are seen in the number of vows and

swearings. Emotional he is throughout the play The

pratīdnyā or the vow stares at him to a syllable and he can-

not allow time to pass He joins the fray, withholds the

rushing tide of the tornado and ultimately gets himself

bound over to the enemy in chains quite boastfully and

jubilantly1 Further, he is face to face with his compeer

Bharatrohaka who comes there in a triumphant mood

He takes a compassionate view of his opponent and re-

moves the iron manacles The interview between two

ministers reminds one of a similar scene between Chānakyā

and Rākshasa when the latter was baffled in his attempts

and was won over to the side of Vrishala Chandra-

gupta.

Mahāsena has a good minister in Bharatrohaka He

is inimical towards Vatsa whom he wishes to subjugate

and to give him a good turn. It is for the sake of his

daughter that he wants to capture Vatsa, which he does

very skilfully in consultation with his minister Bharat-

rohaka, by the device of wooden-elephant and thus exploit-

ing the hunting instinct of Vatsa He is anxious for the

marriage of his daughter There is a sudden change in

his feelings towards his enemy. He orders his men to dress

up his wounds, to receive him with honour and hospita-

lity due to a prince, to give his favourite lute in charge of

1 जितमिति राजदुले सुख विशामि । and

प्राप्तो जयक्ष नृपतिसख महाश्व शब्द ।

his daughter. He finally removes him to Manibhūmikā

for keeping him away from the sun He himself is unable

to explain this sudden change in the attitude.

Vatsa is a king that commands full confidence and

respect of his people and his ministers. He has a very

trusted and devoted minister He is very much fond of

games and hunting which is the cause of his capture.

Swapna-Vāsavadattā.-This drama contains the same

initial cry intended to hush up the noise in the audience

and to prepare them for the advent of the characters. The

characters are never ushered in without previous intima-

tion to the audience. The praveshakas are very short.

They introduce only some characters. The second act con-

tains a beautiful and interesting scene. It begins in

humerous references to Padmāvatī's personal charms,

made by the new foster-sister Vāsavadattā and the fun,

started by her, recollects upon her quite unconsciously

She learns that the king Vatsa asked for her hand

and that she was already betrothed by the king to Vatsa

who had gone there on special mission and that the

ceremony was to be performed that very day

The match is suggested just in the beginning of the

act and it is performed by the end of it The poet has not

given any time for the love to grow The mention of

Vatsa's name is causal and much has been made of this

casual reference The second act achieves much in com-

parison with its length The match may have been de-

sired and attempted at the consent of the queen because

she is a willing party to the scheme formed by Youngandha-

rāyana in order to secure the prosperity of Vatsa Vāsa-

vadattā comes to know that Padmāvatī has begun to

cast lovefully greedy glances on her husband She sees

before her own eyes the marriage taking placf It may be

that from a distinctly prospective point of view, she may

be a party in effecting the maraiage, still the natural

female jealousy for a partner in love takes hold of her

and makes her restive in emotion1 Every thing is done

in post-haste that even the characters are not prepared for

the issue Such rapidity in the progress of events creates

an impression of unnaturalness about them. The law of

causation takes some time for its fruition. The distur-

bance in Vāsavadattā's mental quietude is visible in the

third act Morose as she is, she is called upon to put to-

gether a garland with two mysterious herbs effectıve of

अविय्याकारण and मपत्नोमर्दन (for sceuring long life to her

husband and humiliation of co-wife ) Vāsavadattā does it

with complete resignation She sacrifıces her pride and

vanity, sacrıfices her strong desire of having no co-

parcener in her love at the altar of her husband's prospec-

tive prosperity

The whole action centres round the minister. The

idea contıned in the prophecy about the matrimonial

alliance between the families of Darshaka and Vatsa

occurs to him first He is not so serious about the actual

marriage as he is about securing the prosperity by the

acquisition of the lost kingdom The marriage is a matter

of expediency The king even is very unvilling as far

as marriage is coacerned Every one rouchsafes an ope-

nion in favour of Vāsavdatā when the comparison comes

The fourth act presents a scene which is highly senti-

mental, highly poetic, and dramatic and at the same time

highly practical The appearance of the king and his

friend, their discussion about the relative merits of the

1 या या हि त्वरते तथा तया हृदयं नीयते मे हृदयम् ।

91

two, the exit of Vāsavadattā which is both emotional and dramatic, are the good points in it.

This play also gives some bright flashes of the poet's imagination The minister and the heroine of Udayana present themselves under a different garb suitable to her-

mitage life The two items, the introduction of Vāsavadattā in the service of Padmāvatī and the report of burning to death of them both in the Lāvanak fire are exhibited in the sequel The queen enters into the service very easily tarough Tāpasī and the Cheti who are struck with her inherent royal lustre The report of the fire is brought by a celibate of the Rājgrha. The concocted report is listen-

ed to by the minister with such a rapt aitention and with such an unaffected ignorance that they show that he was a consummate master in the art of affeciation

The news of the loss of the queen and the king's fervent regard for her, are disclosed to Padmāvatī, the bride elect in whose heart rises a sly hidden desire for wedlock

Another striking feature is the power of his narratives The Brahmachārīn narrates the incident of fire in Rāj-grha in the Lāvanak palace very vividly and impressively Hamsakā in the Pratiñya shows the same skill

The dream-scene is placed in the last act The king is led to the Samudragrha where Padmāvatī is being treated for her headache Avantikā is there who has the power of allaying the poignancy of the ache. The king is amused by the simple stories of kings and towns told by Vidushaka and is lulled to sleep when he dreams of Vāsavadattā She is there in the garb of Avantikā and she takes up the hints and answers the querries uttered in

his dream. The king further on calls back all the former

incidents the lute, the disciple, the way of instruction, her

singing and the picture-board sent to him The enigma is

solved when the picture-board is shown to Padmāratī

The marriage then takes place

PRATIMĀ. - The drama receīves its name from the

statue of Dasharath which Bharata sees in the statue house.

It has got seven acts and it covers a period of fourteen

years from Rāma's setting out to forest to his triumphant

return from Lankā. There is an irony of situation creat-

ed by the Valkala-bark-garments They are introduced

by way past-time, as ornaments-just to see how they fit

in with Sītā But those very garments are turned very

cruelly to this account viz the accessories of hermitage

life which Rāma is called upon to accept1 The three

boons of Kaīkeyī are gradually introduced The entrance

of Laxman and the initial retort which he gives to his

elders reminds one of Bhima in Veṇī-S Laxman is so

very wroth that he is bent upon extirpating the whole

female race

The woeful condition consequent upon the bereave-

ment by the two sons and Sītā is very vividly described

in the second act The whole scene is a picturesque and

graphic description given with an ineffable power

The drama presents a wonderful power of compression

on the part of the poet. The scenes in the Rāmāyana, im-

portant from the point of view of sentiments are made to

pass dramatically before the eyes of the public The day

of coronation is with dramatic suddenness transformed

into a day of exile The bark-garments that were only

1 ननदत्यजन्तुना दत्तः वल्कलैः'नावधानता ।

brought in as a source of amusement are turned to

account as necessaries of forest life which Sītā is called

upon to accept The news of his father's death is gra-

dually revealed to Bharata while he was reviewing the

statue-house The mothers are also very skilfully intro-

duced to him in it The anniversary scene is appropriate

and natural to details In the forest-stay, the exact time

might not have been observed, the proper articles might

not have been secured and it gives a natural opportunity

to introduce the topic of golden-deer It is essentially

required for the Shrādha ceremony and mystically it is

presented before Rāma. Rāma goes to hunt and Sītā is

abducted by Rāvana The immense gap between the

abduction of Sītā and the triumphal return of Rāma is

left to the conception of the audience. The valkalas,

the statue-house, the anniversary scene, the explanation

given by Kaikeyī about her line of conduct, the description

of scenes through the ærial car are the new changes effect-

ed by the poet in the original There is no perceptible de-

parture from the original in point of charecterization The

obedience, unflinching determination, love for the family-

prestige of Rāma, the fiery temper and brotherly affection

of Laxman, the dutifulness, submission and resignation of

Sītā, the unbounded filial love of Dasharatha, the sacri-

fice and despondency of Bharata, the loyalty of Sumantra

are there in the Pratimā as well as in the original Rāmā-

yana There is rehabilitation with regard to Kaikeyī

only who is generally held culpable in the affairs of the

exile Bhāsa brings in the infallibility of the sage's

words of the curse on Dasaratha and relieves Kaikeyī of

the severe taint. She says that she was only an instru-

ment and that she had no personal or selfish motive in

sending off Rāma, and she would have even sent Bharata

but that he was already away with his uncle and the word

" years " slipped through her lips instead of " days " and

the wonder is that she is freed from all the taint by the

simple Bharata It is made pathetic with the presence of

Kausalya and Sumitra

Bharata learns about his father's death which is re-

vealed to him gradually in the statue house His mothers

meet him there The fourth act deals with Bharata's re-

turn and the coronation of Rama's sandals Ravana comes

as a mendicant and carries away Sita. The anniversary

of the father comes in here An explanation is offered by

Kaikeyi regarding the woeful eventuality of Rama's exile.

Jatayu is killed in the sixth act and Bharata resolves upon

proceeding to Lanka for Rama's succour. In the last act

Rama comes back from Lanka after putting his enemy to

death He is crowned in the end

" The unrivalled merit of Bhāsa lies in the deli-

neation of the real nature of things in their varied condi-

tions by sweet, apt and lucid words suggestive of lofty

ideas In the Pratima the central sentiment is the

धर्मवीर mingled with करुणरस, the धर्मवीर manifesting itself in

the enthusiasm displayed by the hero in cherishing the

single thought of carrying out the Dharma-fulfilling

mandates of his father "1

BHASA'S CHARACTERISTICS -He aims at direct

action and not at characterization, nor in plot-construc-

tion There is the appropriateness of speech and character

The characters never talk more nor less Rapidity, force,

vigour are the features of his style His greatness is in

narrative and dialogue He has got a host of characters

1 T Ganapati Shastri Pratima

in his plays. Each character has his own sphere of influ-

ence wherein it shines and does not clash with another.

The characters live a plain, straight-forward life They are

all robust, healthy beings, bent upon to look to the brighter

aspects of the world They are less vigorous and more

individualistic than those in Veṇisamhār, less roman-

tic and imaginative than those of Kālidās and of Bāṇa,

less poetic and sentimental or emotional than those of

Bhavabhūti, less homely than those of Shri-Harsha, less

practical than those of Viśākhadatta and are less

human and less realistic than those of Shudraka

The marvellousness of prose which is the real merit in

a poet is seen in Bhāsa The language is very simple,

natural and at the same time touching, alternated with

figures of speech like simile and metaphor. He is the

master of dialogues

There are inaccuracies in grammar and rhetorics such

as the metathetic exchange of words, wrong joints and

compounds, elision of compound-endings. Some verses

are quite devoid of sentiment or poetic strength. The

sentences are replete with wealth of ideas The sweetness

of expression and the ease of langnage seem to have attain-

ed perfection in these dramas.

(2) SHUDRAKA

Mṛchhakatika. (The Social drama)

Just on the heels of Chārudatta of Bhāsa comes up

the Clay-cart of Shudrak Between the two plays there is

so very close affinity both verbal and conceptual, both of

characters and situations that one appears to be an en-

larged and revised edition of the other and that it has led

Pischel to ascribe the play to Bhāsa The material of

both the plays has been scientifically tested and sifted and

the conclusions arrived at prove that " Bhāsa intended to

write more than the four extant acts of Chārudatta, that

Chārudatta is not an abridgment for the purpose of

stage-representation of the lengthier Clay-cart The

motives underlying the additions and improvements in the

Clay-cart are first an exhibition of the author's knowledge

and familiarity with highly technical and out-of-the-way

shāstras, secondly an introduction of the low-life realism,

thirdly, the addition of a political bye-plot, and lastly an

appeal to the pit by means of broad and rollicking humour

All this also proves the priority of Bhāsa to Shudraka1'.

The play is attributed to a regal author, a thing which

is not of uncommon occurence in Sanskrit literature The

Ratnāvalī and the other sister drama are ascribed to a

bard of similar dignity The point whether Shudraka, the

Monarch, was the patron or the poet is immaterial to the

chronology of the play The poet and the patron, whether

the same or different personalities, must have lived at one

and the same time It is very difficult to prove the historicity

of the king Shudraka, the author, from the references made

to him in ancient books They on the other hand point at

his being a mythic figure, and not a historical one

The prelude to the play refers to him in terms

of the remote past tense (परोक्रे लिङ्‌)

and describes him as having studied the Vedic lore and also the

art of enticing an elephant like the king Udayana

His sight was restored through the favour of god Shiva.

He had performed an Ashwamedha sacrifice and finally

consigned himself to fire He was the foremost among

the fighters and also a vedicist.

1 Dr Belwalkar p.c

97

There are then authors from Abal-Fazal back to Bāna

who refer to Shudraka. The Ainı-Akabarı says that

Shudraka reıgned for 91 years. Rajashekhara attributes

the authorship of Shudraka-Katha to two joint authors

Ramılla and Somılla.1 Kshirswāmı talks of hım as a

friend of Agnıand as a Shālīvāhana Bāna makes hım the

hero of his romance and says of hım in his Harshacharita

that Shudraka with the help of his emissaries deprived

Chandraketu, the lord of Chakoras and his minister of their

lives The Rājtarangını sets hım beside the king Vikramā-

dıtya. Shobhavatı was his capital and he lived for

hundred years according to Vetālpanḍhvıshı. The Skanda-

purāṇa puts hım as the first of Āndhrrabhrıtyas. It says

in the Kumārıkākānda that a great king named Shudraka

would reıgn in the year 3290 of Kalı (which comes appro-

ximately to 190 A D ) and further on identifies hım with

the founder of the Āndhrabhrıtya dynasty. Col Wılford

on the authority of the Matsya-Purāṇa holds that " the

first Āndhra King reigned about 456 years earlier than the

last Pulımata who died in 648 A. D. He first deposed his

master, the last of the Kanva dynasty to whom he was a

minister and succeeded to the throne, thus founding the

Āndhra dynasty of Magadha Kings"

Not much reliance can be placed on the evidence of

chronology recorded in the Purāṇas, firstly because the

calculation of chronology is not scientific, secondly be-

cause very rarely they tally with one another, thirdly in

this particular case " it invalidates the popular notion

that Shudraka preceded Vikramādıtya and consequently

lived in 100 B C "2 The chronological data and identıfi-

1 They were predecessors of Kalıdasa according to Lerı

7

2 Dr Bhandarkar

cation of Shudraka with Balhita or Sindhuka or Māhākarni to whom tne circumstances in tne purānas are attributed are by no means satisfactory

The theory put forward by Col Wilford does not hold because Pulimata could not have died in 648 A D because he was a contemporary of

Ptolemy who wrote his Periplus in 151 B C The chro-nology can be put as under The Mauriyan dynasty was extinguished in 185 B C and was followed by Sunga

and Kanvas who ruled for 112 years Shimulka, therefore, the founder of the Āndhrabhrityas began his reign in 73 B C ” The earliest date is fixed by Bhāsa (whom we have put in 200 B C )because his Chārudatta has inspired

the poet to write his play. The later date is fixed by Avaloka of Dhanika who was a literary njan at the court

of Parmara king, Munja of Malva (974-995) Shudraka has been much drawn on by Vāmana (800 A D )

The internal evidence in favour of the antiquity of the play is over-whelming The obscure words, the ex ten-sive use of the P iākrite—the favourite languages of the

Āndhras, the absence of the knowledge of the rules of poetry and the society depicted, point to the same conclu-sion

" The style though not meagre is in general simple and unartificial and of a day evidently preceding the elaborate richness of Sanskrit writing " The Prākrits are

certainly older than those used by Kālidāsa in his plays The Sanskrit in the play shon s that the play belonged to a period when Sanskrit was gradually ceasing to be a

spoken language of the people, which it did completely after the time of Patanjali (140 B C.)

There are other points which when put together establish the antiquity of the play The custom

1. शूद्रकादिरचितेषु प्रवन्धेषु अस्य्र भूयान् प्रपंच: दर्शयते।

Pralhāda There can be no good reason why he should not

have cited Purāna The author must have been acquainted

with the Purāṇas as with the epics We have, therefore,

good reason to suspect that the play must have been

written prior to the composition of the Purāṇas or at least

before the stories they contain had acquired by their

aggregation familiar and popular currency "1 The

Purāṇas, especially the bulk of them though excepting

some few, came to be written in the age of Sanskrit

renaissance during the period of the Gupta dynasty.

The heroes of the political bye-plot in the play Gopāla

Pālaka and Ārṣaka are mentioned by Bhāsa Pālaka

according to Jain Hari-ramsa (400 B C) was enthroned in

the time of the last Teṣṭiankar Mahāvīra (600 B C )

The events in the political rerolution belong to a period

shortly after Budha's death (543 B. C ) " Śhudraka is

historical because he must be the Ābhīra prince Shīrdatta

who or whose son Ishwarsena is held by Dr Fleet, to have

overthrown the last of the Āndhras and to have founded

the Chedi era of 248-9 A D which is supported by the

play."2 There is the word Nānaka used in the play and

which as Weber says is derived from the coins of Kanerki

who reigned about 400 A. D

Two dates are thus advanced for Shudraka, viz 200

A D and 100 B C of which the latter can be accepted as

more reliable on the strength of the references about the

Ānchra king, the indentification of the two, the ancient

Prākṛits, and the high antiquity of the society painted

The writer is a devotee of Shiva and Gāuri and seems

to be a follower of the Sāṅkhyan philosophy He men-

1 Wilson, Theatre 2 Konow

out he comes. Here in this play there is no sense of sadness at the beginning to attract and to fix the eyes and

mind of the audience—which is very essential. Tension must be there at the beginning which this introduction

perfectly lacks.

The introduction and the subsequent dialogue on poverty speak much on the condition of the people In

the whole drama there appears to be the social background rendered very terrible on account of the revolution

—political, social and also economic The people were reduced to poverty. Men of the status of Sutradhāra,

Chārudatta appear starving and crying for food. The introductory scene is very effective in making a good im-

pression on the minds of the people of the surrounding economic evil condition Sharply enough has this scene

of poverty been contrasted with the scene that follows in which lewdness and looseness of characters and dissolute-

ness and dissipation of passions run rampant If in the first part the Sutradhāra appears with his inordinate appe-

tite and Chārudatta appears bewailing the onset of evil days, in the second, the Shakāra, Vīta and Cheta appear

changing a harlot Chārudatta is forsaken by his friend and flatterers and prefers death to the ill-betied and ill-

fated life The good sense of the grace of the audience must have been very seriously struck by the contrast

between the altogether different aspects of the society—poverty and lewdness The audience must have been

pained to find that even in the times of common evil there were people who never could see beyond the satisfac-

tion of the sensual lust of the beastly instinct.

In addition to this pleasant contrast between the two widely divergent angles of vision with which the people

are looking at the surrounding society, the first act also

prepares the audience for the political situation that is to

follow. 'There was something rotten in Denmark' was a

fact of common credence and the rottenness not only ex-

tended to the domain of politics but even of society.

The scene of Shakār and his friends proceeds, and in

the course of it they make advances of love to the hatera who

spurns them and tries to turn their minds from her

person to her ornaments,' when there was every danger of

her being molested. The device of hers suggests the main

item in the act. Those very ornaments are deposited

with Chārudatta, which event is told in the sequel and

which, therefore, gives a name to the act( Alankārnyāsa ).

The simpletonness of Shakāra or the strak of brava-

do serves a great purpose in the advancement of plot

and for his lapses into it he gets a smart reprimand from

his friends Just in a similar frenzy he refers to the inci-

dent of romance and the first glances of love between

Chārudatta and Vasantsenā and by the bye the exact

locality of the residence of Chārudatta slips from his

lips which is very consoling to Vasantsenā who was wait-

ing for some expedient to extricate herself from the terrible

love-making of Shakāra The whole first act gives alter-

nating situations in the scenes Seriousness and light-

ness, steadfastness and lewdness, hard pathos and rollick-

ing humour appear by turns and remove the tiresomeness

of the act. One party is disgusted with the world and its

inmates and the other paty does not believe or bother even

that there is any such thing as sincerity or lightness His

whole philosophy which he does not know but which is

1 आये, अस्मात् किमप्यलकरणं तक्र्यते ।

clear from his ways consists in that the life has to be

lived because it has to be lived and for no other exterior,

interior or ulterior motive

The scented garment1 is used as an expedient by the

poet to make known to the heroine that the heart of

Chārudatta though much afflicted under poverty was

not averse to the thought of love or to the enjoyments of

youthful life ' The garment scented with flowers is sent

to him by his old friend Churnarridha who along with it

sends blessings. The same garment is given by Chāru-

datta to Vasantsenā and asks her to wrap his dear son

Rohaseṇa from the cool pinching breeze, mistaking all the

while that the person whom he was asking to do so was

Radanikā and no one else.

The introduction of the garment is so very natural

that we do not feel its importance There is no fuss, no

artificiality made about it but all the same it achieves a

good deal, in unfolding the love between the two We

wish some more emphasis were placed on its introduction

The bakul-mālā in the Malati-Madhao, the union gem in

Vikramorvas'iiya or the ring in Shākuntala and Mudrā-

rākshasa are similar incidents—similar expellients but

there is a definite attemnt—intended emphasis made by the

poets to bind the minds of the people to them.

The first act begins with the enchanting of the two

hearts under the auspices of Kāmdeo and ends with the

depositing of the ornaments The exchange of glances of

love between the two and the consequent enamouring

were known to the lewd circles in the society. It is a

अम्महे जादो कुचुमन्वानिदो णाण्णार्सो अपुदासीन सेज्जोअरण पडिद्वासेदि

105

wonder how this fact is not known to Madanikā who puts a number of questions to Vasantsenā about the discomforture of her heart with which the second act opens. Further, a street brawl is shown between a gambler and a keeper of the gambling house who persues the former for the recovery of the price of the wager.

The Samvāhaka, the shampoccr, the keeper of the house, Māthur the dyūtakār and typical specimens of the scum of the society and the pastime which they take delight in, the loss in that, the consequent flight of the vanquished, the pursuit by the successful, the taking of resort in a temple, the tracing of the track of the run-away by means of the foot-prints or the drops of blood falling from his nose are all naturally described

That Samvāhaka who learnt the art of shampooing only for art's sake turns it to account as a means of livelihood, and joins the gang of gamblers by a stroke of misfortune. then loses and runs. By the bye, be makes references to the highly charitable nature of Chārudatta which secures for him a welcome shelter in the lodgings of Vasantasenā.

She is much enamoured of the charms of Chārudatta since their first meeting in the garden of the god of love and she lavishes her best gifts on whosoever happens to make the slightest reference to the manifold aspects of his magnanimity.

The last incident of the act creates some more consternation, the elephant of Vasantasenā having got loose and running amock through the streets of Ujjain. Karda-pūraka displays great valour in bringing the wild elephant under control and releasing from off his teeth the poor mendicant, the Budhistic votary

This incident is similar to the elephant—incident in the MālatīMadhao in which Makarand shows himself off so very valiantly, or

similarto the monkey—incident in Ratnāvalī in which that

odiously monstrous animal plays a havoc in the royal

honsehold Such incidents are always introduced in plays

wit a view t) unfolding some chivalrous qualities of

of the principal characters, of giving a touch of romance

to the incident But in this elephant—incident Shudraka

has not introduced Chārudatta The reason of non-appear-

ance of him is obvious in as much as the poet rivets his

attention on the merits of charity and, therefore, makes

all the incidents converge on it It was not his intention

to display his manly virtues. The scented garment, the

main expedient of solace and union, has been brought in

as a gift t) Karnapūraka—t'ie menial of Vasantsenā. The

poet employs subsidiary, humorous incidents but he takes

care t) see that the audience are not completely lost in

them, and keeps on reminding them of the principal

thr ads of the incident by making casual, passing reference

here and there

In this act, Darduraka is really a नगरचतुर्थरूपभ,

bullying t'e poor people, patronising falsely, intervening

into broils and making them worse or creating new ones

wh re the e are none It is but natural that he should

have the clue in t'e political revolution1

The scene of the singing party of Rebhila, besides

showing the gaity of nature of Chārudatta even in poverty,

prepares the ground for another scene by indicating the late

hour at which Chārudatt was returning, (he devotion with

which hisattendants wereawaitinghis arrival Sharvilaka

breaks the house in t'e following seene The thief seems

कथयेत च मम प्रियवयस्येन शर्विलकेन यथा आयंकनामा गोपालदारक

सिद्धादेशेन समादिष्ट राजा भविष्यति इति ।

107

too unpractised and impractical in his new profession to

which he was driven by the extravagance of his habits.

In support of his devilish design the devotee of Kārtikeya

quotes from sacred literature Satan does always quote

from the Bible He takes measurements of the tiles and

bricks, the san lhi and it, four divisions, puts water in

the cracking hingos, sounds the hollowness of the under-

ground by casting bija and thus treats his subject of

thieving on scientific lines

The fourth act presents incidents that are commonly

found in other dramas, e. g the portrait of the lover, the

call from her mother, the break in the lovely talk. The act

also develops the sub-plot of Madanikā and Sharvilaka

and hints the political situation It gives a long poetic des-

crip tion of the eight-stored mansion of the harlot-prin-

cess, of the furniture—the painting, tamed birds and beasts,

and instruments The piece is a specimen of the grand

prose of long and balanced periods and exemplfies the poet's

power of realism even in style. The description again

speaks much of the powers of observation of Vidushaka

who is conventionally a non-observant or a mis-observant

character in as much as he fails not to see the omni-

potence of the articles of his gluttony in everything

The fifth act is termed as Durdina— a rainy day and

shows the density of the feeling of love inspite of the im-

pediments of stormy and dreadful weather. The youthful

pass.on is just like a colt galloping unreined and unre-

strained by the trammells of decency or conventions—noisy

threats of lighening and clouds—and runs its course with

complete defiance. The act is the रतिसङ्गये in which the

action attains to the highest pitch There is a sharp con-

trast between the tumultuousness of the two elements.

108

The lyrical element is to be understood if the light of this wide gulf that separates the itwo storms. The scene proceeds tardily in the beginning and fast at the end so much so that Vasantsenā throws herself in the arms of Chārudatta the moment that she learns about the union of lightening and its lover

The next act is the VimarsaSandhi and presents the policy of obstruction thatched by Shakāra in which fate helps him more than his brains The comedv of errors that is created by the exchange of carts ( pravahana-viparyaya ) charmingly gives quite an unexpected turn to the incident which otjierwise would have remained all accomplished The incident though inconceivable and im-possible in some minor details has got a natural appear-

ance about it as a whole. The element of chance has often such a powerful and inexplicable influence in the occurence of or linary incidents that it baffles our expectations and snatches the cup from our lips. The prize is snatched away from those who deserve and placed in the hands of the undeserving Vasintsenā gets into a wrong cart while the renegade and runaway Aryaka gets into hers. Thus Chārudetta loses Vasantseā and Shakāra secures her by a happy stroke of fortune

It is clear that there must have been a great plot against the king Pālaka-a plot in which not only his servants, loyal and faithful, but such sedate citizens as Chārudatta saw nothing unceremonious to join and sympathise with the culprits The same incidents continue in the next act

The appearance of the Budhistıc mendicant in the next act is not required either by the necessities of the plot or of character May be,this order of Budha bhıksus

was looked down upon the common people, any stick

was good to strike them with. A bhikshu was taken to be

& common stock of laughter and his maltreatment was

much enjoyed by the people.

The element of chance works again in favour of

Shakāra in the eighth act. He proceeds unaidedly and

unguardedly. He is proof against all entreaties and devices

of Vita who wants to put him off guard and off scent to

protect Vasantsenā The threat of perennial enmity was

given to Chārudatta and has been cruelly executed The

greatly horrid task of putting Vasantsenā to death was

no sooner conceived than dispatched

The sequel turns against him very rapidly. The

reaction is both horrid and huge.

Characterization.-The attempt of Shudraka in

bringing into being nearly thirty characters is at once

novel and striking He has taken a leaf out of the society

and has focussed the historical, religious and economical

aspects to illustrate the main one His is eminently

a social drama and thus it is a mirror to and of the

society in which the poet lived and died The characters

in the play are all prototypes of human beings of

ordinary calibre, maintaining the same level, although

always busy in their own narrow activities. Their rigion

and vision are both limited Very scarcely does there

appear a towering personality The world is always full

of mediocrities and nonentities Among all the galaxy

of thirty characters, it is Chārudatta and Vasantsenā only

who elbow their companions in the world and rise above

them by their sublimity, nobility and sacrifice. But

live they must amongst the pigmies of their race who

see nothing beyond their own selfish interests. The

110

whole machinery of the play is set to work automatically,

every one being given a function to discharge. There

is neither sloth as to procedure nor dense a headedness

as to the conception of means They all exhibit wonder-

ful dynamic tendency Sharrilaka breaks open the house,

steals the gold vessel but amends are made the moment

that the breach is effected. Āryaka escapes from the con-

fines and there is a conveyance kept in reserve for him.

Śhakāra the swindler with whom we expect some em-

barrass rent or mental aberration rises to tie occasion,

throttles Vasantaseñā, covers her wiìh leaves and runs

to the court. There is no time lost Even minor characters

as Sthārarak3 and Chetaka, though they are fettered, never

afford to lose any time in bringing into light the atro-

cious deed done in the dark by their master. It is this

dynamic activity on the part of the characters that adds

to the rapid growth of the plot-organization

There are some lapses into impropriety Sharvilaka

is typically a sentimental youth, very much inferior to

Chārudatta in the qualities of both heart and head but

he is made to utter the epilogue which legitimately

must come from authoritative lips Ordinarily we wish

Āryaka to appear and pronounce the Bharatavākya

Chārudatta laments on the evil course that his for-

tune takes He is so much disgusted wiìh the ways of

the worid and with the sudden change, tiat he prefers

death to the wretched life Though he is maltreated by

the cruel hand of fate still his strong belief in gods is not

shaken and though he is constantly adrised to refrain

from worshipping the mātris on the ground that the

worship not only is not fructifying but positvely harm-

ful still he sticks on to it. ‘ Even in his poverty-stricken

circumstances he does not relinquish his youthful and

costly habits for which he is complimented by Vasant-

senā It is his virtues more than his affluence that has

inspired a high regard for him in the mind of those who

had clung to him in thick and thin. Even in his poverty his

charitable nature does not cease to operate. He is pleased

with the fine display of valour shown by Karnapuraka and

makes him a gift of his garment His fondness for singing

parties and appreciation of the display of fine arts speaks

much on the gay nature of the man The intensity with

which he loves the hatera and the disparagement of

himself on account of poverty and the consequent despair

of securing her are evident from the beginning but how-

soever dense the affection may be, it had for its object one

who had kept a price on her person and whose lovely en-

amourment or enticement was conventionally bound to

be a sham one In the middle of the play, even after

admitting all the intensity and the genuineness of the

sentiment on both the sides we like to question whether

it is a good aspect of the society to hold forth before it

an instance of a Brahmin youth monetarily broken, in

the arms of a city-harlott What a spectacle must it have

been! Another weak point in the character of Chārudatta

is the succour which he gives to the renegade Aryaka

against his king To give shelter to one whose extinction

is threatened is obligatory but loyalty to the king is

equally obligatory on a true citizen The generosity or

liberality of nature with which he lavishes gifts on the

spur of the moment, the garment, the ring, the uttarīyaka

etc. is another weak point in Chārudatta It was this

lavishing nature of Chārudatta that had brought on him

the impoverishment. It of course raises him in the estima-

tion of Vasantasenā. He gets blyushed when a question as

112

to his connection with the haters is put to him It is a weak defence that he has offered-the inconsiderateness being attributed to youth Are the rash follies of youth exempted from tainting the character? His impressiveness, his freedom from sin, his attractive personal charms are quite apparent

Vasantasenā The heroine appears under adverse circumstances Unfortunately she does not belong to the high category of family-women born and bred up on a high pedestal w hich the commonalty much less the lewd and the dissolute cannot dare to wink at Completely immunes are the high-born girls from the poisonous looks of the people Shakuntalā is brought up in the innocent company of deers and hares, Sītā and Mālatī are chastity and devine love incarnate. No poisonous taint of earthly love affects them Amongst all the bright specimens of the heroine-world, scarcely is there any one w ho though endowed w ith all the virtues and qualities of the higher species, h as to labour under tremendous social odds Virtue has its own value but shines the more under adverse circumstances Vasant'senā is by no means inferior to her worthy compeers in point of beauty, eagerness and steadfestness of love though she is not equally fortunate, in being free from the baneful influences in the society that corrode the bashful modesty of the virgins Vasant-senā puts up with all this by her fixedness or resoluteness of sentiment and resignation of will

Shudraka departs from the convention in the creation of his heroine and puts in a haters in place of a coy maiden The love-its beginning and development-is one stereotyped affair in almost all dramas It is conducted between a maiden and a chivalrous knight The maiden

has to restrain the course of her love from being ventilated

It is always on the point of bursting out the dams of convention and decency.

In the presence of elderly relations, in the presence of the rightful spouse of the hero, she has to gaz her mouth and sentiment

The result of such forced gagging is apparont.

The strong passion checked inwardly, troubles the concious, un-conscions, and sub-c'ncious rigions of her life, takes away the sap and salt of life

Vasantasenā is not put under that handicap

Her social status gave her immunity from public censure.

She could open her heart to her friends and elders without violating any laws of social decency or etiquette

The occupation that she followed is appropiately described by Vita comparing her once to a creeper on the way and and to a well at other time fit to be ba'hed by all aliko and to a boat at a third time.

She is vory sensible to the delicacy of love

When she sees Madanikā secretely talking with Sharvilaka, she does not with to intervele and break the dialogue of love.

Rightly has she censured the attitude of Shakra, the god of rain for throwing obstacles in her way, he being no less an ardent lover in the case of Ahalyā.

The Cheta and the Vita sympathise with her when she finds herself encompassed and entrapped owing to an unforeseen accident-the exchange of conveyance.

People in general have a great regard for her inspite of her low profession.

Vita is sorry when she is done to death by the villianous Shakāra

She is a सोजन्यनदी and a दाक्षिण्योदकवाधिनी

She has a mother of great fortitude because she bears with the least complacence the tragedy of her daughter's life and instead of avenging it on Chārudatta as any waman would have done tries to save him.

Both Chārudatta and Vasantasenā are eminently quick-witted and warm-hearted.

Both can

face misfortune with resolution and with a fine capacity for grasping the sympathetic features of the situation Each

has the delicacy of feeling, tenderness, the generosity, the tact, the loyalty and the resourcefulness which make them

irresistably loveable Vasantsenā has a loyal lover to make love to, and knows all the time that he is in love

with her. She can lavish unexpected fascinations on him as she could not have done in her true charactar She

has nothing to fear and no one but herself to consider She loves him with self-denying devotion, has to reject

the affections of a rival on his behalf, though she knows that the attempt of rejection is ruinous to the interests of

both, monetarily, socially and personally Even under the trying conditions, the generosity of both never fails

The attempt is made by both loyally, frankly and fearlessly

The Shakāra is an ideal butt. He is perhaps the most foolish person ever presented on the stage Though he is

incapable of grasping witticism, he is anxious to pass as a man of parts by quoting from ancient authorities which

are evidently mythological absurdities A perfect and entire coward he is fain to believe himself a perfect fire-eater.

An obvious lout, he swallows compliments on his personal appearance without the dimmest suspicion. He is a

source of endless enjoyment and profit to audience and his fellow-characters who are always gullying him into

an uneasy conviction that he may yet compass a marriageable interview with Vasantsenā. He considers

himself a knight of good repute, a man of birth, bred up at the court, a relative to the ruling prince Singularly

insolent is he to the high in the society. He gives way at every point to sensual habit-glutton, liar, licentious, pro-

fligate and for means to indulge in the coarse pleasures, a

cheat, a robber. He is gross of body, diseased by vice.

Underneath any disapproval of him lies our enjoyment

of his pleasantry, his good but cruel humour, his wily

nature, his gay way of taking life, his agility and cheer-

fulness of mind, his wild exaggerations of lying, the

intense enjoyment he feels in his own wit, his colossal

ignorance of legendary mythology his power of twisting

out of difficulties, his profound understanding of himself,

his appreciation of all the faults of his character. When

the laugh is over, deserved credit is given to him for

the pleasures enjoyed He has the courage of situation.

Most men would be ashamed of his condition. He

maltreats every one in every direction The prince, and

the magistrate do not escape. His brain is quicker than a

fencer's sword and with the quickness there is a brilliancy

which charms with its surpassing turns of fancy, and even

of thought. His soliloquies are important. He comments

on himself and on the world, full of self-knowledge and

self-excuse, exaggerating into excellences his vices for

his private amusement, discussing with himself how

much honour is worth chuckling over his cheating of

Chārudatta. There is malice in him, cowardice in

him, envy in him, hatred, injuriousness, rudeness,

love to a girl His advances set a terror in the heart of

Vasantsenā He is talking of beating end thrashing

though he is quite incapable of doing either. He is

intended to be the villain and though there is a method

in his buffoonery and villainy still he is not made des-

picable and detestable a villain as it is all clothed under a

garb ot jest,, quaint manners, his absurd mythology, his

rough and deliberate misinterpretations of persons and

words, and his ultra-feminine timidity The same mother

fate of whom he is a favourite child in the early part of the

play turns her relentless hand on him by exposing all

his malicious deeds Rightly does the Vita blame him for

his nasty and spoiling tendency.1 ‘There is in him absence

of love as well as absence of conscience. Combined

with this is sensuavity—the common appetite of the brute

intensified by the memory, the intellligence and the ex-

perience of man Again the sister of sensuavity is cruelty—

the lust of the one induces the lust of the other Both Chāru-

datta and Vasantsenā do not feel a natural repulsion to

him There is no trace of even unconscious antagonism

to him.

MINOR CHARACTERS —Sharvilaka has a very low

opinion of his brainhood He improvises his sacred

thread as a piece of string to tie his finger with when

bitten He is a sentimental and emotional youth He is

the hero of the sub-plot which runs parallel to the main

one He is bold and adventurous to a fault He is con-

demned by Madanikā, his heroine. Madanikā in her

steadiness and shrewdness serves a good counterfoil to the

unsteady, everchanging, extremely emotional tempera-

ment of Sharvilaka.

Rohasena is the son of Charudatta for whom he has a

warm corner in his heart He does not allow even a cool

1 हा —तीणा शतं मारयामि चोरोऽहम् ।

विट :—यदेव परिहतंक्य तदेवोदाहरति मूर्खः ।

हा :—चारुदत्तविनाशय करोमि कपट नवम् ।

मम वशमुगता रावणस्थेय कुल्ती

भीमसेनो जमदग्नीपुत्र । द्रोपदीव पलायसे रामभीता

कथ श्रृङ्गाला उद्यन्ति वायसा गच्छन्ति ।

117

wind to blow over him. His appearance before his father

who was on his way to the gallows produces a very pathetic

effect in the situation Cheta, Vita are very shrewd

characters Vita is learned and has the sense of propriety.

"Mathura, the master-gambler is a hardened sinner

without bowels of compassion." Faithfulness, inquisitiveness, resourcefulness are shown by the maids There

is sacrifice in Dhūtā who is ready to consign herself to fire

The Vridhā comes out of trial with fortitude The chāndālas have got the philosophy of grave-diggers. The servants

are blunt They fall out on the smallest pretext

The style is pānohāli and hence is soft and sweet It

is both realistic and naturalislic. The pathetic description

of poverty, the sublime and realistic description of rain,

the execution scene, the appearance of Rohasena there,

are very highly sentimental. The wealth of incidents, and

the happy coincidence in their presentation are seen in

a number of scenes, for instance, Vasantsenā entering in

Chārudatta's house, Radanikā being mistaken for Vasant-

senā, the comedy of errors through the exchange of carts 'the

appearance of Veeraka, the city guard in the trial of Chāru-

datta, the broll between Shakāra and Maitreya and the

disclosure of the ornaments

" Wouldst thou the young year's blossoms and fruits of its decline,

And all by which the soul is charmed, enraptured, feasted, fed,

Wouldst thou then the earth and heaven itself in one sole name

combine

I name thee, O Śākuntala, and all at once is said "

CHAPTER IV

Kālidās

Thus breaks out Goethe, a poet and a dramatist of

great renown in Europe. This eulogistic strain contains

the condensed consensus of opinion of the critics of both

East and West It is Kālidās and the Vedic-seers that

have established both the antiquity and the sublimity of

the Sanskrit literature in the eyes of the world It is a

pity that the date and the life of this illustrious alumnus,

a great votary of creative genius should have been

shrouded in the womb of mystery and should consequently

ly have given rise to a numberless traditions One tradi-

tion makes him ignorant in youth and ascribes the ferti-

lity of his genius to the favour of the goddess Kāi

Another makes him a contemporary of Bhoja (1106 A. D.)

of Dhāia A third one puts him amongst the nine jewels

at the court of Vikramāditya (57 B C ). A fourth one

makes him a resident of Kāshmīr. One more says that he

died in Ceylon by the hand of a courtizan and that it was

discovered by his friend Kumārdāsa ( identified with the

king of that name who lived in the early part of 600 A.D)

The traditions instead of giving any truth only multiply

the personality of the poet This is why Rājashekhara

mentions three Kālidāsas The grain of truth that these

traditions contain is more an æsthetic one than a historical one.

119

The question about his date is yet a moot one Kālidās could not have lived earlier than Agnimitra, the hero of one of his plays, belonging to the Sunga dynasty of ( 150 B. C. ) and later than Bāna ( 620 A D ) the court-poet of Harshavardhana (607-647 A. D ) or the Aihole inscription of Ravikīrti ( 634 A D. ). His date is thus circumscribed by these two dates Tradition places him in 100 B. C. as a contemporary of Vikramāditya who started an era after him in 57 B. C But this Vikram era is mentioned in no ancient inscription though the preceding Mouryan era is referred to in a number of writings about Chandragupta and Asoka. The first inscription that mentions this era belongs to Chanda-Mahāsenā of the Chahamān family and it is dated at 841 A. D. The discontinuance of the Vikram era for a long period of 800 years raises a doubt as to Vikrama himself and consequently of his contemporaries Kālidās and the nine jewels at his court. The nine jewels were all great men in their own sphere and when separated by a wide gulf of time might have been strung together by a later admirer of theirs and made contemporaries of the famous patron of learning The GāthāSaptaShatī that refers to Vikramāditya is of uncertain date and the Mahārāshtrī in the plays of Kālidāsa is posterior to GāthāSattasai. The prākrītized form Uraiyur of Sanskrit Uragapur2 with the loss of two intervocatic ga and pa, is not a reliable philological transformation It is moreover located on the south bank of the Kaveri by the Gadwal plate of 700 A D The close of the Sangham age must date before 600 A D. The reference to Uraiyūr cannot take Kālidās before Christ The Bhita Medallion3 of

1 Arya 64 2 Raghu VI 50 3 Cambridge History of Indiā Vol I

Sunga period represents a charioteer with a hermit stopping him from hunting and in the back-ground a girl watering a tree in front of a hut But no importance need be attached to this evidence1 as the scene might possibly have been borrowed from the Mahābhārata

There is an attempt to prove Kālidāsa's priority to Ashwaghosa by the allusions to Sarvadamana in Sākuntala and to the insanity of Purūravas that are discovered in some verses in Soundarananda of Ashwaghosa of 100 A. D. This is further supported by verbal and conceptual resemblances between Raghuvamsa and Budhacharita About the allusions, one might as well ask why the allusions should not be taken to refer to the same stories in the Mahābhārata. The discovery of the plays of Ashwaghosha in the Lüders Turfan mss. has conclusively established the antiquity of the Prākrits and thereby the priority of Ashwaghosa The percentage of short-metres in Ashwaghosha is another evidence in favour of his priority,

The evidence-astronomical and astrological that we find in the works of Kālidās viz-the eclipses, the equalization of the mid-day, the zodiac sign Lion, the words Ucca, Jamitra—sets him definitely not prior to 350 A. D.

We have thus seen that Kālidās cannot be taken to 100 B C or 100 A. D. There is no evidence to take him in the next two centuries even because there is no paramount sovereign with whom we can associate the high-patronage to learning, the era, and the reign at Ujjain The word Vikramāditya is not, therefore, a proper noun but a title and there is evidence to show that this title was assumed by some illustrious kings of the Gupta dynasty Vikramāditya of Kālidāsa is identified with Chandra-

1 D R. Bhandarkar

gupta II who was the Lord of Ujain and whose coins found in Kāthiāwār show the title and the date 413 A. D.1

This title is also assumed by Skandagupta (450 A. D) as is maintained by Pathak2 The patronage that Kālidās enjoyed under the Guptas is compensated by him by writing a panegyrical poem on the Guptas, allegorical allusions to whom he hidden under the heroesof Raghuvamsa.

Rāma and Pururavas both represent SamudraGupta.3

Raghu in his world-conquest conquers the Hūnas who had settled on the bank of the river Vankshu—the Oxus.

(Indus, V L.) The date of the first establishment of the Hūna empire on the Oxus is 150 A D and they were defeated by Skandagupta in 155 A. D It is maintained that Kālidās was an elderly contemporary of Skandagupta.

The reference to Hūnas in M. Bhārat is inexplicable in this theory

Dr Hoernle holds that Vṛmaditya is no other than Yaśodharman of Ujain "who about the year 528 accomplished the delivery of their country from oppression by inflicting a decisive defeat on Mihirkula, a Saka king who was taken prisoner" and who is eulogised in the Mandasor inscription of 532 A D M Haraprasād Shastri relies on the historical data furnished by Raghu.

VI and supports Dr Hoernle Prof Bhāndarkar5 takes some stanzas in Raghu VI relating to the King of Anūpa called Pratipa who belonged to the Kārtavīrya lineage and had his capital at Māhishmatī This is, he says a clear reference to the Kalchuri dynasty "Kālidās flourished about the middle or in the second or third quarter of

1 Dr Bhandarkar for B O S S, V A Smith 2 Ind Ant 1911.

3 H R Blide, E C I, J R A S 1909 ; I ant 1911

the sixtn century". This date synchronises with the

dates of Varāhamihira and Amarsinha (600 A. D.) who are

made contemporaries of Kālidās by the Jyotirvidābharana

This work on astronomy has been ascribed to Kālidās and

has been pruved to have been written after the year

523 A D, under the patronage of one Vikramāditya The

work has been based on the theory of Varāhamihira, and

therefore cannot be given the ancient date (B C 33)

which it claims This work refers to Vikramāditya,

in some dozen places and this Vikramāditya is the

same persenality who ruled in Mālwā sixty years

prior to the visit of HuoenTsang (629-45), who placed

his friend Matrigupta on the tarone of Kashmir,1 who

was also styled as Shilāditya, by HuoenTsang, who put

the Sakas to flight and killed them in the rigion of

Karur2 the date of which has been prored to be 544 A D.

by Dr Fleet3.

" Kalidas thus lived in the middle of the sixth

century ":

Analysis of the works of Kālidāsreveals the fact that

they fall cleariy in three periods Some of the works are

purely dascriptive-objective forms of poetry e g the

Ritusamhāra The objective element of pcetry came in

course of time to be merged in the subjective element and

gave us quite finished products of the mixture of tha two

typified by the epics The dramas deal with only the sub-

jective type The lyric of the highest form appears in

the Meghadūta The works record eridence for three dis-

tinct periods in the developme t of the poetic genius of

the poet. (1) The formative period when tae poet was

assessing his powers, (2) the transitional period, (3) The

1 Raj Tar 3-12; 2 Alberun's India 3 Corpus Ind P 55

123

period of perfection Of the three dramas the Mālvika A.

and Vikrama U fall within tha second transitional period

while the Shākuntala–the perfect production is the fruit

of the last period It is but natural that the young novice

should have tried his hand first at the objective type of

poetry and then gathered strength to write lucid exposi-

tion on the complexities of the human heart The senti-

ments and their expression must have come last of all in

the period of nature perfection First the historical

comedy followed by the mythological comedy and crown-

ed by the sentimental comedy–this is the gradual process

of the development of poet's genius

A close examination of the poet's feeling of diffidence

with which he introduces Mālvika A. and its gradual

transformation to the feeling of confidence with which he

introduces his Shākuntala shows that the three plays be-

long to the different stages in the development of his

dramatic genius. This is corroborated by the description

of sentiment. The abnormal sensuality in the love in

the Mālvika A. is considerably reduced in Vikranorvashi

and is very rarely found in Shākuntala. Mālvika is pure

but is brought up in the royal atmosphere and therefore

can be expected to be familiar with the working of love

Urvashi is labouring under a curse which must have rob-

bed her of the sensitiveness to that sentiment. Shakun-

talā is purer and simpler still. The course of love again

1. प्रतिनायकामागमविसुननेपसिद्धकार्दीनां प्रग्नवानतिकम्य वर्तमान-

कये कालिदासय कः परिपद् बहुमान ॥ माल

2 अथ सखु काव्यासन्नप्यनितवसूना शादुन्तल्नामेवेयन नवन नाटके-

नोपन्यायतव्यम् । गा.

is impeded in both by the hard rocks of jealousy of Irāvatī

and Aushinari while it runs smoothly and unimpededly

in Shākuntalā The finish and the polish of language

and etiquette, the texture of plot, the unfolding of charac-

ters leave no doubt as regards the fact that the skill shown

in Shākuntalā must have been acquired by the poet by the

initial attempts in the dramatics in Mālvikā A. first and

Vikram U. second The authenticity of one penmanship

of the three plays is clear from the phonetic and conceptual

resemblances and the Prastāvanās bear out unmistakably

the fact that the renowned penman was Kālidās.

" His writings show indeed a keen appreciation of

high ideal and lofty thought but the appreciation is

aesthetic in its nature ; he elaborates and seeks to bring

out the effectireness of these on the imaginative sense of

the noble and grandiose, applying to the things of the

mind and soul the same sensuous standard as to the

things of sense themselves He is the great, the supreme

poet, poet of senses, of aesthetic beauty, of sensuous emo-

tion He is, besides, a consummate artist, profound in con-

ception, suave in execution, a master of sound and lan-

guage who has moulded for himself out of the infinite pos-

sibilities of the Sanskrit tongue, a rise and diction

which are absolutely the grandest, most puissant and

most full-voiced of any human speech, a language of

gods "1

Malavıkagnimitra.

" The subject of the three plays of Kālidās is taken

from the heroic mythology and a royal demigod and

nymph, of more than human mould are the hero and the

heroine "2 In Mālavikāgnimitra the plot is so simple

1 The age of Kālidās—Arbind Ghosh. 2 Wilson Theatre.

There

is

first

the

scene

of

prāshnikatva-examination,

but

is

so

much

eager

and

interested

in

deciding

whether

Ganadāsa

or

Haradāsa

is

superior,

as

in

bringing

Mālavikā

on

the

stage

and

displaying

before

the

king

all

her

personal

charms

The

queen

puts

all

possible

hindrances

in

the

way

and

finally

quits

the

theatre

in

anger

The

second

occasion

of

Mālvikā’s

introduction

is

another

fine

piece

of

poet’s

invention

The

queen

suffers

a

fall

from

a

swing

and

Mālavikā

is

sent

to

kick

the

Asoka

and

get

flowers

Agnimitra

who

lies

hidden

offers

himself

to

be

kicked

instead

of

Asoka

but

is

discovered

by

the

queen

who

gives

a

reprimand1.

The

fun

reaches

climax

when

Vidushaka

advises

the

king

to

trust

to

his

heels.

The

fourth

act

is

another

instance

of

the

masterpiece

of

the

poet’s

inventive

faculty.

Mālavikā

is

put

in

a

lock-up

by

the

two

queens

but

the

serpent-ring

on

the

finger

of

the

queen

is

secured

very

cleverly

by

creating

a

sham

commotion

by

the

snake-bite

of

Vidushaka

The

ring—Nāgmudrā

is

given

to

the

jailor

and

the

prisoner

is

at

large.

The

same

act

gives

a

picture-scene

which

achieves

much

in

point

of

dramatic

economy

The

vacillating

temperament

of

the

king

in

point

of

love

is

brought

home

to

Mālavikā

who

is

sorry

for

the

step

she

had

taken2

The

final

fruition

is

put

off

by

the

sudden

entrance

of

Irāvati

The

last

act

unfolds

the

story

of

Mālavikā’s

birth

and

she

is

given

ready

admittance

in

the

royal

harem

by

the

queens

1

नतु

अशोक

कुसुमं

दर्शयति

।

अयं

पुन

पुष्पति

फलति

च

।

तत्क्षणिदानिमायासि

यिष्ये

।

127

Agnimitra is a prince of Sunga dynasty. "He is a

love-sick hero but the reports of the battles and victories

reminds us of his kungly functions and high importance.

The curt reply from the Vaidarbha rouses his ire and he at

once proceeds to arrest Mādhavasenā with whom he wants

to have a matrimonial alliance. That he is a hero of the

Shatha tvpe1 is clear from the plot which he thatches in

consultation with Vidūshaka and Panditā Kausiki for

brin ing together the rival preceptors over the point of

superiority of the knowledge of dramatics The underly-

ing m tive in sounded by the qeēn though very shrewd-

ly he keeps himself away and leaves the decision to the

Panditā. The bounding nature of his love is manifest

from his eagerness to have a glimpse of Mālavikā2 for

which he gets a retort from his friend.3

His love has for its object a dancing girl--a maid

servant of the queen. It, therefore, shows a lower taste

and goes against the chivalrous spirit of the king The

stead-fastness of love is doubted by even Mālavikā in the

picture scene. He is a man unsteady in love, wavering

in confidence, with no initiative, afraid of the wrath of

Irāvatī and relying upon the sublime and resigning temperament of Dhārinī.

The Vidushaka in this play is more a friend and con-

fidant than a jester of the king He along with Jayasenā

is connected with every affair of the king's love which he

manages very skilfully. He tries to snatch the bracelet

1 ईरां. नाठ, आविश्वसनीयहृदयोडसि ।

2. चक्षु सदृशतमधीरतया व्यवस्थितमिव मे तिरस्करणीषम्

3 उपस्थितं नयनमधु । सोत्साहितं मक्षिकमू ।

from off the king's wrist to be given to Mālavikā for her

skill and thus kills two birds with one stone Even in

his ravings he does not lose the sense of propriety He

creates a sham bustle over his snake-bite and secures the

ring for the release of Mālavikā from the jail for the ready

and timely help that he gives to his friend to extricate

him from ugly situations, he gets severe reprimands from

the queen.' He proceeds with the love-affairs more seri-

ously than his friend and contributes very little to the

comic side of the drama.

The most effective characterization in this play

appears not in male characters but in female ones and

that too in the two queens Mālavikā is a princess of the

royal blood of Vidarbha but is introduced as a waiting

maid The king is impressed with her beauty when he

sees her painted among the attendants of the queen It is

her beauty that rouses the jealousy of the queens who

keep her away from the king's gaze 2 Her talents evoke a

compliment from her preceptor.3 With boldness she

appears in the open assembly and gives expression to her

love for the king 4 She constantly importunes her heart

to desist from the course of love as the object is too high

to be reached 5 She doubts the density and the sincerity

1 कथम् खलु ननुग्रन्धमन्यथा जीविष्यति । सत्यमुख बहुधन्या कृत:

प्रयोग । साधु रे विदग्धवानर साधु परित्रातस्त्वया सेकटारस्वपक्ष ।

2 मालविका सर्विशेषं सुरदर्शनपथाद् रक्ष्यते ।

3 परमप्रवीणा मेधाविनी यतत्प्रयोगविपये भाविकं उपादिश्यते मया तस्यै

तत्तद्विशेषकरणात्प्रत्युपदिशति इव मे वाचा ।

4 न खलु परार्थीना त्वयि गणय सत्कणाम् ।

5 आविज्ञातहृदयम् भरतारम् ।

of the king's feeling. She is afraid of the queens She

secures help from her friend Bakulāvalikā and her matron

Kaushiki.

AryāKaushiki records all the facts faithfully and calls

them up with wonderful memory and vividness She is a

sister to Sumati, the minister of Mādhosen. She believes

in the courses and working of fate She puts faith in a

certain prophecy that Mālvikā is to be wedded with a king

after one year She appears in the last act and narrates the

whole account, as to how they came there and how she was

driven to accept the red robes of a nun, She is not so much

in the confidence of Mālvikā as Bakulāvalikā but she is

thoroughly familiar with every item though she has no

hand in its manipulation She is an instance of an old

done-up lady looking with an indulgent eye on the pranks

of love. She does not discourage them, she does not dislike

them. Kāmandaki of Bhavabhuti arranges every item and

takes interest in it Kāmandaki would have certainly

taken part in the amorous affairs of the lovers, had it been

allowed by the laws of the order to which she belonged.

She must have been repenting for the rash act of

becoming a nun It is Kaushiki that calms down the

mind of Dhārini and strengthens her fortitude for

giving the hand of Mālvikā to the king.1 She comforts

the mind of Dhārini She is an authority on the

dance and on the cure of the snake-bite and alone

among the women who speak Sanskrit.

The queen Dhārini is sister to Virsena of Anta-

pāla who makes her a present of his trophy—the two

female captives. She is simple and sympathetic By

1. प्रतिपक्षेऽपि परं सेवते भर्तृवत्सला साक्ष्यं .

9

nature she is free from jealousy though she is often

roused to it by her co-wife She gives her own anklet

to Mālvikā when she is deputed to kick Ashoka for

flowers She is very much moved by the sham bustle

of Vidushaka's snake-bite1 She parts with her ring

to be tried as an antidote, little knowing that the wily

brahmin would make use of it in releasing the prisoners.

Her resignation of will is so complete that not only

does she unite the king and Mālvikā but she also sends a

word of consolation to Irāvatī2 There is a just cause for

anger but she rises above it by her grace, dignity and

magnanimity Dhārinī is an ideal Hindu woman, calm,

tranquil, sublime, prizing the husband's happiness most,

easily moved to pity and charity

Irāvatī is a matter-of-fact lady She does not

depend so much on ceremony It is her jealousy and

passionate impetuosity3 that the whole plot moves

round. She is not mindful of the right and rank of the

king4 nor is the king on his part very much favourably

impressed by her. The unsteadiness in the love of the

king makes her so restless that she is led to an outbreak

against him She charges the queen with partiality to-

wards Mālvikā5 Even up to the last she does not forget

her dignity but sends a word through her maid when the

king is led to enjoy perfect happiness

1 धिक् धिक् अहमेव ब्राझणस्य जीवितसंशयेऽभिमतं जातास्मि।

2 साधारण खलु तासां मम चायमभ्युदयः।

3 महती खलु अस्या: सभावना।

4 शठ आदिश्वसनीयहृदयोऽसि।

5 दृष्टो भवत्या पक्षपात।

131

Vikramorvashiyam.

This play shows an advance in imagination over

the preceding play in which the characters and situa-

tions have the solid, historical back ground Here

there is the mythological back-ground. Further ad-

vance of creating human figures of airy nothing is still

reserved for Shākuntala. If the current of love in

Mālvikā is checked and impeded by social decency, here

it runs in a passionate and undiciplined way. The

central theme in Mālvikā is romantic though the

situations are realistic. The personages and situations

of the superhuman portion of the drama are both ele-

gant and picturesque and the grouping upon the peaks

of the Himālaya or the descent of Nārada through the

fields of ether, the transformation of Urvashi into a vine

are the results of the superhuman element which is

at work.

The story of Purūravas is told not so much in con-

formity with the version of Purānas, which is given

as follows : " A celestial nymph loved and married an

earthly king, warning him, however, that she could abide

with him only so for as he would be careful that she should

not behold him disrobed. For many years they enjoyed un-

alloyed happiness when her companions the nymphs and

the spirits who had sorely missed her resolved to bring

her back by stratagem and contrived by sending an

opportune flash of lightening at night that the condition

of her existence on earth should be violated . In that

flash she saw her lord divested of his robes and with a

wail forthwith vanished The king mourned for her and

sought her all over the world until after long sorrowful

wanderings he found her and they were miraculously

132

reunited" The story occurs in Matsyapurāṇa and in

Shatapatha Br The change that the poet has wrought in

this original is highly romantic The ugly and indecent

condition, viz the disrobing on the part of the king has

been changed to the sight of the son's face The play

is also said to be a dawn-myth put into a dramatic form

The nymph Urvashi is turned into a vine as soon as

she beholds her lover Urvashi is another name for

dawn. Her lover is the Sun. The vine bleeds and speaks

when broken. It appears in this form in the Greek my-

thology and the ballads of the middle ages Urvashi

belongs to the kind of species known as apsarasaS which

are supposed to have semi-divine powers and to have an

aquatic origin. The aquatic origin and human speech

are biologically impossible to be associated Ethnologically

they must be a people very beautiful, living in huts

erected on and supported by a pillar fixed in the centre

of a lake It is the wild fancies of poets that have made

the Gandharvas, and Apsarasas as more superhuman,

more etherial, more ideal

" Trivial as the incidents may appear, unimportant

as may be the loves of the hero and the heroine, both

persons and events are subject to an aweful control

whose interference invests them with a dignity superior

to their natural level. Fate is the ruling principle of

the narrative and the monarch, the nymph and the

sovereign of the gods himself are portrayed as subject

to the inscrutable and inevitable decrees of destiny

The simplicity of the story does not admit of much

display of character but the timid constancy of Urvashi

is not unhappily contrasted with irresolute haughtiness

of the queen The poet too has shown himself not un-

acquainted with the spfings of human feelings and his

133

observations on the relations of the sexes in domestic life are equally shrewd and just1." The feeling of love is shown with all the usual and necessary accompaniment, but it is defective in this that the love is not first-hand-not chaste on both the sides. Had Urvashi been a simple, coy maiden rescued by the chivalrous king not owning any harem, the scene would have been very grand The chief charm of this piece is its poetry. The story, the situations and the characters are highly imaginative and nothing can surpass the beauty and justice of many of the thoughts

The incidents in the play fall into two groups that are separated by a wide gulf of time. The first three acts require a fortnight A period of twelve years passes between the third and the fourth.

'The beginning of the play is similar to that in the plays of Bhāsa (the chirping sound of birds ) The poet goes on with a cautious step The first act depicts the mental perturbation of the Apsarasas, the rousing of the chivalrous spirit in the king's heart, the defeat of the demons, the consequent rescue of the damsels, the fainting and the recovery of Urvashi The love appears in both the aspects - the Sambhoga and the Vipralambha. The seed is sown in the mutual glances at their first meeting, The feeling takes such long strides in its development and influence on the king that the change in him is easily betrayed to the queen. She already possesses a scrutinizing eye and she deputes her maid, her wily Chētī to have further light thrown on the affair. The second act is a little prolix in as much as it contains two incidents-the arrival of Urvashi and the dropping of

I. Hindu Theatre, Wilson

the birch-leaf - achieving the same dramàtic purpose.

The birch-leaf is a romantic expedient as an epistle of

love and is useful afterwards in aggravating the jealousy

of the queen But the appearance of Urvashi serves no

end. On the other hand the scene would have been

more pathetic had she been kept away. The same birch-

leaf is inadvertently lost by Vidūshaka, goes further in

the custody of the queen and is turned to account after-

wards for silencing the king who wants to evade

The progress of the love is compared to the current of

a river dashing on hard rocks' There is once more the

prospect of reunion in the curse and the counter-curse

consequent upon inadvertence on the part of Urvashi

on the heavenly stage The whole plot can be said to be

a uni-thread texture though there is the minor thread of

Chitrarath and the heavenly paraphernalia interwoven.

The play is a love-frolic in a royal house-hold like Rat-

nāvali or Mālvika, with this difference that Urvashi is

a celestial nymph possessing some mystic-superhuman

powers She can witness in person the pitiful condition

and the piteous accents of the king and can remain un-

seen The vow—the gratification of the lovers which

the queen undertakes besides manifesting a romantic

element, throws light on the character of the queen

and thereby on the wife-folk of ancient India The ob-

struction in the way is removed by the sacrifice and

resignation of the queen who expresses an honest wish

for unity between herself and her rival

1 नयाऽ इव प्रवाहो विपमाशिलासंघट्टस्खालितवeg

विन्रितसमागमसुखो भवासिग्रयः शतगुणी भवति ॥

tion and king Skandagupta on that of history5. He is in-

troduced in the play engaged in a deed of chivalry-a

skermish with the demons for the rescue of damsels. He

is very highly connected, claiming his birth from the

Moon2. Like the kings of the ancient time, his valour en-

titles him to an invitation from Indra whenever any

fight is imminent, but unlike them he possesses a sense

of modesty when he attributes all his successes to Indra3.

His ardour for valour never flags. Being undaunted he

desires for further encounter The sentiment-whether

of heroism or of love is unadulterated with hypocricy

The sincerity and intensity of passion go to the length of

driving him to insanity In addition to the lack of ini-

tiative which is common to all the heroes of Kālıdāsa, Puru-

ravas suffers from the lack of self-restraint and manli-

ness This is why he han a passionate dispair raves at the

sudden metamorphosis of Urvashi There is a mixture of

sense and non-sense, of sanity and insanity, running in

and out of one another and adds to the mystery of his

nature He has got his own attractiveness He is deli-

cate of body, sensitive as a child and fearful of the un-

favourable tidings about his lost beloved He trembles

before the unanswering trees and birds Even in the midst

of affairs of both love and war he never forgets his attend-

ance to the solar deity. He possesses a deadly armoury.

Just towards the end, his feeling suffers a sudden change-

the conjugal love giving place to filial and parental

love

1 H B Bhide, F O C

2. सोमोदेकान्तर· 1

3 उपस्थितसंपराय महेन्द्र. विजयसेनामुखे नियोजयति 1

4 अनुत्सेक कल्लु विक्रमालङ्कारः 1

137

The Vidūshaka, his friend, is not a good companion.

He never takes the responsibility of extracting the king

from awkward positions in the love affair but on the other

hand creates more. He is stupid and clumsy, quite in-

capable of holding in any secrets He is not only not

resourceful as his name-sake in M. A. but spoils

the resources at his disposal. He loses the birch-leaf

letter and creates the whole trouble for the king The

humour that he breaks out in is of the routine type-

pertaining to the attractions of the kitchen, deformities of

his own person and the treatment of him as a butt by the

maids of the queen

Urvashi belongs to that species of beings called the

Apsarasas who can be said to be the courtezans at the

court of gods and hence she does not mince matters with

her friend regarding her love and enticement by the king

The feeling of shame is cast off by her and she at once

admits that the god of love is sent by her as a messenger.

In these frank admissions of the workings of her heart in

the unimpeded course of love she can be compared with

Vasantsenā The feat of chivalry on the part of the king

sows the seed of love which shoots up and grows so

luxuriantly and absorbs the mind of Urvashi so much

that she is landing herself into errors in the presence of

the austere audience Even though her status allows her

to proceed ardently in her affair, she is afraid of the queen.

The sentiment with which she is affected, though intense,

is not sublime. It makes her blind to the other sentiments

of the human heart The love is selfish to the core For fear

of separation from her lover she foregoes the delightful

fondling of her child and thus betrays a woeful lack of

motherly love.

138

Aushinari is a dignified queen She has not got that composure of mind which is with Dhārini in M. A In a fit insane jealousy and anger she leaves the king, goes to the garden to soothe down her excitement but finds there one more additional ground for aggravating her jealousy—the birch-leaf letter Like an ideal and dutiful Hindu woman, she persuades herself to accept the affair in good grace She repeats for the harsh treatment meted to the king for his deviation and proceeds herself to perform the vow—प्रियां प्रसादन—gratification of her lord. She sacrifices her love and secures the pleasure of her husband1 in which point she serves a good counterfoil to the character of Urvashi who sacrifices every thing for her selfish love

Shahuntula

" No composition of Kālidāsa displays more the richness of his poe'rical genius, the exuberance of his imagination, the warm'h and the play of his fancy, his profound knowledze of the human he rt, his delicate appreciation of its most refined and tender emotions, his familiarity with the workings and counter-workings of its conflicting feelings—in short more entitles him to rank as the Shakespeare of India"2 This play gives the sweet union of E irth and Heaven according to Goethe who takes Earth to represent thoughtlessness, sensuality, sin or fall and Heaven to represent merit, virtue It is a combination of sin and merit according to Tagore, and this combination is illustrated by the poetic hist ry of the two

1 अद्य प्रभृति या त्रिय आर्यपुत्र. प्रार्थ्यते या आर्यपुत्रसमागमप्रणयिनी

तथा मया प्रीतिसंवेशन भवितव्यम् ।

2 M Wllliams

139

characters The marriage of Navamālikā and Sahakāra,

the union of two types, of love—the Sāttvic and Rājas—

of conscious and sub-conscious sentiments and finally of

Heaven and Earth are so many side-lights on the alle-

gorical significance of the theme—call it then a .physical,

metaphysical, sentimental or spiritual alle³ory. The play

presents a conflict between two very dominant human

feelings—sense of happiness and sense of duty—answers

and solves the riddle of life in its brighter aspect. It thus

disproves the charge that 'it moves in a narrow world far

removed from the cruelty of real life and that for the

deeper questions of human life Kālidās has no message for

us.'2 The characters fall into two distinct groups accor-

ding as they move in two different atmospheres—tem-

porary and permanent, civic and rustic, equivocating and

truthful, sinful and sinless or innocent

The bony structure of the incident is taken from the

Mahābhārata and seen to have been improved upon by the

poet. The new elements introduced by the poet have given

quite a different appearance to the original episode and

justify the poet's claim to originality and explain why he

laid his hand upon an already known incident The curse

and the counter-curse of Durvāsas, the flight of Shakun-

talā with Menakā, Dushyanta's help to Indra are new

events. Durvāsa, Māricha, the boy-ascetics, the maids,

the vidushaka, the fisherman are new character-rs and they

pour lite-spirit in the original dull episodes, consisting of

the hunting, the sight, the marriage, the dispatch and dis

avowal of Sh kuntalā.

The striking sameness in the ring-and-fish incident

told by Herodotus in his story of Polykrates and told also

2 K D

140

by Kālidāsa has led some scholars to suppose that the

Shākuntala is founded on one of the most universally

familiar stories of European folk-lore. The lover in both

the stories, stricken by a wicked spell, forgets his love,

rezovers his memory of her only on seeing the golden

ring he gave her and which is brought back to him under

a variety of romantic circumstances Kālidāsa produces

the ring by the force of sheer accident The ring is dis-

covered in the stomach of an exceptionally fine fish

caught in a stream into which Shakuntalā had accidental-

ly dropped it and the fisherman, accused of stealing it, is

brought into the presence of the king for judgment, the

ring is produced and the moment it catches the monarch's

eye, he awakes as from a trance and asks for his wife

The resemblance in the stories though certainly very

astonishing does not warrant any inference as regards

the debt of borrowal on either side It is possible that

both the poets were struck by the homely aspect of the ring

and made its use in the build of the plot independently

of each other The ring, on account of its inseparable

association with the finger and its tiny form, serves as

a good means to accelerate and accentuate the speed of

the dramatic action. It is always a theme for a sub-

current that wields a tremendous influence on the main

one It is an easy but sure means of recognition and

identification. Persons may change, sentiments may

transform, properties and authorities may transfer hands,

but the ring remains firm and steady under the most

trying circumstances and consoles the grieved. Such a

handy means is too common in every-day life not to be

availed of There is a ring in Rāmāyana which is handed

over by Hanumat to Sītā who is satisfied as regards

141

the personation of the spy. The ring is in M. A, in

Mūdra R and in Ratnāvalī

The ring episode is the centralising force in the action

of the drama from the beginning to the end. The initial

insignificance of it gradually assumes significance and

becomes the sole attractive force at the end There is

nothing unusual that it is on the king's finger, that he

offers it compensating the debt of her friends, their

modest reluctance for its acceptance, the presentation of

it to Shakuntalā, the loss of it by her, the gulping of it

by a fish and its final restoration In spite of the great

magnitude of mischief that is wrought by the ring, it

comes out as a harmless means when Mārīcha discloses

the account of the curse of Durvāsas. The recognition

that is achieved by the ring is also achieved by another

means, viz - the ऋषिकरंडक (the magic box ) Wife,

husband and son are all recognised by these two means

The play gives the welding of three threads, two major

ones -one referring to Dushyanta and his royal household,

the second referring to Shakuntalā and the sphere of hermi-

tage and a minor one-that of Mārīcha The bi-polar weld-

ing continues upto the last act where the third thread

comes in. The king is introduced as seeking pleasure in

hunting The king, a frequenter of the harem as he was,

could not have been so very easily extricated from off the

ties of his harem and from the responsibilities of his court

and chamber and could not have been brought so very near

the scene of romance as is done by means of hunting.

The scene again incidentally throws a number of side-

hints - the king's youth, his jovial temper, his agility, his

delight in manly exercises, his command over and

respect from his soldiers The stretched bow is readily

wound up at the request of Vaikhānas who being pleased

with this piece of conduct of the king confers on him

a boon1. This puts a stop to all speculations as regards

the final catastrophe Through whatever calamitous

situations the hero and the heroine may pass, one thing

is quite clear to them—“ the king is to get a sovereign

son ” Another indication comes later on regarding the

possible adverse change in the fortune of the heroine.

The Muni—the foster-father had repaired to some Teertha

to perform some observances to avert the evil The

minds are thus prepared for the eventuality The plot and

the characters develop so rapidly in the first act that the

poet has no time to explain the situation The plot moves

on of itself The characters plod on in a way quite uncon-

'sciously to them or to those who surround them Every

thing happens in accordance and consonance with the gene-

ral trend of the scene and in harmony with the high notions

of romance In the second act the king stops and takes

stock of the events that passed before him in a dramatic

way. The second act is a reflection of the first and ex-

plains the psychological basis on which the events in the

first act appear to have rested The seed is sown in the

first interview The second act describes the mental con-

dition of the king, his eagerness to proceed further to-

wards the end The third act sheds further light on the

feeble conditions of both the parties that are brought face

to face and are thus convinced of each other's sincerity

and the galloping nature of the feeling of enamourment.

There are two pictures in this act—the love-perturbed

state of mind of Dushyanta and the simple, innocent girls

trying their best to assuage the worst effects of a feeling

1 चक्रवर्तिनं पुत्रमाप्नुहि ।

which they could not diagnose, attributing the derange-

ment to Madan on the evidence of analogy of which they

had heard in itihāsa-nibandha. The suppressed feeling

find forcible expression in the case of Shakuntalā who

improvises the writing materials and puts forth a love-

epistle. The scene proceeds smoothly in two different

streams which further unite at the entrance of the king.

The maids shrewdly retire, the lovers get confidence but

both labour under the restrictions of society. The scene

is interrupted by Gautami who comes there inquiring

after her health1 Thus they part to taste the cup of

miseries kept in reserve for them by destiny.2

The fourth act is the key-stone in the arch of plot-

architecture at which the plot presents a pleasant static

condition. The whole hermitage, human and otherwise,

is bidding good-bye to their mistress who had endeared

herself to them by her genial and affectionate company.

Each one of them typifies a certain aspect of the senti-

ment of pathos while Kanva is pathos incarnate. He

gives expression to the best sentiments and is con-

vinced of the divine aspect and potentiality of the union

by the bodiless speech, at which he gives a long breath of

relief3

Whatever be the other aspects of life that this drama

may represent, it surely represents the strife between

forest life and civic life. The struggle reaches its climax

1. रे चक्रवाक आमन्त्रयस्व सहचरīm.

2. अदो विडम्बय प्रार्थयतोसिद्धयः.

3 हन्त मो. शाकुन्तला पतिकुल विसृज्य लङ्घयिष्यामः स्वास्थ्यम् । जातो ममाय विपदः प्रकाम प्रत्यर्पितदन्यास इवान्तरात्मा ।

in the fifth act where an open challenge is offered by the

simple and guileless ascetics to the fore-most in the civic

life - the king Madens and boys, Kanva and Gautami

are taken in by the high-sounding utterances of the towns-

man who is conversant with the affairs of the world

They are ignorant and innocent of the many-sided deceit-

ful devices of the court The unmasking of Shakuntalā

has unmasked the king who has his nature turned naked

and who struggles to find shelter in prophecies and curses

Victory, of course, belongs to the forest life because it is

ready to sacrifice and submit to the wiles and guiles of the

town life

The Vishkambhaka of the sixth act carries the same

struggle further by presenting a broll between the simple

fisherman and the police in which the former comes out

triumphant though with a good deal of sufferance It is

this realism that appeals to the pit and gives to the drama

a realistic touch There is idealism at the beginning and

the end of the drama while the intervening acts present

realism The sixth act is important on account of the

intervention of the superhuman element in the course of

the plot When the things present an inexplicable front

then the simple credulence or faith of the people in the

mysteries of the superhuman has to be exploited. The

Purohita had offered a sound suggestion out of the impasse'

but the event would have lost its charm and have looked

too prusaic, had it been allowed to take place The play

would have ended there. The superhuman, therefore, comes

in and astounds the people including the king as regards

the real nature of Shakuntalā.

The superhuman element works under a variety of

circumstances in the Shākuntala Kanva comes to learn

of the piece of indiscrȩtion on the part of Shakuntalā by inward visiọn. The curse and the counter-curse of Durvāsas, the creeperș bastowing ornaments, the nymph suddonly carrying avray Shakuntalā, Sānumati witnessing the love-stricken condition of the king, Mātali appearing through the mid-region, Dushyanta accompanying him in the aerial car, the herb transforming itself into a serpent are all instances of the working of the super-human element in the play

The scene of repudiation is very forcily worked out. The resolution of the plot commences from the sight of the ring which brings the king back to his consciousness and puts him in deep despondency The festival of the season is prohub ted and all the jubulations stopped The despondency is heıghtened by the mention of the merchant who leaves a large property but no issue in spite of his big harem. A rollicking humour is created by getting Vidushaka caught in a trap of Mātali who appears to invite the king for a fight against the demons.

The final scene reflects credit on the poet's sense of propriety The union is effected under an atmosphere of piety in the hermitage of the Sage Māricha1. The piety is again heightened by the topic that is discussed there. The repudiation of Shakuntalā necessitated some such scene. Both the first inception of love and the final fruition take place under the auspices of two revered sages. The affaır though blessed by the sages suffers reverses only when it departs from their holy influence and is transferred to that of the king Māricha's hermit-

1. उदारमणीयास्वर्गान्धिकतरं नित्यृत्तिस्थानम् ।

10

age has got all the simplicity and innocence of Kanva's

hermitage and in addition is more devine and more

mature in thought.

In the first part of the drama the notions of both the

hero and the heroine do not pertain to the devine aspect

of 'Love', because they both seem to be high devotees

of the " Love at first sight " Who ever loved that has

not loved at first sight?" seems to be the dictum of the

poet laid at the basis of the play It is the uncertainty of

the sentiment that leads to the final tragic catastrophe

Not only with Shakuntalā, but with both, 'all is a matter

of heedless and headlong love at first sight' Both suffer

on account of their inconsiderate conduct and it is by

this sufferance that the rājas nature of love is whetted to

its divinity

There are two clear aspects in the character of

Dushyanta The first appears when he talks highly of

himself — that he is a Paurava, and that nothing is in-

accessible to him, that all movements of Shakuntalā con-

cern himself The other aspect appears towards the end

when he appears to be influenced by the divine in nature,

feels the throbbing of shoulders, sees a boy, takes him

to be a part and parcel of some divine lustre, sees the

sovereign features on his body, feels the son's touch and

expects that his mother must be Shakuntalā and that

Shakuntalā is no other than his consort And agreeably

enough all that he expects comes out to be true The

over-confidence and self-respect in him reach a climax

in his case and bring upon him a deserved retribution in

the separation of his lady-love The sin is committed

and the retribution comes upon him so mercilessly that

he rouses pity in us. "This link between sin and re-

tribution," according to Moulton, "becomes a form of

art-pleasure and no dramatic effect is more potent than

that which emphasises the principle that whatever a

man soweth that shall he also reap " The two aspects

of rājas nature seem to be in conflict in the character of

Dushyanta He loves the right thing and for the right

reasons. Then he is careless of self-interest, loves

Shakuntalā not for anything else but because she attracts

his soul.1 He really knows nothing of her, is wonder-

struck at her inexplicably mystic appearance in the muni's

hermitage The prevailing, all-powerful influence of

love is seen throughout the play in all its different aspects

"Cupid is represented in his novelty, cruelty, in his freak-

ishness, who makes his victims in the play suffer-

now kind, now cruel, now hoping, despairing, accepting,

refusing, yielding, repelling, fanciful and serious "

But even this love is a second maid to his fondness

for martial and hunting exploits. The first and the last

impression that he leaves is that he is predominantly of a

hunting and fighting temperament The disturbance in

his sentiments is well expressed by himself2

From beginning to end, Dushyanta shows a woeful

lack of initiative in all his dealings resting more or less

on the course that the events take Fortune, of course,

always favours him In the love-affair in the first act

and also in the filial love in the last he relies more on

1. असंशय क्षतपरिग्रहक्षमा । यदायं मस्यान्तामिलापि मे मनः ॥

2 यथा मगो नेति समक्षयलुजे । तस्मिन्नतिक्रामति संशयः स्यात् ॥

पदानि दृष्टा तु भवेत्प्रतीति: । तथाऽपि यो मे मनसो विकार. ॥

psychological

in

klın

ing

and

falls

into

a

plece

of

inconsider-

ate

and

rash

conduct

The

desire

to

pay

homage

to

the

patriarch

and

to

enjoy

the

hospitality

at

the

hands

of

the

maids,

the

acceptance

of

the

request

of

the

sages

to

guard

the

hermitage,

the

dispatch

of

Vidushaka

back

to

his

capital,

the

brave

avowal

of

love

to

the

maids

of

Shakun-

talā,

the

repudiation

of

love

in

the

open

court

done

in

a

way

quite

detrimental

to

the

honour

of

a

woman,

filial

yearning

towards

the

child,

are

events

that

point

to

the

want

of

considerateness,

a

sign

of

weak-mindedness

which

errs

more

in

struggling

to

find

support

in

some

psychological

or

physiological

suggestion

There

are

contradictions

in

his

utterances

1

Rightly

has

he

been

guaged

by

his

friend

who

taunts

him

many

a

time

निशाकर-

रातौ

हि

&c

and

also

by

the

straightforward

मृगया

(cf

परातिसन्यानमधीयते

यैर्वियोगे

ते

स्त्री

किलाम्बुवाच

)

"Dushyanta's

attempts

to

conceal

his

identity

as

a

king

probably

with

the

sinister

purpose

if

Shakuntalā

would

have

him

for

herself

leads

him

most

pathetically

from

one

lie

to

another

"

The

utterances

are

so

many

shrewd

equivoca-

tions

The

divergence

in

the

utterances

of

characters

is

defended

by

some,

attributing

it

to

the

moral

tone

of

those

times

and

maintaining

that

the

ideals

of

morality

were

much

lower,

and

the

purity

of

life

was

less

valued.

The

attempt,

however

well-intentioned

it

may

be,

is

far

from

being

scholarly

A

human

being,

according

to

the

Hindu

theory

of

karman

is

the

result

of

his

past

accumulated

actions

1

आनिर्‌वचनीयम्

परकृतम्

।

अन्याय

परदार

पृ

च्

छाव्यापार

।

and

न

खलु

च

परिभोक्

तुं

नैव

शक्नो

मि

हातुम्

।

चलवतु

दू

यम

प्रत्याय

यर्ताव

मा

हृदयम्

।

done in his past lives The genetic transmission of the

parental characteristics, the surrounding circumstances

are some of the many factors that operate upon the human

being along with the accumulated merit of the past lives.

Shakuntalā is a fine instance of a character that shows

the influence of the parental characteristics, and the force

of circumstances. She is an offspring to Menakā from

Vishwāmitra and is brought up under the pious influence

of Kanva The bark-ware which she puts on, the work

of watering the creepers and the uncommon youth and

beauty are at once the force of circumstances but the

ambitious desire expressed in the demand of sovereignty

for her male issue is an outcome of her inner nature.

Again, youth and love play havoc in the hearts of

girls but that they should have found a suitable field in

Shakuntalā leaving Anasuyā and Priyamvadā quite

immune from them shows the influence of Menakā

on her The climax of vice or virtue always lends a

charm to the action. That both the hero and the heroine

both should love each other at first sight is natural but that

both should proceed straight-way to marry is indiscrete

Dushyanta's case is a fine example of the retribution that

comes upon a man when inconsiderateness reaches

a climax. It is this bitter experience which Dushyanta

and Shakuntalā get that forms the thesis of the play

Shakuntalā is a coy maiden of the hermitage. She

is beautiful1 and simple2 The sage shows great confidence

1 चित्रे निवेश्य परिकल्पितसत्वयोगा । रागोत्सवेन मनसा विधिना हताऽसि ।

वीतरसृष्टिरपि प्रतिभाति सा मे । धातुर्विभुत्वमनुचिन्त्य वपुस्तस्याः ॥

2 आजन्मनः शाक्यमाशिक्षितोऽयं जलः । तपोवनस्निग्धतनोर्न मेsसौ कृतवस्त्य by शारदेव

तपोवनस्निग्धतनोर्न मेsसौ कृतवस्त्य by सौतमी

in her powers when he engages her to do the duties of a

host in his absence Fortune does not favour her from the

beginning The abandonment by her mother, the chance-

nursing by a Shakunta bird, the curse of Durvāsas, the

loss of the ring, the damage to her honour, are a few of the

many oppressions of fate She rises above all these, treads

very cautiously on the path of love, and endears herself

to the domain of the hermitage by her sweet conduct.

When the worst comes in the wreck of her honour in the

presence of her relatives she breaks away from decency

and pleads her own case and submits with a resignation

quite similar to that of Sītā of the Rāmāyaṇa “Shakuntalā

is shown just after the first interview to have been lifted

as it were by love in a few days out of simple and in-

nocent girlhood into mature and considerate womanhood.

The progress of love makes a good advance through the

willing co-operation of her two friends, Anasūyā and

Priyamvadā and the easy consent of her foster-father

Kaṇva There is shyness on both sides—perfect silence as

regards expression of their passion until nature impels them

to give expression to it And when one of the party fears

that the sentiment for which she sacrificed her coyness as

a maiden and good-will of her father is in danger, all the

frankness at her command is summoned with boldness

and an unmincing confession of love is made She is not

ashamed of it It is her glory and it is her joy though it

is her necessity Shakuntalā is the image of deep, true

and imaginative love, love as a passion not only of the

senses but of the intellect and soul Her natural tender-

ness comes out in all its magnitude when she is in love.

The tenderness, loneliness, imagination meet in words and

as her tenderness increases afterwards, so also does her im-

agination as well as her sense of the matter-of-fact world

expand with it. The atmosphere of love pervades Shakun-

talā's sphere of influence which oreates love in whatso-

ever or whomsoever it touches. The love has got'a remark-

able resignation to the adversness of circumstances, willing

to hold oneself accusable rather than the culprit himself.

The Vidushaka here is not strictly a confidant with

the king who narrates the whole love-affair to him but

nullifies its effect by saying that it was all a joke. Once

only does his conventional trait—the fondness for eating—

raise its head up1. Not being a party to the king's secret,

he is not pursued either by the maids of the queen nor is

his help sought by Shakuntalā's maid. Compared with his

namesakes in other dramas, this man is a weak chatacter.

To Kālidāsa perhaps the creation of humour did not matter

so much as the creation of the more powerful and serious

sentiments, Shringār and Vāstalya Kanva is an " ascetic

without a child, who lavishes on his adopted child all the

wealth of his deep affection and who sends her to her

husband with words of tender advice. He is brilliantly

contrasted with the fierce pride and anger of Durvāsas

who curses Shakuntalā for what is no more than a girlish

fault and the solemn majesty of Māricha who though

married has abandoned all earthly thoughts and enjoys

the happiness of release2"

Both Anasuyā and Priyamvadā are literally true to

their names, one being free from jealousy, serious and

sensible and the other a sweet-talker and gay They are

of the same age, of the same feeling, of the same thought

and action, -their sameness being extended to every

1. कयं बुभुक्षया खादितव्योऽस्मि ।

2 K D

152

possible thing There seemed to be apartness only in their bodies but not in their souls 1 Of the two boy asectics शार्दूलव is proud while शारद्वत is calm and restrained.

The language all through possesses a high tone and pitch of elegance Words and expressions that come out of the lips of any character are appropriately polished according to the social etiquette There is not too much of polish which always smells want of sincerity The observance of natural and usual etiquette gives a touch of naturalness The real merit of the poet lies in his sug-gestiveness and the use of similes which is his forte2 The similes render the style brilliant and fascinating The style is Vaidarbhi and hence possesses the ten qualities of both sound and sense e g majesty, elevation, clearness, beauty, elegance, softness, precision, similes, etc The sources from which the similes3 have been taken cover all possible departments in the universe “heavens, earth, biological and zoological kingdoms, domestic life, family relations, social life, mythology, fine arts, mental stages and conventions—poetic or otherwise ” His comparisons are imaginative, intellectual, emotional, and conventional They are direct, short and pithy and there is freedom of spirit about them.

1 अद्धे समवयोल्परमणीय भवत्कीना सौहार्देम् ।

2 उपमा कालिदासस्य ।

3 Similes in Kalidas—Gode, F O C

CHAPTER V

Bhavabhūti—The poet-Dramatist.

Bhavabhūti breaks the reticence that is usual with sanskrit poets and enables us to stand on some terra firma by giving information about himself in the introduction of his Mahāvīracharita. It is as follows —

"आस्ति दक्षिणापये पद्मपुर नाम नगरम् । तत्र केचित्तैररीया कार्यपाश्रण्यगुरवः पद्धत्किगावना पञ्चाम्रयो धृतव्रताः। सोमपीथिनः। उदुम्बरनामानो ब्रह्मवादिनः प्रतिवसन्ति । तदामुष्यायणस्य तत्रभवतो वाजपेययाजिनो महाकवे: पुत्रम्। सुगृहीतानाम्नो सद्मोपालस्य पौत्रं पवित्रकुलीनैलकण्डस्यात्मसंभवं श्रीकण्ठपदलाञ्छन पदवाक्यप्रमाणज्ञो भवभूतिनां तत्कृतगोत्रपुत्र ।

We thus see that Bhavabhūti was born of Jatukarni and Nīlkaṇṭha, son of Gopal Bhatta residiug in Padmapura in Daxināpatha. The family of Udumbaras to which he belonged claimed lineage from Kashyapa and followed the Taittirīya Shākhā. Tradition clusters round the name of the poet which was Shrikanṭha first but was substi- tuted for Bhavabhūti through the favour of Shiva who gave ashes to him An identity is established between Bhavabhūti, Umveka and Mandana1 though it is contradicted by solid evidence, viz. 1 Umveka and Mandana were two different por- sonalities according to Ghana- shyāma, his commentator, 2 Bhavabhūti betrays sympathy for Buddhism. This confusion is due to his proclivities

1. शंकरदिग्विजय.

towards sacrificial activities which he had inherited from

his ancestors who were सोम and वाजपेययाजिनः

He was a great student of sacerdotal learning a great mimāmsaka

and claimed the discipleship of Kumārilabhatta 1

As against this he mentions one ज्ञाननिधि as his guru who was

a परमहंस2 Is this word ज्ञाननिधि to be taken as an epithet?

Opinion is divided as regards the locality of his place

of birth Ghanashyāma puts him down as a native of

Dravida country from his style This is corroborated by

the familiarity with which the scenes round about the

river Godā and the outskirts of the Vindhya mountain are

described in U R and M M The same familiarity is

also noticed in the descriptions of scenes round about

Kanouj-e g. the village Kālpi, its Shiva temple and its

festival at which his plays were staged The rivers Sindhu,

Para, and places Madhumati and Padmāvati can still

be identified 3 Dr Bhandārkar makes him a native of

some place near Chandrapur or Chāndā in C P

In face of this diverging evidence it can be said "that the place

of Bhavabhuti's nativity was not the scene of his literary

triumphs and that these were attained under the patro-

nage of the prince of Hindustan "4

This prince of Hindustan was Yashovarman of

Kanouj The chronicle of Kashmere mentions another

1 इति श्री भट्टकुमारिलशिष्यमहामहचभूतिकृते मालतीमादवेच पञ्चमोड्क-

Colophone of one ms of M M

2 श्रेष्ठ परमहंसाना महर्षीणां च यथाद्दिरा । यथार्थनाम्ना भगवान्

यस्य ज्ञाननिधिर्गुरुः ॥ म वौ

3 पद्मावती = पद्मपुर - नरवर-Cunningham

4 Hindu Theatre, Wilson

155

poet named Vākpatirāja who lived at his court along with Bhavabhūti.1

Yashovarman was subdued by Lalitāditya of Kashmir who ruled from 693–729 A. D2 Vākpati makes a eulogistic reference in his Gaudvahō to the nectar-ocean of

Bhavabhūti's poetry which he has laid under3 The same prākrit poem of Vākpati describes a solar eclipse which has been dated by Jacobi on the strength of Chinese chronology at 14th August 733, A.D This fixes the date of

both Vākpati and his preceptor Bhavabhuti.

Bhatta Kumarila who was a preceptor of Bhavabhūti lived just a little prior to Shankarāchārya whose date has pretty nearly been settled to be 800 A D. "Bhavabhūti falls, therefore, between the last decades of the 7th and the

early decades of the 8th century." The absence of reference to Bhavabhuti in the long list in Harshacharita is due to the fact that Bāṇa lived in the first part of 700 A D.

The date is further circumscribed by the quotations from Bhavabhūti given by Kshiraswami who was the teacher of Jayāpīda4—the grandson of Lalitāditya Amongst other writers that refer to Bhavabhūti are Kshemendra, the

contemporary of Anantarāj of Kashmir (1028-1063), Rāja-shekhara, the priest of Mehendrapāla of Kanauj ( 903-967

A. D ), Dhananjaya and Dhanapāla, patronised by Munjā (974 -995 A D ) and Vamana ( latter half of 800 A. D ).

1 कवितावकपतिराजश्रीमवभूत्यादिसेवित· । जितो ययौ यशोवर्मा तद्गुणस्तुतिवान्दिताम् ॥ रा त ४१९४५.

2 Cunningham 695 A D (Pandit)

3 भवभूतिजलनिधिनिर्गीतकाव्यामृतरसकणा इव स्फुरान्ति । गौडवह

4 751-785 A D Dr Bhandarkar M M

The two traditions that fix the contemporaneity of Bha-

vabhūti and Kālidāsa have not got any historical truth.

The मेजप्रणय of Ballāla makes Kālidāsa, Bhavabhuti, Bāna,

Mayūr simultaneously enjoy the patronage of Bhoja, the

king of Dhār But the work can only be received as an

authority for the priority of the writers described in it to

the date of its own composition, or as an authority for

their gradation according to their literary merits, the

grouping whether of place or time being altogether fanci-

ful The other tradition refers to the change of Anuswāra

in the line—अविदितगतयामा रात्रिरेव व्यरंससीत्।

This date is in harmony with the internal evidence

The horrid element and sentiment described in the fifth

act of M M—the conduct of the two blood-thirsty

characters, Aghorghanta and Kapālakundalā is similar to

what we find in some places in the Daśakumāracharita

of Dandi, ( 700 A D ) and in the fourth uchhvāsa of

Harshacharita of Bāna The scenes appear to be charac-

teristic of the same age. The society painted in the plays

belongs to the same age The manners are purely Hindu

without any foreign admixture Women of rank could

appear in public without a tiraskarini ( mask ) " The

licensed existence of Budha ascetics, their access to the

great and their employment as teachers of science are

other peculiarities characteristic of an early date The

worship of Shiva in his terrific form and the prevalence

of the practices of yoga are indications of a similar ten-

dency With respect to the yogins by whom mystic rites

were mostly cultivated, it may be observed that there are

many reasons for giving them a remote date " The people

were running mad after the dreadful and heinous in

1 Wilson, Theatre

Tantrism for the every accomplishment of their object.

The most decided evidence of an early date is furnished by

the allusions to the Vedas and to some parts of the Hindu

ritual which are not now familiarly known and which

there is reason to think, have long fallen into disuse.1"

Bharbhūti wrote three plays Mahāvircharita, Mālati-

Mādhav and Uttarramcharita There is one stanza2 that is

ascribed to Bharbhūti It occurs in नाट्यप्रपात्ते but not

in any one of his plays. The subject of two plays is taken

from the Rāmāyana while of the third from the Brihatkathā.

The three plays together develop and solve one very im-

portant problem in human life. The first, Mahāvircharita

depicts the boy-hood, its sincerity, innocence and

reverence for elders The second, Mālati-Mādhav, has for

its subject the flippant youth, its impetuousness ardent-

ness, sentimentality, reverence and regard for the object of

love and sincere sacrifice for love The third, Uttarāmo,

depicts an advanced house holder who cautiously treads

on the path of worldly life who is more careful for the

opinion of others, whose conscience always struggles with

the sense of duty and whose duty comes out triumphant.

There is first the childhood or boy-hood with all its

buoyancy, with a strong reverence and regard for the

elders with all the halo of innocence Play is the all-

all and end-all of its activities. The child enters youth

with its powerful sentiments upon which ideals are

formed, for which lives are sacrificed. The youth with

all its potentialities leaves the world of hard and dry facts

and enters the world of ideals or romance. Exhibitions

1 Wilson, Theatre.

2. निगद्यानि पद्यानि यदिनाट्यस्य काक्षति⋅

मिथ्यरक्षा चिनिक्षितं⋅ किमिक्षुक्षीररसौ भवेत् । शा. प

158

of heroism and chivalry are attempted The hopes, the

desires, the attempts, the ambitions are in full force and

at times race is run even after phantoms. Lastly comes

the stage of advanced age with its maturity of thought

and action An old man is an experienced man who has

travelled through all the din of misery, is impressed with

the futility of the youthful effervescence of energy, looks

back with sor-ow on the innocence of chilchood and treads

very cautiously the life that is left. This obviously fixes

the order of the plays The internal evidence of structure

language and ideas points out to one and the same author-

ship of the plays. The beautiful verses that are common-

ly found in the plays prove that Bhaṭṭabhūṭi was first a

poet and then a dramatist. The fine thoughts that may

have occurred to him in a happy moment of inspiration

may have been translated by him in a poem The poet

must have had a good stock of such fine strains and he

must have, on presentation of a suitable opportunity on a

dramatic situation drawn upon that stock.

The Mahāvīrcharita and the Uttararāmcharita try

to bridge over the communal differences between the

Brā̄hmins and Kṣatrīyas. The fight reaches its climax

in the altercation ( M V act 3rd ) in which both the

parties pour down on each other the bitterest venom The

soothing influence comes from Rāma The plays also

describe the pleasures of happy companionship of persons

not given to the matters of this world, always engrossed in

high thinking, and trying to create a paradise on this earth

The plays of Bhaṭṭabhūṭi are very charming chamber-

pcems rather than stage dramas Though he says that they

were staged on the occasion of the festival of Kālapriya-

nātha of Ujjain still it is very difficult to imagine the

nature of stage-contriyances that were used to show the

talk of Jatāyu and Sampāti-two birds, the talk of two

beings of the fairy world-विथापर and विथापरी or the कित्र-

मिथुन in M V., the movements of persons in an aerial car,

the concealment of Sītā underground, the sudden dis-

appearance of Mālatī, the offering of an oblation in a

sacrifice. &c

Mahaviracharita

The Māhavīracharitra depicts all the important items

and characters in the early life of Rāma The first act

gives the talk between Vishvāmitra Sīradhvaja, Rāma,

Laxman, Sītā and Urmilā, the reviving of Ahalyā, the

proposal of marriage made by Sarvamāya, priest of

Rāvana the death of Tātakā, Subāhu and Mārīcha, the

bestowal of jṛimohakāstra and the settlement of marriage

on the breaking of a bow A plot is hatched by Mālyavān

and Shurpanakha to set up a quarrel between Rāma and

Parashurāma The third act gives the famous altercation

between Shatānand Kaushika and Jāmed.gnya. All the

details that brought about Rāma's exile,-the insinuations

of Mantharā, the bouns of Kaikayī and Rāma's determi-

nation to proceed to the forest are given in the fourth

The incidents that happened in Kishkīndhā are given in the

fifth viz the description of Dandakā, Bibhīshana's message

through Shramanā, the death of Vāli The sixth act des-

cribes the fight between Rāma and Rāvana Rāvana is

killed in the last act.

There are thirty-seven characters in all ( 24 males, 13

females ) excluding the minor ones such as spirits,

demons and attendants Tongue is given to cities e g.

Lankā and Alakā in M. V and to rivers, e. g. Tamasā

and Muralā in U. R.

160

Rāma is the hero of the play He has been ascribed quite a mystic birth1 as is seen in the case of all great men Sīradhwaja, the brother of Janaka and the two daughters are impressed very much with his mystic powers2 For the transparency of his heart he is complimented by his brother3 He is not at all perturbed when the ambassador of Rāvana announces the wish of his master of getting the hand of Sītā He is reluctant to kill Tāṭakā but 'kills her on the responsibility of the sages4 Rāma of Bhavabhūti, especially of M V., does not command from us that reverence on account of his extremely sacrificing spirit as in the case of Rāma of Vyās or for the matter of that even Rāma of U.R In his connection with Parashurāma, Rāma has recourse to sly words and even in the midst of emergency he leaves the scene quite abruptly at a time when no man of a tolerably chivalrous spirit could have left And why does he leave? Apparently of course at the invitation of his mother-in-law Secondly Parashurāma is won over and is made to relinquish his unfailing weapons—certainly by tickling his high sense of self-praise, by lauding his qualities and the moment that Parashurāma throws off his weapons, Rāma takes them up in his hand and catches the first opportunity to put them to use.

Rāma of Bhavabhūti is born to suffer and not to vindicate The injustice is avenged by the circumstances

1 प्राप्ताः कन्चीददयश्रीगोपचारैः । पुण्यश्लोका देशेन्द्रोण पुत्राः

2 द्वितीयस्य च वर्णस्य प्रयमस्याश्रमस्य च ! अद्भुतोऽस्म्ये इमे मूर्ती वयसो नूतनस्य च ।

3 अतिसौजन्यादार्यस्य तस्मिन्नपि निसर्गवैरिणि निशाचरे बहुमानः

4. युष्माकमस्युपगमा प्रमाणं पुण्यपपाययोः !

or by the Time-Spirit and Rāma the sufferer becomes a

tool in its hand. People sympathise with him in his

bereavement, not because the enemy has done so much

injustice to him but because he has suffered so much.

Rāvana comes and takes away his wife People talk ill

of his wife. A messenger brings the news about the

calumny and he abandons her But what does he actually

do in getting back his lost wife ? The element

of chance works in his favour The chance repeti-

tion of his own life by Lava and Kusha reminds him

of the past incidents and brings home to him the purity

and chastity of his wife In this way he is a central tragic

figure suffering not through any folly of his own as we

find in the characters of Shakespeare. He suffers for

others from purely altruistic motives Though the char-

acter is defective in not being a psychological whole,

still historically the attitude of Rāma, championing the

sacerdotal cause of Aryan Brahmin settlers against the

aboriginal evil spirits can be defended. Rāma is an

immature child always guiding his activities according

to the deliberations of elders He acts because he can-

not afford to remain inactive but does not act according to

his own initiative. He merges his own will in that of

Another important male character is that of Parashu-

rāma He is an enormously impetuous man. So many

times he had made clear to the world what an insult

either to him or to his relative meant His father was

lightly treated by some king which sin the whole race of

the culprit had to expiate by offering themselves as so

many victims to his terrible axe It is on account

of these frightening antecedents that Sītā and other ladies of

11

the harem lose the strength of their nerve? when they

hear that he was making his way towards Rāma He is

a man of quick temperament He is irritated easily and

pacified also very easily Such persons fall easy victims

to the insinuations of wise brains Rāma detects this

defect in him and takes advantage of it He tickles him

by giving a word of praise of his own self, of his

weapons, his parents, his preceptor, and his achievements

The encomium proves too sweet a pill to be thrown aside

and out he exclaims "राम राम सर्वथैव हृद्यङ्गमोडसि"

" This is

a triumph for Rāma for which he receives a compliment

from the सर्वः He is appropriately described by Rāma in

त्रातु लोकानिव परिणत काव्यान्सवेद

धात्रो धर्मो शिथिलतनु तनु त्रक्षकोत्पातशाली।

सामध्यान्तामिव समुदय सच्चयो वा गुणानामू

आविर्भूय स्थित इव जगत्पुण्यनिर्माणराशिः ॥

Of the other characters, Laxmana is an impetuous, im-

pervious youth, Rāvana is unrepentant, unyielding, un-

compromising, imprudent, braggart, overconfident of his

own power and dignity, Mālyawān is optimistic and

aggressive and the rest are philosophers

Of the female charactes, only two, Sītā and Shramanā,

help the development of the action Sītā and other girls are

introduced as witnessing the martial feats of Rama and

Laxmana—the breaking of the Shiva-bow, the death of

Tātakā and Subāhu It is, therefore, no wonder that they

desire to be wedded with the boy-warriors. When

Parashurāma, inflamed as he is, makes his way through

the harem for Rāma and when Rāma cannot be prevailed

upon to withhold and the jssues are quite clear, Sītā casts

163

off her mask of bashfulness and stops Rāma from proceeding further. Occasion demanding, she proves true to the

dignity and honour of herself and her family.

Shramanā is a highly cultured lady She serves a

guide to Rāma on his path and gives him a good deal of

valuable and useful information In point of culture

and gentility she can be compared with Vāsanti or

Kāmandakī or Shankrityāyani.

Malati-Madhao

The present play is an apt illustration of what the

author says about the drama. A drama, according to him,

should contain many incidents full of sentiments It should

present the romantic gambols of lovers There should

be plots and counter-plots, clothed into finely woven

texture of language It should be a mirror to the society.

This exactly applies to Mālatī-Mādhao The plot-texture

is arranged on an expansive plan having in the main

the incident of Bhurivasu and Deorāta, progressing with

the help of Kāmandakī. The free handling and exchange

of the two very powerful means—कूटयात्री and चित्रफलक,

help the plot in making rapid progress Various are

the maids and men who assuage the troubles of the lovers

but the real maid is कूटयात्री and the real 'best man' is

चित्रफलक These two delicate means of union belong to

the world of idealism in which the poet profoundly rambles The characters are ideal, living in an ideal world

passing an ideal time, in an ideal company, in ideal

gardens.

The tiger-episode gives an occasion for the display

of chivalry on the part of Makaranda, who proves his

mettλε and desertεs his lady-love Mādhao fails to rise

to tne occasion and he faints but recovers by ithe touch

of Mālati's hand The fourth act is the keystone in

the arch of plot-architeεture The words of M̄adayantikā

" Let us start the preparations for the marriage " point

out to the प्रयत्न The remoral of the obstruction or the

obriation of the misoεcurrence comes later on

Mālati censures her father for his mercilessness When

Mādhava sees that all hope of securing Mālati is gone, he

sees no other suitable occupation but the most detest-

able one-the sale of human flesh. The fifth act girεs us

some idea about the horrid blood-philosophy of the time

The goddess and her human oblations, the charms and

the wands, the spirits and the goblins were the signs of

the times The Buddhism and the Jainism were waning and

the doctrine of Ahimsā underwent the greatest reaction.

From the point of dramatiεs, it is a good interlude

between two quiet erents The fifth act girεs a good

occasion for Mādhao to display his chivalry ( as

Makaranda did in the Tiger-episode) Madhao shows that

he is a fighter of no less mettλε His friend's fight is

directed against beastly strength But his is a fight

directed against the baneful social evil which in the

name of religion was corroding the society

The action becomes static in the sixth act The

arama should have practiεally ended there The poet's

muse is free from the disturbing intricaεies of the plot

and is enjoying rest and as a result, we meet with speci-

mens of some fine poetry According to the belief of the

day, the heroine is brought to the temple of the town-deity

on the day prior to the day of marriage, avowedly for the

riddance of oil but expressly for the secret marriage managed by Kāmandaki. The unwholesome foreign element is scared from the temple and the inner chamber of it by an order that the bride-elect has to put on the marriage costume and ornaments It is, therefore, a good place for the lovers to meet

The seventh act is devoted to the progress of the subplot which had to be set aside owing to the importance of the main one The characters were seriously busy in bringing to a happy and successful issue the love-affair of Mālati and Mādhava But when that is in sight they find time to look to the side-affair The happiest moment in the life of Nandana is made to turn upon him in an ironic way. He was to be wedded to the fairest damsel but time turns against him so much that not only is he not married with her but he finds his own sister abducted. Makaranda enters into the very heart of the harem disguised as an intending member of it—to be joined in wedlock and thus is able to work an effective breach in the plans of Nandana Another impediment crops up and seems for a moment to foil their hopes and to threaten their fulfilment for ever The suddenness and the inevitability of it baffle even the superior wisdom of Kāmandaki who creates good prospects for the lovers’ union Aghoraghanta and Kapālkundalā are waiting in ambush to fall foul upon Mālati since she is taken off from their hands at the time of sacrifice An opportunity comes and they wreak greater vengeance upon their prey, Mālati, as a result of which all characters prepare for suicide in utter disappointment

The plot is prolonged by two acts due to this serious impediment. The two acts achieve nothing in the ad-

166

vancement of either the plot or characters The characters

are the same as they were at the end of the seventh

What is done is done worse and at times threatens to

undo what has been done Howsoever firm their attach-

ment may be towards each other, it should not have

driven them to have recourse to suicide, which is the

greatest weakness in human character The last two

acts have some importance in them from the point of

view of poetry and description The poet gets time to

dwell upon incidental topics and subsidiary characters-

Another note-worthy feature is that the elder classics that

were up to that time neglected are drawn upon not only

in point of ideas but in point of words and situations also.

The suggesting clue of the ninth act appears in the

mention of Saudāminī—lightning and the pleasures of

friendship and union are compared to the transient and

unsteady flashes of lightning The kāpālikatva of the father

Bhūrivasu has been referred to by Mālati and subsequent-

ly the ghastly scene of Kāpālikā appears, It is such

flimsy indications that serve as suggesting clues to what

is to come. The sequel must be a natural outcome of

what proceedes and should not be made to hang upon

such flimsy pegs The suggestion is effective if it strikes

the sub-conscious region of our focus The suggestion

should be of ideas or of situations rather than of words or

it should be by contrast. None of these devices is

attempted by the dramatist and, therefore, they are less

dramatic Better had they not been done

MADHAO -Kāmandaki describes him as the moon

rising from Deorāta He is young in age but advanced

in lore. He loves his friend so much that he faints

when the latter is engaged in a tiger-fight The possible

blemish in h character revealed by his conduct in the

tiger-scene is made good in the horrid scene of Aghora-

ghanta Mādhao is shown as a fighter for a worthier cause,

demolishing and destroying the author of human sacrifice.

The only thing that pulls him down a little from the en-

nobling light in which he is shown is his readiness to take

to the sale of human flesh. He secures Mālati as a prize

for his bravery displayed by him in her release from the

magic clutches and the cannibalic lust of the two feroc-

ious devotees of Shaktī.

Another flaw in the character of Mādhao-and it is

common with all the important characters in the play-

is the readiness for suicide He is a favourite child of

fortune Even in the dreadful catastrophe which has

baffled the superior wisdom of Kāmandakī, and which is

very insurmountable, Saudāminī rises up in the manner

of lightning and rescues Mālati

Nandana serves a good counter-foil to the character

of Mādhao There are two ways in character-caricature,

one by unfolding one by one the best features of the

principal character and the other by unfolding the worst

features of the rival character. The greater the contrast

between the two, the greater the effect. If one is the

embodiment of all that is good and beautiful,

the other is the embodiment of all that is bad and ugly

not only rise by his own merits but rises also by the

worst demerits of his rival Nandana. Rightly has

Nandana been victimised by his own silliness because

not only does he lose his bride but also loses his sister.

He should have taken the mask off his bride's face and

have thus brought to light the plot of Kāmandakī The

villain in a play is always crooked and merciless, with

168

an untiring zeal for the persecution of the hero and

the heroine

Makaranda is a loving friend. He must be very deli-

cate and small. He could very easily be substituted for

Mālati̇ How is it that this delicate youth whose frame

was as frail as that of a woman could suffer the dreadful

nailings of a tiger and rescue the young girl ?

Mālati̇ is presented as a timid, coy maiden belonging

to a high and noble family She is very particular in keep-

ing the good name of her family untarnished She does

not value Mādhao or her life more than the good name of

her family, father and mother. Eagerness, straight-for-

wardness, sincerity, bashfulness, religiosity are some of

the prominent virtues shown in her She had a great

hope in her father but it is shattered when she finds her-

self offered by him to secure the good wishes of the

Amātya Her mind is tossed like a shuttle There are

many ups and downs and many oscillations There

are many actualities of unions and separations and also

probabilities for a permanent good-bye to her lover Be-

ing satisfied with the unflinching veracity and unfailing

virility of the wisdom of Kāmandaki̇ and also with the

sincerity of Lavangikā, she has made them the custodians

of her heart and destiny She is a poor soul and, therefore,

falls a victim to the carnivorous and cannibalic eye of

Aghorghanta and Kāpālikā All powerful sentiments are

of one ki̇h and kin They succeed in making contradic-

tory effects They make their vi̇ctims both acutely sensi-

tive and also deadlly senseless Despondency in life

is made of that stuff It is on account of despondency

that life had become irksome to her Bhavabhūti̇ and

Shakespeare both have depicted love, rushing headlong

against all im·odiments in the characters of Mālatī and

Juliet respectively. The long-standing family-fued comes

in the way of final fruition of their love, the impeded pace

of which is accelerated through the attempts of nunlike

Kāmandakī and monk-like Friar Mālati's passion differs

from Juliet's not of course in intensity but "in the

unconquerable reserve even to the extent of denying her

utterances to him she loves more than her life,-a res-

traint to which the manners of Hindu women were sub-

jected even while they were in enjoyment, as appears from

the drama, of considerable personal freedom" 1 Not only

Mālatī but all heroines suffer from the same restraint,

Vasantasenā only being excepted.

Kāmandakī is the main moving figure in the drama

who very skilfully manipulates the course of the incidents.

She probably belongs to the Jain order and not the Buddhist

She was a co-student with Bhurvasu and Deorāta.

She appears just in the nick of time when she is most re-

quired by the situation Every one has a great confi-

dence in the wisdom and shrewdness of her She loves

both the hero and heroine as she would love her own

children She is well-versed in religious injunctions

"The plan set up by Kāmandakī never fails" (says

Makaranda) is the keynote of all her activities Every

event, small or great, every notion, religious or secular is

moulded by her genius to suit the final catastrophe, a very

fine specimen of which is in the sixth act, where the inner

sacred chamber of the temple is made use of as a haunt

for lovers The pious lady is overcome with filial love

so much that she quite in a motherly way breaks out into

tears at the handing over of her trust to Mādhao Her

1 Wilson, Hindu Theatre

170

secret emissaries in the plot are Lavangikā and Budha-rakshitā. Throughout the play we search in vain for any aspect of their monastic life to which they had been ordained Their sole business is to enter into the secrets of lovers, to create new ones, to suggest remedies when the parties are baffled and again to move in society with good and untainted grace and high status

The whole cosmos is full of miseries What is required is an agency that takes a broom-stick in the hand and sweeps away the misshapen ugly monstrocities as typified here in Aghorghanta and Kāpālikā Both Saudā-mini and Kāmandaki belong to this celebrated order or agency. They start on self-sacrifice and disinterestedness and carry on the pious work of sweeping away from the human world the agencies of evil Saudāmini is more sedate, more relieving, more watchful and more effecient than Kāmandaki

Uttar-Rāmcharita

"The subject of this play is a continuation of the play Mahāviracharita in which the martial exploits of Rāma are dramatized. This play comprises events that occured subsequent to the war which constitutes the subject of the Rāmayana"1 The hero and the heroine are introduced talking on the miseries that generally beseat the house-holder's life The sage Rishyashringa has commenced a sacrifice and all the matrons have left for it leaving Sītā alone at home with Rāma to divert her mind The picture-scroll is a means used for diversion It reminds them of their past occurences-the physical and mental turmoil through which they had to pass The picture-scroll scene

1 Wilson, Hindu Theatre

gives the psychological keynote to the drama. The various

films that pass by are so many vivid images of the fancy

of the poet and the thoroughness of the fancy goes to the

extent of forcing out tears from rocks or of pounding any

adamantine heart 1 The scene has two aspects, descriptive

and sentimental, the first appearing in the descriptions of

clouds, mountains, lakes, rivers, sites, demons, monkey-

friends and the other in that of grief of separation, and

hardships of life Rāma is in a happy moment when all

of a sudden the worst calamity to a householder and to a

husband falls on him like a bolt from the blue-the

scandal about Sītā. The scene ends in the wreck of the

house-hold Rāma sets aside all considerations of love,

decency and sympathy and throws his wife to the care

of the elements.

The second act is separated from the first by a wide

gulf of time. The unity of time is not kept up Rāma

abandons Sītā at the end of the first and sets out to stop

the penance of Shambuka The intervening incidents

like the birth of Kusha and Lava, their rearing, their

initiation, their study of Vedas and archery, their superior

intellect are mentioned in the Vishkambhaka. The action

progresses more behind the stage than on it. The stage

is used for the sallies of wit and genius. The poet loses

himself in the description of sentiment and, therefore, has

no consciousness enough to measure how far the plot

is progressing. This consciousness comes up towards the

end and then he hastens to wind up the events in a

Vishkambhaka

1. आपिर्वाचा रौद्रस्य दलति वज्रस्य हृदयम् ।

2. कथमदः यो विलिम्पत्र नितम्बं क्षिपामि ।

The third act is termed छाया because Sītā moves along with Tamasā invisibly on the stage and notices the pitiful plight that Rāma is in Sītā has no misgiving about the genuineness of Rāma’s love The act mentions the attack on the cub followed by the description of Rāma’s sorrow Rāma wanders and raves like Purūravas The action again remains static in this act The poet loses himself in the description of pathos Scenes from Dandakā are described

भाण्डायन and सौ यातकी appear in the fourth act and describe the agonised condition of Janaka’s mind The pathos would have been more telling, had it been put in the mouth of the mother of Sītā. But mythology came in the way of the poet The meeting of Janaka and Kausalya removes all the misgivings regarding the treatment of Sītā who is treated as a daughter 1 The introduction of the two boys of the hermitage reminds Sītā of the growth of her two sons The atmosphere of the hermitage is brought before us by the commotion that is caused among them enjoying the queer look of the long beards and the matted hair of the sages and their ways of offering hospitality He is new to the hermitage-life Lava is not simple and timid He pelts the horse and does not run away at the sight of the refulgent weapons

The fifth act gives the wordy conflict between Chandra-ketu and Lava, revealing various features of both the nobility of mind, the discipline, and the knowledge of the code of fighting It describes the Vīr-rasa The actual fighting, and the havoc in the army take place behind the curtain.

1 अस्माकं तु जनकसुतां न दुर्हृदित्कृतैव ।

The plight of the forces caused by Lava, the arrival of Chandraketu, the respectful and loving references of Sumantra and Chandraketu about Lava, their speeches, his confusion and the use of Jṛimbhakāstras are things that come one after another in a natural way.

The sixth act gives in a viṅkambaka scene similar to one in M. V where two Gandharvas talk upon the fight between Rāma and Rāvana. Here a couple of semidivine beings (विद्याधरs) from their aerial car take a bird's-eye-view of the fight between Lava and Chandraketu. Rāma appears on the scene on his way back from Shambuka, and notices valour displayed by Lava especially in the use of the weapons. The sixth act does mainly the work of gradual evolution of the feelings of Rāma about his sons Lava and Kusha. Kausalya1, Sumantra2 and Rāma3 notice in the two boys great akinnness with Rāma and the identity is unfolded to them step by step and finally it is dicided on the evidence of the use of the जृंभकास्त्रs.

The seventh act gives a drama within drama and as such very vividly reminds Rāma of all that he has done In brief it is an epitome of the outer drama from the point of view of dramatics. All the impersonal forces that were acting upon the mind of Rāma in his sub-conscious—the bitings of his conscience that was constantly preying upon his mind, the injustice with which Sītā was abandon-ed,—have been impersonated by means of this drama within drama. The inner commotion of Rāma finds vent through the speeches of the Earth and the Ganges—two

1 न केवलं देहवन्येन स्वरेणापि रामभद्रस्यानुकरोति ।

2 धृतधनुष रघुनन्दनं स्मरामि ।

3 अनाद्र्तात स्तुत इव निजस्नेहस्य सार· ।

characters in the drama. The evidence for the purity of

Sītā is given by गङ्गा and पृथिवी In the Rāmāyana, Vālmīki

himself comes forward and swears to the purity of Sītā and

stakes his own penance-merit on its opposite A similar

plight in the Shāk. is explained by the रक्षाकृत which but

for the touch of the parents would transform itself into a

serpent and bite

CHARACTERIZATION —Rāma is a perfect householder

having great regard for religious duty He has

no suspicions whatsoever lurking in his mind about

Sītā's purity Sītā is pure to him by her very birth, no

other purificatory means being necessary.1 Even after

her abandonment, he keeps by him a golden image of Sītā3

The grief of separation boils up his heart sealed like a

medical jug He is thoroughly conversant with the ways

of the world He is wordly-wise His form is greatly

impressive, his power greatly sanctifying He is as it

were the most exalted form of religion in its serene aspect

walking in bodily form as Kusha says of him on his first

visit Lava in an ironical way tries to find out flaws in his

spotless character, viz the destruction of Suradā's wife, the

three steps which he had to retrace in the fight with Khara

and the skill in the destruction of Vāli His character

typifies the struggle between the conscience and the sense of

duty "The quiet devotedness with which Rāma sacrifices

his wife and domestic happiness to the prosperity of subjects

is a worthy counter-part to the immolation of his natural

affections to public interest3"

1 उत्पत्तिपरिपूताया किमस्या पावनान्तरे

2 हिरण्मयी सीताप्रतिमृकृति

3 Wilson, Theatre

175

Laxmana is a general supervisor in the royal household

He diverts the minds of both Rāma and Sītā in the

picture-scroll scene

It is he who is assigned the mission

of taking Sītā in a chariot and leaving her to the care of

the elements.

It is again he who appears in the last act

with a mission of arranging a theatre for staging a drama

within drama.

The easily excitable temperament is not

met with in this play.

The character of Sītā is presented in the purest glow

possible in the beginning.

Sympathy is created in the

mind by seeing her pregnant, of purest character, of com-

manding appearance and conduct, with sympathetic and

affectionate attitude from the elders in the family and

with lovely regard for her husband

Even such an august

personality who has for her mother

विसंभरा

and for her

father जनक is made subject to the vilest columny !

She

appears to speak in a taunting tone

She is very glad to

note that the king is still alive to his duties as a king for

which he has abandoned his own wife.

Both Sītā and Shakuntalā labour under the same dis-

ability—the disowning by their husband

Actuated by the

same motive, Rāma and Dushyanta do not wish to be

lowered down in the eyes of the public.

Dushyanta does

it under the influence of a curse.

But Rāma has no such

grievance.

With his eyes wide open he abandons his

sweetheart because he is afraid of flouting the public

opinion.

Ātreyi and Vāsanti talk very ideally and poetically.

They know the origin of the Rāmāyana and the origin of

metre

They are sorry for the interruption in their study.

Some characters in the play impersonate rivers.

"spirits of the air of the forest who mingle familiarly and affectionately with demigods and sages"

There is no humourous character-Vidusḥaka in his plays "He omits him whom he could not have handled effectively and, therefore, had to select in place of comic relief, incidents of terrible and horrible type blended with supernatural"1 The deliberate attempt to create homour in U R (IV) is deplorable

Bhavabhūti is eminently a poet of sentiment His dramas are the comedies of sentiments. The plot and the characters are neglected in preference to the development of sentiments The most prominent sentiments are selected Other intricate ones are only referred to There are so many complex feelings with us, the potency of which is felt but not explained We are not able to say why we take fancy to a particular person or thing2 Some indescribable feeling it is that deadens our sense3 Sometimes we are baffled as to whether a particular sensation is happiness or otherwise.4 His theory about sentiment is expressed in a verse uttered by Tamasā in U R. viz

एतेऽपि रस एव निमित्तमेदाद्द्रुत् पृथगिवाश्रयते विवर्तान्।

There is only one master-sentiment which is 'pathos' and all others are different manifestations of it as whirlpools, eddies, bubbles, billows are all transformations of water.

1 K D

2 तत्सस्य किन्ति हृदय योधि यस्य प्रियोज्जन व्यतिपज्यति पदार्थान्तर कोपि हेतु।।

3 विकार कोप्यनर्ज्जयति च ताप च कुलते

4 विनिश्रेतुम् शक्यो न सुखमिति वा दुःखामिति वा ।।

177

Another important feature of the poet lies in his nature-descriptions "The temper of Bhavabhūti was akin to the grand and inspiring in nature and life".1 "He shows a just appreciation of the aweful beauty and grandeur of nature enthroned in solitudes of dense forests, cataracts and lofty mountains He has equally a strong perception of stern grandeur in human character and is successful in bringing out deep pathos and tenderness. His genius was more of a lyric than of a dramatic nature. He had not the art of putting himself into various situations, of forgetting one and becoming quite a new man in and feeling he occupies a very high rank".

"Kālidasa has more fancy, greater art, more skill in suggesting Bhavabhūti has originality in plot and conception but no skill in the arrangements of incidents and in denouement."2

The style is vigorous and harmonious. It is very rarely simple The poet is 'fond of elaborate overloaded description प्रौढत्वमुदीरता च वचसाम् ("richness and elevation of expression") is the keynote of his writings "It suffers from the drawbacks such as long compounds, obsolete words and prepositions, clumsy constructions and grammatical offences It was Bhavabhūti's boast that upon him the goddess of speech and eloquence waited as a submissive maid and so we may not assume with him "rhyme was the rudder to the sense", in other words that his diction was determined by the exigencies of metre or the like. On the contrary his word-order is deliberate, and almost alway artistic "3

1 K D 2 Dr Bhandarkar M M

3 Dr Belwalkar G R (preface) H O S

12

CHAPTER VI

Shri Harsha, The Patron-Poet

Shri Harsha is another poet belonging to the high category of kings like Shūdraka. He was a great patron of learning Opinion is divided as regards the identity of Shri Harsha

(i) There was first the king Harsha of Kanauj and Sthaneshwar He was the same as Shīlāditya referred to by Huoen Tsang. His father Prabhākara, the enemy of Hunas and Gurjars, died in 604 A D leaving two sons Rajavardhana and Harshavardhana, of whom the former faught with Deogupta who had put to death Grahararman, husband of Rajyashrī Shashānka of Bengal and a friend of the Guptas killed him. There was a scuffle between Shri Harsha and Pulakeshi II This Shri Harsha lived in the first half of the seventh century (604-648 A. D)

(ii) There was another king Shri Harsha, king of Kashmir, who was also a great patron of learning and author of several compositions The treatises were in fact written by other hack-writers (possibly by Dhāraka). Kalhana gives the line beginning from तं यम-हरिर-अनन्त-कटङ्क-हप्

(iii) The third Harsha is the author of the famous epic Naisbadhīya

Of the three, the third cannot be the author of the play as his poem does not refer to any one of them or to any situation or characters in them though it mentions a

179

number of works at the end 1 Besides there is no resem-

blance whatsoever either verbal or conceptual. The

second also cannot be the author of the plays because

authorities belonging to a time prior to 1113 A.D refer to

the dramatization of his plays-(Itsing refers to the per-

formance of Nāgānanda and Damodaragupta, contem-

porary of Jayāpīda of Kashmir (779-813) refers to that of

Ratnāvalī in his Kuttinīmata )

The author (or the patron) of the plays must be the

king Harsha of Kanauj (604-648). He had patronised

Bāna It is his patronage of learning that has given

rise to the theory that the plays must have been

written by some poets at his court and must have

been ascribed to him. It is maintained that Ratnāvalī

is written by Bāna though there is a volume of internal

evidence that militates against it. The power of imagi-

nation, the harmony and picturesqueness of words, the

flashes of genius found everywhere in Kāidambarī are

rarely met with in Ratnāvalī All the same it has to be

admitted that the difference in the nature of the two

themes treated in Nāgānanda and Ratnāvalī, the tenets

of the two rival religions, do not fail to raise the suspi-

cion as regards the one penmanship of the three dramas

There are clearly two hands, nay, three hands that are at

work in the plays Of the three plays, two have got the

same theme while the third stands independently by itself

with regard to the author and the theme.

The author is under obligation to Kālidāsa whose

plays have been laid under both in point of situations

and dialogues. From the M. A. he has taken the idea

1 It refers to स्तेयर्यलिचारण, श्रीविजयप्रशस्ति, नवसाहसांक, छन्दप्रशस्ती

and खण्डनखण्डन.

of a zealous queen

The garden scene, the imprisonment

scene and the recognition scene in the last act of Rāt

are borrowed from M A. From the V Ū he has taken

the idea of a dutiful queen The disregard of the king's

protestations and the consequent प्रियङ्गरागन are there in

both Besides this, there are similarities of both thought

and expression In imagination and grace he is inferior

to Kālidāsa

Ratnāvalī

Credit is given to Shri Harsha for starting a new era

in the history of both Hindu manners and literature by

writing the play Ratnāvalī The story in the play was

already extensively popular in society "Ratnāvalī indi-

cates a wider deviation from manners purely Hindu, more

artificial refinement and more luxurious indulgence and

proportionate deterioration of moral feeling Considered

from a purely literary point of view, Ratnāvalī marks a

change in the principle of dramatic composition It may

be taken as one of the connecting links between the old

and new schools 1

The plot in the play is simple and straightforward

It recounts the incident happening in a king's household

A number of small events scarcely recognised as we read,

push on the action and call from moment to moment on

the intellectual eye to follow them They are only a

back-ground for the characters The real merit of the

play lies in the skill of selecting the happy and romantic

incidents, viz the breaking loose of the monkey, the mut-

tering out of the secret by Sārikā, a bird, the संकेत and the

अभिसरण of the sweet-heart the consequent jealousy of the

queen, the प्रियारागन etc The story of वत्स, the king of

1 Wilson, Theatre

181

Kausambi, is connected with that of the Ceylonese

King The theme of the play as given in the prelude is a

flimsy one The play illustrates the principle that big

distances are always very easily bridged over if fate

wills it The minister योगन्धरायण appears in the first act

and talks upon the prophecy about the marriage and the

consequent prosperity of the king. There is then the

description of the city-people and the celebration of the

वसन्तोत्सव The king in a happy mood describes the मकरन्दो-

त्सव The queen performs the मदनतृज्या The act is named

as मदनमहोत्सव

The second act gives the consternation caused by the

breaking loose of the monkey The picture-board is left

behind by Sāgarikā. The Sārikā bird who hears the whole

love-affair repeats it verbatim to the king The Sārikā

scene is highly imaginative and serves a good deal in the

economy of plot by saving the introduction of some charac-

ters How far the Sārikā was able to utter human accents

and how far it was successful from the point of stage-effect

is a question. The name of वासवदत्ता which is uttered un-

wittingly by Vidūṣhaka awakens the king who drops

down the hand of his sweet-heart. The Vidushaka drops

the picture-board and creates confusion ( as the birch-leaf

in V U ) and puts the king in an awkward situation The

second act is the longest, being full of humorous and

funny incidents, feats of his folly, verging on both sides

of sanity. It ends in creating anger and jealousy in the

queen over the love-affair of the king and Sāgarikā

The third can very fitly be called "a comedy of errors,"

created by a maid-servant who happens to overhear the

conversation between Vidushaka and Susamgatā about

dressing Sāgarikā in the apparel of the queen. The scene

is effective and natural. This conversation is reported to

the queen who wants to take advantage of it. The queen

puts on the dress of Sāgarikā and waits upon the king

who quite unawares expresses to her his mental

anguish created by Sāgarikā When the whole secret

is out, when the culprits are caught red-handed, Vidu-

shaka and Sāgarikā consent to be bound over to the queen

This act is called सक्तत

The fourth act gives the इन्द्रजालिक scene The scene

is depicted with humour and vivacity 'The introduction

of the juggler is a manœuvre of the minister Vidushaka

wants to test his magic by asking him to produce Sāgarikā

before the king The arrival of Vasubhūti puts an abrupt

end to the scene The plot which is being shrouded up

in mystery is gradually resolved Vasubhūti explains the

incidents one after another But there again comes a

great uproar on account of fire in the palace The अभिज्ञान

comes towards the end of the fourth act योगनन्द्रायण appears

and explains everything. He is the author of the whole

mystery.

The King Vatsa is the hero of the play according to

the conventional notions of dramatics though the action

in all its stages is manipulated by the minister Yaugan-

dharivana The second marriage which forms the busi-

ness in Rat appears to be the invention of the writer as it

is very differently told in Brihatkathā, the heroine being

named पद्मावती and being a princess of Magadha and not

of Ceylon He is described as one having desisted from

warlike activities, being full of love and comparable to

the god of love He is a gay monarch very much fond of

jubilations and rejoicings He is so very beautiful that

Sāgarikā wishes to see him often and often Just towards

183

the end, he is presented as taking interest in matters other than those of love, e g the battle with his enemies, his encampment, the condition of his army and the exploits of his soldiers In the first three acts he appears to be a hopeless king whose sole function of life appears to dance to the tunes of love, now with one woman, now with an-

other This aspect of his nature is changed towards the end. He is a political king having high regard for the envoys, taking delight in acrobatic feats, presenting them with gifts He is most nervous when he learns that his own harem is on fire He rushes into the flames of the fire kept in a lock-up by the queen As a reward for the bold deed he receives Sāgarikā from the hands of the queen.

Yaugandharāyana is the sagacious and astute minister of the king. He appears in the beginning of the play, then goes away again to appear at the end He pulls the threads of the action though he is all the while behind the curtain. The whole plot appears to be the play of his imagination. He sets the ball rolling and the other characters satisfy the conditions laid down by him or add their strength in accelerating the motion of the ball The prosperity of his master is the goal which he sets his heart on. He even wants to take advantage of the course of stars or the science of astrology. He directs all his energies to the fruition of the prophecy about the king's sovereignty of the world dependent upon his marriage with Ratnāvalī.

The father's wish—giving no offence to Vāsavadattā—is also overcome very skilfully by circulating a false report that the queen is burnt down in Lāvānaka fire The ship in which the princess is escorted is wrecked but fortunately she gets a plank for support and is carried back by a

merchant of Kausambi The ऐन्द्रजालिक is also one of his manœuvres

Sāgarikā or Ratnāvalī is a daughter of the king of Ceylon She is called Sāgarikā because she is rescued from a wrecked ship Of her it is foretold that the man to whom she is to be married is to assume world-sovereignty Her father wishes that she should be married to Vatsa but could not make a proposal himself as it would offend Vāsavadattā, his niece. He consents on hearing that the queen is burnt in the Lāvānaka fire But the girl as she is escorted to the new spouse is drowned in the ocean She catches a board and is further rescued by a merchant who produces her in the court of the king. She has a रत्नमाला with her which later on is used as a means of recognition and identification

Vāsavadattā is a jealous queen like all queens in other dramas The Vidushaka falls at most critical junctures, drops down from his armpit the चिवुकफलक in the presence of the queen He suspects the high parentage of the girls The articles of the kitchen form his usual topics Susamgatā is a companion of Ratnāvalī. Sāgarikā's life was already like a wrecked vessel but it is ruddered properly by Susamgatā and steered through the din of the miserable life and ultimately is brought to a safe harbour

The Ratnāvalī is more a drama than a poem while the Priyadarshikā is more a poem than a drama " The poetry of the Ratnāvalī is merely mechanical We have no fanciful illustrations, nor novel and beautiful similitudes, nor do any sentiments worthy of notice occur except the generous remark made by Vatsa on the death of the king of Kosala The belief in vulgar magic or common conjuring which is repeatedly expressed in

185

the drama is worthy of remark as it is something new.

The supernatural powers described in M M are of a very

different description from the art that makes a flower

blossom out of season or covers a building with illusory

flames' 1

Priyadarshikā

The play is another romance of love written by Shri

Harsha on the same theme as that of Ratnāvali—the

ideal love-story of Vāsardattā and Vatsa. It is a descrip-

tion of a gambol of love in the royal household The

homely details in the royal household have been

transfigured by the subtle touch of the magic of poetry.

The two plays are obviously the variations of one and the

same theme " The double comedy in Priyadarshikā is

a happy thought, the intrigue in act IV is neatly conducted

so as to show Vāsavadattā in the light of an affectionate

niece and the scene with the bee is attractive" The story

of Udayana as given in Kathāsaritsāgara1 is as follows:

" Udayana entrusts his kingdom to his minister

Yougandharāyana. Mahāsena wishes to get his daughter

Vāsavadattī married with the king though he is his enemy.

Mahāsena1, therefore, is not sure of acceptance and thinks

upon a plan by which he exploits the king's fondness for

hunting. A wooden elephant is constructed and placed at

a certain place The inside of the elephant is full of

armed men who attack and imprison the king when he is

alone He is further taken to Mahāsena who promises him

liberty on the condition that he.instructs Vāsavadattā in

singing and dancing. But the teacher runs away with

1 Wilson, 'l'heat.

his female disciple, an act which is endorsed by the father

of the bride"

There are some minor changes effected by the poet in

the original ( e g वासवदत्ता daughter of प्रथ्योत etc )

The latter part of the दीर्घिका scene is an exact echo of a

similar scene in Shākuntala in which the heroine com-

plains of the trouble from a humming bee In the third

act, there is a गर्भनाटक which is quite a prototype of the

outer drama ( as in U R ) and which is enacted with the

aim of bringing about the union of both the king and

Āranyakā with the least perturbation to the queen

The king Vatsa is introduced as a prince of martial

ardour, taking delight in the accounts of warfare The

general comrs and gives an account of a recent skirmish

with Vindhyaketu and places the spoils of war before

the king Rumanvat also gives an account of a success-

ful campaign against the king of Kosala He is very

beautiful The moment he is seen by Āranyakā, she

compliments her father for making a right selection.

Vatsa boasts of the strange adventure which he has to en-

counter for his love He is once imprisoned by the father

of Vāsaradattā and is asked to instruct her in the fine

arts The captive not only instructs but wins over the

affection of the princess and runs away with her

Vāsaradattā is like all other queens in Sanskrit

dramas, very religious, worshipping some deity, the sun or

the moon, making over presents to Brahmins, observing

fasts,and consequently presenting an emaciated appearance.

Āranyakā is a hign-born girl She is sorry to find

herself reduced to a position in which she is required to

obey orders rather than to give them In this lamentable

187

condurion she prefers to remain incognito. She does not

wish to disclose her high pedigree and is willing to put up

with anr kind of mental torture She is so shy and bash-

ful that she does not speak out her heart even to her

bosom friend and prefers to put an end to her life

Sankritārany is an old venerable lady belonging

to the king's household She acts the same part that is

acted by परिव्राजिका in the M A. This old lady is a party

to the plot which is laid for bringing about the union of

the king with Aranyakā. She is a distant relation of the

queen who reveres her as her mother and consequently

she commands respect from every one including even

the king She is consulted in all matters of importance

and her advice is always sought for guidance She

very shrewdly detects the disturbance in the routine

behaviour of the king. She sets aside her imposing

elderliness and joins with Manoramā and Vidushaka in

finding out means to restore the mental quietude. She

with the other coadjutors hits on a very charming plan

of presenting on the stage the romantic adventure in

the love of Vatsa and just in the thick the king is very

stealthily and silently allowed to glide on the stage as

a substitute for Manoramā who is acting the hero in the

गर्भनाटक. She is fully successful in the mission assigned

to her by the poet She is a woman of imposing persona-

lity, commanding respect from both the parties, whose

advice can be listened to, who can avoid the gulf from

widening, who shows complete disinterestedness in the

events of this world, who takes a light view of love, who

pities the lovers but does not accuse and in short whose

function of life is to give a comic and joyful turn to the

melancholy appearance of this world

128

Nāgānanda

6

This play is a play of romance of rather a serious nature The principal characters are semi-divine The

hero is a Vidyādhara and the heroine is a Siddhā The

incidents take place in a तपोवन by the side of the Malay a mountain. The story is based on the विगयर्जातक referring

to the tenets that Lord Buddha preached during his life-time The internal evidence does not corroborate the

theory about its authorship which is ascribed to Shri Harsha The theme, the tenets, the characters the deities

worshiped and invoked in the Nāndi and the outer garb go against it The writer perhaps obliterates his personality

and existence in that of his royal patron in recognition of his patronage In the present play the whole philosophy of

human life is given expression to by Jīmūtavāhana, the hero of the play who is just a mouthpiece of the poet The

tenets of Buddhism which Harsha lived and loved, devotion to parents, the lack of interest in the kingdom, the disgust

over the heaps of bones of Nāgās, the repulsion of feeling towards worldly affairs are all the doctrines of the authors to promulgate and to propagate which he wrote the play

The first act gives three scenes-the Malaya scene

in which nature is described by the hero in all its grandeur the temple-scene in which the seed of the action is

sown in a dialogue between the hero and the heroine, last-ly, there is the ascetic scene The last scene achieves a good

deal from the point of dramatic economy The ascetic sees the couple together and is very glad to find from the

foot-prints that the person is a sovereign The scene of the first act is laid in a तपोवन on the out-skirts of the Malaya

mountain which is the creation of the poet's fancy and

the hero and the heroine and the parents. They all are

anxious on account of his sudden disappearance Garuda

comes but is struck with the high mettle of his prey. He

is set athinking He repents for his carnage The par-

ties are united in the end

The hero Jīmūtavāhana is a young man with a strong

poetic and romantic vein He is an idealist out and out

He is always caught by a strong momentary impulse and

helruns after it Not even for a moment does he come down

to a level from which he can realize that there is some-

thing like a practical world which he has to deal with

He is very eager to render service to his parents, sees no

other happiness but serving them. He goes

to the Malaya mountain at the behest of his father who

wants to find a suitable place for retirement There he

comes across with Malayavati. Since that time he is

totally transformed. He loses his former courage, and

devotes very little time to the service of his parents He

becomes quite restless, and wants to attest the events in his

dream. He puts Mitrāvasu on a wrong track The pro-

sal that comes from him is the most agreeable one but

he gives a point-blank and a definite nay In this charac-

ter, there is first the impulse of devotion to parents, then

comes love, after that, pity Pity is then followed by

the desire for sacrificing his best interests Lastly comes

the sufferance for a worthy cause The defecis that are

responsible in wrecking the hearts of those that are attach-

ed to him are due to his impulsive or sentimental nature

The marriage with Malayavati which he prized most is

shown no preference before the वधूभत्ना to which he clings

Even the motherly regard and affection 'which is shown

at the beginning to be the guiding principle of his life

is of no consequence to him before the उत्सर्ग of the slab of slaughter. The garuda takes him away but does not devour him being impressed with his augustness

Shankhachūda is a Nāga At the behest of his master he proceeds to the यज्ञशाला for offering himself as a prey to the Eagle The तिर्यग् is requested by the Nāga king not to pounce upon them as by the rumbling sound of his wide wings a good many Nāga females suffer abortions. This anecdote seems to have been copied from M. Bhārata in which भीम offers himself a victim to one Bakāsura The same incident is treated at length by Bhāsa in his मध्यमव्यायोग The scene in this play is very pathetic We get here the lamentation of a mother for her son who is soon to be killed by the eagle The grief is a genuine one She is afraid of her son's death and sees Garuda everywhere and in everyone. Jīmūtavāhana is much moved by the pitious accents of the old woman and requests the boy to hand over to him the emblems of a victim The scene is a master-piece as a scene of pathos. The poet has done well in creating a strong dramatic irony of situation in presenting the red robes of a marriage ceremony and turning them to quite a different account as the funeral suit.

The whole scene of Shankhachūda appears to be a parody deliberately planned to illustrate the horrors of a ruling incident of the time. In the first place it cannot be justified by the theory of causation Dramatically it does not rise out of any incident. Historical and rational interpretation appears to be this. The Nāgas, a race of people, very devout followers of the law of Lord Buddha, must have been persecuted The Nāgas were the aborigines in India and were the first to embrace the new faith

of Lord Budha They were called Nāgaś not because they were serpent-born but because they by means of some mechanism managed to have the hood of a cobra upon their heads as a protecting sign The scene by means of the pun upon the word Nāga surely hints at the persecution of the followers of Budhism

Vidhushaka is a man of the world When the prince wants to retire to a forest he places before him the most practical view He shows much boldness which borders upon officiousness The Vita is another character that creates humour in the play but his humour comes of a stronger vein and is, therefore, offensive He has in one hand a goblet and in the other flattery He is depicted as a perfect type of a confirmed sensualist 'Eat, drink and be merry' seems to be the philosophy of his life.

The Shekharaka pursues a certain young woman in a fit of drunkenness He belongs to the lewd circles in the society. What he calls love is nothing but bodily lust He uses woman but does not love her His speeches are full of hateful phrases, images gross and abominable He is a prototype of shakāra in M K

Malayavati is the heroine of the play She comes from a Sīdharāja family She is introduced like Mahā-shwetā singing the prayers of Gauri The marriage is proposed and the selection of the bridegroom made by her father But the proposal is rejected by the bride-groom She feels offended when she listens to the unpleasant answer from him She is determined to put an end to her life like all other heroines of Harsha Both she and her husband are good natured but just after the wedlock both are placed in the teeth of some dangerously momentous issues. The bride-groom does not recognise the solemnity of

marriage contracts and offers his life for whosoever is in

trouble

With regard to characterization, Harsha has got no

retributive justice The catastrophe is not the outcome of

any defect in any character. In both the hero and the

heroine, " Harsha depicts emotions of self-sacrifice,

charity, magnanimity and resolution in the teeth of

death "

In all the characters of Shri Harsha, his heroines

leave a greater impression on the minds than what his

heroes do The heroines are loving maids They prefer

to die for the love which they cherish They are not

jealous of the first queen They do not like to divulge the

secret even to their bosom friends They are all princesses

who pass off to the harem of the king on account of some

mishap to the father's family The heroes are a bit over-

drawn They are not steady in their emotions. Both

Vatsas are पतङ्गवृत्तिस ( acting like moths )

The style is simple and expressive though less

imaginative and graceful

13

CHAPTER VII

Bhatta Nārāyan

Venisamhāri—The Romance of War

Bhatta Nārāyaṇa, the author of the play Venisamhāra,

is a Brahmin having the surname सिं expressed in the title

मगराजधर्मा 1 सिं is a surname of a high family in Bengal

where it migrated from Kanauj for enjoying the patronage

of the dynasty of Kanvas ruling over both Kanauj and

Bengal prior to the Pāl dynasty of the eighth century

( 730 A D ) The tradition contained in the Vangarāja

Ghataka ascribes thus patronage to one Ādisur who per-

haps must be one of the rulers in that dynasty. The

Tagore tradition says that this Ādisur summoned him

from Kanauj Konow suggests that the dynasty to which

Ādisur belonged was identical with the Guptas of

Magadha since Ādityasena made himself independent of

Kānyakubja Ādisur is thus made the same as Ādityasena

who was alive in 671 A D

The philosophic doctrines contained in the verses2

make him a follower of Bhāgavata or the Vaiṣṇavait sect

particularly of the Pancharātra cult The influence of

sacerdotalism is clear from the comparison of the fight

with sacrifice and such other utterances as चत्वारो

वयमग्रात्विज

1 तदिदं कवेम्रगराजलःमणो भदृनारायणस्य कृतिं वेणीसंहार नाम

नाटकं प्रयोक्तुमुयता वयम्

2 आत्मारामा विहितरतयो निर्विकल्पे समाधौ ।

195

The strong revulsion of feeling against the Chārvākas, the materialists of India, is expressed in the denunciation of the wickedness of चार्वाक a character purely of the poet's invention

A number of rhetoricians have drawn upon the Veni-samhāra for illustrating canons in poetics the chief amongst whom are Mammata, Kshiraswami, Dhanamjaya, Anandvardhana, Vāmana, ranging approximately from 1100 A D. upwards to 700 A D. Mammata belonged to 1100 A.D1 Dhananjaya, the celebrated author of Dasharupaka was a protege of king Munja2 (972-995 A D ) and Anandavardhana was that of king Avantivarman of Kashmir3 (855-883 A D). Rājashekhara who has laid himself under the influence of all poets that lived before him, in ideas, words and scenes owes much to Bhatta Nārāyana and Rājashekhara lived contemporaneously with his admirer Shankarvarman of Kashmir (883-902 A D ) and his disciple Mahendrapāla of Kanauj (890) The chronology about Vāmana is divided on account of the plurality of वामनs, one being the author of काव्यालङ्कारसूत्रवृत्ति, the other being the minister of Jayāpīda (779-813) and the third one being the grammarian, the author of Kāshikā Vāmana quoting from a drama must be a rhetorician and not a grammarian and can be identified with the second whose date is fixed in the first half of the eighth century. Sifting all the evidence, we can fix the date of Bhatta Nārāyana in either the first part of the eighth century or the end of the seventh century

Bhatta Nārāyana was a firm devotee of Krishna and had a strong leaning towards the Sānkyan philosophy,

1 Chandorkar K D 2 and3 V A Smith

a fact which is borne out by the internal evidence He was

also a student of Karma-mīmāṃsā

The drama differs a little from others in the presen-

tation of the introduction The principal character

Bhīma appears on the stage cursing the wretched actor for

having uttered a blessing to the Kurus The प्रस्तावना is

of the प्रयोगात type similar to one in M R In the short

space of one act he has not only prepared one side for

fight but he has also offered an analysis in psychology in

showing the different stages in the anger of Bhīma The

utterance of Sutradhāra who as usual unwittingly wishes

good to the Kurus, the weakness of Yudhiṣṭhira, his read-

ness for an alliance on the condition of five villages, the

entrance of Draupadī, and the recounting of insult offered

by Bhīnumatī and the attempt at Kr̥ṣṇa's imprison-

ment are all the different items that ruffle the anger of

Bhīma

The second act evinces greater skill on the part of

the poet in the presentation of the various incidents in a

dramatic way, the dream-scene of Bhānumatī, the obser-

vance of a vow to assuage the inauspiciousness of it, the

confusion of Duryodhana, the entrance of Duss̥halā and

the mother and the exit of Duryodhana-these incidents

follow one after another The action advances considera-

bly looking to the span of the second act The dream

scene is a creation of the poet's fancy

The third act introduces ugly characters The

राक्षसs, though historically aborigines of India, were

mythologically quaint characters, speaking quaint

phrases, and presenting ghastly and ghostly appearances

Here they are appropriately named as क्रूरगणय and रात्रिप्रिय.

197

They discuss the philosophy of blood and flesh. The scene gives a full description of the havoc caused on the battle-field by the fighting of the two forces वसागत्या is a good house-wife storing one hundred pitchers of blood of all the prominent fighters A drink of the Brahmin blood is humorously said to corrode the throat The tragic catastrophe which is to follow is gradually though grimly introduced by this scene

A man is but a means and never an agent of a thing. Bhima drinks off the blood of his enemy. The unhuman and inhuman aspect of this is removed when राक्षस says that he will enter the body of Bhīma and do the ghastly work

The body of the act contains three incidents dramatically set forth - the grief of Ashwatthāman for his father's death, the altercation between him and Karna and the sudden news that Bhīma drinks off the blood of Dushhāsana The method adopted to do away with Drona is condemnable and rightly rouses the ire of his son Karna pours on his and his father's devout head the vilest possible calumny and charges him with treacherous motive The altercation scene unfolds a psychological point--how an irritable nature easily picks up quarrels

Each one of the three acts is quite sensational. The insult of one's own wife, the supposed faithlessness of one's wife,the untortunate altercation, the ghastly scene of drinking blood, the murder of one's own father, the impeachment of the conduct of loyal servants are all very sensational events

In the fourth act सुन्दरक comes upon the stage and gives the description of the battle The character seems

to be copied from संजय of व्यास संजय was endowed with

super-sensuous power and, therefore, could vividly and

faithfully describe the fight to the blind king The vivid-

ness is found here also but it is monotonous

In the fifth act the parents make a pathetic appeal to

their son Duryodhana and pursuade him to stop the

horrors of war Karna is dead. Bhīma and Arjuna

appear suddenly on the stage Ashwathāman makes his

dramatic appearance and disappears again when insulted

The sixth act gives us the vow of Bhīma The

act opens with the description of the disappearance of

Duryodhana, his chase, and subsequent fight between him

and Bhīma. Duryodhana is killed and Yudhisthira is

crowned

In strict conformity to the rules of dramatics युयुत्सु

is the hero of the drama because it is to him that the fruit

of the action goes in spite of the fact that he is introduced

towards the end of the play. There is no special delineation with regard to this character He is shown as he is

in the M Bhārata The action does not depend upon him

in the play There are two other characters who divide

with him the honour of being the hero of the play, one being Bhīma and the other Ashwatthāman Bhīma is involved in all the incidents of the action He it is who is

responsible for the final catastrophe. The character and

the action are more inter-related in his case than in that

of Yudhissthira It is Bhīma who gives the final stroke

and secures the crown for his brother It is Bhīma who

consoles and ties up Draupadi’s dishevelled hair with gory

hands and thus fulfils his vow Sentiment reaches its

climax in his case

199

Venisamhāra is a drama of sentiment and viewed as such the sentiment rises most also in the case of Ashwatthāman. He, like Sherlock, leaves the stage bereft of his father, of his friend, of heroism and above all of his self-respect The Venisamhāra is a comedy like the Merchant of Venice but is the greatest tragedy of chance in the case of Ashwatthāman

Bhīma is extremely fiery and in a fit of wrath wants to separate himself from his brother whose immunity from hatred he utterly dislikes. He disrespects and defies the elder brother and proceeds to the arsenal in anger which is further fanned by the arrival of his wife.

Sahadeo is calm and considerate and forms a good foil to the excitable character of Bhīma

Duryodhana is the counter hero in the drama and is as wicked as he is brave He is undaunted by defeat and exults over his success. Even in the grim din of the battle he is reluctant to leave the pleasures of his wife's company He has a strong mind and is free from superstition. His jealousy is roused by the narration of the incident which Bhānumatī sees in her dream An inward scrutiny of his heart might betray a susceptiblity to superstition but he wants to brush it aside He is an uncompromising adversary, a jealous friend, an affectionate son and brother and a warrior counting upon the succour of others.

Ashwatthāman appears in the third act with sword drawn out, moving in the arena amidst the din of fighting. Though Brahmin by caste he shows great valour saying

अथ मरणमवद्यमेवजन्तोः । क्रिमिति सुधा मालिनं यशः कुरुथे

200

He curses all Pandavas including the truthful Yudhishthira and the divine Krishna and swears to offer to the quarters the oblations of their flesh and blood His ardour and vigour are misinterpretated by the wily Karna. A fight of words both harsh and high instead of weapons takes place. When he finds his caste shields him from the valour of his opponents and gives him immunity from death, he revokes and disowns it His extremely emotional and impulsive nature lands him in rashness and inconsiderateness He suffers for no fault of his. He loses his father He is disrespected, is dishonoured and all possible insults are poured on his self-respecting soul and all this happens by chance In human life there are many incidents the occurrence of which baffles any genius but which is explained as the result of chance The potency of chance is well brought out in the character of Ashwatthāman Duryodhana and Dusshāsana have deservedly tragic ends but they themselves are responsible for them Duryodhana's feelings are deadened He has no sense of justice Quite in a hilarious mood he pours down all curses and sins on the pious head of the Pāndavas for which Nemesis comes down upon him with just and equal retribution Tragedy is there but he himself and his vicious circle are responsible for it Vemsamhāra is, therefore, not a tragedy of vices, nor of errors but a tragedy of chance as far as the character of Ashwatthāman is concerned

Bhānumati is a dutiful and faithful wife She has a high regard for the elders Even though she does not sympathise with the malicious monstrocities of her husband, she observes a vow for his success She is superstitious

201

There is regard for brothers in Duryodhana, regard for

sons in Dhritarāshtra and Gāndhāri, regard f r friends in

Karna, rezard for self in Duryodhana and regard for self-

respect in Ashwatthāman " The chief merit of the drama

is individuality of character, the ferocity of Bhīma,

pride of Karna, the fiery but kindly temperament of

Ashwatthāman and the selfish arrogance of Duryodhana

are well delineated "

There is no V idushaka. The writer possesses the charac-

teristic of knitting humour with the horror of death in

order to preserve the continuance of thought and unity of

action As a relief from the seriousness and grimness of

the whole situation some light mim1cry of high treatment

of the horror of death and the terrific scene of a battle-field

is necessary and that is done in the scene of Rākshasa and

Rākshasi. The death of so many invincible stalwart

knights is nothing to these beings but a matter of rough

humour They joke and sing as they dissect and chew

the bones of dead warriors They have a pride in their

business

The heroic is the main sentiment that is expressed

through forceful language and through the virile characters

दुर्योधन, कर्ण, भीम, अश्वत्थामन् and these are its आलंकारविभावस.

The उद्दीपनविभावस are given by the forcible utterances of

Bhānumati, Bhīma, Karna etc The defeat of Duryo-

dhana and the success of Dharma are the अनुभावस and the

courage, self-respect, and the vigour of the characters

are the व्यभिचारिभावस

The one outstanding feature of the style is force

due to the boldness and bluntness of the characters The

altercation scene in III and the conversation in V present

202

the impressiveness of style which is effected by employing the contrast of words and ideas The force is out of place sometimes and, therefore, betrays want of simplicity and natural picturesqueness It makes the language laboured and the imagery artificial. The obsolete words, the long compounds, the tedious descriptions of Sundaraka make the style cumbrous Howsoever pathetically reminding the vocatives are, they obstruct the simple and the natural flow of the language The defect on the side of the intellectual qualities is made good by the merit on the side of the emotional qualities The ideality expressed in the violation of self-respect and the honour of one's own wife the insult and the slaughter of one's own father is a prominent emotional quality and it gives rise to strength

CHAPTER VIII

Vishākhadatta

Mudrārākshasa ( The political drama )

The Sanskrit drama has always been charged with showing deficiency in variety both as regards plot-construction and characterization.

There is always a stereotyped form laid down by old writers on dramaturgy and there is very little departure from it

This tendency to confine very rigidly and scrupulously to the form already established produces its natural effect in crippling the high soaring imagination of the Sanskrit poets

The usual form, scientific though it is, had a set plot, style and character and had a set purpose to achieve

Departure or deviation from it requires a boldness from the author.

Rare as such deviation is, we find some instances.

Shūdraka and Vishākhadatta belong to the group of poets who have chalked out quite an independent path in the dramatics of Jndia, not of course in form but in spirit

Drama by convention and tradition is a commentary on the erotic sentiment which, in its manifold aspects, is evolved by the help of the hero and the heroine who meet, separate and again unite

The intricate love-affair is the soul of the drama.

This is set aside completely by Vishākhadatta and to some extent by Shūdraka.

The variety in the characters, the various ups and downs that are commonly met with in the daily routine of life are the favourite topics with Shudraka.

Mudrārākshasa stands equally apart from the general trend of the Sanskrit drama,

204

It is in the first place an historical drama in as much as the structure is built upon the real foundation of the

life of a famous king, चन्द्रगुप्त or Sandracotus of Megasthenes Besides this historical thread which is not mean and

flimsy, the whole central theme is politics which hinges round about the relation of the king and his more famous

minister Chānakya and the surrounding times. Strict veracity of history cannot and should not remain the same

with a poetic pen and if it remains so, it will prove dry and tiresome The realism of history is spiced with the ideal-

ism which works an illusion on the minds of readers. In the political aspect, no other Sanskrit drama can be compar-

ed with Mudrārākshasa The Mālvikāgnimitra does show some signs of politics but they fade before the strong

ly coloured love-affair between Agnimitra and Mālavikā There is in this the total absence of marital or conjugal love

which is the mainstay of the literature of imagination From first to last the feats of policy of Chānakya and

Rākshasa, both veteran politicians, are exhibited The relieving feature comes in the sixth act which is the

only green and lively spot in the arid area of the whole drama There is only one female—the wife of Chan-

danadāsā and her introduction is extremely pathetic as it forms the back-ground to the sternness of both duty and

conscience.

The author of the drama, Vishākhadatta was the son of Bhāskaradatta and the grandson of Vateshwaradatta,

both of whom were the administrative heads of principalities situated probably in the Himalayan districts as is

clear from the geographical acquaintance which the poet shows with पार्वतदेश. The father of the poet styled

himself as महाराज The Datta, a ruling family itself, was

subordinate to the suzaraın king who is eulogised as

रन्तिवर्मी or दन्तिवर्मी in the last verse of the Bharatavākya This

रन्तिवर्मी or दन्तिवर्मी according to some scholars1 seems to be

identical with the Pallava sovereign who ruled about

720 A D , while according to others2 ( who read चन्द्रगुप्त )

seems to be identical with Chandragupta II (3.5-413 A.D )

of the Gupta dynasty, who overthrew the Mlechhas and

wrested from them the territories they had seized in the

Punjab " There are again other scholars3 who read it

as अवन्तिवर्मी who hold him identical with अवन्तिवर्मी of

Kanauj " Avantivarman might be the Maukhari king

whose son married Harsha's daughter " This Avantı-

varman was the patron of the poet who must have

praised him in the epilogue The last identification of

Avantivarman along with the reference to the rout of the

Hunas which was complete in 582 A. D.4 fixes the date of

the author in the second half of the sixth century There

is a parallelism between the tenth stanza of the 4th act

of the play and 47th stanza of the 2nd canto of the Kirātār-

junıya, the author of which lived in the fifth century.

Avantivarman is also identified with a king of that

name who ruled in Kāshmire in 855–883 A. D. This is

corroborated by the internal evidence as regards the eclipse

which is identified by Jacobi with the one that took place

on the 2 nd of December 860 A. D. Jacobi further holds

that नट, the king's minister, had the play performed

There are thus two dates, viz 600 A. D. and 900 A. D.

Chandragupta in the play cannot be that Chandragupta of

the Gupta dynasty. The poet also cannot be set down as a

1 Commentator Dhundıraj, and Rıjāswāmı Sarasvatı

2 Prof S Ray M R

3 Mr Telang and 4 Prof K H Dhruva M R

younger contemporary of Kālidāsa as is done by Konow as

the evidence of style, the language and the characteristics

of the medieval drama militates against such an assump-

tion Of all the evidences, the astronomical evidence

brought forward by Jacobi, is tho most reliable

The variant विशाखदेव occuring in the prologue in some

mss for विशाखदत्त makes him the author of some two verses

given in Subhāshitāvali and ascribed to Vishākhadeo

Dr Peterson sees an identity between the two Prof.

Vhrura on the strength of one stanza given in सदुक्तिकर्णोमृत

has raised an issue regarding Viśhākhadatta's authorship

of another play dramatizing the story of Rama

The plot of the present play might have been suggest-

ed from old historical documents " The murder of the

emperor Nanda by an agent of Chānakya, the installation

of मुर्वार्थसिद्धि on the vacant throne by राक्षस, the murder of

पर्वतेश्वर and the reconciliation of राक्षस are all historical facts

The secret spy-system on both the sides, the rescue of

चन्द्रगुप्त, the bestowal of ornaments, the acquisition and

restoration of the signet ring, the sham quarrel between

1 तत्क्षणितोपनमास्यायं तन्वङ्गया यद्वलिनियमं

चेतो निमिपदाकृष्टं नृणामध्यपजायते ।

नेत्राचापं श्रितो मिर्गेर्निपतन्निर्भरोगमा ।

वर्गेऽलमवर्ती बहुमता द्विपा इव

मु. ९४३६

2. रामोऽर्मा भुवनेषु विक्रमगुणयोर् ग्रामीद्धि परा-

नस्मद्राग्याविपर्ययाच्च यदि पर देवो न जानाति तम् ।

वन्त्रींविप यशासि नायाति मरुद् यत्सकृत्कवणाहति ।

धैरिभूत विगालताद्विरोचत्रीण स्वर् सप्तभि. ॥

स. ७८६५

207

Chānakya and Chandragupta, the dismissal of Rākshasa, the trust of his family with Chandanadās and his subsequent execution are events for which the creative imagination of the poets is responsible. They are all required by the exigences of the plot

The प्रस्तावना is of the कार्योद्घात type in which the actor enters catching up the word ( e g. चन्द्रगहण ) of the Sutradhāra In the first act the main item round which the action moves is the securing of the ring of राक्षस Nipunaka wanders in the guise of यमपटटचर, comes by the ring while he is displaying the scroll before the ladies in the house of Chandanadāsa with whom Rākshasa has entrusted his family. Though the act opens with funny conversation between the spy and the disciple of Chānakya still it proceeds in all the grimness of command for dreads, threats, executions, fights and pursuits Anther plot for entrapping Rākshasa is laid—the desire for bestowing the ornaments and performing the obsequies of Parvateshwar.

The whole first act is full of पताकास्थानs, dramatic ironies pertaining to words and situations The episode of flight of the several spies at the end of the act shows that the scheme has taken deep root

The second act introduces the आदित्युपिदिव who descrites the superior genius of Chānakya by whom all the attempts of Rākshasa's spies are foiled राक्षदास is allowed to run away from the place of execution सिद्धार्थक, therefore, secures a warm corner in the heart of राक्षस who presents him with ornaments that are again deposited with him with the seal on

The third act describes the sham, affected quarrel between Chandragupta, and Chānakya, given rise to by the prohibition of the moon-light festival. The quarrel is an

208

illustration not only of a forceful dialogue but also of the

insight of Chānakya with which he was managing the

details of the administration He never takes any step

unless there is a satisfactory and cogent reason for that

The quarrel-scene is so successful that even Chandragupta

for a time thinks that Chānakya is really excited when

he says "शिवि मोतुं वाझामपि पुनरयं धावति कर ।

In the fourth act a breach is made in the camp of the

enemy by poisoning the ears of Malayaketu against

Rākshasa All schemes turn against him and ruin his

cause The action rises gradually up to the end of this

act after which it begins to resolve Every act is an

independent whole given either to the description of

Rākshasa or Chānakya The action goes by alternate

turns and the onward march of the strategy of the two

diplomats can be seen in its parallel course Bhāgurāyana,

though not of cruel intentions, turns to account the duty

of passing the passports रूपणक discloses the episode of

the poison-girl and makes the case of राक्षस worse

Parwateshwara is done to death सिद्धार्थक exhibits

the anonymous letter and the sealed box of the orna-

ments Malayaketu, sucercilious as he is, yields before

the cogent arguments The writing belongs to Rākshasa,

the seal unmistakably belongs to him. The ornaments

can never be mistaken by the wearer They are recognis-

ed by प्रतिहारी who identifies them with those of पर्वतेश्वर राक्षस

is thus caught red-handed and non-plussed when challeng-

ed as to the veracity He submits to the charge and is

hemmed in by the circumstances to admit that he is not

an Arya

Rākshasa travels incognito in a forest in utter disap-

pointment with the desire of putting an end to his life.

209

Chānakya presents a man who is bent upon putting an end to his life for the sake of his friend जीवदास who throws himself in fire for the sake of his friend चन्दनदास is taken to the scaffold for giving shelter to the family of Rākshasa. This incident of imitating sufferance for a friend, though a bit exaggerated, works on the sentimental mind of तम who by nature and habit a valiant man wants to put his word in action and to set free Chandan-dāsa. This is also very cleverly exercised.

Chandandāsa is actually taken to the scaffold in the next act. A delicate touch is given by introducing the influence of a boy and the devotedness of a wife. The action in this act moves slowly and calmly and the poet judiciously "to treat his readers with lyrical sustics" is compared with the previous acts where the action runs more briskly and rapidly in the events of the execution of the fire mlechha linga, the dismissal of तम, the attack of Malayaketu on पर्वतेश्वर The final interview of तम and पार्वतेश्वर resolves the whole network of plot and counter-plot's तम is won over. पार्वतेश्वर is firmly planted on the throne and चाणक्य ties up the top-knot on his head.

Chānakya is the principal figure in the play. Historically speaking Chānakya is the son of चणक and is a descendant of Kuthala belonging to a branch of ब्राह्मण according to वात्स्यायन His name is विष्णुगुप्त. He is also the reputed author of a work on politics, supposed to have been written for instructing Chandragupta. He has got an enormous confidence in his powers. His disinterested service and attachment to the cause undertaken are marvellous. He always puts up a bold front and gives answers in an undaunted way. He is watchful over his men, setting spies

14

210

over spies ‘Everything is fair in war’ is the main dic-

tum of his political theory His crookedness and merci-

lessness are apparent from the beginning His intellect

has nothing impregnable or impenetrable He at once

makes clear the object to be achieved and does not mind

any hindrance No modesty he knows Gentility, deli-

cacy, kindness are unknown to him The machinery

which he sets to work, works quite automatically not so

much out of respect for him as out of dread He is

always alive to the merits of his enemies He openly

calls Rākṣhasa as मन्त्रिवृहत्पति and Chāndandāsa as शिवि On

all occasions and at all times he is seen engrossed with

one thought — the accomplishment of his goal He is an

expert in assuming airs, changing colours according

to circumstances. Even the sudden news of flight of

secret spies is received by him with the least consterna-

tion And though inwardly jubilant over the triumph of

his craft, he presents an angry and excited appearance and

curses them In inventing schemes Kāmandaki does ap-

proach Chānakya But Kāmandaki is not so bold and in-

genious, nor so cruel and commanding both in invention

and execution She though in yellow apron, is as dainty

and lovely in action as Mālatī is in her looks Chānakya is

superior to Prospero who relies more upon hidden powers

like magic and ghosts while Chānakya has his strength

in his own powerful intellect Chānakya is one of those

rare men of power and respect who will give their king-

dom for their self-respect, who think their will to be divine,

who take them to be the masters of fate and who fall in

the temper of insolence He (becomes a fool and tool of

vanity and vengeance, the waking sign of which is always

kept by him on his back — in the form of rolling and

waving hair The indignation issues from a right cause

• injury to self-respect, effects a terrible catastrophe,

marks out a path of havoc and ravage and achieves the

goal. There is very little scope for depicting the usual

human passions. There is the high passion of revenge

of the man of action. In the other characters there is the

low passion of envy for this powerful man

THE COUNTER CHARACTER IN THE DRAMA -Rākshasa

is the only one who does make a bold and in some sense a

satisfactory approach to Chānakya But for his kind

heart and loyaltyto his master which two merits always

bring him into trouble, he is in no way inferior to his

rival. He is loving and loyal to a fault appropriately described by Shakatadāsa in

अक्षोणमौक्ति क्षीणापि नन्दे स्वाम्यर्थसुदृढहृदयः ।

पृथिग्या स्वामिभक्ताना प्रमाणे परमे स्थित ॥

Laying deep schemes is not a favourite topic with him.

He forgets his own spies and the missions assigned to

them It is true that he cannot be a compeer with

Chānakya in diplomacy but whatever genius he possesses

is foiled by the foolishness, childishness, easy dupability

and above all the want of confidence of Malayaketū He is

more superstitious and emotional, more poetic, and imagi-

native, more heroic than his adversary He is conversant

with politics and lays as many as six different schemes for

destroying the attempts of Chānakya, but they are cruelly

turned against him His character is real and historical.

It cannot be the creation of the poet's fancy. Had it been so,

the inauspicious name could not have beengiven to him

Both Chānakya and Rākshasa are astute politicians.

Chānakya is cool and circumspect whereas Rākshasa is

forgetful and blundering. "Chānakya is violent and in-

exorable, राक्षस gentle and relenting चाणक्य's ruling principle is pride of caste, राक्षस's, attachment to his friends and sovereign चाणक्य revenges wrongs done to humself,

those offered to them whom he loves चाणक्य combınes deep design, with impetuous passion, राक्षस notwithstanding his greater temperance is a bungler in contrivance and better as a soldier than a plotter

There is another pair of characters—Chandragupta and Malayaketu The former has a thorough reliance in the man whom he chooses as minister and is calm, subre and obedient though he is inactive The hero of the drama

may be in strict accordance with the canons of dramaturgy, Chandragupta because the fruit of the action goes to him But great as Chandragupta is in the drama, the apparent master of its actions Chānakya is in reality the cause of all action and its centre His spirit dominates the whole " Chandragupta and Malayaketu " represent

the contrast of ripe intelligence with youthful ardour and the weak petulence of one who does not know men's worth and who rashly and cruelly slays his allies on the path of treachery There are other minor characters, Bhāgu-rāyana, Chandandāsa etc that are very carefully drawn.

The style of the poet is forcible and direct though it is made dull by the dry subject of politics There is no pathos of Bhavabhūti, no poetry of Kālidāsa, no realism of Shudraka, no fairy-world of Shri Harsha The poet is expert in description, in moulding the language and in the use of figures of speech श्लेप is an important feature which gives rise to a good many surprise-situations The

style suffers from tautology and ambiguity The constructions are loose and enigmatic and are full of प्रक्रमभंगs.

दशरूपके प्रथमप्रकाशः

Appendix

नमस्तस्मै गणेशाय यत्कण्ठः पुष्करायते ।

मदाभोगघनध्वानो नीलकण्ठस्य ताण्डवे ॥ १ ॥

दशरूपप्रणकारेण यस्य मान्यन्ति भावकाः ।

नमः सर्वविदे तस्मै विष्णवे भरताय च ॥ २ ॥

कस्याचिदेव कदाचिद्यया विषयं सरस्वती विदुषः ।

घटयति कमपि तमन्यो व्रजति जनो येन वैदग्धीं ॥ ३ ॥

उदृस्योदृस्य सारं यमखिलनिगमालाटयेदं विरिद्वि-

श्रके यस्य प्रयोगं सुधीरपि भरतस्ताण्डव नीलकण्ठ ।

शर्वाणि लास्यमस्य प्रतिपदमपरं लक्ष्म कः कर्तुमोष्टे

नाट्यानां किञ्चित्किंचिद्ग्रणरचनया लक्षणं संस्कृतपथि ॥ ४ ॥

व्याकीर्णे मन्त्रबुद्धीनां जायते मतिविभ्रमः ।

तस्यार्थस्तत्पदैरेतद् संक्षिप्य क्रियतेsङ्क्षसा ॥ ५ ॥

आनन्दनिस्यान्निषु रूपकेषु नृत्यपाठिमात्र फलमल्पबुद्धि ।

योऽपीतिहासादिवदाहृ साधुतस्मै नमः स्वादुपराट्टमुखाय ॥ ६ ॥

अवस्थानुकृतिरिन्द्रियै खलुं दृश्यतयौच्यते ।

रूपकं तत्समारोपाद्दृश्यैव रसाश्रयम् ॥ ७ ॥

नाटकं स्वपकुरणां भागः प्रहस्तं हि तिम् ।

व्याख्येयगसमवकारैर् वीथ्यड्कैर्दश रुगा इति ॥ ८ ॥

अन्यद्धावाश्रयं नृत्यं नृत्तं ताललयाश्रयम् ।

आंशं पदार्थाभिनयो मार्गो देशी तथा परम् ॥ ९ ॥

मधुरोदात्तभेदेन तदूद्रयं द्विविध पुन ।

लास्यताण्डवरूपेण नाटकाद्युपकारकम् ॥ १० ॥

वरतु नेता रससूत्रधारी भेदको वरतु च द्विधा ।

तत्राधिकारिकं मुख्यमद्रिं प्राप्रे-..? त्रुटुः ॥ ११ ॥

२

अधिकारः. फलस्वाम्यमधिकारी च तत्पभुः ।

तत्रिर्वर्त्यमभियापि वृत्तं स्यादाधिकारिकम् ।। १२ ।।

प्रासङ्गिकं परार्थस्य स्वार्थो यस्मिन् प्रसज्यते ।

सानुवन्धं पताकास्थ्य मकरो च प्रदेशभाक् ।। १३ ।।

प्रस्तुतान्तर्भाववशात् तस्य वस्तुनोऽन्यथासूचकम् ।

पताकास्थानकं तद्वत् तुल्यसविधानविशेषणम् ।। १४ ।।

प्रव्यातोत्पाद्यमिश्रत्वमेदात्त्रेधापि तन्त्रिधा ।

प्रद्योतमितिहासादेरुत्पाद्य कविकलिपतम् ।। १५ ।।

मिश्रं च सकरात्ताम्या दिव्यमर्त्योद्भेदतः ।

कार्यं त्रिवर्गस्तच्छुद्धमेकाने कानुवन्धि च ।। १६ ।।

स्वल्पोदृष्टस्तु तद्वेतुर्वीजं विस्तार्यनेकधा ।

आगन्त्वार्थविनिर्देशे वीजदृष्टं तुकार्यगाम् ।। १७ ।।

वीजविन्दुपताकास्थ्यप्रकराकार्यलक्षणा ।

अर्थप्रकृतयः पञ्च ताः एताः परिकीर्तिताः ।। १८ ।।

अवल्या: पञ्च कार्यस्य प्रारब्धस्य फलार्थिभिः ।

आरम्भयत्नप्राप्त्यागानियतातसफलागमाः ।। १९ ।।

आत्मुक्यमात्रमारम्भः फललाभाय भूयसे ।

प्रयत्नस्तु तदप्राप्तौ व्यापारोडतित्वरान्वितः ।। २० ।।

उपायागयशङ्कास्या प्राप्त्याशा प्रामिसम्भवः ।

अपायाभावत् प्राप्तिनियतात्ति सुनिश्चिता ।। २१ ।।

समग्रफल्सपत्तिः फलयोगो ययोदितः ।

अर्थप्रकृतयः पञ्च पताकावस्यासमान्विताः ।। २२ ।।

यथासद्भ्येन जानन्ते मुखाद्या पञ्च सन्धयः ।

अन्तरेकार्यसन्धिः साधिरेकान्वये सति ।। २३ ।।

मुखप्रतिमुखे गर्भं समुद् पसदति: ।

मुखं बीजसमुत्पत्तिरनोनार्थरससंभवा ॥२४॥

अद्भानि द्वादशौतस्य बीजारम्भसमन्वयात् ।

उपक्षेप परिकर. परिन्यासो विलोभनम् ॥ २५ ॥

युक्ति: प्राप्ति: समाधनं विधान परिभावना ।

उद्दोधनं करणान्यर्थोन्यर्थ लक्षणम् ॥ २६ ॥

बीजन्यास उपक्षेप:, तद्वाहुल्यं परिक्रिया ।

तत्रिण्पत्ति. परिन्यासो, गुणालङ्यानं विलोभनम् ॥२७॥

संप्रधारणमर्थोनां युक्ति:, प्राप्ति: सुखागम: ।

बीजागम. समाधनं, विधानं सुखदुःखकृत् ॥ २८ ॥

परिभावोऽद्भुतावेग, उद्भेदो गूढभेदनम् ।

करणं प्रकृतारम्भो, भेद: प्रोत्साहना मता ॥ २९ ॥

लक्ष्यालक्ष्यतयोद्देश्य प्रतिमुखं भवेत् ।

विन्दुप्रयत्नानुगमादन्यस्य त्रयोदश ॥ ३० ॥

विलास. परिसर्पश्च विधूतं शमनर्मेणी ।

नर्मद्युति. प्रगमनं निरोध. पर्युपासनम् ॥ ३१ ॥

वज्र पुष्पमुपन्यासो वर्णसंहार इत्यपि ।

रस्यर्थेहा विलास: स्यात्, दष्टनष्टानुसर्पणम् ॥ ३२ ॥

परिसर्पे, विधूतं स्यादरातिसतच्छम: ।

परिहासवचो नर्म, धृतिस्तत्जा धुतिमता ॥ ३३ ॥

उत्तरा वाक्प्रगमनं, हितिरोधो निरोधनम् ।

पर्युपासितरनुनय, पुष्पं वाक्यं विशेषवत् ॥ ३४ ॥

उपन्यासस्तु सोपायं, वज्र प्रत्यक्षनिष्ठुरम् ।

चातुर्वर्ण्योपगमन वर्णसंहार इष्यते ॥ ३५ ॥

गर्भेऽस्तु दष्टनष्टस्य बीजस्यालङ्केरण मुहु: ।

द्वादशाङ्ग. पताका स्यान्न वा क्वसिसंभवा ॥ ३६ ॥

अभूताइरणं मार्गों रूपोदाहरणे क्रम ।

सग्रहश्रातुमानं च तोटकाधिवले तथा ॥ ३९ ॥

उद्देगसभ्भमाक्षेपा लक्षण च प्रणीयते ।

अभूताइरणं ह्यस्तु, मार्गोऽर्थकथाकीर्तनम् ॥ ३८ ॥

रूप वितर्कवद्वाक्य, सोत्कर्ष स्यादुदाहृति: ।

क्रम सचित्यमानासिरिभाववज्ञानमथापरे ॥ ३९ ॥

संग्रह सामदानोक्तिर, अभ्यूहो लिङ्गितोऽनुमित ।

आधिचलमभिसंधि, सरगभं तोटकं वच ॥ ४० ॥

तोटकस्यान्यथाभाव ऋतेतडधिवल कुशा ।

संरगवचनं यत्तु तोटक तदुदाहृतम् ॥ ४१ ॥

उद्देगोऽरिर्कृता भवति, शड्काविघातश्च सुभ्रम ।

गर्भव्रीजसमुद्धेदादाक्षेप परिकीरितित: ॥ ४२ ॥

कोधेनावमृगेधप्त्र न्यसनाद्दा विलोभनात् ।

गर्भनिर्भिन्नवीजार्थ: सोडवमर्शोऽङ्कुसंग्रह ॥ ४३ ॥

तत्रापवादसंफेटौ विद्रवद्वशशाक्त्तय ।

युति प्रसदृृछलन वयवसायो विरोधनम् ॥ ४४ ॥

प्ररोचना विचलनमादान च त्रयोदश ।

द्विप्रह्यापवाद स्यात्, संफेटो रूपभाषणम् ।

विद्रवो वधवृत्तादिर, द्ववो गुरुतिरस्कृति: ? ॥ ४५ ॥

विरोधन शक्तिस्तर्जनोद्द्रेशने युति ।

गुरुकीर्तन प्रसङ्गशू, छलन चावमाननम् ॥ ४६ ॥

व्यवसाय स्वशक्नयुक्त्ति सरवधाना विरोधनम् ।

सिद्धामतरणतो भाविदर्गिका स्यात्प्ररोचनना ॥ ४७ ॥

विकलनना विचलनम्, आदानं कार्यसग्रह: ।

वीजवन्तो मुखार्या हि न्त्रा यथायथम् ॥ ४< ॥

ऐकार्थ्यमुपनीयन्ते यत्र निर्वहणं हि तत् ।

संविधिविरोधो ग्रथन निर्णयः परिभापणम् ॥ ४९ ॥

प्रसादानन्दसमया: क्रतिभापोपगूहना ।

पूर्वभावोपसंहारः प्रसस्तिश्व चतुर्देश ॥ ५० ॥

संश्रितैर्‌जोपगमनं, विरोधः कार्यमार्गणम् ।

ग्रथनं तदुपक्षेपो,ऽनुभूताद्‌या तु निर्णयः ॥ ५१ ॥

परिभापा मिथो जल्प., प्रसाद पर्युपासनम् ।

आनन्दे वान्छितावाप्तिः, समयो दु:खनिर्गमः ॥ ५२ ॥

कतिचिदर्थशमनं, मानावातिश्र भारणम् ।

कार्यदृष्ट्यमुदुत्पत्तौ पूर्वभावोपगूहने ॥ ५३ ॥

वरास्ति: काव्यसंदारः, प्रशास्तिः शुमशासनम् ।

उत्मज्ञां चतुः दृष्टिः: पोढा चैपा प्रयोजनम् ॥ ५८ ॥

इष्टस्यार्थस्य रचना गोप्यपुष्टिः प्रकाशनम् ।

रागः प्रयोगस्याश्रयं वृत्तान्तस्यापुपक्रमः ॥ ५५ ॥

द्वेधा विभाग कर्तव्य सर्वेषांपीह वरतुनः ।

सूच्यमेव भवेत्किचिद्‌ दृश्यश्रव्यमथापरम् ॥ ५६ ॥

नीरसोडनुचितस्तत्र समूच्यो वतुविस्तरः ।

दृश्यस्तु मधुरोदात्तरसभावनिरन्तर ॥ ५७ ॥

अथोपेक्षपकैः सूच्यं पञ्चभिः प्रतिपादयेत ।

वि‌डम्मनचूलिकाद्वास्याद्‌वातरप्रवेशकैः ॥ ५८ ॥

वृत्तवर्तिष्यमाणान्ता कथाशाना निदर्शकः ।

सक्षेपार्थस्तु विशिष्टमो मध्यपात्रप्रयोजितः ॥ ५९ ॥

एकानेककृत शुद्धः, संस्कीर्णो नो‌च्‍चमध्यमैः ।

तद्‌देवानुदात्तोक्त्या नीचपात्रप्रयोजितः ॥ ६० ॥

प्रवेशो‌डङदूयान्त शेषपात्रप्रचुरकः ॥

अन्तर्जवनिकास्थैश्चूलिकार्थस्य सूचना। ह ६१ ॥

अङ्गान्तपातैश्च हास्यं छिन्नाङस्यार्थसूचनात् ॥

अङ्गावतारश्चाङ्गान्ते पातोङ्गस्यविभागतः ॥ ६२ ॥

एभिः सूच्यते सूच्यो दृश्यमण्डलं प्रदर्शयितुम् ।

नाट्यधर्मींमपेक्ष्यैवत्पुनर्वस्तु त्रिधेष्यते ॥ ६३ ॥

सर्वेपां नियतस्यैव श्राव्यमश्राव्यमेव च ।

सर्वश्राव्य प्रकाशः स्यादश्राव्यः स्वगतं मतम् ॥ ६४ ॥

द्विधान्यनाटचेधर्मोह्य जनान्तमपवारितम् ।

त्रिपताकाकरणान्यानेपवार्यानन्तरा कथम् ॥ ६५ ॥

अन्योंन्यान्त्रण यत्स्याज्ञानान्ते तज्जनान्तकम् ।

रहस्य कथनान्यस्य परोक्षार्थापवारीततम् ॥ ६६ ॥

किं तु श्रावीप्येवमित्यादि विनापात्र न्रवीति यत् ।

श्रुत्वेवातुरुमथ्येकत्तत्स्यादाकारभावितम् ॥ ६७ ॥

इत्यादशोपमिह वस्तुविमेदज्ञान

रामायणादि च विभाण्य बृहत्कथा च ।

आसूत्रयेतदनु नेतॄसातनुगुण्या-

चित्रा कथमुचितचारुवच प्रपञ्चे ॥ ६८ ॥

तृतीयप्रकारः

प्रकृतिंवादयान्त्येप भूयो रसपरिग्रहात् ।

संपूर्णलक्षणतश्च पूर्वं नाटकसुच्यते ॥ १ ॥

पूर्वरङ्गं वियादौ सूत्रधारे चिनिर्गते ।

प्रविश्य तद्‌दशापरः कार्यंमार्यापयेन्ट ॥ २ ॥

दिव्यमत्यैः स तद्रूपो मिश्रमन्यतरस्तयोः ।

सूचयेद्रस्सु वीजं वा मुखं पात्रंथापि वा ॥ ३ ॥

रङ्गं प्रसाध मधुरैः श्लोकैः कार्येसूचकैः ।

ऋतुं कंचिदुपादाय भारतीं वृत्तिमाश्रयेत् ॥ ४ ॥

भारती संस्कृतप्रायो वारङ्गयापरो नटार्थः ।

भेदैः प्ररोचनायुक्तैरर्थीप्रहसनामुखैः ।

उन्मुखीकरणं तत्र प्रशंसात् । प्ररोचना ।

वीथी प्रहसनं चापि स्वप्रसिद्धेऽभिधास्यते ॥ ६ ॥

वीध्यंगान्यामुखाग्रवदुच्यन्तेऽत्रैव तत्पुनः ।

सूत्रधारो नटं वृते मापं नाथ चिदूपकम् ॥ ७ ॥

स्वकायं प्रस्तुनाक्षेपि चित्रोक्त्या यत्तदामुखम् ।

प्रस्तावना वा तत्र स्यः कथोद्घातः प्रवृत्तकम् ॥ ८ ॥

प्रयोगातिशयश्राय वीर्यद्धानि त्रयोदश ।

स्थेनिवृत्तसम वाक्यमयं वा यत्र सूत्रिणम् ॥ ९ ॥

गृहीत्वा प्रविशेत्पात्रं कथोद्घातो द्विधैव स ।

कालसाम्यसमाक्षिप्तप्रवेश स्यात्प्रवृत्तकम् ॥ १० ॥

एतद्यमित्युपक्षेपात्सूत्रधारप्रयोगतः ।

पात्रप्रवेशो यत्रैव प्रयोगातिशयो मतः ॥ ११ ॥

उद्घात्यकावलंबीहे प्रवृत्तिगत उच्यते ।

वाकेल्यविवले गंडमवस्यान्तितनालिके ॥ १२ ॥

असत्प्रलापगृद्याहारमृदवदनि त्रयोदश ।

गूढार्थपदपय्यायमाला प्रश्नोत्तरस्य वा ॥ १३ ॥

यत्रान्योन्यं समालापो दृश्योद्घातसं तदुच्यते ।

यत्रैकत्र समावेशात्कार्यमन्यत्र साध्यते ॥ १४ ॥

प्रस्तुतेऽन्यत्र वाक्यस्यातत्स्वावलंगित द्विधा ॥

असद्भूत मिथ स्तोत्र प्रपञ्चौ हास्यकृन्मत || १५ ||

श्रुतिसाम्यादनेकार्ययोजनं त्रिगर्तं द्विवह ।

नटादित्रितयालापः पूर्वरङ्गे तदिष्यते || १६ ||

प्रियाभैरपियैर्वाक्यैर्विलोष्य छल्ननाच्छलम् ।

विनिवृत्यास्य वाक्केली द्विदृशि प्रत्युक्तितोदपि वा || १७ ||

अन्योन्यवाक्याधिक्योक्तिः स्पर्धयाधिवल भवेच् ।

गण्ड प्रस्तुतसङ्गन्यभिन्नार्थं सहसोदितम् || १८ ||

रसोत्कस्यान्यथा न्याल्या यत्नावस्यान्त्रित हि तत् ।

सोपहासा निगूढार्था नालिकैव प्रहेलिका || १९ ||

असंवद्धकथाप्रायोड्डसकप्रलापो यथोत्तर ।

अन्यार्थमेव व्याहारो हास्यलोभकर वचः || २० ||

दोषा गुणा गुणा दोषा यत् सुरद्वदच हि तत् ।

एषामन्यतमेनाथ पात्र चाक्षिष्य सूलभृत् || २१ ||

प्रस्तावनान्ते निर्गच्छेदेततो वस्तु प्रपञ्च्येयेत् ।

अभिगम्यगुणैर्युक्तो विरोधात्तः प्रतापवान् || २२ ||

कीर्तिकामो महोत्साहस्वभावो महीपतिः ।

प्रख्यातवशो राजर्षिदिलियो वा यत्र नायकः || २३ ||

तत्प्रह्यातं विराजयं वृत्तमात्राधिकारिकम् ।

यत्तत्रानुचित कीर्तिनायकस्य रसस्य वा || २४ ||

विरुद्ध तत्रिलायज्यमन्या वा प्रकल्पयेत् ।

आघान्तमेव निष्ठ्रिय पञ्चधा नन्दिमज्य च || २५ ||

खण्डशः संविज्ञाश्व विभागानपि खण्डयेत् ।

चतुःपष्टिसतु तानि सुरद्वान्त्यपर तथा || २६ ||

पताकावृत्तमप्यूनमेकाधैरतुसंयिभि ।

अज्ञातनय ययालाभमुर्ङ्ङङ्ग-ङ्करीं न्यसेत् || २७ ||

आदौ विष्कम्भकं कुर्याद्दौ वा कार्ययुक्तितः।

अपेक्षिन्त परिज्ञाय नीरसं वस्तुविस्तरम् ॥ २८ ॥

यदा सदृशोऽच्छेश कुर्याद्दिक्षु कमकं तदा ।

यदा तु तत्र वस्तु मूलादेव प्रवर्तते ॥ २९ ॥

आदावेव तदाऽऽद्यः स्यादामुखाक्षेपसंश्रय ।

प्रत्यक्षनेतृचरितो विन्दुरुन्यायिपुरस्कृतःः ॥ ३० ॥

अङ्गो नानाप्रकार्थस विधानरसाश्रयः ।

अनुभावविभावाभ्यां स्थाप्यिनो व्यभिचारिभिः ॥ ३१ ॥

गृहीतमुक्ते। कर्तव्यपङ्किनः परिपोषणम् ।

न चातिरसतो वस्तु दूर विच्छिन्नतां नयेत् ॥ ३२ ॥

रसं वा न विरोध्याद्‌वृत्तसङ्करवल्लक्षणैः ।

एको रसोद्‌धृकृतङ्गो वीरो ऽङ्ग शृङ्गार एव वा ॥ ३३ ॥

अङ्गमन्ये रसा। संर्वे कुर्याद्द्विरेऽहणेऽद्भुतम् ।

दूराध्वानं वधं युद्ंं राज्यदेशादिविप्लवम् ॥ ३४ ॥

संरोध भोजन स्वप्न सुरतं चानुलेपनम् ।

अस्नरग्रहणादीनि प्रत्येक्षणि न निर्दिशेत् ॥ ३५ ॥

नाविकादिवधं कापि त्याज्यमावश्यकं न च ।

एकाहान्तविनैकार्थप्रचियमासन्ननायकः ॥ ३६ ॥

पात्रे विचरुरैरार्द्रं लिपामन्तेऽस्य निगमं ।

पताकास्थानकान्यत्र विन्दुरान्ते च बीजवत् ॥ ३७ ॥

एवमङ्गा प्रकर्त्तव्या: प्रवेशादिपुरस्कृताः ।

पञ्चाङ्ङ्ङोभेतद्वरं दशाङ्ङं नाटकं परम् ॥ ३८ ॥

अन्य प्रकरणे वृत्तमुत्पाद्यं लोकसंश्रयम् ।

अमात्यविप्रवाणिज्यामेकं कुर्याद् नाटकम् ॥ ३९ ॥

भीरुप्रशान्त सौपायं वृत्तपारार्थ-संश्रयम् ।

३०

शेष नाटकवत्संधिप्रवेशकरसादिकम् ॥ ४० ॥

नायिका तु द्विधा नेतुः कुलस्त्री गणिका तथा ।

काचिदेकैव कुलजा वेश्या कापि द्वयः काचित् ॥ ४१ ॥

कुलजाभ्यन्तरा वाझ्या वेश्या नाटिकमोदनया ।

आभि प्रकरणं विधा सकीर्णं धूर्तसकुलन ॥ ४२ ॥

लक्ष्यते नाटिकायत्र संकीर्णान्यानिवृत्तये ।

तत्र वस्तु प्रकरणान्नाटकान्नायको नृपः ॥ ४३ ॥

प्रस्तुतो धीरललित शृङ्गारोङ्गड्भगी सलक्षण ।

सीप्रायचतुरङ्गादिमेदेक यदि चेष्यते ॥ ४४ ॥

एकद्वित्रयङ्गपात्रादिमेदेनानन्तरुपता ।

देवी तत्र भवेज्ज्येष्ठा प्रगलभा नृपवंशजा ॥ ४५ ॥

गम्भीरा मानिनी काचिन्नायकोत्कर्षान्नेतृसंगम ।

नायिका तादृशी मुग्धा दिव्या चातिमनोहरा ॥ ४६ ॥

अन्तः पुरादिसत्त्वादासन्ना श्रुतिदर्शने ।

अनुरागो नवावस्यो नेतुस्तस्या यथोत्तरम् ॥ ४७ ॥

नेता तत्र प्रवर्तेत देवोत्रासेन गद्वित ।

कैशिक्यद्भिर्वृतुर्भैश्वयुक्ताद्दैरिव नाटिका ॥ ४८ ॥

भाणस्तु धूर्तचरित स्वानुभूत परेण वा ।

यत्रोपवर्णयेदेको निपुणः पण्डितो विटः ॥ ४९ ॥

संवो वनोक्तिप्रयुक्त्या कुयादाकाशभाषितैः ।

सूचयेद्दारशृङ्गारौ शौर्यसौभाग्यसस्तवैः ॥ ५० ॥

भूयसा भारती च्छत्रिरेकाढू वस्तु कलिपतम् ।

मुखानिर्वहणे सद्दे लास्याङ्गानि तगापि च ॥ ५१ ॥

गेय पद स्थित पाठ्यमात्रं न पुण्पगण्ठिका ।

प्रच्छेदकाविपूर्व न सैन्याद्व्यत्ययं दिगूढकम् ॥ ५२ ॥

९९

उत्तमोत्तमेकं चैव उत्तप्रयुक्तमेव च ।

लास्ये द‍ृशाविधं हेतद‍ृशानिर्देशकल्पनम् ॥ ५३ ॥

तद्वत्प्रहसनं श्रेयो गुद्धवै कतसंकरैः ।

पाखण्डिविप्रप्रभृतिचेटचेटीविठाकुलम् ॥ ५८ ॥

चेष्टितं वयमायिभि: शुद्ध हास्यैश्चान्वितम् ।

कामुकादिवचचेष्टौचैः पणडकाद्युक्तितापसैः ॥ ५५ ॥

धिकृत संकराद्विध्या संकीर्ण धूर्तसकुल्म् ।

रसस्तु भूयसा कार्यः । पाड्वियो हास्य एव तु ॥ ५६ ॥

डिमे वस्तु प्रतिष्ठ स्याद्वृत्तय कैशिकी विना ।

नेतारो देवगन्धर्वचणकक्षरकमहोरगा ॥ ५७ ॥

भूतप्रेतपिशाचाश्च पोडशाङ्गनत मुद्रिता ।

रसश्च हास्यशृङगारः पाड्विमद्वितय समन्वितम् ॥ ५८ ॥

मायेन्ट्रजालसंमिश्रक्रोधोद्भान्तादिचेष्टितैः ।

चन्द्रसूर्योपरागाद्ध न्याय्ये रौद्रसेइडिग्रसनि ॥ ५९ ॥

चतुरद्रचतुःसंधिरनिद्रिर्निर्मिग्रङ्गो डिमः स्मृत ।

रप्यानोनिदृत्तो व्यायोग ह्यतोक्क्तनराश्रय ॥ ६० ॥

हीनो गर्भविमर्शाद्यैः द्वासः स्युदिमवद्रसा ।

अत्रीनिमित्तसंप्राप्तो जामदग्न्यजय यथा ॥ ६? ॥

एकाहचरितकृत्स्नो व्यायोगो वृत्तभिन्नर ।

काव्यं समवकारेडपि आमुख नाटकादिवत ॥ ६२ ॥

स्यात देवाशुग वस्तु निर्भिमर्शास्तु सधय ।

वृत्तयो मन्द्रकैशिक्यो नेतारो देवदानवा ॥ ६३ ॥

द्वादशोङ्कात्मकविध्याता फल तेपां पृथक्पृथक् ।

वह्ववीररस प्रख्ये यद्दभमोर्विमन्थुने ॥ ६४ ॥

अङ्कैः षड्भिरपि क्विचिद्रङ्गारादिप्रवृद्ध्रचः ।

द्विसंधानैक प्रयम कार्यो द्वादशानालिकः ॥ ६५ ॥

चतुर्दिनालिकावस्सौ नालिका घटिकाद्वयम् ।

वस्तुस्वभावदैवारिकता स्यु* कपटाश्रयः ॥ ६६ ॥

नगरोपरोधयुद्धे वानप्रस्थादिकविद्रवा* ।

वर्मार्थकामै शृङ्गारो नात्र विन्दुप्रवेशकौ ॥ ६७ ॥

विभ्यगानि यथालाभं कुर्याद्‌ग्रहसने यथा ।

वीथी तु कैशिकीचृत्ते सव्याजैस्तु भाणवत् ॥ ६८ ॥

रस सूच्यस्तु शृङ्गार स्पृष्टोऽपि रसान्तरम् ।

युक्ता प्रस्तुतनाट्योतरैरुद्धात्यकादिभिः ॥ ६९ ॥

एव वीथी विधातव्या नेकपात्रप्रयोजिताः ।

उत्सृष्टिकाङ्के प्रायोत वृत्त रुद्धचया प्रपञ्चयेत् ॥ ७० ॥

रसंस्तु करुणः । स्यायी नेतार* प्राकृतो नरा ।

भाणवत्‌सविच्छेद्यदैरयुक्त* लोपिरदेवितः ॥ ७१ ॥

वान्ना युद्ध दिवातङ्क्य तथा जयपराजयौ ।

मिश्रमीडामृगे वृत्त चतुरङ्क चिसविमत् ॥ ७२ ॥

नरडिग्यावानियमात्रायिकप्रतिनायकौ ।