Chapter 5 - Chronological order of Bhasa’s plays

So far as we could see, only three attempts have been made to fix the order of the plays of this group. Prof. Dhruva bases his conclusions solely on the informations supplied by the Bharatavakyas of the plays, apparently paying no heed to the language evidence and the thought evidence and hence has arrived at such strange and unacceptable inferences as to place the Prat, the masterpiece of Bhasa as his earliest work, and the Dv to the last period in the poet's career! Mr. Karandikar has not attempted to fix the order of the plays in the Mahabharata group, has placed the Avi in the later period and has taken the Svapna as coming after the Car. Kirata seems to have paid more attention to the evolution of thought and psychology than considering the point from the joint. evidence of matter and manner, and hence he takes the Abh to have been composed after the Prat.³ · In spite of the dissenting note of the Kesari while reviewing Kirata's Marathi translation of Bhasa's works,* the chronological method has its own advantages, though it may fail to lodge us at the correct conclusion in very rare and exceptional cases. It explains the apparent differences between the works of the same author; it is well known that all the compositions of a single author are not equal in merits. Different periods in the creative faculty alone explained the wide gulf of difference that lay between the earliest and latest works of Shakespeare. In 1 Svapnani Sundari, Intr., pp. 22-25. 2 Intr. to Hivargaokar's Marathi Trans., Vol. 2, p. 6. 3 Marathi Trans, preface. pp. 7-8. 4. Kesari, Marathi bi-weekly of Poona, dated 1/4/1932 at p. 2.

119 the case of Bhasa also, the chronological order of his plays will dispense with the necessity of attributing the works to different authors and to different periods, and will conclusively account for the diversities in the metrical proportions or in the choice of the material or in the manner of treatment. In coming to the conclusion of the common authorship of these plays we have taken into consideration the similarities of thoughts (i. e. of the spirit) and ideals. in them, in addition to innumerable verbal similarities. We have studied the problem of the chronological order from the point of the matter and manner of these plays. For the latter, we depend on the metrical and the dialogue evidence, and for the former on characterization, Total Number of: Number of Percentage. D. V. S. P.L. W. E. D:V. V:S. S: P.L. S: W.E. Dv 00 76 56. 22 4 10 73 39'3 18'2 45'4. Karna 25 70 25 4 35'7 16 Dgh 125 52 Uru 150 28 22 4 41'8 42 18'2 18'2. 66 12 2 5 44 18 16'6 41'6. My 181 51 33 6 CO 8. 28 64'5 18'2 24'2. Panc 410 155 79 4 +1 15 37'8 51 5 19. Abh 388 154 68 11 23 39'6 44 16'2 33'8. Bal 324 103 37 3 10 31'4 36 8'1 27. Avi 633 97 15 1 poun. 7 15'3 15'5 6'6 46'6 Prat 688 157 75 .5 20 22'8 £78 6'6 26'6 Pratijna 441 67 29 2 9 12'9 43 6'9 31. Sv 510 57 26 6 6 11'1 45'5 23 23. Car 488 55 17 5 11'2 30'9 30. D= Dialogues; V=Verses; S=Slokas; P.L.- Poetic Licences; W. E. Weak endings.

120 ideas and ideals etc. The table appended herewith will clear our position with regard to the outward form of these plays. In the table we have given the total numbers of verses, slokas and dialogues in each play as also of the irregularities in the slokas, which, following Prof. Dhruva we have styled as "poetic licence" (where there is a breach of the rule as to the iambus in the third foot of every pada), and "weak ending" (where the last syllable of the line is short)." We find three distinct periods in the career of our poet. The first was of the small one-act plays where the poet tried his apprentice hand on ready material. The plots are taken from the Mahabharata, and the poet has added nothing, or very little of his own in the dramas. The epic metre predominates and the proportion of the verses to the dialogues is very large. Gradually, as the poet came to understand the importance and the appeal of the dialogues in the representation of the dramatic compositions, on the stage, there was an increase in the number of dialogues and hence the proportion of the verses to the dialogues is gradually on the decrease in the latter productions of the poet. In versification, the percentage of the breaches of the rule as to di-iambus varies between sixteen and eighteen, and that of the weak endings shows great divergences, the variations being eighteen to forty-five. No strict rule can be stated with regard to the weak endings, as some of the mature products of our poet, e.g., the Svapna, Pratijna, and Car, show a large percentage, viz, 23, 31, and 30 respectively. In connection with the "poetic licence", it may safely be assumed that the number of such cases is gradually less and less in the later works, and, curiously enough, the Svapna is an exception with twenty-three percent of such lapses. The Karna from the Mahabharata plays is unique in that it shows a very low proportion of slokas and presents no breach of rules as to the di-iambus and the long letter ending the line; the reason may be found in the very small in the Karna. The Uru in common with the Karna, shows a low percentage of the epic metre, which can be accounted for on the ground of the requirements of the heroic and tragic sentiments predominating these plays, which demand the use of long number of slokas (viz. 41 ? 118, 126. 1 Parakramani Prasadi, 1923, Intr., pp. 22-25; Thakkar Lectures, pp. 82,

121 metres. The Mo has been taken as the last work of this period, though the epic metre has weighed very heavily with the poet, as it shows the poet at his best, with an original underplot, interspersed with genuine humour, The Panc marks a transition in that the poet shows his inventive genius in the weaving of the plot, has increased the number of acts as well as the number of characters. The proportion of the dialogues is also favourable to assigning this play to a later period than the composition of the one-act plays. The Panc shows the least percentage of poetic licence, that for weak endings being nineteen. Just on the heels of the Panc, come the Abh and Bal, as there are to be seen numerous similarities of ideas and expression, the employment of song and dance and the ascription of divinities to Rama and Krsna in these plays. The proportion of the epic metre also does not militate against the middle period being assigned to these plays; the proportion of the dialogues to the verses is on the decrease as indicated above, showing an increase in the number of dialogues. In both of these plays, the poet has added very little of his own to the events in the lives of the heroes as known from the epics. The Abh seems to have been written by the poet specially to celebrate the coronation of his patron king and, perhaps, it was written in haste. It cannot come after the Prat, though the latter contains the record of the earlier events from the Ramayana, as, in addition to the outer forms (e.g. proportions of slokas, dialogues, lapses and weak endings) being against such a state of affairs, the originality in the plot and the general execution of the Prat speak conclusively against the two plays being composed in the same period. Much less can the Abh be assigned to a later period in the poet's career. The Avi again, belongs to the period of transition as the proportion of dialogues is much increased and there is to be seen a very low percentage of the epic metre. In fact, both these data speak of a later period for the Avi, but the internal evidence is against it. The erotic element plays a leading part in this play and hence this should be assigned to the early days in the career of the poet. The element of humour as also the large number of dialogues, poetic descriptions, etc, separate this play from the earlier

122 Mahabharata, Rama and Krsna plays. The supernatural elements of the curse, the magic ring, and the appearance of the fairies link this play with the Abh and Bal, and it was written, perhaps, a little after these two plays. Exigencies of the different sentiments necessitated employment of other metres and hence the proportion of the epic metre is very low. The Prat, Pratijna, Svapna and Car are the finished products of the final period, which is characterized by minute and psychological characterization, employment of a greater number of dialogues, reduction in the percentage of poetic licences and a general decrease in the proportion of the epic metre, its percentage being 40 to 45. Strictly applying the dialogue test, the Prat shows a period earlier than the Avi and after the Abh and Bal, but on the strength of the internal evidence and the general impression it creates, we have assigned the Prat to this period. The dialogues show a gradual increase with the result that two of the last works, viz., the Svapna and Car, have one act each, containing no verse at all. Thus, we think that the dialogue test is of great value in coming to the chronological order of these plays. 8. PRAKRIT OF THE PLAYS. amono In considering the 'Date of Bhasa' we had occasion to refer to the views of different scholars containing a gulf of over 1500 years between the earliest time assigned to Bhasa and the latest one. One would naturally expect the same distance of time the estimates from Prakrits by these scholars; but that is not the case, as the printed texts present a Prakrit which is similar to, at least, the southern MSS of Kalidasa according to the anti-Bhasaites. Those that place Bhasa some centuries before Christ have. no positive comparative material to work with and have to satisfy themselves with the modern look of Bhasa's Prakrit owing to the well-known fact about 'dramatic Prakrit' that "the copyists always changed the Prakrit of their authors into the Prakrit current in their own time"." Prof. V. Lesny in an article entitled "Die Entwicklungsstufe des Prakrits in Bhasas ramen und das Zeitaltern Bhasas" assigns Bhasa to the first half of the fourth century A.D. on linguistic grounds. On comparing 2 1 MM. Haraprasada Sastri's letter quoted in Pratima, Ganapati Sastri's Edn, 1924, Intr., pp. 15-16, foot-note. 2 Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenlandischen Gesellschaft, 72, pp. 203-208.

123 4 the Prakrit in the Trivandrum plays with that of Asvaghosa and Kalidasa, he finds our author to be younger than the former and older than the latter. Dr. Winternitz has also expressed a similar opinion.' Dr. Sten Konow also places Bhasa's plays at least one century after Asvaghosa, i. e., in the third or fourth century A.D. Dr. Banerji Sastri has critically examined various forms in Prakrit, and he controverts the views of the above scholars placing Bhasa a century after Asvaghosa. In his opinion, Asvaghosa and Bhasa were probably closely proximate in time, each unknown or of little importance to the other." Dr. Keith finds the Prakrit of Bhasa in an intermediate stage between Asvaghosa and Kalidasa and has treated as of minor importance the retention of similar forms in South Indian MSS of later dates. Dr. Sukthankar with his usual scholarly insight, critical faculty, and unbiassed judgment in weighing evidence, has studied the problem at length and on the strength of a number of affinities that the Prakrit in our dramas presents with that of Asvaghosa concludes that "there lies in the dramas before us a solid bedrock of archaic Prakrit which is older than any we know from the dramas of the so-called classical period of Sanskrit literature". It may be noted here, however, that on knowing that in Malayalam MSS of Kalidasa and Harsa, and in the MSS of southern dramatists of the sixth and later centuries, similar Prakrit archaisms are met with, in a genuine scholarly spirit, Dr. Sukthankar later on admits that "Prakrit archaisms have no probative value for antiquity or authorship of the plays". Dr. Thomas seems to hold Bhasa earlier than Kalidasa on the ground of Prakrit peculiarities also. 5 With reference to the views expressed above, placing our author between Asvaghosa and Kalidasa we feel, with Prof. Devdhar, 'certainly amused with these frantic efforts of scholars to relegate our author to a time' posterior to Asvaghosa 'on what is in fact insufficient data. While all deplore the loss of Asvaghosa's works they hazard conclusions from the little crumbs left by time'." It is to be noted further, that we have placed Asvaghosa after 1 Festschrift Kuhn, p. 301; Of. Calcutta Review, Dec. 1924, p. 339. 2 Indian Antiquary, 43, pp. 65-66. 3 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1921, pp. 372-377 at p. 377. 4 Sanskrit Drama, pp. 120-122. *The evidence... is interesting, but does not alter the importance of these forms". Sanskrit Drama, p. 121 nl, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 40, pp. 248-259 at p. 259. 6 Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1925, pp. 103-117; 126-143; at p. 140. 1 Plays etc., p. 49.

124 2. Bhasa on account of a common verse found in their works. Prof. Dhruva on the basis of metrical grounds places Kalidasa in 57 B.C., thus endorsing the traditional view, and finds Asvaghosa posterior in time because the latter uses long metres and also those that came into use later on.' His Sanskrit thus is found to be later than that of Kalidasa. Dr. Keith has assigned priority to Asvaghosa, but he says about Asvaghosa that he "was more complex than Bhasa and certainly so in his epics", which in our opinion, should indicate the priority of Bhasa. MM. Prof. S. Kuppuswami Sastri, a prominent Sanskrit scholar and an anti-Bhasaite, assigns first century B.C. to Kalidasa and pronounces Asvaghosa to be subsequent to him." In view of all these things, it seems rather strange that the scholars mentioned above should take the anteriority of Asvaghosa to Kalidasa as an axiomatic truth. While no one places Asvaghosa earlier than the first century A.D., fresh evidence is coming forward of the existence of a Vikramaditya in the first century B.C., which would render probable the existence of his court poet, Kalidasa. With regard to the antiquity of the Prakrits used by Asvaghosa as found in the fragments of his plays in the Turfan MSS and the comparatively late Prakrit as found in Kalidasa, we have to bear in mind that Prakrit is much more liable to be changed at the hands of the scribes and scholars than the Sanskrit portions in the MSS of Sanskrit dramas, "with the result that the same Prakrit texts will be found in bewilderingly different forms in different MSS" The arguments about date based on the character of Prakrit are therefore reliable and of value only if contemporary MSS are taken into account. Dr. Raja and Messrs. Pisharotis on the other hand, deny any antiquity to the Prakrit as is represented by the Trivandrum plays, and declare it to be a "mixture of old and later Prakrit". The literary history and tradition in Kerala is recalled where Prakrit had only a literary existence. It was not a spoken language and hence was 1 Parakramani Prasadi, 1923, Intr., pp. 5-20; 46-49; Thakkar Lectures, pp. 204-212. 2 Sanskrit Drama, p. 115. 3 Padyacudamani, Madras, 1921, preface, p. 5. 4 Cf. Mukhopadhyaya, Modern Review, 51, pp. 650-654; 52, pp. 28-33; also, Shembavnekar, JBU, 1, pp. 232-246; as well as the references given in the foot-note in Chapter III on the date of Kalidasa. 5 Chattopadhyaya, Allahabad University Studies, 2, p. 11. 6 Raja, Zeitschrift fur Indologie und Iranistik 2, pp. 247-264 at p. 259; ; A.K. Pisharoti, Criticism, pp. 24-25; K. R. Pisharoti Indian Historical Quarterly, 1, pp. 330-340 ; 5, P. Yo Shama'a, 5, pp. 179-186; Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, 3, pp. 108-109; 5, pp. 307-310; Barnett, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, Rp. 587-589; Devdhar, Plays etc., pp. 48-54.

125 not subject to any changes as were the Prakrits in the North. The changes that were introduced in the literary Prakrit of the dramas in the South were due to literary works coming from the North which contained the changed and developed forms, especially dramas. Prakrit in the South was thus uninfluenced by the vernacular in the land. Hence the Southern dramas of the tenth century such as the Subhadra-Dhananjaya, Tapati-Samvarana, Ascarya-Cudamani etc., have the same archaic forms as are found in our plays. So, "the queerness of Prakrit reveals not its antiquity but its queer position in Kerala"." Dr. Barnett first announced this peculiar position the Prakrit occupied in the Southern MSS. MSS of our dramas are only three hundred years old and hence we cannot say for certain that they used the same forms of Prakrit as left by the original authors. Pandits and copyists took great liberties with the texts and the forms that they did not understand or could not appreciate were changed as they liked. Dr. Hertel in his introduction to the Mundakopanisad accepts the Prakrit in the printed texts of Bhasa plays as older than that of the printed texts of Kalidasa, but the Trivandrum Series editions, according to him, are uncritical and incorrect. This at least, we feel certain, must be acceptable to all that our plays do not, at any rate, present Prakrit in a later phase than is found in Kalidasa. This peculiar feature in the Southern MSS has led Dr. Sukthankar, Dr. Sarup, Dr. Clark and others to regard the Prakrit in our plays with scepticism and not to venture any conclusions as to chronology or otherwise therefrom. Mention must also be made of an illuminating article on "Sanskrit and Prakrit in the Arya Eluttu" published by Prof. K.R. Pisharoti throwing much light on the script and scribes of Kerala. He concludes that the peculiar position of Prakrit in Malayalam MSS of Sanskrit dramas popular on the local stage is due to (i) linguistic grounds i. e. excessive nasalization (of which we get instances in Nia, so arg, etc., in Dr. Sarup's Maharastra Sahitya, Maharastra Sahitya of the Nº NIA, Bhagavadajjukiya, Abh etc.; and (ii) scribal peculiarities such as 't' for '1' etc, which are kept in Prakrit portions. 5 1 K. R. Pisharoti, Shama'a 5, p. 181. Cf. the articles by Prof, K. R. Pisharoti mentioned in the preceding foot-note; also Raja, Zeitschrift fur Indologie und Iranistik, 2, pp. 259-260. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1921, P 589. 3 Cf. Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, 3, p. 586. 4 Sukthankar, Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1925; pp. 116-117, 132-133 140; Sarup, Vision, preface, pp. V-VI; Clark. Journal of the American Oriental Society, 44, pp. 101-102. 5 Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, 5, pp. 307-310. $

126 He has warned the readers towards the close of his article to bear these peculiarities in mind while studying the Prakrit of these dramas from printed texts alone. MM. Dr. T. Ganapati Sastri and MM. Haraprasad Sastri take the Prakrits in Bhasa plays as belonging to the pre-Asokan period. The former explains the alleged similarity in Prakrit forms between Bhasa plays and Kalidasa on the ground that "Prakrit being no longer a spoken language, could undergo no change"; and hence Kalidasa's Prakrit conforms to that in Bhasa; and further, were a Pandit of this day to write a drama in Sanskrit and to follow the customary practice of using Prakrit, he will have to use forms as are found in older dramas and that will certainly not make our modern Pandit belong to the old period to which his Prakrit may be assigned. According to Dr. Sastri, the forms in Prakrit, therefore, are immaterial for determining the age; but their Sanskrit. equivalents are "as simple and sweet as the original Sanskrit sentences of the author, and along with the latter enable us to determine their age". MM. Haraprasad Sastri, as already observed, explains the modern look of Prakrits as being due to the copyists changing the forms. 2 We shall now consider the problem according to our own light taking help from the writings of scholars wherever necessary. Unfortunately, no critical work on the Southern Prakrit grammarians has been published that would have cleared the ambiguity which the dramatic texts in that province show in regard to Prakrit. The extant grammars on Prakrit from the North hail from a comparatively late period, and hence it is rather precarious to classify the Prakrit of our dramas on their basis. It is said that Bhasa uses Magadhi and Sauraseni, and the dialect of Indra in the Karna is taken to be Ardhamagadhi. We 1 G. Sastri, Critical Study, pp. 53-54, 57, 60-66, 95, at p. 53; H. Sastri, Critical Study, p. 54 note. 2 Critical Study p. 95. 3 Cf. Bhandarkar, Wilson Philological Lectures. 4 Dr. Printz (Bhasa's Prakrit, p. 6) has styled the dialect of cowherds in the Pane and the Bal as Magadhi, but "Nur als Notbehelf" (only as a make-shift). Dr. Banerji Sastri does not include it in Magadhi as, according to him, the speeches of Unmattaka in the Pratijna and Sakara in the Car constitute Magadhi in Bhasa (Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, 1923, pp. 81-113); and Dr. Sukthankar (Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1925, p. 105) following Dr. Weller (Balacarita, Vorwort. p. III) takes it as a variety, of Sauraseni. Dr. Keith seems to suggest it as a Magadhi Apabhramsa (Sanskrit Drama, p. 122). As regards the dialect of Indra, Dr. Keith (Sanskrit Drama, p. 122) Konow (ID, p. 11) Woolner (Prakrit, p. 75) take it as Ardha-Magadhi. It may be noted that Bhasa's dramas contain no Maharastri, "the Prakrit par excellence of Vararuci" (Keith, Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, 3, p. 296); the absence according to Dr. Barnett (Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, 3, p. 519) may be due to the fact that the Southern play-wrights usually avoid Maharastri.

127 would, however, like to say with Dr. Clark that mixed dialects are used by Bhasa, and they cannot be reduced "to the grammatical norms of Sauraseni and Magadhi." Printed texts, further, are based on scanty manuscript material. The main peculiarities of the Prakrit as presented by the Trivandrum texts are: BHASA: jnnn or nn udy> uyy PALI: ASVAGHOSA : ryyy jnnn ny> nn CLASSICAL PLAYS: n>n y>j bh>h* ry>jj ju>nn nynn udy> ujj Acc pl mas. n>n nn y>y or j y>y bh>h bh>h n> n y> y bh bhi ry>yy ry> yy jnnn ny or nynn udy> uyy Acc pl mas. -ani. Acc pl mas -ani, ani -8 (Asoka inscr. AMg) Nom Acc plu Neut. Nom Acc plu Neut. Nom Acc plu Neut. Nom Acc plu Neut. -ani -ani -ani -aim Loc Sing Fem Loc Sing Fem Loc Sing Fem aam ayam -ae tava tuha kissa kissa Ganhadi Ganhati kissa Genhadi¹ kisa Genhadi karia kadua gacchia gadua 'Ma' is used along with the gerund, imperative and infinitive. As regards ma, Prof. Subramanya lyer has considered the problem in detail in all its aspects and he concludes: "While these peculiarities are not special to the plays ascribed to Bhasa and they appear in other dramas found in Kerala, we have not sufficient evidence yet to believe that they are peculiar to Kerala. We can only say that so far they are found chiefly in Kerala. 175 Now, it has been shown that many of these forms. are found in the Southern dramas of a quite late period. But it cannot be denied as has been observed by Dr. Sukthankar that these forms are 'archaic' i. e., belong to the old Prakrit." A number of articles were contributed 1 Journal of the American Oriental Society, 44, p, 101. 2 And on their analogy all the aspirates kh, gh, th, dh, and ph. 3 Keith Sanskrit Drama, p. 122. 4 Keith, Sanskrit Drama, p. 122. 5 OC, V, pp. 616-629 at p. 629. 6 Hirananda Sastri, Memoirs of the Archaological Survey of India, 28, pp. 19-20; Devdhar, Plays etc., pp. 50-53; Clark, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 44, p. 102. 7 Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1925, p. 115 n 23. ">

128 by Dr. Barnett and Dr. Thomas with regard to the accusative plural masculine in'-ani. It may, of course, be true as has been observed by Dr. Barnett on the authority of Pischel that accusative plural of masculine stems in -a' was '-e' as in Pali or 'a ". The Mattavilasa has been shown to confirm the plural in '-e". But it should be noted that the regular forms in '-e' do not occur in Bhasa'. There should be no doubt as to the genuineness of the old form in '-ani'. The absence of the later form indicates the priority of Bhasa's Prakrit. Occurrence of all these forms in the Southern MSS has, of course, rendered chronological deductions form Prakrit quite inconclusive; but we have already arrived at some period for Bhasa on independent grounds; and making room for scribal inaccuracies, we find that the Prakrit compares favourably with that of the Pali canon in the pre-Mauryan period. Thus fortified with a definite date for Bhasa, we think that the Southern works and Kalidasa's works in Southern MSS have been affected by the usage of Bhasa. It is clear that quite late dramas use forms of the Prakrit of Bhasa doubtless as a result of his great influence, just as the dramas recently published from the Southern MSS show frequent signs of borrowing ideas and style from Bhasa..... If, on the other hand, the Prakrit as represented by the MSS is to be dismissed as not giving any result, we may, with Dr. Sastri, take its Sanskrit equivalent into consideration. These are certainly by Bhasa; and they bear the stamp of his authorship by the remarkable similarity they bear with the remaining portions in the dramas by their simplicity, expressiveness and peculiarly conversational style. It is true that one's judgment as to the Prakrit of Bhasa should be suspended till more material and enlightenment are forthcoming. We have simply stated our views after the study of the available material and of the plays. No wild conjectures unsupported by facts have been made and it is hoped that this section will serve at least as a resume of what has been written so far about Bhasa's Prakrit.6. 1 Barnett, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1924, pp. 193, 655-656,; Thomas, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1914, pp. 449-450; 1925, pp. 104-107. 2 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1914, p. 655. 3 Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, 2, p. 35. 4 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1925, p. 105. 5 Keith, History of Sanskrit Literature, preface, p. XIII. 6 The publication of Dr. Katre's monograph on Prakrits is anxiously awaited for elucidation.

129 9. BHASA AND BHARATA'S NATYASASTRA. While considering the question of the unity of authorship of the Trivandrum plays we took into account the common forms of technique used by the author. Actual representations on the stage of violent scenes, deaths, sleep, etc., prohibited by Bharata are to be seen in these plays. In addition, we may note the tragic end of the Uru, the sub-divisions of the Rupakas not strictly according to their definitions in Bharata, etc. Dr. Banerji Sastri has enumerated some other instances of the breach of the express injunctions and prohibitions as well as of the directory rules given in the Natyasastra'. Dr. Charpentier draws attention to a passage in the Dv, viz., ! gaa acarya etat kurmasanam, asyatam | pitamaha ! etat simhasanam, asyatam | matula ! etaccarmasanam, asyatam | where various seats are offered to different personages by Duryodhana. The Natyasastra, on the other hand, prescribes the allotment of seats in the following manner: (XIII. 208-209). devanam nrpatinam ca dadyat simhasanam dvijah | purodhasamamadhyanam bhavedvetrasanam tatha || mundasanam ca datavyam senaniyuvarajayoh | HIZIAA MIQQIAT HAITIQI HUTAAR || Our author follows the Natyasastra only in offering a simhasana to Bhisma, a royal person. Dr. Charpentier expresses the possibility of Bhasa following another Natyasastra.". According to Dr. Lindenau, Bhasa knew an older recension of the Natyasastra³. In face of the differences between Bhasa and Bharata as indicated above, we fail to see how "le theatre de Bhasa se conforme scrupuleusement aux regles classiques de l' Aristote indien, Bharata". It is also partly true that "Bhasa disregards altogether the rules of dramaturgy laid down by Bharata. On account of Bhasa's disregard of the rules of the Natyasastra, he may be taken to have preceded the extant Bharata Natyasastra. It is contended by the antagonists that some of the South Indian dramas of a known later date present some of the so-called Bhasa features and show some prohibited scenes on the stage, and hence such non-observance 1 Journal of the Bihar and Orissa Research Society, 1923, pp. 62-65. 2 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1923, pp. 607-608. 4 Levi, Vasavadatta, Paris, 1914, preface, III, quoted in Bhasa-Studien, p. 29. Sastri, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1912, quoted in Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1921, p. 370. 3 Bhasa-Studien, p. 29. 5 Haraprasad

130 does not necessarily mean priority to Bharata, but contemporaneity or posteriority to the period of stage reformation in Kerala.' We have already refuted the charge levelled against Bhasa's works that they are stage adaptations or compilations. Neither Kalidasa, nor any other well-known dramatist, breaks the rules of Bharata. The Kerala theatre shows much Bhasa influence, which was due to his plays being closely studied. Actual representation and practical experience proved these plays wonderfully suited to the stage, and the rule as to the prohibition of certain scenes such as battles, deaths, sleep, etc. on the stage, seems to have been slackened on Bhasa's precedent and authority, especially as there appears to be no other sanction for the practice. Now, scholars are not at one as to the date of Bharata. He is placed variously from the second century B. C. to the fourth century A. D.. It will be readily admitted that the Natyasastra that we have at present, has had some revisions after its first composition, and no one assigns to it the divine origin and hoary antiquity that it demands. That Bhasa knew a Natyasastra as distinct from a Natasutra or Natyasutra mentioned by Panini follows from his reference in the Avi (p. 16 atthi ramaayam grama sattham | ) Bharata himself writes about his predecessors in the field; and we have the testimony of Patanjali of the second century B. C., as to the acting of a full-fledged drama about the killing of Kamsa in his own time. So, the principles of dramaturgy on which that dramatic piece might have been based would naturally point to some period anterior to the second century B. C., e., before the upper limit assigned for the present Bharata Natyasastra. So Bhasa probably followed the Natyasastra of some predecessor of Bharata; or else, it may be that he followed his own Natyasastra which is now lost to us; in that case, Bhasa must be taken to have based his work of dramaturgy on some texts quite distinct and different from those laid under contribution by Bharata. It has been argued that if Bhasa is prior to Bharata, 2. C., 1 Cf. Pisharoti, Indian Historical Quarterly, 1, pp. 333-340; Bulletin of the School of Oriental Studies, 3, pp. 111-115; Raja, Zeitschrift fur Indologie und Iranistik, 2, pp. 258-259. 2 Haraprasad Sastri-second century B. C.; Kane and Keiththird century A. D.; Dhruva-fourth century A. D. 3 Cf. Bharatiya Natya Sastra by G. Ketkar, p. 14; Kane, OC, VI, p. 577. Kohala, Vatsa, Sandilya, Dhurtila, Svati, Narada, and Puskara are Bharata's fore-runners. It seems rather curious that he does not mention the Nata Sutras referred to by Panini.

131 why is there no reference to the former in the Natyasastra? The reason is to be found in the divine origin of the Natyasastra; any reference to a known dramatist would have conflicted with its avowed antiquity and would have lowered the work in the estimation of the public according to the composer. Further, we can find an indirect reference to Bhasa in Bharata Natyasastra (XVI. 127) where the latter criticizes the use of ungrammatical forms in dramatic compositions. cekriditaprabhrtibhirvikrtaisca sabde- yukta na bhanti lalita bharataprayogah | yajnakriyeva rurucarmadharairdhrta ke- vaisya dvijairiva kamandaludandahastaih || (Natyasastra, XVI. 127, p. 346, Gaekwad’s Oriental Series No. 48). has been given as an instance of such a solecism and a similar word is found in the Avi (III. 18). So it may safely be concluded that Bharata had Bhasa's works, which abound in other grammatical mistakes, in mind when writing the stanza. The use of the word Bharatavakya in the MSS of these plays need not speak of their posteriority to Bharata, for "it is a matter of grave doubt whether the stanza was designated by the author as Bharatavakya or as Prasasti. Most probably the term has been used by some later scribes who took liberties with the texts to bring them into line with all other dramatic compositions of a later age. Abhinavagupta (on Bharata Natyasastra XIX. 95), Saradatanaya, and Ramacandra do not mention Bharatavakya but speak of prasasti, which also shows that Bharatavakya was meant only as a stage direction, and its use in the MSS does not necessarily indicate a later period than Bharata.2 Bharata's Natyasastra is the oldest extant text-book on dramaturgy; but we have indicated above that Bhasa is to be placed before it; and also that he is credited with having himself composed a Natyasastra. In the present state of our knowledge, however, it is not possible what the books were that Bhasa followed either in writing his plays or his alleged Natyasastra. One of to say 1 Mankad, Indian Historical Quarterly, 7, pp. 187-190; at p. 187. 2 Mankad, Indian Historical Quarterly, 7, pp. 187-190; also the articles on 'Bharata Vakya' in the Indian Historical Quarterly by Mankad (Vol. 1 pp. 187-190), C. Chakravarti (Vol. 7, pp. 190-191; Vol. 5, pp. 549-552); V. Jha (Vol. 6 pp. 175-178); M. Ghose (Vol. 6, pp. 485-486 ). 3 Cf. Banerji Sastri, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1921, p. 371; also Keith, Sanskrit Drama, p. 105.

132 the Natyasastras prior to Bharata, the one written by Bhasa himself, and perhaps an earlier recension of the extant Bharata Natyasastra, are the only possible works on dramaturgy, any one of which may have been followed by Bhasa for writing his dramas. 10. THE TRAGIC SENSE IN BHASA It is not unoften that we read of a charge levelled against the Indian literature that absence of any effort at tragedy is its striking characteristic and the absence is sought to be explained by reference to "the mental outlook of the Indian people and their philosophy of life". The discovery of Bhasa's works has established at least a prima facie case to dislodge the charge, and in spite of Dr. Keith's view that the dramas depict the victory of Krsna, and that there is absolutely nothing tragic, there are scholars both Eastern and Western who recognize 'real tragedies in Bhasa." the "Urubhanga is a tragedy, viewed from Aristotle's point or that of Hegel". According to Aristotle, the proper subject for a tragedy is the spectacle of a man, an ordinary human being not absolutely good or wise, who is brought to disaster by some frailty in him; it evokes feelings of fear and compassion and thereby purges soul. Shakespeare's tragedies conform to the view, and Dr. Chambers has classified Shakespeare's tragedies as external, psychological and cosmic. The conflict of a monster with a pigmy or that of a righteous man with evil-doer will produce a sense of pathos, rather than the tragic sense. From a psychological point, therefore, Hegel's view that tragedy arises not from the conflict of right and wrong but from the conflict of right with right appears more telling. In a conflict of right with wrong, our sympathies are naturally always with the former, and the fate of the latter evokes in us a feeling that he was rightly served,-a feeling quite different from the tragic one. an Viewed in this light, we find that the Urubhanga, 1 Keith, Sanskrit Drama, p. 354; Sir C. P. Ramaswami Iyer, All India Drama Conference, p. 124; K. S. Ramaswami Sastri, All India Drama Conference, pp. 20-21. 2 Sanskrit Drama, pp. 38, 96, 106, 278, 354. Contra-Saunders, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 41, p. 152; Meerwarth, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 13, pp. 274-275; Sarup, Hindustan Review, 1927 p. 212; Winternitz, Problems, p. 111; Venkateshwar, Prabuddha Bharata, 1931 p. 477-478; M. Ramchandra Rao, OC, VIII, Summaries, p. 33; Luders and Lindenau criticized by Keith, Sanskrit Drama, p. 38 n 2. 3 JBU, 2, p. 184; also Bulletin of the Ramavarma Research Institute, 5, p. 5. I was really glad to see that Dr. Winternitz quoted the sentence from my article.

133 at least, is a real tragedy, though Meerwarth would include the Dgh and Dv in addition, under a 'Tragical Trilogy'." The latter two cannot be called tragedies; though we cannot go so far as to say, as Dr. Winternitz does, that they are by a different author. It is not that Duryodhana is depicted as an evil man in the Uru. In all his dramas, Bhasa shows a soft corner for the fallen heroes and especially he has painted Duryodhana as a real hero, quite distinct from what we read about him in the Mahabharata His spirited reply to Krsna as a messenger would serve as the guiding principle for all times." Duryodhana is depicted what a noble king ought to be like. Throughout in the Uru we find that the poet is always sympathizing with his hero, who is certainly Duryodhana, and he pictures the conflict as of right with right, and that it was not only inevitable but necessary in the ends of justice. Bhima's victory over Duryodhana in the gadayuddha is due to the wiles of Krsna and we find that Duryodhana fights righteously and that he was more adept in the club-fight than Bhima. Next, Duryodhana evokes our sympathy, when he, with his broken thighs restrains Balarama who, in righteous indignation sets up to uproot the Pandavas. Let the Pandavas remain, says he, to offer us oblations." He gets shocks one after another when he hears the queens lament ( yanmamapi striyo rudanti | P. 101 ), when the broken thighs prevent him from prostrating at his father's feet, and when he has to refuse his thigh for a seat to his son. The poet has portrayed Duryodhana as a dutiful son, loving husband, affectionate father, and a noble warrior. Though fallen, he is not crest-fallen, sees nothing to repent and feels proud of the fact that he did not show his back in war (aga: 1 st. 55). His final advice to Durjaya (p. 109. ahamiva pandavah susrusayitavyah | ) shows us that in his fall he finds purification. He reaches a higher plane of morality. His soul is chastened and subdued and cherishes the thought of peace and 6 1 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 13, p. 274. 2 JRRI, 5, p. 6. In the next chapter we have refuted Prof. M. Ramachandra Rao's view about the Karna and the Vent being tragedies. We could not include the discussion here as we got the article from the learned Professor rather late. 359 Do, St. 24: rajyam nama nrpatmajaih sahrdayaih etc. 4 Uru, p. 94 : svamurumabhihatya kamapi samjnam prayacchati janardanah | st. 19: samsiksito narapatirbalavamstu bhimah | 5 Tra, st. 31: jivantu te kurukulasya nivapameghah | 6 Uru, pp. 103-105.

134 forgiveness which had been unknown to him before"." Duryodhana rouses our sense of pity by undeserved misfortunes and terror. He is certainly a great man, a hero, at least as Bhasa shows him. The scene between the father and the son is very touching." a The tragic element in the Uru would be seen in clearer light by its comparison with Bhattanarayana's Venisamhara. Both deal with the fall of Duryodhana. In the latter, Duryodhana is depicted as a man of pleasure, and Bhima is the real hero. Duryodhana in the Veni does not attract the sympathies of the spectators, while in the Uru he is the true hero, and his end is 'tragic'. Dr. Keith's criticism may well be directed against the Veni, where Duryodhana is the enemy of Krsna deserving his fate, evoking no sympathy, and the spectators, all worshippers of Krsna, enjoy the scene. It is a suppressed tragedy.Ⓡ Dr. Weller shows that the Uru is not a tragedy from the Hindu outlook; but he goes too far, we think, when he says that the play has a happy end. The different situations detailed above through which Duryodhana passes create impression of tragedy even in the minds of Hindu spectators. Was it not his misfortune that such a mighty Emperor that Duryodhana was, had to pass through such trials, and is not the misfortune undeserved for such a noble hero? Dr. Sukthankar says that the Uru is not a tragedy in one act, but "the only surviving intermediate act of an epic drama", because the play has no epilogue, and that a similar play has been called Dutaghatotkacanka. This is not the necessary conclusion as the piece is complete in itself; there is nothing in it to show its being a part of another work. Further, the epilogue may have slipped out through the scribe's omission, and the variety of the drama to which the scribes assign the particular piece, is not the poet's own writing. 'Anka' may perhaps denote 'Utsrstikanka', which variety came after Bhasa. As in the case of Bharatavakyas the scribes read their own divisions in these plays. Dr. Winternitz states that "Uru makes far more than any one of the other one-act plays, the 1 Meerwarth, Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 13, p. 275; Sarup, Hindustan Review, 1927, p. 212. 2 Uru, pp. 103-105. 3 cf. Sanskrit Drama , p. 354. 4 Urubhanga, Eine indische Tragedie? Intr. 5 Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1925, p. 141.

135 impression of a poetical work that is complete in itself."" Dr. Sukthankar also finds confirmation for his view in the Ramayana in twenty one acts and surmises that there might be similarly Mahabharata in a number of acts." But 'the dramatized version of the Ramayana' is nothing more than the three Rama dramas, the Prat, Abh, and Ascarya, and as none of the distinct acts of these are available separately, we think that this does not lend its support to the existence of a dramatized version of the Mahabharata saga. We think that all the Mahabharata plays in our group are complete in themselves. The Uru answers wonderfully to the later description of Utsrstikanka and it seems that Bhasa's Natyasastra also gave a similar, though not exact, definition. Bharata's Natyasastra which came to be strictly enforced, at any rate, since the time of Kalidasa, accounts for the absence of tragedy in later dramas. The rule of happy conclusion was invariably followed in all the plays, and hence we find that many Sanskrit dramas could be changed into real tragedies without altering the psychology of the characters, by changing only the ending." 11. MAGIC IN BHASA. There are various forms in which magic is employed by Sanskrit dramatists for the advancement of the story. In Bhasa, we have instances of the use of magic by (1) employing objects, materials, or persons endowed with magic power; (2) the curse of a Rsi having the desired effect; and (3) the optical illusions of Duryodhana (Dv), and Rama and Sita (Prat). 5 Instances of the first type are furnished by the Avi and Pratijna. In the Avi, a magic ring given by a Vidyadhara to the hero is employed which, when worn on the right finger, has the power of making the wearer as also the other person touching him invisible to the public. though he remained the same in bodily form. The ring when put on the left finger took off the magical effects from him and rendered the wearer his usual self and visible to the world. This magical ring helps the hero to gain access to the otherwise impenetrable Kanyantahpura 1 Bulletin of the Ramavarma Research Institute, 5, p. 6. 2 Journal of the Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1925, p. 141. 3 Cf. Saunders, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 41, PP. 152-156. 4 Cf. Saunders, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 45, pp. 110-114. 5 Avi, Act IV, pp. 64-65. It is not that the ring makes the wearer invisible to all but his beloved, as said by Saunders Journal of the American Oriental Society, 45, p. 110. $

136 even in broad daylight, infusing new hope and life in the otherwise disappointed hero, who was prepared to commit suicide. Towards the close of the first act in Pratijna, a servant brings 'a madman's apparel' to Yaugandharayana saying that Vyasa had appeared at the festival in the guise of a madman and had left the clothes there. Yaugandharayana dons the same clothes and finds himself quite transformed, outwardly of course, into a madman. The clothes thus help him to work in Ujjayini for the release of his master, without disclosing his identity. Something of the kind is supplied by the Mv, where Ghatotkaca requires water to sip for chanting mantras to effect the magic charm to bind Bhima, and waters flow to him from the mountains through magic. Bhima also requires water to chant mantras for counteracting the charm of Ghatotkaca, but in his case the Brahmin youth supplies him with water and hence no recourse was to be had to magic. 1 The Avi supplies us with another instance of magic of a different kind. The curse of Candakausika puts the whole Sauvira family into Candala-hood for over a year; and they have to pass that period incognito in the outskirts of the capital of another prince. It is on account of this curse that the king of Vairantya does not know the real identity of the candala youth and cannot thus think of marrying his daughter to him. Many obstacles come in the way of the lovers owing to the curse.2 The Dv presents an instance of magic of another type. When Duryodhana seeks to bind Vasudeva, the latter is seen everywhere, appearing in a moment, vanishing in the next and assuming various forms. Duryodhana is confused and his confusion makes it easy for Vasudeva to effect his exit." In the Prat, Ravana appears before Rama in the guise of a Brahmin through his maya. Further, after his conversation with Rama and Sita, a thundering noise is heard and blinding lightning is seen, which also are due to Ravana's magic." 1 Mv, pp. 34-35. 2 Avi, pp. 95-97. 3 Du, p. 28. 4 Prat, pp. 97-98; 102-108; VI, 15.

137 The Dv and Bal present the various weapons of Krsna in human garb; and the Bal, some abstract conceptions as Sapa, Candala-yuvatis, etc. But these belong more to the domain of popular beliefs and do not help in the development of the plot and hence they are not considered here. It may, however, be safely assumed that Bhasa's dramas are the earliest instances of the employment of magic in Sanskrit drama. 12. BHASA'S STAGE. Sanskrit dramas were performed in temples on the occasion of festivities, or in the music halls of royal palaces at the times of coronations, marriages, celebrations of victories or similar occasions of special rejoicing, or in cave temples on the slopes of mountains, or even in the open space on the bank of a river, etc. It is contended that there were no special theatres in ancient India and that the idea is taken over from the Greeks. Dr. Keith controverts the theory that recognizes Hellenic influence on Indian theatres and stage management, but postulates the existence of 'the temporary play-houses' in India without adducing any grounds in support. 2 'The Indian Theatre' is of indigenous origin, since its existence can be shown before the Greek intercourse, and also because there are many significant differences between the Greek theatre and the Indian one, e. g., in the Greek theatres there was very little of woodwork, and the stage was narrower while the auditorium was more extensive and capacious. We have no particular information as to the kind of theatres in which Bhasa's dramas were staged, but it seems safe to hold that they were similar to those described in Bharata's Natyasastra and hence we shall first give a short descriptive account of the theatre as given in the Natyasastra. The Natyasastra deals in detail with the laying out. and building of Preksagrhas or theatres, which were of three kinds, viz.; Vikrsta, the oblong one ('circular' 1 Du, pp. 24-29; Bal, pp. 16-17; Act II. 2 Sanskrit Drama, pp. 56-57, at p. 57. 3 Ketkar, Bharatiya Natya Sastra, pp. 22-27. 4 Dr. Acharya has brought to bear his vast and accurate knowledge of Indian Architecture in his recent articles on "The Playhouse of the Hindu period" (Modern Review, April, 1936, pp. 370-378) and in addition to the information supplied by the Natyasastra we have made use of the article wherever necessary.

138 according to Dr. Acharya); Caturasra, the square one; and Tryasra, the triangular one: each being subdivided into the spacious (jyestha), medium (madhyama), and small (kanistha). These theatres were divided into three parts, the two at the extreme ends being Nepathyabhumi (green-room) and Preksagrha (auditorium), the middle one forming the stage proper, which was again subdivided into Rangasirsa and Rangapitha. Nepathyagrha was the rear room where the decorations were kept and the actors attired themselves keeping ready for entering the stage, and it was hereinto that they retired after playing their part on the stage. It contained the dressing and resting rooms for the actors. Rangasirsa, the back stage ('stage front' according to Dr. Acharya) was just in front of the green-room and was separated from the latter by a wall having two doors. It had six pillars and it was on a slightly higher level than Rangapitha, the front stage ('stage proper' according to Dr. Acharya). On the two sides of the front stage (Rangapitha) over the four pillars were erected minarets (Mattavarani, 'entablature' according to Dr. Acharya). The front stage was used to represent an open space or street; the back stage represented a room in a palace or house or any interior. There was also an 'upper stage or balcony' constructed on the pillars to the sides of Rangasirsa and Nepathyabhumi, which was used for walls of palaces or elevated spots from which the actors gesticulated_descending or ascending ( srarohanam Or avarohanam natayati | ). or Kaksya, movable curtain, was employed for showing a change of scene, and more frequently for the parikramana of any actor. We shall deal with this later on while discussing the actual staging of the third act of the Avi. There were used transverse curtains also, at occasions whose existence is denied by Dr. Keith, but without assuming their existence many interesting scenes in Sanskrit plays would be quite inexplicable. To say that there was no such thing as a transverse curtain would be to charge the dramatists with having no 2 1 The word 'kaksya' is not explained in Bharata. Abhinavagupta gives its meaning as : (Natyasastra, Vol. II., Gaekwad’s Oriental Series No. 48, p. 197 XIII. 3 Com). Thus it would appear that the kaksyas were useful for the entries, exits, movements, etc. of the actors. 2 Sanskrit Drama, pp. 113 nl; 359, also n 3.

139 imaginative faculty and the spectators with having no sense at all. The speeches of the actors, actully seeing one another but pretending not to be visible throughout a scene would be ridiculous on the face of them unless a curtain intervenes between them. The following are a few of the scenes in our plays, which clearly show that transverse curtains were indispensable for their representation: Avi, pp. 18-23; 47-48; Pratijna, Act IV, pp. 78-79; Act V, pp. 97-98; Svapna, Act, IV; Car, Act III; etc. Perhaps the whole of our statement as to the curtains, kaksyas etc. would be held untenable on account of the prima facie objection we have to meet that the ancient Hindu theatre had no curtains and that the idea has been borrowed from the Greeks. Dr. Keith has ably answered the contention by pointing out the absence of curtains in the Attic theatres, but he says that the word 'yavanika' which is the Sanskrit word for 'curtain' is made up from 'Yavana', i.e., Western foreigners such as Egyptians, Greeks, etc., signifying thereby that the piece of cloth used for curtains was of foreign manufacture.' We think, like Miss Ketkar, that the latter is a far-fetched interpretation and that the word yavanika is a corrupt form of the original 'Javanika' that was used to denote 'curtains',' Once it is established that the Indian theatres used curtains it naturally follows that many such were used. K The auditorium (Preksagrha) had a door at the extreme end to the east for the spectators to enter. The seating arrangement began at a distance of twelve cubits from the inner stage, or four cubits from the front stage. The ground was gradually raised till at the door it equalled the height of the Rangapitha, viz., one and half cubits. Thus each one of the spectators had an unobstructed view of the stage. The seats were of wood or of brick arranged in rows. Seats that were close to the stage were reserved for the Prasnikas or Siddhilekhakas who used to evaluate the staging of a drama according to the various standards laid down in the Natyasastra. 3 Cf. 1 Sanskrit Drama, p. 61. 2 Bharatiya Natyasastra. Poona, pp. 37-39. Nat ya sastra, II 84, Com: dve dve bhumi yatra nimnate ( nimnonnate ) tato'pyunnata iti nikramena ( nimnonnatakramena ) rangapithanikatatprabhrti dvaraparyantam yavadrangapithotsedhatulyotsedho bhavati | evam (Vol. I, Gaekwad’s Oriental Series No. 36, p. 65). RS

140 The Natyasastra mentions four principal times for the performance of plays: in the morning, evening, and during the first or last quarter of the night. The time depended mainly on the theme of the particular piece, e.g., religious plays were performed in the morning, erotic during the first quarter of the night, pathetic during the last quarter and so on. Time was changed according to the circumstances. There were rules as to the period within which the drama ought to be performed and this counted as a factor in adjudicating on the merits of the plays. Coming next to the actors, we find that female roles were played by females in general, but in particular instances males also personated female characters. Elaborate rules given as to the selection of particular roles such as gods, demons, kings, persons for servants, etc. in re There is a difference of opinion as to the accessories of the stage. Prof. Wilson says that chariots, horses, etc., were actually brought on the stage, while Dr. Keith holds that such accessories were quite limited and had to be supplied either by imagination, description, or gesticulation of the actors. "Thus", says Dr. Keith, "though the car of Dusyanta 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 1 charioteer" Miss Ketkar after an exhaustive consideration of the stage directions in the Sakuntala and Mrcchakatika rightly concludes that there was much of a movable scenery such as chariot, horses, elephants, aerial chariots, etc., made from some light material. Kautilya's evidence is further adduced to show the progress of Indian sculpture and handicrafts in the pre-Mauryan period." se Now we come to some particular scenes in the plays. and see how they would have been enacted on the stage. In the third act of the Avi is a big monologue requiring the use of the front and back stage as also of the gallery and transverse curtains and kaksyas (movable curtains towards the sides). The first part of the act (pp. 34-42) is enacted in the back stage where there are some occasions for the use 1 Sanskrit Drama, pp. 364-368. 2 Bharatiya Natyasastra, Poona, pp. 166-177.

141 of kaksyas for paribhramana, and towards the close, the princess and her maids appear on the balcony where the princess is shown as resting and the maids serving her. It is then o that Avimaraka comes on the front stage through one of the entrances at either end, let us say, from the north. He is represented as passing through the streets of the city at night. He begins his journey gradually towards the south on the Rangapitha and hears some music by the side, to which he pays close attention (f) and turns to another side, which may be represented on the stage by putting a movable curtain in his way. Again after turning aside twice, he stands at one end (fa:) to avoid a thief who is seen walking on the stage at that time. Then he starts on his further journey but turning across (f) the guards are seen to pass, say from south to north, at which Avimaraka enters the gambling house (bilamdhya sthitva ) which may be shown by some temporarily elevated spot. Then he comes to the palace in the inner stage (Rangasirsa), which he enters, presumably by the south end. There are pillars on the sides of the Rangasirsa, and let us suppose, a temporary wall from east to west is raised on the south end of the Rangasirsa (so that there should be no obstruction to spectators seeing everything in his actions). Then after chanting mantras he throws the rope which becomes fixed to the supporting beams of the wall and by that rope he ascends and again descends the palace wall; and throws away the rope () and passes through the palace which is Rangasirsa (inner stage). Going a little further, he comes across a staircase and ascends the Kanyapura prasada (i.e., the elevated stage or balcony), which is already occupied by the princess, but between him and the princess there is a door, a transverse partition, which he opens by the magic key (a) and comes to the spot where we had left the princess to rest. The third act in the Car also would be similarly staged. After the singing festival the hero and Vidusaka walk on the front stage and enter their house situated somewhere in the back stage and the latter sleeps in a room, presumably a part of the stage, sides covered on all a save one that is open to the audience. There were thus transverse curtains to represent two walls on the sides. The thief then enters the back stage and through his scientific

142 knowledge bores a hole in the wall, apparently a wooden or brick partition, and takes the ornaments from Vidusaka's hands after entering the room. Before his entry, both Sajjalaka and Vidusaka are visible to the audience but not to one another owing to the wall that intervenes, obviously a transverse curtain. After the exit of the thief, the maid, Carudatta and others enter the particular room from the inner apartment. The fourth act of the Car where Vasantasena overhears the conversation between Sajjalaka and Madanika not seen by them, the trio being visible to the audience, is so obvious an illustration of the transverse curtain that no comments are necessary. Next we come to the fourth act of the Svapna where the scene is laid out in the Pramadavana under the Sephalika bower, which may possibly be some part of the front stage. There they collect some flowers. The Madhavilatamandapa is behind this in the back stage and the entrance to it is through some creeper which may be shown by means of actual bowers and creepers being supported on wooden frames. The king with the jester next enters the stage and comes in the direction of the Sephalika bower and the stone seat on which Padmavati with her friends is resting. Seeing the king approaching, th princess makes her exit, and enters the Madhavilata bower. The king next sits on the same seat and infers that some lady must have just gone away on account of padakrantani puspani etc. But to the jester the heat is unbearable and he proposes entering Madhavilata bower and they set out in that direction. The maidservant obstructs their entry by troubling the bees resting over the bower. Thereupon both the king and the jester sit outside on the other part of the stage, and then the conversation about Vasavadatta and Padmavati begins, to which both offer their comments, 'aside' and among themselves. When towards the close, the king's face is full of tears and Padmavati nears him, Vidusaka having gone to fe water, both Vasavadatta and Padmavati's maid leave the stage by the way they came, apparently unseen by the king, his eyes being closed. The fifth act of the Bal shows us the use of the gallery or the upper stage where the king is seated and

143 watches everything from there. there. The The fight between Canura, Mustika, Damodara and Sankarsana takes place on the front stage and after killing Canura, Damodara ascends the prasada and kills Kamsa. The remaining action of the scene in which Vasudeva, Ugrasena and Narada make their entry takes place on the stage below, though there is no specific direction to that effect. The fourth act of the Prat also supplies us with the use of the inner stage, balcony and transverse curtains. Rama, Laksmana and Sita are staying in an Asrama, apparently the upper stage on the Rangasirsa; Sumantra and Bharata see it from below and the latter announces himself. Hearing his voice, Rama and Laksmana appear on the stage in the upper gallery. Rama sends Laksmana to see who had called and the latter comes down on the stage below through the door of the transverse curtain and after parikramana sees and recognizes Bharata and Sumatra. His arrival is then told to Rama who sends Sita to welcome Bharata. Their conference takes place in th inner stage, after the close of which Bharata comes forward to the front stage, ascends the chariot and Rama and Laksmana see him off to the door of their Asrama. The above would, it is hoped, present a fair idea of the views we hold, and the idea we have of Bhasa's stage. 13. METRICS." Our poet's command of Sanskrit is evident from the variety of metres he employs. There are twenty-three different metres, and the total number of verses is 1092. The Prat comes first in using the largest number of verses, viz., 157, and also 15 different kinds of metres. The Abh is a close second with 154 and 14 respectively. It is remarkable that even in plays with a total of 50 to 60 verses, nearly ten different metres are used. The Karna is the shortest play, with only 25 verses, but 7 different metres are used. There are thirteen Prakrit verses in these plays in six different metres, the predominant being the Arya with five verses. Coming to the individual plays, we find that there 1 We have liberally drawn on the data furnished by Dr. Sukthankar in his "Studies in Bhasa, II" in Journal of the American Oriental Society, 41, pp. 107-130; and Dr. Keith in Sanskrit Drama, pp. 123-124. We have drawn our own inferences from the material.

144 is a general preference for the sloka in tune with the large proportion the verses in that metre bear with the grand total, viz. nearly forty per cent. The Mv has the highest percentage in this connection using 64.5 per cent slokas. The Panc is next with 50 per cent and has the largest number of slokas in this group. The remaining plays excepting the Avi, Karna and Uru bear a fair relation with the general proportion of sloka to the total, their percentage varying between 31 per cent (Car) and 48 per cent (Prat). The Avi comes with the smallest proportion, viz. 15.5, and the Karna and Uru have 16 and 18 respectively; the smallest number being found in the Karna. As regards, the other metres, the Abh claims nearly 40 per cent of the verses in the Puspitagra, the Panc nearly a third of the total number in the Vansastha and Sikharini. The Uru contains the largest number of verses in the Sardulavikridita, viz. 21 being 32 per cent of the total number of verses in that play. Nearly 25 per cent each of the verses in the Avi are in the Vasantatilaka (27) and Upajati (23) metres, and their number is the largest for any individual play in the group. Of the sparsely used metres, the Svapna and Bal contain 3 each of the Arya, that is, nearly 27 per cent of the total, the Prat has four verses in the Harini, that is 50 per cent, and the Avi, 3 in the Sragdhara, that is, 37 per cent. only in the Svapna, Pratijna, and Abh, the last of which furnishes the solitary instances of the Drutavilambita and Bhujangaprayata. The single verses that occur in the Prthvi and Dandaka are to be seen in the Avi and the Suvadana is found in the Panc, Dv and Prat. furnishes the tons of the Vaisvadevi are found Coming now to the consideration of individual metres, the main thing that strikes us as a unique feature of the versification of this group is, as already noted, the preponderance of the sloka. It is also noted that the high proportion is not confined to the epic dramas only. The lowest proportion is represented by the Avi, Karna and Uru where it lingers between 15.5 per cent and 18 per cent. But in dramas of the classical period, we find that the proportion of the sloka dwindles down to nearly the same percentage and a special favour is shown for the Arya or some of the fixed syllabic metres, particularly the Vasantatilaka or Sardulavikridita. The sloka in

145 classical dramatists is used on a small scale, in Kalidasa it being nearly 16 per cent, in Visakhadatta 13 per cent, in Bhattanarayana and Sudraka nearly 25 per cent. Bhavabhuti shows nearly a third in his Uttararamacarita and Mahaviracarita, but he comes down to nearly 7 per cent in the Malati-Madhava. Thus this preference for the sloka displayed by our group places it on quite a distinct level from the dramas of the classical age so far as metres are concerned. The sloka is invariably perfect. The rule as to the di-iambus in the second pada is insisted on regularly; as compared with the observance of this rule the number of weak endings is rather high. However, the construction may be said to be remarkably regular comparing favourably in that respect with the epic sloka. The proportion of lapses in Kalidasa and Asvaghosa is more than that found in Bhasa. Prof. Dhruva has enunciated a principle about arriving at the chronology of different works on the basis of the regularity or looseness of the sloka and the employment of particular metres in a particular period.' We agree with his conclusions with regard to the priority of Bhasa and Kalidasa to Asvaghosa, and of Bhasa to Kalidasa. But the rule as to the proportion of poetic licences and weak endings is neither infallible nor of mathematical accuracy. It is helpful only if it confirms the conclusions reached from other evidences. Another confirmation for the above hypothesis showing priority of Bhasa to the classical period may be found in the rare use of the Arya metre, which became popular in the classical period. This metre is found employed in only one per cent of the total number of verses by our poet, while in Kalidasa the proportion rises to 36 per cent in the Malavikagnimitra. a Next to the sloka, Vasantatilaka and Upajati are the favourite metres of the author. There are 179 verses in the Vasantatilaka and 121 in the Upajati. Kalidasa Visakhadatta and Harsa employ the Vasantatilaka in greater proportion. Both Vasantatilaka and Upajati occur in all the plays, and so does the Sardulavikridita with a total of 92. The Malini (72) is fairly distributed in all the plays except the Svapna, and the Vamsastha 1 Parakramani Prasadi, 1923, Intr., pp. 22-25; Thakkar Lectures, pp. 116-148; 197-253. Dr. Keith states that the sparing use of the irregular forms is due to the comparatively small number of slokas used consecutively: Sanskrit Drama, p. 128.

146 (35) also excludes the Svapna from its fold. The Puspitagra with its 55 verses is not to be found in the Dgh, Karna and Uru. The Salini (22), Sikharini ( 19 ), and Praharsini (17) come next in order, occurring in more than 7 plays of the group. The Arya (11) is found in five plays. Other metres are purely sporadic. Harini (8) places half its number in the Prat. The Dandaka (1) and its short form are found once each in the Avi and Prat respectively. The Vaitaliya (1) is found in the Pratijna as also the 'Undetermined Prakrit metre'.' The With regard to the structure of the verses, it should be noted that the rules of prosody are strict should observed. The style is notably simple and vigorous. Long and complicated compounds are generally absent and words and phrases are chosen with due regard to the position of the caesura, which falls at the end of a complete word. The padas are generally complete and independent in sense; but at times they are connected with the rest of the verse. The Slokas show great fondness for epic tags such as acirenaiva kalena prasadam kartumarhasi, kampayaniva medinim, sambhramotphulla- , etc., and also conventional comparisons. The frequent breaking up of a verse between different speakers or by interruption of one kind or other, as already observed in an earlier chapter, is a speciality of Bhasa. Metrical solecisms can be defended on the ground of epic usage, very few being really worth the name. Of them some may be explained away as due to the special liking of the poet. 14. BHASA'S INFLUENCE. Bhasa has been a constant source of inspiration to all later dramatists for a very long period till his dramas went out of public currency. Sudraka planned his whole. work on the Car, bodily taking not only the plot, characters and incidents, but the wording as well, making 1 In accordance with Dr. Sukthankar's suggestion to refer to the new edition of "Chandoracana" by Prof. M. T. Patvardhan to find out what the learned Marathi scholar has to say with regard to the 'Undetermined Prakrit Metre' in the Pratijna (IV. 2), I consulted the book. 'Abbreviations' and 'Index' showing no reference to Bhasa's Pratijna, I had to go through the whole work. There does not seem to be any direct and definite reference to the Prakrit stanza. The stanza appears to be the combination of 'Ananda' (Chandoracana p. 290) i. e. and Suvarnarucira' (Chandoracana, pp. 134, 190) i, e. -- It is, however, slightly irregular in the last five syllables of the second line, which occur as: -- instead of, w

147 improvements and removing the crudities wherever necessary, and adding something to the original work for the purpose of making a popular appeal. We have dealt in detail in a separate chapter with the relationship of Bhasa's Carudatta and Sudraka's Mrcchakatika from all aspects of the problem. In saying that Kalidasa has taken ideas from Bhasa we do not intend to detract from the merits of the Prince among Sanskrit dramatists. Kalidasa seems to be such a close student of Bhasa, that knowingly or unknowingly, there appear in his plays many ideas and conceptions from Bhasa; but he presents them in quite a different garb stamping his individuality on them and thus changing their whole outlook. Dr. S. Krishnaswami Iyengar, in his Presidential Address at the Mysore Oriental Conference, has rightly sounded a note of warning as to the necessity and desirability of changing the whole outlook of the matter as to the relationship and nature of indebtedness from stray quotations from different works. Some striking instances of parallelisms between Bhasa and Kalidasa from among a number of others which appeal to us as showing the relationship and the nature of indebtedness between the two dramatists have been given in an appendix; they may be taken for what they are worth. To us, of course, they convey the impression that Bhasa is the source. Various incidents from the Prat (valkala incident, the watering of plants, etc.), poetic imageries from the Svapna, and the erotic element from the Avi are to be seen united admirably in the Sakuntala. The tapovana scene in the Svapna as well as that between Kurangi, Nalinika and Magadhika in the Avi are the prototypes of the similar scenes in the Sakuntala in Acts I and III and of the Vikrama. The incidents and verbal similarities between Sakuntala, Act III, and Avi, Act III as well as the changed order of genealogy in the Raghuvamsa on the model of the Prat, show Bhasa's influence on Kalidasa. The Avi seems to have supplied Bhavabhuti with many incidents and ideas for his Malati-Madhava. In both, the plot is taken from folklore and the sameness of style is evident in their descriptions of nature. The 1 p. 29, Presidential Address at the Eighth All India Oriental Conference held at Mysore.

148 elephant incident in the Avi has been instrumental in suggesting the tiger incident in the Malati-Madhava and the saving of the life of the hero in the Avi at the hands of Vidyadhara finds its parallel in the saving of Madhava through Yogini's advice. Dandaka, a a metre rare in classical literature is used by Bhavabhuti, doubtless through the influence of the Avi. In the Mahavira-Carita, which has a large number of characters, the demons, spirits, etc., and their attendants, speak like human beings, which may be due to similar devices in the Abh, Bal etc. The picture scroll from the Svapna has been employed in the Uttararamacarita. The politico-historical drama Mudraraksasa shows the influence of the Pratijna. Canakya reveals features like Yaugandharayana. The pathetic scene between Candanadasa and his son is modelled upon similar scenes in the Uru and the undiscovered sequel of the Car (on which the scene in the Mrcchakatika is based). The Priyadarsika, Ratnavali and Nagananda show a considerable influence of Bhasa; and Prof. Paranjape, following the spurious verses of Rajasekhara, tried to prove the above trio to be from Bhasa.' This is certain, at any rate, that Bhasa has been much drawn upon. The first two are based on the famous Udayana legend which is also recorded in the Svapna and Pratijna. In the Priyadarsika we find that the poet has taken the idea of Agastyapuja (Act II) from the Avi; the well known characteristic of Bhasa of bringing water on the stage has been copied in the fourth act, but the word 'apah' in 'apas tavat' has been changed to 'salilam salilam'; the jester thereupon at once returns with water (f) which is also another Bhasa feature. The drama also refers approvingly to playing on lute and music etc., which we find in the Pratijna, Svapna, Avi, and Car. Similarly, the Ratnavali and Nagananda also present many specialities of Bhasa, at times under a different garb. The variety and bluntness of characters that we witness in the Panc is met with in the Venisamhara. The Prabodhacandrodaya shows the culmination of the attempt in the Bal at presenting abstract ideas as characters. 1 Sahitya Samgraha, 1, pp. 141-186.

149 The influence of Bhasa on the Kerala dramatists is immense. Not only have they imitated his structural peculiarities but also they have taken down his antique Prakrit. Mahendravikramavarman and Saktibhadra, the pioneer dramatists of the South, are specially indebted to the Ab and Pratijna of Bhasa for their Mattavilasa and Ascarya respectively. Bhasa's Udayana plays are responsible for the creation of the Vinavasavadatta, Unmadavasavadatta, Tapasavatsaraja, Vatsarajacarita, etc. The plays of Kulasekharavarman, t Kalyanasaugandhika, Damaka, Caturbhani, Traivikrama, Bhagavadajjukiya and many other plays from the South have imitated the technique and ideas of Bhasa. the