Chapter 16 - The Tilakamanjari as a Sanskrit novel

957
Even then the dialogues, speeches and monologues in the TM
are never at variance or discord with the mental make up of
the concerned characters, and reveal the inner workings of
their mind.
VI : DESCRIPTIONS,
ddle Ages,
ÅND
SCENES
RETROSPECT:-
(A) CRITICAL BACKGROUND
326 As with the European Romances written in Mi-
-
the
so in Sanskrit, Romances like Bāṇa's Kādambarī
and Dhanapala's TM are, in general, works of fiction in
which the imagination is unrestricted. In form they were long,
resembling works of poetry in rhymed or alliterative prose
occasionally interspersed with a verse or two. They concentra-
ted on story rather than on character, and the story concern-
ed * unreal people engaged in strange, often supernatural,
adventures. Their wide appeal was as a literature of escape.
327.
The remarks of Mr. W.P.Ker, though meant for the medieval
European authors of twelfth century Romances, strangely app-
ly to Sanskrit prose-romances: Vaiety of incident, remote-
ness of scene, and all the incredible things in the world,
had been at the disposal of medieval authors. Mere furniture
counts for a good deal in the best romances, and they are
full of descriptions of riches and splendours. In such passa-
ges of ornamental description the ma names of strange people
326. cf. HLT,p.174.
r
/ 327. ER, pp:328-340.