CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY ITHACA, N. Y. 14853 Couth Asia Collection KROCH LIBRARY CORNELL UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 3 1924 074 502 059 ■ : \y Cornell University Library The original of this book is in the Cornell University Library. There are no known copyright restrictions in the United States on the use of the text. http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924074502059 SAKUNTALA SAKUNTALA RECOGNIZED BY TIM RING, A SANSKRIT DRAMA, IN SHVKN ACTS, BY KALIDASA; THE DEVANAGARI RECENSION OF THE TEXT, NOW FOR TITE FIRST TIME EDITED III ENGLAND, WITn LITERAL ENGLISH TRANSLATION. OP ALL THE METRICAL PASSAGES, SCHEMES OF THE METRES, AND NOTES, CRITICAL AND EXPLANATOEY. MOTHER WILLIAMS, M.A., PROFESSOR AT THE EAST-INDIA COLLEGE, HAILEYBUBT; MEMBER OP TnE ROYAL ASIATIC SOCIETY; FORMERLY BODRN SANSKRIT SCHOLAR IN THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. HERTFORD: rRINTEI) AND PUBLISHED BY STEPHEN AUSTIN, BOOKSELLER TO THE EAST-INDIA COLLEGE. ii.wccc.un. ?TY V s ill-. / HOEACE HAYMAN WILSON, Esq., M.A., F.E.S., HOD It W I'ltOFJtHHOIt OK" BANSKK1T IN TUB VNIVHIIMITY Off OXfOItU, ]{TC. t ETC., BXC, "WHOSE GENIUS, LEARNING, AND EXAMPLE, HATE GUIDED AND PROMOTED THE STUDY OF SANSKRIT LITERATURE IN ALL TARTS OF THE WORLD, v THIS VOLUME, 18 G It ATE FULLY DEDICATED AN OLD OXFOltD PUPIL. P R E F A C \L In the following pages I have endeavoured to furnish the Oriental Student with a correct edition of the most celebrated drama of India's greatest dramatist. Strange to say, no edition of the text of the " Sakuntal& " has ever before been published in England. Yet no composition of Kalid&sa displays more the rich- ness of his poetical genius, the exuberance of his imagination, the warmth and play of his fancy, his profound knowledge of the human heart, his delicate appreciation of its most refined and tender emotions, his familiarity with the workings and counterworkings of its conflicting feelings, — in short, more entitles him to rank as " the Shakespeare of India." Nor, in comparing him with our own great Dramatist, should we fail to remark the command of language exhibited by the present play. In this respect the singular flexi- bility and copiousness of Sanskrit may have even given him the advantage. On the Continent, the " Sakuntal4 " has been studied and admired, not only by oriental scholars who possess a correct edition of the text, but by the general public, who enjoy the advantage of good translations; insomuch that Goethe, Schlegel, and Humboldt have all expressed their admiration of this master- piece of the Hindu Poet. Goethe's four beautiful lines, which appeared in 1792, are — Willst du die Bliithe des friihen, die Fruchte des spateren Jahres, "Willst du was reizt und entziickt, willst du was sattigt und nahrt, Willst du den Himmel, die Erde, mit einem Namen begreifen : Nenn' ich SakontaKi, Dich, und so ist Alles gesagt."* * Thus translated for uie by Professor Eastwick :— " Wouldst thou the young year's blossoms and the fruits of its decline, And all by which the soul is charmed, enraptured, feasted, fed, Wouldst thou the earth am! heaven itself in one sole name combine P I name thee, O Sakuntala ! and all at once is said." Augustus >\ illiain von Schlegel, in his first Lecture on Dramatic Literature VI VllKFAUK. In England, on the contrary, we have depended for our know- ledge of the " Sakuntala " solely on Sir William Jones' translation, which does not truly represent the original. The other great dra- matic work of the same Poet, the " Urvasi " or " Vikrarnorvasi," is indeed known to the puhlic by the admirable translation of Professor H. H. "Wilson ; but, with the exception of my own edition of this play, published at Hertford, and intended merely to meet the wants of the lecture-room until I should have leisure to perfect it on the same plan as the present volume, no edition of the text of either play has ever been printed in this country. Nor have other Sanskrit dramas, in spite of the interest excited by Professor Wilson's trans- lations, received more attention at the hands of English editors of Oriental works. Only one other play, the " Vira-charitra," edited by Dr. Trithen, can be reckoned among the many important publications that have issued from the presses of our Oriental printers. Possibly our backwardness in editing the text of these compositions, may be attributed to our accidental preference for other productions in a language, which has surprized the world by the variety of its literary treasures, and by the new direction it has given to philo- logical study ; or, perhaps, to our acquiescence in the Calcutta (translated by Black), says:— "Among tho Indians, the people from whom perhaps all the cultivation of the human race has been derived, plays wore known long before they could have experienced any foreign influence. It has lately been made known to Europe, that they have a rich dramatic literature, wiiich ascends back for inoro than two thousand years. The only specimen of their plays (uatuks) hitherto known to us is the delightful Sakontala, which, notwithstanding the colouring of a foreign climate, bears in its general structure such a striking resemblance to our romantic drama, that we might be inclined to suspect we owe this resemblance to the predilec- tion for Shakspeare entertained by Jones, the English translator, if his fidelity were not confirmed by other learned orientalists. In the golden times of India, the repre- sentation of this natak served to delight the splendid imperial court of Delhi." Alexander von Humboldt, in treating of Indian poetry (Kosmos, translated by Prichard, vol. ii., p. 38), observes: "The name of Kalidasa has been frequently and early celebrated among the western nations. This great poet flourished at the splendid court of Vikramaditya, and was, therefore, cotemporary with Virgil and Horace. The English and German translations of the Sakuntala have excited the feeling of admira- tion which has been so amply bestowed upon Kalidasa. Tenderness in the expression of feelings, and richness of creative fancy, have assigned to him his lofty place amongst the poets of all nations." In a note (p. 114), he says: "Kalidasa, the celebrated Author of tho Sakuntala, is a masterly describcr of the influenco which Nature exercises upon tho minds of lovers. The scene in tho forest, which he introduced in the drama of Vikratnaand Urvasi, is ono of the most beautiful and poetical productions which have appeared in any time." PREFACE. editions (now out of print), published under the authority of the Committee of Public Instruction, and printed at the Education press. So far as I can collect, the actual extent of our knowledge of the Hindu Theatre — whether acquired through English trans- lations, or the printed editions of foreign countries — may be thus stated. Seventy years have elapsed since Sir W. Jones discovered that there existed in India a number of Natakas, or Sanskrit dramas, many of them of great antiquity ; some abounding in poetry of such undoubted merit, and in pictures of Hindu life and manners so charming and faithful, as to render them prizes of the greatest value to all classes of literary men. Eager to apply the means thus gained of filling what was before an empty niche in the Temple of Sanskrit Literature, Sir W. Jones addressed himself at once to translate into English the " Sakuntala," which he was told was the most populai' among the natives. Unfortunately the Pandits omitted to inform him that the multiplication of manuscripts of this play, consequent upon its popularity, had led to a curious and perplexing result, — not, however, unexampled, as has since been proved by the two-fold version of the " Ramayana," — namely, that the various manuscripts separated themselves into two groups or classes : the one class embracing all those in Devanagari writing, which, without perfect uniformity, had still a community of character ; the other, all those in Bengali. German scholars distinguish these two classes of manuscripts by the names "Devanagari recension" and "Bengali recension," which terms may conveniently be adopted. The Devanagari recension is the older and purer : the Bengali, however, must have existed at least 400 years, since it is followed By the " Sahitya-darpana," one MS. of which bears the date 1504 of our era. The MSS. of the Devanagari class are chiefly found in the Upper Provinces of India, where the great demand has produced copyists without scholarship, who have faithfully transcribed what they did not understand, and, therefore, would not designedly alter. On the other hand, the copyists in Bengal have been Pandits, whose cacoethes for emending, amplifying, and interpolating, has led to the most mischievous results. The bold and nervous phraseology of Kalidasa has been either emasculated or weakened, his delicate expressions of refined love clothed in a meretricious dress, and his VU1 PREFACE. ideas, grand in their simplicity, diluted by repetition or amplification. Many , examples might be here adduced ; but I will only refer the student to the third Act of the Bengali recension, where the love-scene between the King and Sakuntala has been ex- panded to five times the length it occupies in the MSS. of the Devanagari recension, and the additions are just what an in- delicate imagination might be expected to supply. Even the names of the dramatis-personre have been tampered with : the King Dushyanta is changed into Dushmanta j Anasiiya into Anusiiya ; Vdtayana into Parvatayana; Sanumati into Misrakesi; Taralika into Pingalika ; Dhanamitra into Dhanavriddhi ; Markandeya into Sankochaua. Unfortunately, it was a MS. of this recension, and not a very good specimen of its class, that Sir W. Jones used for his translation. From him, therefore, was gained about sixty-five years since, the first incorrect knowledge of this, the first Sanskrit play known to Europeans. No edition of the text appeared till about forty years afterwards, when one was produced, after immense labour, at Paris, in the year 1830, by M. Ch^zy. He deserves great credit for the difficulties he surmounted ; but his edition was also from a MS. of the Bengali recension, and has no more value than Sir W. Jones' translation. It abounds also in typographical and other more serious errors. An edition of the "Sakuntala" was sub- sequently printed in Calcutta, also from Bengali MSS., and in the Bengali character, by Prema-chandra, dated Saka 1761, or A.D. 1839. It was reserved for Dr. Otto Boehtlingk to be the first to edit the Devanagari recension of this play at Bonn in the year 1842. No other edition of the text of this recension has been published until the present time ; and in England even the Bengali text has never yet appeared. The translations of this play which have been published since that of Sir W. Jones and the German version of his translation by Forster, in 1791, are, — first, the French of M. Cbizy; subsequently, the German of Hirzel, Eiickert, and Boehtlingk; a Danish trans- lation by Hammerich ; and, very recently, another German translation in prose and verse, by Meier : not to speak of Danish and Italian versions of Sir W. Jones' English. I propose myself very shortly to offer to the public a free PREFACE. IX English translation, in prose and verse, of the Devanagari recension of this drama. Of the "Vikramorvasi," the twin play of the "Sakuntala," two editions have appeared on the Continent; one at Bonn, by Lenz, and a more perfect one at St. Petersburg, by Bollensen : an edition of this play was also brought out in Calcutta, which is now out of print. Translations by Hoefer and Hirzel have been published in Germany. The " Malavikagnimitra," also attributed to K&lidasa, has been edited at Bonn, by Tullberg, but the notes and translation which were promised, have not yet appeared. The " Mrichchhakati," supposed to be the oldest Sanskrit play extant, has been well edited in Germany by Stenzler, and in Calcutta. From the Education-press of Calcutta have also issued editions of the " Malati-madhava," " Uttara-rama-charitra," " Mudra-rakshasa," and " Ratnavali," all of which, as well as the " Vikramorvasi," have been translated into English prose and verse by Professor "Wilson. The poetical merit of these transla- tions must always secure for them a high degree of favour ; and the Essay prefixed to them affords copious and valuable informa- tion on the Dramatic System of the Hindus. It should be men- tioned that a literal English prose translation of the "Vikramorvasi" by Mr. Cowell, has recently issued from the press of Mr. Austin, of Hertford. The allegorical philosophical drama "Prabodha- chandrodaya" has been edited both in Calcutta and in Germany, and the " Maha-nataka," or " Hanuman-nataka," (a dramatic history of Rama-chandra, attributed to the monkey chief Hamiman) in Calcutta. Part of the " Dhurta-samagama " will be found in Pro- fessor Lassen's " Sanskrit Anthology." Professor Wilson, in the appendix to his "Hindu Theatre," has given interesting abstracts of some unedited plays. Beyond this, as far as I can recollect, nothing very important has been effected either in England or abroad in relation to the Indian Drama. I am bound to acknowledge that I have made free use of Dr. Boehtlingk's edition of the text of the " Sakuntala " in preparing the following pages for the press. The merit of his work can hardly be overrated ; but I may, without presumption, say that I have discovered many better readings, corrected some errors, and intro- duced much original matter in the shape of annotations. In point I VKWACK. of fact, Dr. Boehtlingk's edition docs not adapt itself to the exi- gences of an English student. The notes are in German ; they are printed at the end of the volume — a practical obstacle to their utility; and they frequently contain perplexing corrections of the text. My experience has led me to prefer a system of synopsis, both in respect of the notes and metres, and to interlineate the Sanskrit interpretation of the Prakrit passages. In the Hindu drama, as is well known, the women and in- ferior characters speak in Prakrit, which is a kind of provincial Sanskrit, that is to say, Sanskrit stripped of its artificial construc- tion and softened, as Latin is softened into Italian. The Pandits, with their usual subtilty, subdivide Prakrit into a great variety of different kinds, assigning particular dialects to particular cha- racters: there is, however, but one Prakrit, properly so called, although specimens of the varieties occasionally occur, and two of them may be found in the interlude between the fifth and sixth Acts of this Play [see page 2} 6, note £]. Without discussing the question whether Prakrit was ever the spoken language of India, it is certain that many of the dialects at present spoken have been derived from Sanskrit through the Prakrit, and that the latter is often the key to the changes which Sanskrit words undergo in passing into the Hindu, vernacular tongues. This, in my opinion, is of itself a sufficient reason for not displacing the Prakrit by the Sanskrit interpretation, even if it were not part of " the warp " (to borrow a German idea) of the composition. On the other hand, the same reason makes it desirable that the Sanskrit interpretation, instead of being removed to the foot of the page or to the end of the book, should rather be exhibited in such close juxta-position with the Prakrit that both may be comprehended at a glance. I have therefore interlineated the Sanskrit, giving the Prakrit the upper line, and distinguishing it by red ink (though from the novel nature of the experiment the red is not always so distinct as could be wished), and accommodating the Prakrit words to their Sanskrit equivalents by relaxing the rules of Sandhi applicable to the latter. In the method I have adopted of separating Sanskrit words by the free use of the virama, I submit that I have taken a most reasonable license, for which all students will be grate- PItEFACE. ful. Dr. Boehtlingk considers the virdma a mark of punctuation, and does not approve of its use except at the end of a sentence. He holds that the virdma and the single perpendicular line generally used for punctuation originally only differed in one respect — that the former denoted a pause after a consonant, the latter, after a vowel. He therefore dispenses with the virdma almost entirely. Doubtless this system may be advantageously carried out in India, where it has always commended itself to the Pandits, as tending to reduce the labour of writing, but I have constantly observed that the Hindu practice of joining every word operated on by the rules of combination is perplexing even to the readiest European apprehension. The student has already sufficient obstacles to surmount in the Devanagari character, and in the rules of Sandhi. Why should an unnecessary difficulty be superadded ? and why should not Sanskrit avail itself of the improvements in punctuation which are now universally employed to facilitate the act of reading ? By creating needless hindrances, colour is given to the prevalent exaggeration respecting the difficulty of this language. The Latin scholar, if acquainted with the laws of euphony, would not be embarrassed by the sentence Uby ad Dianee venerir itav at sinistram (euphonically changed from Ubi ad Diance veneris ito ad sinistram) : but he would, I think, be unnecesaiily hindered if this permuted sentence were linked together according to the Indian system followed by Dr. Boehtlingk — Ubyaddianm veneriritavatsinistram. Nor can I under- stand why the mere spaces left between the words in the first case should be deemed inconsistent with euphony. If these spaces are only to be effected in Sanskrit by extending the legitimate functions of the virdma, the invention of other marks of punctuation, and the facilities afforded by modern typography, ought to leave us free to do so. In other languages, where the rules of com- bination prevail partially, no such union of words euphonically affected is deemed necessary. Thus, in English, we do not write * aneagle' because the euphonic n is affixed to a; nor ' theagle' because, in poetry, the final c of the has to be rejected. The only cases in which I have not ventured to separate distinct words operated on by Sandhi, are when two vowels blend into one, and when final u and i are changed into their corresponding semi-vowels r and y. Xll l'KEVACE. In regard to the text of the present drama, if I have succeeded in producing a more correct edition of the Devanagari recension than that of Dr. Boehtlingk, the merit is due to the more ample materials at my command. I have taken care to avail myself of Dr. Boehtlingk's corrections of himself, and his after-thoughts at the end of his work, as well as of such critical remarks as coincided with my own views. Often working independently of him, I have arrived at similar results, hecause I have had access to all the materials whence his Apparatus Criticus was composed. More than this : Dr. Boehtlingk tells us that his edition was not pre- pared from original MSS., but that Professors Brockhaus and Westergaard having more or less carefully collated certain MSS. in the East-India House Library, and in the Bodleian at Oxford, and made only partial extracts from three native commentaries, handed over the results of their labours to him. All these MSS. and Commentaries have been placed at my disposal, and most of them left in my possession until the completion of my work- Not a passage has been printed without a careful collation of all of them, and the three Commentaries have been consulted from beginning to end. The MSS. which I have principally used, are : — 1. A MS. from the Colebrooke collection, and, therefore, from the Eastern side of India, numbered 1718. 2. A MS. from the Mackenzie collection, and therefore from Southern India, numbered 2696. 3. A MS. from the Taylor collection, and therefore from Western India, numbered 1858, dated Saka, 1734. All these belong to the East-India House Library, and repre- sent the three Indian Presidencies respectively. 4. A copy of a very good MS. at Bombay, presented to me by Mr. Shaw, of the Bombay Civil Service. 5. An old Bengali MS. belonging to the Library of the East India House, numbered 1060. 6. A very old Bengali MS. from Professor Wilson's collection in the Bodleian. I have from time to time consulted other Bengali MSS., but have rarely admitted readings from them, unless supported by some one of the Devanagari. Thus, the verses which 1 have inserted at the be- l'KEFACK. X1U ginning of the third Act are supported throughout by my own and the Taylor MS., and partially hy that of the Mackenzie collection. The following are the three Indian Scholiasts : — 1. Katavema, whose commentary, from the Mackenzie col- lection at the East-India House, is the only one in the Deva- nagari character. He was the son of Kata Bhupa, minister of Vasanta (who was himself the author of a dramatic work called " Vasanta-rajiya "), King of Kumara-giri, a place on the frontiers of the Nizam's dominions. He must have lived after the commence- ment of the sixteenth century, as he quotes Halayudha, the author of the " Kavi-rahasya " [see Westergaard's preface to the " Kadices Lingua; Sanskrits "] . This commentary is very corrupt; hut where it is intelligible, is of great utility in throwing light on the more difficult passages of this play. 3. Sankara, whose commentary, from Professor Wilson's collec- tion in the Bodleian Library, is on the Bengali recension, and written in the Bengali character. In many places it agrees with the readings of the Devanagari recension, or at least notices them. 3. Chandra-sekhara, whose commentary, belonging to the East- India House, is also on the Bengali recension, and seldom does much more than repeat the words of Sankara. If this Chandra- sekhara is the same person as the father of Viswa-natha, the author of the " Sahitya-darpana," he probably lived sometime in the fifteenth century. I have never failed to consult the three commentaries before deciding on the reading of my text, and have made their inter- pretations the basis of the literal translation I have given of the metrical part of the play. All that is known of Kalidasa, the author of the " Sakuntala," may be stated in a few words. He lived in Ujjayini or Oujein, the capital of King Vikramaditya, who flourished 56 years B.C., and whose reign is the starting-point of the Hindu Era called Samvat. He was one of the nine celebrated gems of that monarch's court, the splendour of which is a favourite theme with Hindu writers in all languages. The other works attributed to him are the " Vikramorvasf," and " Malavikagnimitra," before noticed j the " Megha-duta," or Cloud-messenger, a short but beautiful poem, which has been edited by Professor Johnson in England and XIV PREFACE. by Mr. Gildemeister at Bonn, and translated into English verse by Professor Wilson j the " Raghu-vansa," a heroic poem, edited and translated into Latin by Stenzlerj the " Ritu-sanhara," edited and translated by Bohlen, a short poem on the six Seasons, each verse of which is like a medallion, giving a com- plete picture of some Indian scene j the " Kumaia-sambhava," a poem on the Birth of Skanda, the god of war, of which part has been lost; the rest, edited by Stenzler, and recently translated into English verse by Mr. Griffiths. The " Sringaia-tilaka," " Pras- nottara-mala, Hasyarnava," and " Sruta-bodha," arc also ascribed to Kalidasa. The " Nalodaya," attributed to him, is certainly the production of a later epoch. I have to express my acknowledgements to Professor Johnson, who has assisted me in revising the proof-sheets of this volume, and has aided me by occasional suggestions. I have also to thank Dr. Max Miiller for some information connected with the Vedas. Every credit is due to Mr. Austin, of Hertford, for the spirited manner in which he has undertaken the printing and publication of this and other Oriental works, and spared neither trouble nor expense in carrying them through the press. M. W. East-India College, July, 1853. CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS. Pago 12, lino 1, for T$J{' read ^J?I Page 21, lino of the first note, after distanced,' add : in good qualities, [in beauties].' Page 31, line 8 from bottom, for opposition ' read apposition.' Page 41, line 2, for TJ^SJ^ef, read TJ^^TO Page 55, line 6 from top, carry back the one letter, from ^T to If Page 89, line 4 from top, the e of Sakuntald-dar'sane has dropped in part of the impression. Page 91, line 14 from bottom, for venerable hermit,' read venerable parent.' Pago 113, note 2. With reference to this note, compare in Vikram., Act 1, Cliitralekhd-dwit'iydm priya-sakliim Urvaiim grihitwd viidkhd-sahita iva Iha- gavdn soma upasthitali sa rdjarshih. Page 115, line 7 from top of the note, for anatilulita read atilulita. Page 126, line 12 from bottom; after Raghu-vansa, vi., 83, add : ' This is confirmed by Bhatti-Kavya, iv., 1 7, where the epithet dwirada-ndtoriih is applied to a female. Page 179, line 18 from top, for Guhhyakas,' read, 'Guhyakas.' Page 223, line 2 from top, in a part of the impression the last syllable of yama-sadanam has dropped. Page 249, note 1, add : Compare Vikram., Act 2, anguli-swedena me hvp- yante '-Icshardni. Page 249, transpose the lines of the metre. it <**? ^f^TTTiir^'fRr ii v\ ^%: ^r^ ^tut *rsf?r fafasri *n tt\ ** T ^ TNt 1 ' (That visible form) which (was) the first creation of the Creator [i.e., water]; (that) which bears the oblation offered-according-to-scriptural-rulc [i.e., fire] ; and (that) which (is) the offerer [i.e., the officiating priest who offersthe oblation] ; (those) two (visible forms) which define the time [i.e., the Sun and Moon which cause day and night] ; (that) which perpetually pervades all spaco, having [conveying] the quality (sound) perceptible by tho car [i.e., rather] ; (that) which they call the birth-place [womb, proximate cause] of all created-things [i.e., the earth] ; (that) by which living beings are furnished with breath [i.e., the air] ; endowed with [manifested in, known by] these eight visible forms, may Isa [the supreme Lord] preserve you ! ' The play begins and ends with a prayer to Siva : see the last note in this book. After every relative pronoun some case of pratyahhd tanuh must be supplied. Srishtir ddyd : see Manu i., 8 — 10, apa eva sasarja ddau, (the creator) first created the waters.' Vidhi-hutam, i.e., veda-vidhdnena agnau hhtptam: Ch. Sbtri, i.e., dilcshita-may'i ianuh: K. yajamdna-rdpd tanuh: Ch. ' the Brahman who is qualified by initiation to offer the oblation.' Ralam vidhattah = samayam kurutah : Ch., = srijatah : S. Hence the Sun is called divdhara, maker of the day ;' and the moon, niidlcara, maker of the night.' Sruti, etc. : the Hindus reckon five elements, viz., water, fire, aether, earth, and air. iEthcr [aiciso] is held to bo the vehiclo of sound, or of that quality which is the object of perception to the ear : Bee Manu, i., 75, AMsatya sabdam gunam viduh. Vydpya sthitd, i.e., keeps pervading.' Compare vy- dpya sthitam rodasi : Vikram. Sthd is joined with an indecl. part, to express continuity of action. Vi'swam = prapancham : K. Sarva-bhuta-pra/critih : so reads Katavema followed by my own MS., and supported by Manu, ix., 37, lyam blvkmir Ihutdndm sa'swati yonir uchjate, this earth is called the pri- Verse 1. The metre is Sragdhara (variety of Prakriti), in which there are twenty- one syllables to the half-line ; each half-line being alike. ^ ii ^f^rgR^^fW ii ~ meval womb [yonih = ledranam : Kul.] of all created things ' [such as trees, etc. : Kul.]. The other MSS. have sarva-vija-prahritir. Prabritih = upd- d&na-Mranam : K. = utpatti-sthdnam : Ch. = nid&nam : S. Prapannah = upetah : K. The Bengali MSS. have prasannas. The worshippers of Siva, who were Pantheists in the sense of believing that Siva was himself all that exists as well as the cause of all that is, held that there were eight different manifestations of their god, called Eudras [or Eudra, Bhava, Sarva, Isiina, PaSupati, Bhfma, TJgra, Mahadeva] and that these had their types or repre- sentatives in the eight visible forms enumerated here. So the Vishnu-Purana as quoted by Sankara [p. 58, Wilson] — Brahma assigned to them their respective stations : water, the sun, earth, fire, air, sether, the officiating Brah- man [dihhito brdhmanah], and the moon; these are termed their visible forms [tanavaK].' In the opening of Malavik., Siva is said to uphold the universe by means of these forms, asMdbhir tanulhir bibhratah kritmam jagadapi. See also Kumara-s., iv., 76. Sankara, with far-fetched subtilty, points out how each of these types of Siva is intended by the poet to typify events and circumstances in the life of Sakuntala. Thus, ya srisJdih, etc. is compared with tho sentiment in verse 43 j and ye Awe, etc., is supposed to bo significant of her two female friends. 1 The opening benediction is called Nandf because it is supposed to rejoice the hearts of gods and men. Deva-dwtja-nripddindm dsirvdda-pardyand nan- danty amj&m surd yasmdt tena ndndi prahirtitd : S. The Sutra-dhara was the manager [ = sthdpaha : S.] who held and regulated the thread of the drama, or who developed the thread of the plot. Yena nartaniya-kathd-sutram pra- thamam siichyate ; nam sUra-pathaniyd ndndi sutradhdrasya cha pdthdvasarah prave'sdnantaram : S. He is otherwise, especially when not a Brahman, called the Sthapaka, ' he who fixes or directs the action of the play ;' kdvydrtha- sthdpandt: Ch. Sthdpakah sutradhdra-sadrua-ffundMrah : Sah.-darp., p. 137, 1. 6. SMra-dhdra-padena atra sthdpako 'bhimatah siitra-dhdra-samdndkdra- twdt : S. As to ndndyante, see the note in page 7 of this book. s 'Looking towards the tiring-room,' which was behind the stage, 'looking behind the scenes.' Nepathyam — vyatiriktam yaram'kdiitaritam rarniku- 8 II H^T*H T II 3 *£\ II Ufajg II , 3P5T I T^f% I ^T^i^ , vwh" I wt 17t II T?fa*H II ^JT^ I T^W^% I^TlTT^nS wHl I ^Y wfr^fr 'swfafN^r i grahanadi-yogyam nata-varga-dhdnam : K. = bhkshana-athdnam rangdd va- hih-stham : Ch., S. In a Hindu theatre, a curtain [apatl pata yavanika] suspended across the stage, answered all the purposes of scenes. Behind it there was the space or room called nepathya, where the decorations were kept, and where the actors attired themselves and remained in readiness before entering the stage ; whither also they withdrew on leaving it. When an actor was to come on hurriedly, the stage-direction is patdkshepena or apati- kshepena, with a hurried toss of the curtain.' When he was to say some- thing whilst hidden from the audience in this space behind the curtain, the direction is nepathye ' (a voice) in the postscenium.' As to nepathya-vidhdnam [ = prasddhana-lcriyd : S.], it may be translated, the act of decoration,' ' making the toilet,' or perhaps, ' the arrangements of the tiring-room.' Nepathye yad vidhiyate tan nepathya-vidhdnam. Katavema has naipathya. Nepathyam vidhd = nepathyam raeh or nepathyam hi: Compare Eatn., p. 2. 1. 16. 1 The interrogative pronoun and iti show that the directa oratio' is here substituted for the obliqua.' Iti may be omitted, but is generally tho sign of the direct form. In the obliqua oratio,' which tho Hindus more rarely use, the relative pronouns and particles would be used without iti, thus, djndpayatu yo niyogo anttshthiyatdm. 2 ' For the most part (composed of) learned [educated] men.' The audience consisted chiefly of good judges, cognoscenti, \abhirkpa = vidwas, pandita : K., Ch. J So rdshtram iudra-bhiiyishtham : M .ami, viii., 22. J ' With the new drama called Token-Sakuntola," or ' Ring-(recognised) Sakuntula." ' Abhijndna-sdkuntdld is an anomalous Tatpurusha compound [Lagh.-kaum., 994] ; not ono in which tho terms are inverted, but one in which there is uttara-pada-lopa or madhyama-pada-lopa, elision of the second member.' On the authority of Chandra-sekkara, the second member to be supplied is smritd, recognized ;' and abhijndna is the token of recognition — a ii irfvrarpnro^irer ii 4 *\£\ i ^f^f%^ wr^rnrr ^fei t f%*rfa ^ft'srera i ^ren:: i vit$ i grereifa w ?§7rni i *r*n*^fq faf%m*!TO s ,9 5iTm*reapT ^n: 11 ^ H *rct ii ^fw ii ^ ^ • ^^rn^T^rsf ^rc to^ 1 l£t II ^f^HI II X[4 fa ^njwro: i ?it»t 'siqf ires wtfrw ^faf^nrrfafTT i ^^vtt: i *i$ i ww^ 'sreftfarTY s% i ^f%T^ ^ fa$PT *§«J *!*IT I ^7T: I arc-very-gently-kisscd by bees (and) the points-of-whoso-filaments-are-very- delicate.' According to Sankara, Tcekara = kinjalka, and the whole compound is a Bahuvrflii, agreeing with sirlsha-hummani. There is an allusion to the blossoms of the Sirisha being thus used in Mcgha-duta, 67, cMrulcarne sirisham; and Eaghu-vansa, xvi., 48, 61. Compare also Icarna-sirlaha-rodhi, at the end of Act 1. of this play j and Eitu-s., ii., 18, hritdvatansaih husumaih, etc. 1 ' On every side, the audience, having all the feelings of its soul fixed on the melody, is as if formed into a picture;' i.e., motionless or riveted with attention. Alikhita = nuchala : K. ; ranga applies to the audience as well as to the stage. 2 ' By your reverence ;' drya-misraih is here an epithet of the manager ; the respectful plural being used. In the Yikramorvasf, drya-vidagdha-misrdh, ' re- spectable and intelligent persons,' occurs as an epithet of the audience. Miira, ' mixed,' in a compound of this kind has the force of gentleman.' 3 Adhikriyatdm — prakatl-kriyat&m: K., i.e, ' let it be mado the subject of exhibition,' ' let it be brought prominently forward :' see p. 5, note 2. Some read prayoge : compare in Eutnavali, p. 2, 1. 15, ndtihd prayogena natayitavya. Verse 4. A variety of Arya called TIdgXthA or Giti, used in Prakrit. It consists properly of four hull-lines, containing eighteen instants in the fourth half-line as well as in the second (seo Verso CO). But in this oxample tho line is divided irregularly. W_W | WW- | -WW | || WW- | w_w | _-__ | _ < I ~-~ I — - I -— I -- II --— I — - I - The first syllable of the second foot [chumbia] is short by a Hconse peculiar to Prakrit prosody. [See Colebrooke's Essays, vol. ii., p. 71, note.] 1 II UWRT II * r!3T% iftTTTT^ ^Tf^WT TWVt ^ ct: I TJW TT^fa ^»W: UTTihttfrlTW II ¥ II II Tfa ft^T^ II II U^TaTCT II 1 In the Hindu drama every piece commences with a prologue, which is preceded by the Nandi, invoking the favour of some deity. Bharata says, Siitradhdrah patlien ndndim madhyamam \_prathumam: Ch.] swuram diritah, the Sutradhara may recite the JNandf in a tone neither high nor low.' The stage-manager was generally a Brahman, and therefore qualified to recite the Nandi in his own person. He did so, however, as a Brahman, and not in his character of Sutradhara, or manager, which he did not assume till he had con- cluded the Nandf. Ndndyante siitradhdrah is therefore equivalent to ndndim puthitwd siitradhdro vadati. So Chandra-sckhara, Ndndi, itadante siitradhdro vadati, ndndim paihitivd anyad vadati ityartliah. Hence, tho word praviiya, entering,' is not required ; the reciter of the Nandf remaining on the stage in the character of manager. [Iti nayena ndndyante sutradhdra-praveso 'pdstah : Ch.] If, however, the manager happened not to be a Brahman, he seems to have had no right to the title Sutradhara, nor to have been qualified to recite the Nandi, but in that case some Brahman pronounced the blessing, and the Sthapaka then entered as Sutradhara. Such, at least, Beems to be the meaning of Bharata's aphorism [ranga-piijdm vidhdya ddau siitradhdre vinirgate sthdpalcah pravi'set paiohdt siitradhdra-gundkritiK] though all the extant plays make the Sutradhara first recite the benediction, and then carry on the dialogue. The Sah.-darp., p. 137, has the following: Iddnim piirva-rangasya samyak-prayo- gdbhdvdd eka eva siitradhdrah mrvam proyojayati iti vyavahdrak sa sthdpalcah. The blessing is usually followed by some mention of the author of the piece, an appeal to the favour of the audience, and a short dialogue between the manager and one of the actors [pdripdritoika]. In the present play, the actress sings a song for the amusement of the audience ; and in every case, the con- elusion of the prelude prepares them for the entrance of one of the dramatis-per- sonse. Hence, tho manager exclaims, I was forcibly carried away by the ravish- ing melody of thy song, like king Dushyanta here by the very fleet antelope.' Verso 5. Sloka or Anushtudh, consisting of four half-lines of eight syllables. The lirst four syllables and the last of each half-line may be either long or short. II ^fawroiffpji ii tsto swwt $w> H H ?m' "Jrf^fa *s*TT«j*JTft tottotoV tt^t t$i wr*% » ^; X ,j "X ^J ^fannfTfarro gin: ^irrfit tsj^ T^T^' 1 ' long-lived one !' a respectful mode of addressing kings. Chandra- sekhara quotes a verse of Bharata, faded rdjnim cha chet'im eha bhawtiti vidushalcah, dymhman rathinam siito vriddham tdteti chetarah. 3 ' Casting (my) oye on tho black-antelopc and on thco with-thy-strung-bow I behold, as is wcro, Siva visibly present chasing tho deer.' Adhi-jya, ' having the string \_jyd~] up ;' at the end of the chase the bow would be sithila-jya : see verse 40. Sa-jya is used like adhi-jya. Pindkin is Siva, armed with his bow or trident called Pindlca. [So the bow of Vishnu has a name Sdrnga, and that of Arjuna, Gdndiva : Megh., 48, 50.] In illustration, Katavema refers to Raghu-v., xi., 44, Dhanuh, yena vrhha-dwajo vdnam asri- jad vidruta-hratu-nvrigdmisdrinam. Siva, not being invited to Baksha's celebrated horse-sacrifice, was so indignant, that with his wife he suddenly presented himself, confounded the sacrifice, dispersed and mutilated the gods, and chasing Tajna, ' the lord of sacrifice,' who fled in the form of a fleet deer, overtook and decapitated him. The Vayu-Purana makes Siva create a manifestation of himself as a monstrous being named Vira-bhadra, who pursues Yajna in the form of a deer : see Vishnu-Purana, p. 65. Verse 6. Sloka or Anushtubh. See Verse 5. ii trotU^: n Wl-^T^fT^T^fif^ iWlTirNn^vtft Tfhffl II * II ii *faw$ ii ^j^^RTrm tw * TOsr^^irfa: WT'rflr sv ^: T*re ^nClwft^i: i ^*» *pnw fa*TOreT^: *Ttt: i wf?f TTOT i ^i f% y^*rim s ^nfh[w: I ^/T: I ^ lHIM«l < HI«|q T»f N ii T^i f*»4^ H ■ ) m*j««t N i *rai w I 1 There he is now, gracefully by the bending of his neck casting a glance ever and anon at the chariot which pursues him, by (the contraction of) the hinder half (of his body) repeatedly drawing himself into the fore (part of his) body through fear of the descent of the arrow ; strewing the road with grass half-chewed which drops from his mouth kept open from exhaustion. See ! by reason of his lofty boundings he goes chiefly in the air, and little on the ground.' PravisMah pirva-kdyam is equivalent to praeUkta^p-Urva-hdyah, lit., entering the fore part of his body,' a BahwrlM compound analogous to datta-drishtih and Mrna-vartmd. In regard to the darbha or kusa grass, see the note to verse Id. * ' [With surprize.] ■ How now 1 the deer has become visible with diffi- culty \Ut., with effort] to me pursuing (him).' 3 UlhMtini, lit., 'full of trenches, excavations, or hollows;' i.e., 'hilly,' undulating.' The deer when running in the hollow would be visible with difficulty. 4 Separated by a longer interval' or 'distance.' 5 The expressions niriipya and ndfayitwd, which occur so frequently in the' stage-directions, are undoubtedly synonymous. They may both be translated by acting,' gesticulating,' exhibiting by gesticulation.' The properties and paraphernalia of the Hindu stage were as limited as the scenery ; and though seats, thrones, weapons, and cars were certainly introduced, yet much Verse 7. Sragdhara. {See Verse 1.) %° ii ^finfrre «i$*nH ii 10 irorft *a i