Essay name: Bhasa (critical and historical study)
Author: A. D. Pusalker
This book studies Bhasa, the author of thirteen plays ascribed found in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series. These works largely adhere to the rules of traditional Indian theatrics known as Natya-Shastra.
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309
lowered these works in public estimation and interested
parties made use of this to withhold these works from
circulation.
That these plays were current more or less till the
date of K膩lid膩sa is evident from the latter's eulogistic
references to Bh膩sa. It seems likely that by the time of
K膩lid膩sa there was a change in popular taste, as would
appear from the comparison of the works of Bh膩sa with
those of Kalidasa. The older works failed to make a
popular appeal. The sacerdotal, religious and other
contemporary references gradually lost their value to the
people as there was a change in the general popular
outlook."
These works preached orthodox Brahmanism and
hence naturally were not liked by the Buddhists and
Jains. These dramas therefore were current till the
date of Agnimitra, who was an upholder of the Vedic
religion. It seems that after this period the general
tendency of the literary compositions was sympathetic
towards and favouring the Buddhist and Jain tenets
which had gained royal favour. These works thus
gradually fell from currency and by the time of V膩mana
8th century A. D.) and subsequent writers on rhetorics
and dramaturgy they appear to have been handed down
from memory and oral tradition. The rhetoricians are
not correct in their quotations.
A fourteenth century work hailing from the South,
however, actually quotes from and names some of the
plays in this group indicating thereby that it relied on the
same texts as we have them in the Trivandrum editions."
How did these plays find their way to the South and
among the C膩ky膩r repertoire ? The Pandya, Cola and
Kerala kings were patrons of learning and champions of
Brahmanism. They had their own actors who staged
Sanskrit dramas in the Palace theatres. Bh膩sa's works
appealed to these actors and the court-poets and pandits,
because in addition to being wonderfully adapted to the
1 I am indebted to Kir膩ta for some of the suggestions made by him in this
connection as the result of the inspiring and instructive talk I had with him. I
have incorporated only such possibilities that appeared be tenable out.
to me to
of those that occurred to my mind.
2 Supra PP, 24 20
Sakuntalavy膩khy膩 or
S膩kuntalacarc膩 (R. No. 2778 in Govt. Or. Mss. Lib. Madras) mentions among
others, the Car, Dgh, Pa帽c, Bal, Svapna, and Avi from the Bh膩sa plays.
