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.
Page 440 of: Bhasa (critical and historical study)
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420
mothers. Not only was the inner dome of the statue-house
cleared of its dovecotes, but the walls were whitewashed, the
doors were decorated with wreaths and garlands, the paths
were spread with white sand, and flowers were scattered
everywhere. The walls, further, were anointed with sandal
paste by fingers and fried rice also was to be seen
common
with what we see in temples even to this day especially on
festive occasions.
scattered.' These preparations have much "C
These statue-houses bear ample testimony to the
advanced stage of architecture in those days. A Siva
temple with a fire-shrine is mentioned in the Pratij帽膩.
2 Sculpture seems to have attained a very high degree
of perfection in the period. The excavations in the Indus
valley have shown the antiquity and nature of the statuary
of that period and have once for all exploded the myth
of Hellenic indebtedness in this connection. The J膩takas
also testify to perfect statues of elephants and maidens,
thus showing a developed stage of the art of the lapidary.
Stone works, sculpture of birds and beasts in natural
colours with inlaid gems were so exquisitely made that they
were often mistaken as live creatures by ordinary visitors.
The gild of stone workers or stone cutters in the Buddhist
period not only prepared stones to be used for building
purposes, but made various artistic articles of stones such
as jugs, boxes, cups, etc.
3 In the period represented by our plays, statues of
dead kings used to be carved of stone or granite. They
were pieces of exquisite workmanship, and were not mere
symbols, but bore human expressions and had remarkable
similarities with the original subject. It appears that
statues were erected of all dead kings. Each statue
brought out or emphasized through some symbol the
peculiar characteristic of the king whose statue it was.
Thus, in the Pratim膩, the statue of Dil墨pa had something
to suggest that he was the embodiment of dharma; that
of Raghu suggested embodiment of charity, and that of
Aja suggested embodiment of love. Similarly, in many
old capitals where statues of old kings are kept, the statues
4.
1 Prat, pp. 54, 59. 2 Pratij帽膩, pp. 39, 47
(p. 3);
(p. 47). 3.
3 Prat, p. 59 鈥� 啶呧す啷� 啶曕啶班た啶ぞ啶ぞ啶о啶班啶� 啶ぞ啶粪ぞ啶｀ぞ啶ㄠぞ啶 啷� 啶呧す啷� 啶ぞ啶掂啶むた啶班ぞ啶曕啶む啶ㄠぞ啶 啷� [aho kriy膩m膩dhurya p膩峁Ｄ佱箛膩n膩m | aho bh膩vagatir膩k峁泃墨n膩m | ] 4
Pratima, pp. 62-63.
