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 58 of: Bhasa (critical and historical study)
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38
Bana, but we are confirming our conclusion, already
arrived at from the Natyadarpana and Rajasekhara.
In their enthusiasm to 'kill' Bh膩sa,' many scholars
have unfortunately lost sight of the clear issues and have
brought in much that is irrelevant and that obscures the
problem; some of the protagonists also have fallen into
the same pit.
It is said, that if the stage direction 啶ㄠぞ啶ㄠ啶︵啶え啷嵿い啷� 啶むい啶� 啶啶班さ啶苦ざ啶むた
[苍腻苍诲测补苍迟别 tata岣� pravi艣ati
] be taken as characterizing Bh膩sa's works, the
number of such works would be infinite. Many of the
South Indian plays such as the Tapatisamvara峁嘺,
Subhadradhananjaya, Mattavil膩sa, Ascaryac奴岣嵞乵a峁噄,
Caturbhani etc. and Southern MSS of K膩lid膩sa, Harsa,
Visakhadatta etc. also begin in the same way. Prof. K.
Rama Pisharoti has further strengthened his position by
adducing MS evidence. The expression
etc. is
thus said to be vitiated by ativyapti, as it extends to a
number of Sanskrit dramas that are definitely known to be
by other writers.
Now, the statement by B膩峁嘺 must evidently be taken
to refer to the works written either before his time, or at best
contemporaneous with him. It would be absurd to suppose.
that B膩峁嘺 was "presuming to give the characteristics of
plays which were to be written after his death". Thus all
the South Indian plays fall out of the list. Again, these
and the Southern MSS of K膩lid膩sa, Har峁 etc. are quite
distinct and need no inference as to their authorship from
ara etc, on account of the names of their authors being
mentioned in explicit terms. So, if at all, the ativy膩pti
would cover the Bhagavadajjukiya, Traivikrama and
Damaka Prahasana. Of these, the first has been shown
to be by Bodh膩yana; and Traivikrama, apparently later
than Bana's time being composed in the middle of the
twelfth century, has been ascribed to a Caky膩r, possibly
Nilakantha, by K. Rama Pisharoti. As to D膩maka, Dr.
Jolly has proved it, as we shall subsequently see, to be a
compilation by Caky盲rs. Thus, the statement etc
啶ㄠぞ啶ㄠ啶︵啶え啷嵿い啷�
[苍腻苍诲测补苍迟别
] 1 Barnett, BSOS, 4, p. 631. 2 Paranjape, Pratima, Intr. p. XIII. 3
Hirananda Sastri, MASI,28, pp. 4-6; A. K. Pisharoti, Criticism, pp. 8-12; Devdhar,
Plays etc., pp. 42-44; K. Rama Pisharoti, IHQ, 1, pp. 333-334, SSOS. 6, pp.
819-821; Barnett, JRAS, 1921, pp.
87-89.
4 Bhagavadajjukiyam, Int., by Achan
and preface by Winternitz; Pisharoti, Shama'a, 1924, pp. 213-222; Jolly, Festgabe
Garbe, pp. 115-121.
