365bet娱乐

Rupaka or Drama has occupied an important position in Sanskrit Literature. In the words of Vamana, Rupaka "is the blossom of poetry, the union of the epic and the lyric in the uninterrupted vivacity of an actual performance, developing itself in the spirit of the age to come."1 Bharata, considered to be the founder of Sanskrit Dramaturgy, has said, "it is an imitation of actions and conducts of people, which is rich in various emotions, and which depicts different situations. This relates to actions of men, good, bad or indifferent and gives courage, amusement and happiness as well as counsel to them all. 2 However, different theories both eastern and western have been prevalent regarding the origin of drama. In his Natyasastra, Bharata gives a divine and mythical description about the origin of drama.³ Yet, the fact remains that a drama is the imitation of the actions of particular characters which the dramatist thinks to have taken place against the background of certain incidents which may have taken place at a certain time or place. So the story the dramatist, may be of various types with regard to its length, characters, situations, sentiments and so 1. nh 3. "tadvi citram citrapatavadvisesasakalyat " Vamana, Kavyalamkara Sutra; 1.3.31, Chowkhamba Sanskrit Samsthan, Varanasi, 1976, p.42. nanabhavopasampannam nanavasthantaratmakam lokavrttanukaranam natyametanmaya krtam | uttamadhamamadhyanam naranam karma samsrayam hitopadesajananam dhrtikridasukhadikrt || Natyasastra of Bharata, Vol. 1, 1, 111-112, Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1934, pp. 132-33. gramyadharmapravrtte tu kamalobhavasam gate | irsyakrodhadi sammudhe loke sukhiduhkhite || sarvasastrarthasampannam sarvasilpapravartakam | natyakhyam pancamam vedam setihasam karomyaham || Ibid, I. 9-15, pp. 42-50.

28 on. Bharata mentions ten types of the Rupaka, viz., Nataka, Prakarana, Bhana, Ihamrga, Vyayoga, Anga, Vithi, Prahasana, Dima and Samavakara. Later on eighteen Uparupakas were added to this list.5 It has been an usual tradition that dramas in Sanskrit, derive their themes from the epics, the Puranas or the folk tales. Some dramatists even went to the extent of writing dramas building the plot from their own imagination. In course of time, due to an advent of various philosophical systems, many a dramatist used drama as a media to propagate their philosophical theories. This is how a new branch of writing the dramas in the allegorical form came into existance.