नाट्यशास्त्रम् (प्रथम भाग - अभिनवभारती एवं हिन्दी टीका सहित)

-III. 99.] PUJA TO THE GODS OF THE STAGE 43

stage] in accompaniment with the sound of all the musical instruments such as conch-shell, Dundubhi¹, Mṛdaṅga² and Paṇava³.

92-93. If the bleeding wounds [resulting from the fight] will be bright and wide, that will be a [good] omen indicating success.

Good results of consecrating the stage

• 93-94. If the stage is properly consecrated it will bring good luck to the king (lit. the master) and to people young and old of the city as well as of the country.

94-95. But when the auditorium is not consecrated in proper manner it will be indifferently held by gods, and there will be an end of the dramatic spectacle, and it will likewise bring evil to the king.

95-96. He who willfully transgresses these rules [of consecration of the stage] and practises [the dramatic art], will soon sustain loss and will be reborn as an animal of lower order.

96-97. Offering worship to the gods of the stage is as meritorious as a [Vedic] sacrifice. No dramatic performance should be made without first worshipping the deities presiding over the stage. When worshipped, they (these gods) will bring you worship, and honoured they will bring you honour. Hence one should by all efforts offer Pūjā to the gods of the stage.

Evils following non-consecration of the stage

98-99. Never will fire fanned by violent wind burn things so quickly, as defective rites will burn quickly [the master of the dramatic art].

99-100. So the stage should be worshipped by the master of the dramatic art who is purified, disciplined and proficient in

---

² mṛdaṅga—a kind of earthen drum.
³ paṇava—a kind of drum.

93-94 (B.96b-97a, G.94).	94-95 (B.97b-98a, G.95).
95-96 (B.98b-99a, G.96).	96-98 (B.99b-101a, G.97-98).
98-99 (B.101b-102a, G.99).	99-100 (B.102b-103a, G.100).