नाट्यशास्त्रम् (प्रथम भाग - अभिनवभारती एवं हिन्दी टीका सहित)

LIII

No old specimen of this type of drama has reached us. From the description given in the Nāṭyaśāstra it seems that the Samavakāra was not a fully developed drama, but only a dramatic spectacle on the sasis of a mythological story. It naturally became extinct with the development and production of fulfledged literary dramas such as those of Bhāsa and Kālidāsa.

Īhāmṛga. The Īhāmṛga is a play of four Acts in which divine males are implicated in a fight over divine females. It should be a play with well-ordered construction in which the Plot of love is to be based on causing discord among females, carrying them off and oppressing [the enemies], and when persons intent on killing are on the point of starting a fight, the impending battle should be avoided by some artifice (XX. 78-82).

No old specimen of this type of play has been found. From the description given in the Nāṭyaśāstra it seems that the Īhāmṛga was a play of intrigue, in which gods and goddesses only took part.

The Dima. The Dima is a play with a well-constructed Plot and its Hero should be well-known and of the exalted type. It is to contain all the Sentiments except the Comic and the Erotic, and should consist of four Acts only. Incidents depicted in it are mostly earthquake, fall of meteors, eclipses, battle, personal combat, challenge and angry conflict. It should abound in deceit, jugglery and energetic activity of many kinds. The sixteen characters which it must contain are to include different types such as gods, Nāgas, Rākṣasas Yakṣas and Piśācas (XX 84-88).

No old or new example of this type of play has reached us. It seems that like the Samavakāra this was a dramatic spectacle rather than a fulfledged drama. With the advent of literary plays of a more developed kind, it has naturally become extinct.

Vyāyoga. The Vyāyoga is a play with a well-known Hero and a small number of female characters. The events related in it are to be of one day's duration. It is to have one Act only and to include battle, personal combat, challenge and angry conflict (XX. 90-92).

Bhāsa's Madhyama-vyāyoga is a solitary old specimen of this type of play.

Utsṛṣṭikāṅka. The Utsṛṣṭikāṅka or Aṅka is an one-act play with a well-known plot, and it includes only human characters. It should abound in the Pathetic Sentiment and is to treat of women's lamentations and despondent utterances when battle and violent fighting have ceased, and its Plot should relate to the downfall of one of the contending characters (XX. 94-100).

Bhāsa's Urubhaṅga seems to be its solitary specimen. This type of play may be regarded as a kind of one-act tragedy.

The Prahasana. The Prahasana is a farce or a play in which the Comic Sentiment predominates, and it too is to consist of one Act only.