नाट्यशास्त्रम् (प्रथम भाग - अभिनवभारती एवं हिन्दी टीका सहित)

LV

obscure or difficult words, intelligible to the country people, having a good construction, fit to be interpreted with dances, developing Sentiments........ becomes fit for representation to spectators" (XVII. 119-122).

(c) Suggestive or Significant names. Another important aspect of the diction was the suggestive or significant names for different characters in a play. It has been said of Gustave Flaubert that he took quite a long time to find a name for the prospective hero and heroine of his novels, and this may appear to be fastidious enough. But on discovering that the Hindu dramatic theorists centuries ago laid down rules about naming the created characters (XIX. 30-36), we come to appreciate and admire the genius of the great French writer.

(d) Variety of languages or dialects. The use of Sanskrit along with different dialects of Prakrit (XVIII. 36-61) must be ascribed to circumstances in the midst of which the Hindu drama grew up. The dramas reflect the linguistic condition of the society in which the early writers of plays lived. As the speech is one of the essential features of a person's character and social standing, it may profitably be retained unaltered from the normal. Even in a modern drama dialects are very often used though with a very limited purpose.

IV. The Ancient Indian Drama in Practice

1. Occasions for Dramatic Performance

The Hindu drama like similar other forms of ancient art and poetry seems to have been of religious origin, and it developed probably out of dances and songs in honour of a deity like Śiva who in later times came to be styled the great dancer-actor (naṭarāja). As time passed, the dance with songs gradually assumed the form of regular dramatic spectacles, and the range of subjects treated was extended beyond the legends connected with the exploits of a particular deity. It is just possible that this development of the religious aspect came in course of time to be partially arrested, and plays began to be composed more with a purely secular character. And this change considerably loosened its original connexion with the popular deities. Possibly due to this the Hindu drama in the historic period of its career, is found to be acted sometimes for moral edification as in the case of the Buddhist plays, sometimes for the aesthetic enjoyment of the elite as in the case of Kālidāsa's works, and sometimes in honour of a deity as in case of one of Bhavabhūti's plays. In spite of various uses, the Hindu drama unlike its modern counterparts did possibly never become an ordinary amusement of everyday life. It was mostly on special occasions like a religious festival, a marriage ceremony, a king's coronation, a friend's visit that dramatic performances were held (I. 269; AD. 12-14). But among all these occasions religious festivals