नाट्यशास्त्रम् (प्रथम भाग - अभिनवभारती एवं हिन्दी टीका सहित)

LVII

the Erotic Sentiment) may be more effectively presented on the stage in the evening, when after the day’s work, one is naturally inclined to enjoy the company of his dear woman, be she his wife or the hetaera.

3. The Playhouse or the Theatre

The Nāṭyaśāstra describes various types of playhouse, and their different parts have been mentioned to some extent in detail. But in the absence of evidence the like of which has been copiously available in case of the Greek theatre, it cannot be said how far the ancient Indian plays were peformed in specially constructed theatres. It may be possible that only the kings and very wealthy people owned playhouses constructed according to the Nāṭyaśāstra, while dramatic spectacles meant for the common people were held in the open halls called the Nāṭ-mandir (Nāṭya-mandira) in front of the temples, or in a temporarily devised theatre under the cover a canopy, as in the case of the modern Bengali Yātrās which seem to have some resemblance and connexion with the ancient Indian Nāṭya described in the Śāstra. One remarkable feature of the playhouses described in the Nāṭya-śāstra is that they are of a very moderate size, the largest among them (meant for mortals) being only thirtytwo yards long and sixteen yards board, capable of accommodating about four hundred (400) spectators. This is in sharp contrast with the Athenian theatre which sometimes held as many as fifteen thousand (15,000) people.

The comparative smallness of the ancient Indian theatre was a necessary consequence of the pecular technique of the dramatic production. For in a larger playhouse the spectators could not all have heard delicate points on which depended in no small measure the success of a performance. The inordinately large Athenian theatre was not much handicapped in this respect, for the Greek drama depended on a considerably different technique.

The Nāṭyaśāstra describes three main types of playhouse : oblong (vikṛṣṭa), square (caturasra) and triangular (tryasra). These again might be the large, medium or small, wlth their length respectively as one hundred and eight, sixtyfour, and thirtytwo cubits. This gives altogether nine different varities of theatres, viz. (i) the large oblong, (ii) the large-square, (iii) the large triangular, (iv) the medium oblong, (v) the medium square (vi) the medium triangular, (vii) the small oblong, (viii) the small square and (ix) the small triangular. These nine types can also be measured in terms of daṇḍas instead of that of cubits. This will give us eighteen different diamensions of playhouse. But the Nāṭyaśāstra is silent about the use of the playhouse measured in terms of daṇḍas, and the playhouse of the largest type measuring 108 cubits in length have been prohibited by the Śāstra for the mortals. And it has been mentioned before that a playhouse more in area than thirtytwo yards long and sixteen

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