रत्नावली नाटिका (सम्राट हर्षवर्धन - शास्त्रीय नाटिका रत्न सम्पूर्ण ४ अङ्क सान्वय सटीक)

xii RATNAVALI

evil qualities so that they may not get any sympathy from the audience even at the utter misfortune met by them, as Duoydhana in the Venisamhára. (3) There must be one principal Rasa or Sentiment and that must be either heroic (वीर) or erotic (शृङ्गार) Other Rasas, if any, should be subsidiary to the principal one. But in the conclusion or निर्वहण the sentiment should always be अद्भुत: cf.— “एक एव भवेदङ्गी शृङ्गारी वीर एव वा । अङ्गमन्ये रसा: सर्वे कार्यो निर्वहणेऽद्भुतः ॥ सा: द: and “प्रसिद्धेऽपि प्रबन्धानां नानारसनिबन्धने । एको रसोऽङ्गीक र्त्तव्यस्तेषामुत्कर्षमिच्छता” ॥ ध्वन्यालोक ॥ The indispensability of the sentiment of अद्भुत does not mean the specific अद्भुतरस as one of the eight sentiments, but it does amount to mean the sublime stage of aesthetic experience to which one’s mind is elevated at the conclusion of a drama and in that stage of enjoying the supreme bliss the water-tight divisions of Rasas cease and the resulting sentiment is nothing but अद्भुत. In endorsement of this view Viśvana'tha aptly quotes from Dharma- datta— “रसे सारश्चमत्कारः सर्व्वत्राप्यनुभूयते । तच्चमत्कारसारत्वे सर्व्वत्राप्यद्भुतो रसः । तस्मादद्भुतमेवाह कृती नारायणो रसम् ॥’ General conduct of the manipulation of the plot—The Sanskrit drama opens with a benedictory song or songs called नान्दी followed by some accounts of the author and by an introductory scene between the stage manager and one of the actors which is more or less connected with the opening of the play itself. The नान्दी which is generally found in the Sanskrit dramas is nothing but the abridged पूर्वरङ्ग which was of a considerable length in the days of yore and which according to Nátyasástra was divided into twenty-two parts. After the performance of नान्दी the intro-