This edition of the Pratima follows the same lines as those of the other plays edited by me. It is based on the printed editions of the play, especially those of the late learned T. G. Shastri and the late Prof. S. M. Paranjpe. I had a mind to bring out an edition of the play in 1927 and with that view had collected almost all the passages bearing on the incidents of the play from the Ayodhya and Aranya kandas of the Ramayana, and also had written part of the Sanskrit Com.; but as there was no prospect of the edition being ready in time, further work was stopped. In preparing this edition I have consulted Prof. Devadhars' ed. Also in addition to the two mentioned above. I am indebted especially to Prof. Paranjpe's scholarly edition for some quotations and hints. In it he has displayed singular literary acumen. The English translation that it should be useful to the students ought to be close and neither indifferent nor loose. Again the notes ought to be to the point and must be neither too scanty nor unnecessarily prolix. This aim I have kept in view in preparing the present edition. I am however aware of the imperfections of this edition also. There are some obscure passages in the text and in spite of the learned commentary of the late M. M. G. Shastri the meaning of these remains uncertain though an attempt is made to interpret them in this edition. I acknowledge my grateful thanks to M. M. G. Sastri and to Professors Paranjpe and Devadhar for the help derived from their editions. My thanks are due to Dr. Sukthankar, Mr. B. R. Hiwargaonkar and other Scholars, whose articles on Bhasa were of great help in writing the introduction. My thanks are also due to my friend Mr. L. S. Bhandare B. A. S. T. C. to whom, owing to my continued ill health this year also, I had to leave the work of writing especially the critical remarks and the characters of the chief persons in the play. My thanks are due to D. V. Mulgaonkar Esq., the managing Proprietor of the firm of Messrs Gopal Narayen & Co., Book Sellers & Publishers, but for whose patronage the book would not have seen light this year.
BOMBAY, March 1930
M. R. KALE
Prefatory Note to the Present Edition:
December 1977, 25-B, Goodwill Bldg. Mahim, Bombay-16/DD.
V. M. Kale
THE SANSKRIT DRAMA
We shall begin with a brief outline of the general structure and arrangement of the Sanskrit Drama, as developed by the later writers on dramaturgy. Poetry is Sanskrit, from its inherent nature, as apart from its intrinsic merit, is divided into two kinds-Drishya what is capable of being seen or exhibited and shravya what can only be heard or chanted. The drama falls under the first division. 'Rupaka' is the general term in Sanskrit for all dramatic compositions, which also comprises a subordinate class called Uparu'paka. The Rupaka, which has Rasa or sentiment for its substratum, is divided into ten classes, viz. Of the Uparupakes or Minor Dramas there are eighteen varieties, the most important of which are Natikas, such as the Ratnavali, Viddhasalabhanjika, &c, Trotakas, such as the Vikramorvasiya, &c.
Having thus disposed of the divisions into which the whole of the scenic art is capable of falling, we turn to the principle of division among the Rupakas themselves, which is threefold-(1) vastu or the Plot of the play:(2) Neta or the Hero; and (3) Rasa or the Sentiment. These three are the essential constituents, nay, the very life-blood, of every dramatic piece. Each of these we succinctly deal with in its order.
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