The Sanskrit Drama (In its Origin, Development Theory and Practice)

Since the appearance of Sylvain L vi s admirable treatise, Le th tre Indian, the first adequate sketch of the origin and development of the Indian drama and of Indian dramatic theory, in the last decade of the nineteenth century, the discovery of important fragments of the dramas of AÜvagho|a and Bh sa had thrown unex-pected light on the early history of the drama in India, which necessitated a fresh investigation of the origin and develop-ment of the drama in the light of the new materials available, resulting in the publication of the present work by Prof. A.B. Keith in 1924. The Indian tradition, preserved in the N ¢yaÜ stra of Bharata, the oldest of the texts of the theory of drama, claims for drama divine origin. It is said that the god Brahm created a new form of literature by taking from the ¡Rgveda the element of recitation, from the S maveda song, from the Yajurveda the mimetic art and from the Atharvaveda sentiment; then he bade ViÜvakarman, the divine architect, build a play-house in which the sage Bharata was instructed to carry into practice the art thus created.