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INTRODUCTION
53
Candralekhā fulfils the essentials of a Sattaka; and most of the motifs on which its plot is built are found in the Karpūra-mañjarī as well as in some Nātikās.
v) KARPŪRAMAÑJARĪ AND CANDRALEKHA Reading side by side the two Saţtakas, Karpūra-mañjarī and Candralekhā, one is struck by the remarkable similarity between them. Some of the scenes and their sequence in Cl. closely resemble, if not imitate, the parallel scenes in corresponding places in Km; and a few instances may be added here. I. The Prastāvanā of Km. and Sthāpanā of Cl.; the king, queen and Vidūşaka offer descriptions with the seasonal back-ground of spring; the heralds greet the king ; Jester quarrels with a maid-servant; a beautiful heroine is described; Bards announce evening; and the characters retire from the stage. II. The attendant tries to divert king's mind; the king broods over heroine's beauty; in Km. the king sees the heroine on the swing and in Cl. at the singing entertainment; both king and Vidūşaka sing alternative lines of a verse and describe the maiden with fanciful imagery. III. The king and heroine meet in a park; the rising moon is described; and the meeting is dispersed by the queen's arrival. IV. The heroine is put into a prison by the queen and guarded by a battalion of maid-servants.
Then there are many ideas and expressions common to both; and the prologue at the opening is a good illustration: therein Isvara and Pârvati, quarrelling in love, are referred to; Sațţaka is defined; the author introduces himself, informs the audience at whose instance the play is staged, and gives the gist of the plot; and in all this even some sentences are identically worded. A few common ideas may be noted here. The Caitra breezes touch the Cola girls, and they are enjoyed by cobras on their way (Km. I. 15, 20 & Cl. I. 23-4); Viļūşaka claims hereditary learning (Km. I. 18. 1 & Cl. I. 26, 2); the entrance of a heroine with moon-face (Km. I. 25. 6 etc. & Cl. I. 30, 31); musk cannot be sold in a village (Km. I. 18. 18 & Cl. II. 9. 26 ); Jester has a truce with the maid-servant (Km. II. 6. 14-15 & Cl. II. 10. 15); the king requests the heroine not to stand up lest there might be physical pain to her (Km. III. 21 & Cl. III. 12. 11-12); the king with horripilations resembles a Kadamba plant
1 Konow puts both the lines of a verse in the mouth of Vidūşaka. He
has recorded some mss. which put one line in the mouth of the king and the other in that of Vidūşaka. Rudradāsa appears to have had before him such mss. of Km.
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