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compositions did not start with Bharata. Perhaps Kohala found them in the popular tradition and codified them. Even the Daśarūpaka does not treat of them. This may be due to the fact that the minor Rūpakas were like dence-ballets and Rasa did not predominate their themes, but dance and music prevailed. Hemachandra thus distinguishes Pathya Rūpakas from the Geya Rūpakas. Dhanika and Sārdātanaya call it as Nṛtyabhedas. Perhaps they preeceded the regular Rūpaka. However, though some of these so-called Uparūpakas are in the form of dance (e.g. Rāsaka, Hallikaka etc.), yet some other forms like the Prakaraṇika etc. are as good as Nātikā, Saṭṭaka and even the other major Rūpakas. So Hemachandra's use of the word Rupaka for these Geya varieties is justified.
It is said that Nataka is the source of all dramatic compositions. Thus all types of shows, both major and minor, draw upon the Naṭaka and follow the model of the Nāṭaka. Dr. S. N. Shastri writes: "Thus they (all shows) follow to a large extent the model of a Nataka in respect of the scheme of plot, the use of language, the poetic artifices, the dramatic etiquette and conventions which become responsible for their make-up on the whole. If the model of the pattern becomes known, all other types which follow the pattern in general become easily intelligible. For this reason Bharata and other canonists have dealt with the scheme of Naṭaka at length". 224
Parikatha, Khaṇḍakatha and Sakalakathā
These three types or forms of story are inter-related. They narrate stories expounding one of the four Puruṣarthas or all of them. Parikatha gives many anecdotes to expound a Puruṣārtha; the Khaṇḍakatha is very much smaller in scope; the Sakalakatha is bigger in scope than the Parikatha.
The Parikatha is a narrative in Sanskrit or Prakrit while the Khanḍakatha and the Sakalakatha are narratives, small and big, always in Prakrit and verse. The main thing common to
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