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Vol. 1-1995
A Glimpse into the....
दिव्यालोकप्सितप्राप्तीन्द्रजालप्रेक्षणादिजैः । विस्माययंते स्म सहसा वचनापि सभासदः ॥
Sometimes the people, greedy for the enjoyment of sense-objects, were made tranquil by meditation on the müla- and uttara-gunas, by thinking of texts concerning the Supreme Spirit, by attendance on good gurus, by pūjās to the gods and such other things arising from disgust with existence, fear of worldly existence, knowledge of the Principles, etc.:
मूलोत्तरगुणध्यारध्यात्मग्रंथचिंतनैः । सद्गुरमासनैर्देवपूजाद्यैरितरैरपि ॥
Just as all kinds of sentiments were portrayed by the actors, so all the spectators became composed by them. The actors looked like characters (themselves) who had come, because of dramatic actions, conveyed by expressions, etc. to be properly portrayed:
वैराग्यसंसारभयतत्वज्ञानादिजन्माभिः । शममीयुः क्वचिदपि विषयास्वादगृघ्नदः ॥ ..
When the king, chief of the prudent, had seen this dramatic art, he considered the two slave-girls to be the jewels in the ocean of existence. Then the king entursted his daughter, named Kanakaśrī, to the pretender slave-girls for instruction in acting20 :
यथा यथाभ्यनीयन्त रसाः सर्वे कुशीलवैः । सामाजिकजनः सर्वस्तन्मयोऽभूत्तथा तथा ॥ .
वाचिकाद्यैरभिनयैर्यथावदुपपातितैः । अलक्ष्यंताभिनेतारोऽप्यभिनेया इवागताः ॥
तं नाटकविधि प्रेक्ष्य नृपः प्रेक्षावदग्रणीः । संसाररत्नभूतं तु चेटीद्वयममन्यत ।
अथ नाटकशिक्षायै मायाचेट्योस्तयोर्नृपः । पुत्रीं समर्पयामास नामतः कनकश्रियाम् ॥
This long description of the staging of a Sanskrit play is a rare example of such an information and is unique in some ways. It not only portrays a graphic picture of the performance but mentions several terms which permit an insight into the nātyaśāstric tradition of the time of Hemcandra whose status in the world of learning is unequalled. He describes the Pūrvaranga mentioning pratyāhāra, etc. with which, enjoins the
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