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862
SAHRDAYĀLOKA sā'pi ca matta-mallikā bhavati. ksudrakathā matta-mallikā yeha mahārāstra-bhāṣayā bhavati, gorocane ca kāryā
anangavati bhāva-rasa-vidyā. Säradātanava is both lucid and exhaustive in his treatment. He says that some call durmallikā by the name of 'matta-mallikā' also. Eventhough he is acquainted with Bhoja and also perhaps with the ND., he does not notice the titles viz. durmilikā or durmilitā read in the above two sources respectively. .
The BP. observes that this art-form has a hroine who is mature (both in'age and experience) and is a cultured lady of cultivated taste. i.e. 'nāgara'. So, perhaps she resides in an urban place. Again, durmallika has four acts. All four samdhis, except the 'garbha'-samdhi are visible in this. The first act has the free activity of a 'vita' a it lasts upto three nädkās. Thus, the first act has a duration of 3 nādi = 6 ghadis (one ghadi = 24 minutes); so 6 ghadis = 24 x 6 = 144 minutes. This comes to two and a quarter hour and nine minutes more. The second act is longer with 5 nādikās i.e. ten ghadis equivalent to 240 minutes i.e. four hours. In this act we have the free activity of the Vidūsaka. The pithamarda has his free role in the third act which has the duration of seven nādikās i.e. 14 ghadis = 14 x 24 = 336 minutes, i.e. Five hours and a half roughly. The fourth act comprises of ten nādikās i.e. 480 minutes equivalent to 8 hours ! So, the whole show takes up 2hr. 24, 4 hrs. minutes, 5 hrs., and 30 minutes and 8 hrs. i.e. a total of 19 hrs. and 45 minutes. Perhaps the show was staged by the end of the day in a make-shift theatre in a temple at the outskirts of a village and it went on upto nearly a week in a leisurely fashion ! Again these art-forms were also folk-art-forms and had a lot of dance, music and drama in them. The expression 'vitā"di-tritaya' is explained by Dr. Agrawal (pp. 291, ibid) as "three-fold”, thus taking it to mean the three-fold activity of vita. But we may choose to take "tritaya" as a 'group of three', meaning the fourth act here abounds in the activity of the three taken together, i.e. of vița, vidūşaka and pithamarda.
Śāradātanaya further (IX./52) makes observations that are read in Bhoja also. Here a maid-servant, a lady messanger or dūtikā describes the love affair of two
people in vulgar language. Then enters into a secret deal with the lovers). Here 'rahasi' of the second line is to be read with the third line as "rahasi mantrayati" - she makes a plan, enters into a deal concerning 'tadvisaya' i.e. the secret love affair. She being a woman lowly born, i.e. she being a woman of low
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