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Sanskrit Sahityaśāstra
eagerness to fulfil his vow of breaking the thighs of Duryodhana and braid Draupadi's hair is prominently seen in the whole act.
91
The pratimukha sandhi comprehends thirteen sub-divisions :
(1) Vilasa52 is the desire for amorous pleasures. Sāgarika's soliloquy at the opening of the Act II (Ratnavali) finely illustrates this sub-division.
(2) Parisarpa (or Upasarpana-ND.) is the pursuing of the bija once seen and then lost. The passage from the Veņi (Act II. 2) where the chamberlain tells of the slaying of Bhisma (the bija of the Veņisamhära is here seen) and of young Abhimanyu (the bija is here lost) is an example.
(3) Vidhata is non-acceptance, at first, of anunaya (friendly persuasion). Sakuntala (Act III) asks Priyamvada, who, on behalf of Sakuntala, requests the king to requite Sakuntala's love "not to detain the royal sage, who is pining on account of his separation from the ladies of his harem."
The DR., however defines it as despondency or absence of pleasure due to unrequited love. Sagarika's throwing away the lotus-stalks etc., intended by her friend to be a source of relief in her love's torment, illustrates this sub-division.
(4) Tapana (torment) is the grim prospect of a danger (NS.). Tāpana is 'not finding any means to allay the despondency' (owing to the difficulty of attaining the object of desire-SD). The passage from the Ratnavali (Act II. 1) where Sagarika says; "My love is fixed on an object beyond my reach; I am overcome with a heavy sense of shame, my soul is enslaved by passion....then is not death the only alternative ?" illustrates this tapana.
The DR. reads sama instead of tapana and defines it as the despelling of despondency due to the difficulty of attaining the object of desire. The king's admiration of the beauty of Sagarika surpassed all her expectations which evoked her comment "O heart, cheer up! Even your desire could not go so far!" This constitutes sama.
(5) Narma consists in the use of banter. The conversation in the Ratnavali (Act II) where Susangată deliberately uses words in such a way as to apply to the king as well as to the picture-board is an example of Narma.
(6) Narmadyut is humorous speech with a view to covering one's weakness (the NS., the Abh., the ND.). The conversation between the King and the Viduşaka
51 This sandhi answers the description of the Mukha as given by the DR. Here we have the joining of the bija and the arambha.
52 Abhinava rightly points out that in a love play this vilasa is very appropriate but in a play based on the vira rasa (heroic sentiment) vilāsa, the dominant feeling of love, is to be taken to stand for Utsäha (the emotion of energy) by upalakṣaṇa.
53 The SD. spells it as vidhyta, the RS. as vidhūta. The ND. calls it dhūnana.
54 The ND. notes that narma and narmadyuti are to be used in love-plays (p. 76).
