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CHAPTER TWO
The messenger, so instructed by Visņu, went to the house assigned, thinking that the messenger's art, as well as himself, had its purpose accomplished. They (the two brothers) put the weight of the kingdom on good ministers, like the weight of a house on pillars, like the weight of a cart on oxen. Saying, "What kind of a person Damitări is must be seen," from curiosity they became Barbarikā and Kirāti by means of a magic art. The two men-slavegirls went to the messenger and said, "We are sent now to Damitari by Aparajita and Anantavirya." The messenger, delighted, went with the slave-girls to Mt. Vaitāḍhya and announced to Damitāri:
"Just as the Asuras do not transgress the command of Camara, the gods that of Sakra, the serpents that of Dharana and birds that of Garuḍa, so kings in this half of the province Ramaniya do not transgress your command, O you with cruel commands. In particular, Aparajita and Anantavirya, submissive to you, always take your command, like a diadem, on their heads. These slave-girls, Barbarikā and Kirāti, jewels of actresses, have been delivered at once by them to you as presents."
Damitāri looked at the slave-girls with a gentle glance. Merit that has been heard of, even through popular report, causes devotion on the part of the connoisseurs. Damitāri instructed them to perform a play. Verily, the desire to see something new can not endure delay. Then they, in the rôles of actresses, went on the stage immediately and delivered the preliminaries with their parts, beating of the drum, et cetera.298 The stage-director made the stage-pūjā with handfuls of flowers and the troop of female singers, et cetera sat down in the proper directions. An actor recited the invocation (nändi) with a musical accompaniment suited to the invocation.299 At the end of the
298 118. For the numerous technical dramatic terms in this passage, see the works on dramaturgy: the Natyaśastra, the Bhāvaprakāśana, the Daśarupa, and Keith's The Sanskrit Drama.
299 120. Natyaśāstra (Chap. V) deals with the nandi in great detail.
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