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2. Sațțaka Literature : A Study by Dr. Chandramauli S. Naikar, M/s Medha Publishers, Sankalpa, Kalyān Nagar, Dharwād-50007, Page-314, First Impression, 1993, Price-Rs. 125/-.
This is a thorough and complete study in the Sataka Literature, a unique dramatic form composed entirely in Prakrit, and it unravels the various aspects.lingulstic, literary, social, cultural etc. of the extant Sattakas.
The Sataka was indeed a Popular type of entertainment in the form of dance-drama in oral tradition. In the early days it might have been in vogue as an open-stage play as the modern Kannada drama i.e. Bayalātas or the Rajasthani Byävalo, Chuñțiyo or the performance of the Bhända or Bhopā-Bhopee etc.
Dr. Naikar has discovered a few new details in his study of the Sațțaka Literature among which the charater of 'Bhairavānānda' is note-worthy. The 'carcari' feature in this dramatic performance is his another finding which is similar to the Rāsa dance or the Nștta type of group-dance i.e. Rajasthani Geeñdada or Gujrati Dandiya-dance, even practised today in some parts of the cencoined states.
His discovery of two Garbha-nāțakas in the Ananda Sundari of Ghanaśyāma is still another note-worthy feature of the Sațţaka. They are the sub-plots inter-vowen in the main plot similar to such story that promotes the theme of the main story in a Rajasthani play or folk-dance
The learned scholar after discussing the need and scope of a critical survey of the contents of the extant saţtakas has presented a thorough study of the earliest available Saţtaka i.e. the Karpūra-Mañjari There after a study of each of the later Sattakas composed by Nayacandra, Rudradāsa, Viśveśvara and Ghanaśyāma follows in chronological order.
In short, this study of the Saţtaka Literature shows that the Sațțakas evolved through centuries from the early popular dramatic entertainment and accordingly it
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