Vidushaka, or jocose companion of the hero, presenting a certain analogy to the servus of the Roman stage, as does the Vita of some plays to the Roman parasite) for which the assumption of some acquaintance with the Greek comedy on the part of the earlier Hindu writers would afford a ready explanation. On the other hand, the differences between the Indian and Greek plays are perhaps even greater than their coincidences, which, moreover, are scarcely close enough to warrant our calling in question the originality of the Hindus in this respect. Certain, however, it is that, if the Indian poets were indebted to Greek playwrights for the first impulse in dramatic composition, in the higher sense, they have known admirably how to adapt the Hellenic muse to the national genius, and have produced a dramatic literature worthy to be ranked side by side with both the classical and, our own romantic drama. It is to the latter especially that the general character of the Indian play presents a striking resemblance, much more so than to the classical drama. The Hindu dramatist has little regard for the "unities" of the classical stage, though he is hardly ever guilty of extravagance in his disregard of them. The dialogue is invariably carried on in prose, plentifully interspersed with those neatly turned lyrical stanzas in which the Indian poet delights to. depict some natural scene, or some temporary physical or mental condition. The most striking feature of the Hindu play, however, is the mixed nature of its language. While the hero and leading male characters speak Sanskrit, women and inferior male characters use various Prâkrit dialects. As regards these dialectic varieties, it can hardly be doubted that at the time when they were first employed in this way they were local vernacular dialects; but in the course of the development of the scenic art they became permanently fixed for special dramatic purposes, just as the Sanskrit had, long before that time, become fixed for general literary purposes. Thus it would happen that these Prâkrit dialects, having once become stationary, soon diverged from the spoken vernaculars, until the difference between them was as great as between the Sanskrit and the Prakrits. As regards the general. character of the dramatic Prâkrits, they are somewhat more removed from the Sanskrit type than the Pâli, the language of the Buddhist canon, which again is in a rather more advanced state than the language of the Aśoka inscriptions (c. 250 B.C.). And, as the Buddhist sacred books were committed to writing about 80 B.C., the state of their language is attested for that period at latest; while the grammatical fixation of the scenic Prakrits has probably to be referred to the early centuries of our era.

The existing dramatic literature is not very extensive. The number of plays of all kinds of any literary value will scarcely amount to fifty. The reason for this paucity of dramatic produc ons doubtless is that they appealed to the tastes of only a limited class of highly cultivated persons, and were in consequence but seldom acted. As regards the theatrical entertainments of the common people, their standard seems never to have risen much above the level of the religious spectacles mentioned by Patanjali. Such at least is evidently the case as regards the modern Bengâlî jaims-described by Wilson as exhibitions of some incidents in the youthful life of Krishna, maintained in extempore dialogue, interspersed with popular songs-as well as the similar rásas of the western provinces, and the rough and ready performances of the bhanrs, or professional buffoons. Of the religious drama Sanskrit literature offers but one example, viz., the famous Gitagovinda, composed by Jayadeva in the 12th century. It is rather a mytho-lyrical poem, which, however, in the opinion of Lassen, may be considered as a modern and refined specimen of the early form of dramatic composition. The subject of the poem is as follows:-Krishna, while leading a cowherd's life in Vrindâvana, is in love with Râdhâ, the milkmaid, but has been faithless to her for a while. Presently, however, he returns to her

1 Ed., with a Latin transl., by C. Lassen; Engl. transl. by E. Arnold.

66

"whose image has all the while lingered in his breast," and after much earnest entreaty obtains her forgiveness. The emotions appropriate to these situations are expressed by the two lovers and a friend of Râdha in melodious and passionate stanzas of great poetic beauty. Like the Song of Solomon, the Gitagovinda, moreover, is supposed by the Hindu commentators to admit of a mystic inter pretation; for, "as Krishna, faithless for a time, discovers the vanity of all other loves, and returns with sorrow and longing to frantic attachment to objects of sense, burns to return to the God his own darling Rådha, so the human soul, after a brief and from whence it came" (Griffith). The Mrichchhakatika, or earthen toy-cart," is by tradition Sûdraka, placed at the head of the existing dramas; and a certain clumsiness ing to several stanzas in the prologue, the play was composed by a of construction seems indeed to justify this distinction. Accordking Sûdraka, who is there stated to have, through Siva's favour, recovered his eyesight, and, after seeing his son as king, to have died at the ripe age of a hundred years and ten days. Accord death; but it is probable that they were added for a subsequent ing to the same stanzas, the piece was enacted after the king's performance. In Bâna's novel Kadambari (c. 630 A.D.), a king Sudraka, probably the same, is represented as having resided at Bidisâ (Bhilsa)-some 130 miles east of Ujjayinf (Ujjain), where reduced to poverty, and Vasantasena, an accomplished courtezan, the scene of the play is laid. Chârudatta, & Brâhman merchant, meet and fall in love with each other. This forms the main story, which is interwoven with a political underplot, resulting in a change of dynasty. The connexion between the two plots is sues Varsantasena with his addresses, as well as by the part of the effected by means of the king's rascally brother-in-law, who purrebellious cowherd Aryaka, who, having escaped from prison, finds shelter in the hero's house. The wicked prince, on being rejected, her; but, just as the latter is about to be executed, his lady love strangles Vasantasenâ, and accuses Chârudatta of having murdered appears again on the scene. Meanwhile Aryaka has succeeded in deposing the king, and, having himself mounted the throne of Ujjain, he raises Vasantasenâ to the position of an honest woman, to enable her to become the wife of Chârudatta The play is one of the longest, consisting of not less than ten acts, some of which, however, are very short. The interest of the action is, on the whole, well sustained; and, altogether, the piece presents a vivid picture of the social manners of the time.

In Kalidasa (? c. 550 A.D.) the dramatic art attained its highest Kâlidāsa point of perfection. From this accomplished poet we have three well-constructed plays, abounding in stanzas of exquisite tenderness and fine descriptive passages, viz., the two well-known mythopastoral dramas, Sakuntala in seven and Vikramorvast in five acts, and a piece of court intrigue, distinctly inferior to the other two, has two wives, falls in love with Malavika, maid to the first queen. entitled Malavikagnimitra, in five acts. King Agnimitra, who His wives endeavour to frustrate their affection for each other, but in the end Malavika turns out to be a princess by birth, and is accepted by the queens as their sister.

4

In the prologue to this play, Kâlidâsa mentions Bhâsa and Saumilla as his predecessors in dramatic composition. Of the former poet some six or seven stanzas have been gathered from anthologies by Prof. Aufrecht, who has also brought to light one fine stanza ascribed to Râmila and Saumila.

Sri Harsha-deva-whom Dr F. Hall has proved to be identical Har with King Silâditya Harshavardhana of Kanyakubja (Kanauj), dev.. who reigned in the first half of the 7th century-has three plays attributed to him. Most likely, however, he did not write any of them himself, but they were only dedicated to him as the patron of their authors. Such at least seems to have been the case as regards the Ratnavalt, which was probably composed by Bana. It is a graceful drama of genteel domestic manners, in four acts, of no very great originality, the author having been largely indebted to Kalidasa's plays. Ratnâvali, a Ceylon princess, is sent by her father to the court of King Vatsa to become his second wife. She suffers shipwreck, but is rescued and received into Vatsa's palace as one of queen Vâsavadattâ's attendants. The king falls in love

Edited by F, Stenzler, translated by H. H. Wilson; German by O. Böhtlingk and L. Fritze; French by P. Regnaud.

3 Both these plays are known in different receusions in different part: of India. The Bengali recension of the Sakuntald was translated by Sir W. Jones, and into French, with the text, by Chézy, and again edited critically by R. Pischel, who has also advocated its greater antiquity. Editions and translations of the western (Devanagari) recension have been published by O. Böhtlingk and Mon. Williams. The Vikramorvast has been edited critically by S. P. Pandit, and the southern text by R. Pischel. It has been translated by H. H. Wilsor and E. B. Cowell.

Edited critically by S. P. Pandit; transl: by C. H. Tawney, ani previously into German by A. Weber.

Edited by Târânâtha Tarkavâchaspati, and by C. Cappeller i Böhtlingk's Sanskrit-Chrestomathie; translated by H. H. Wilson.

Didactic

cloud, will have to sail in his airy voyage. This little | masterpiece has called forth a number of more or less successful imitations, such as Lakshmidâsa's Suka-sandeśa, or "parrot-message," lately edited by the mahârâja of TravanAnother much admired descriptive poem by Kâlidâsa is the Ritu-samhâra,1 or “collection of the seasons," in which the attractive features of the six seasons are successively set forth.

core.

As regards religious lyrics, the fruit of sectarian fervour, a large collection of hymns and detached stanzas, extolling some special deity, might be made from Purânas and other works. Of independent productions of this kind only a few of the more important can be mentioned here. Sankaracharya, the great Vedântist, who probably lived in the 7th century, is credited with several devotional poems, especially the Ananda-lahari, or "wave of joy," a hymn of 103 stanzas, in praise of the goddess Pârvati. The Surya-sataka, or century of stanzas in praise of Surya, the sun, is ascribed to Mayara, the contemporary (and, according to a tradition, the father-in-law) of Bâna (in the early part of the 7th century). The latter poet himself composed the Chandikastotra, a hymn of 102 stanzas, extolling Siva's consort. The Khandaprasasti, a poem celebrating the ten avatâras of Vishnu, is ascribed to no other than Hanuman, the monkey general, himself. Jayadeva's beautiful poem Gitagovinda, which, like most productions concerning Krishna, is of a very sensuous character, has already been referred to.

The particular branch of didactic poetry in which India poetry. is especially rich is that of moral maxims, expressed in single stanzas or couplets, and forming the chief vehicle of the Niti-sastra or ethic science. Excellent collections of such aphorisms have been published,-in Sanskrit and German by Dr v. Böhtlingk, and in English by Dr J. Muir. Probably the oldest original collection of this kind. is that ascribed to Châṇakya,-and entitled Rajanîtisamuchchaya, "collection on the conduct of kings "-traditionally connected with the Machiavellian minister of Chandragupta, but (in its present form) doubtless much later of which there are several recensions, especially a shorter one of one hundred couplets, and a larger one of some three hundred. Another old collection is the Kamandakiya-Nitisara,2 ascribed to Kâmandaki, who is said to have been the disciple of Chanakya. Under the name of Bhartrihari have been handed down three centuries of sententious couplets, one of which, the nîti-sataka, relates to ethics, whilst the other two, the singâra- and vairagya-satakas, consist of amatory and devotional verses respectively. The Niti-pradîpa, or "lamp of conduct," consisting of sixteen stanzas, is ascribed to Vetâlabhatta who is mentioned as one of nine gems at Vikramaditya's court (c. 550 A.D.). The Amaru-sataka, consisting of a hundred stanzas, ascribed to a King Amaru (sometimes wrongly to Sankara), and the Chaura-suratapanchasika, by Bilhana (11th century), are of an entirely erotic character. 6. Fables and Narratives.-For purposes of popular instruction stanzas of an ethical import were early worked up with existing prose fables and popular stories, probably in imitation of the Buddhist jatakas, or birthstories. A collection of this kind, intended as a manual for the guidance of princes (in usum delphini), was translated into Pahlavi in the reign of the Persian king Chosru Nushirvan, 531-579 A.D.; but neither this translation nor the original is any longer extant. A Syriac translation, however, made from the Pahlavi in the same century, under the title of "Qualilag and Dimnag"-from the

Fables and

narratives.

1 The first Sanskrit book published (by Sir W. Jones), 1792. Text and Latin transl. by P. v. Bohlen. Partly transl., in verse, by R. T. H. Griffith, Specimens of Old Indian Poetry.

2 Edited by Rájendralâla Mitra, Bibl. Ind.

or

Sanskrit "Karataka and Damanaka," two jackals whe play an important part as the lion's counsellors-has been discovered and published. The Sanskrit original which probably consisted of fourteen chapters, was afterwards recast,the result being the existing Panchatantra. five books" (or headings). A popular summary of this work, in four books, the Hitopadesa, or 4 Salutary counsel," is ascribed to the Brahman Vishnusarman. Other highly popular collections of stories and fairy tales, interspersed with moral maxims, are-the Vetala-panchavimsati or twenty-five (stories) of the Vetâla" (the original of the Baitâl Pachisi), ascribed either to Jambhala Datta, or to Sivadâsa (while Prof. Weber suggests that Vetâla-bhaṭṭa may have been the author), and at all events older than the 12th century, since Somadeva has used it; the Suka-saptati, or "seventy (stories related) by the parrot," the author and age of which are unknown; and the Simhasana-dvâtrimsika, or "thirty-two (tales) of the throne," being laudatory stories regarding Vikramâditya, related by thirty-two statues, standing round the old throne of that famous monarch, to King Bhoja of Dhârâ to dis courage him from sitting down on it. This work is ascribed to Kshemankara, and was probably composed in the time. of Bhoja (who died in 1053) from older stories in the Mahârâshtra dialect. The original text has, however, undergone many modifications, and is now known in several different recensions. Of about the same date are two great storehouses of fairy tales, composed entirely in slokas viz., the Vrihat-katha, or "great story," by Kshemendra also called Kshemankara, who wrote c. 1020-40, under King Ananta, and the Katha-sarit-sågara," or "the ocear. of the streams of story," composed by Somadeva, in the beginning of the 12th century, to console the mother of King Harshadeva on her son's death. Both these works are based on a work in the Paiśâchî dialect, of the 6th century, viz., Gunâdhya's Vihat-katha.

6

In higher class prose works of fiction the Sanskrit literature is extremely poor; and the few productions of this kind of which it can boast are of a highly artificial and pedantic character. These include the Dasakumaracharita, or "the adventures of the ten princes," composed by Dandin, about the 6th century, and the Vasavadatta, by Subandhu, the contemporary of the poet Bâna (c. 620). who himself wrote the first part of a novel, the Kadambarî ̧3 afterwards completed by his son.

B. SCIENTIFIC Literature.

I. LAW (Dharma).—Among the technical, treatises of the later Law. ceremonial, peculiar to particular schools, were referred to as the Vedic period, certain portions of the Kalpa-sûtras, or manuals of earliest attempts at a systematic treatment of law subjects. These are the Dharma-satras, or "rules of (religious) law," also called Samayacharika-sutras, or "rules of conventional usage (samayaâchâra)." It is doubtful whether such treatises were at any time family rites, to which they are closely allied, and of which indeed quite as numerous as the Grihy-sûtras, or rules of domestic or they may originally have been an outgrowth. That the number of those actually extant is comparatively small is, however, chiefly due to the fact that this class of works was supplanted by another Dharmasûtras consist chiefly of strings of terso rules, containing of a more popular kind, which covered the same ground. The the essentials of the science, and intended to be committed to memory, and to be expounded orally by the teacher-thus forming, as it were, epitomes of class lectures. These rules are interspersed the author himself or quoted from elsewhere, which generally give with couplets or "gâthâs," in various metres, either composed by the substance of the preceding rules. One can well understand why such couplets should gradually have become more popular, and 3 Edited by Kosegarten, G. Bühler, and F. Kielhorn; transl. by Th. Benfey, E. Lancereau, L. Fritze.

4 Edited and transl. by F. Johnson.

Edited by H. Brockhaus; transl. by C. H. Tawney.
Edited by H. H. Wilson; freely translated by P. W. Jacob.

7 Edited by F. Hall, Bibl. Ind.

Edited by Madana Mohana Sarman, and by P. Peterson.

should ultimately have led to the appearance of works entirely composed in- verse. Such metrical law-books did spring up in large numbers, not all at once, but over a long period of time, extending probably from about the beginning of our era, or even earlier, down to well-nigh the Mohammedan conquest; and, as at the time of their first appearance the epic impulse was particularly strong, other metres were entirely discarded for the epic sloka. These works are the metrical Dharma-sastras, or, as they are usually called, the Smriti, "recollection, tradition,"-a term which, as we have seen, belonged to the whole body of Sûtras (as opposed to the Sruti, or revelation), but which has become the almost exclusive title of the versified institutes of law (and the few Dharmasûtras still extant). Of metrical Smritis about forty are hitherto known to exist, but their total number probably amounted to at least double that figure, though some of these, it is true, are but short and insignificant tracts, while others are only different recensions of one and the same work.

With the exception of a few of these works-such as the Agni-, Yama-, and Vishnu-Smritis—which are ascribed to the respective gods, the authorship of the Smritis is attributed to old rishis, such as Atri, Kanva, Vyâsa, Sândilya, Bharadvaja. It is, how. ever, extremely doubtful whether in most cases this attribution is not altogether fanciful, or whether, as a rule, there really existed a traditional connexion between these works and their alleged authors or schools named after them. The idea, which early suggested itself to Sanskrit scholars, that Smritis which passed by the names of old Vedic teachers and their schools might simply be metrical recasts of the Dharma- (or Grihya-) sûtras of these schools, was a very natural one, and, indeed, is still a very probable one, though the loss of the original Sutras, and the modifications and additions which the Smritis doubtless underwent in course of time, make it very difficult to prove this point. One could, however, scarcely account for the disappearance of the Dharmasûtras of some of the most important schools except on the ground that they were given up in favour of other works; and is it likely that this should have been done, unless there was some guarantee that the new works, upon the whole, embodied the doctrines of the old authorities of the respective schools? Thus, as regards the most important, of the Smritis, the Mánava-Dharmasastra, there exist Manu. both a Srauta- and a Grihya-sutra of the Mânava school of the Black Yajus, but no such Dharmasûtra has hitherto been discovered, though the former existence of such a work has been made all but certain by Prof. Bühler's discovery of quotations from a Mânavam, consisting partly of prose rules, and partly of couplets, some of which occur literally in the Manusmriti, whilst others have been slightly altered there to suit later doctrines, or have been changed from the original trishtubh into the epic metre. The idea of an old law-giver Manu Svayambhuva,- sprung from the self-existent (evayam-bha)" god Brahman,-reaches far back into Vedic antiquity: he is mentioned as such in early texts; and in Yâska's Nirukta a sloka occurs giving his opinion on a point of inheritance. But whether or not the Mânava-Dharmasûtra embodied what were supposed to be the authoritative precepts of this sage on questions of sacred law,we do not know; nor can it as yet be shown that the Manusmriti, which seems itself to have undergone considerable modifications, is the lincal descendant of that Dharmasútra. It is, however, worthy of note that a very close connexion exists between the Manusmriti and the Vishnusastra; and, as the latter is most likely a modern, only partially remodelled, edition of the Sutras of the Black Yajus school of the Kathas, the close relation between the two works would be easily understood, if it could be shown that the Manusmriti is a modern development of the Sutras of another school of the Charaka division of the Black Yajurveda.

The Manava Dharmasastra consists of twelve books, the first and last of which, treating of creation, transinigration, and final beatitude, are, however, generally regarded as later additions. In them the legendary sage Bhrigu, here called a Mânava, is introduced as Manu's disciple, through whom the great teacher has his work promulgated. Why this intermediate agent should have been considered necessary is by no means clear. Except in these two books the work shows no special relation to Manu, for, though he is occasionally referred to in it, the same is done in other Smritis. The question as to the probable date of the final redaction of the work cannot as yet be answered. Dr Burnell has tried to show that it was probably composed under the Chalukya king Pulakesi, about 500 A.D., but his argumentation is anything but convincing, From several slokas quoted from Manu by Varâhamihira, in the 6th century, it would appear that the text which the great astronomer had before him differed very considerably from our Manusmriti. It is, however, possible that he referred either to the Brihat-Manu (Great M.) or the Vriddha

1 The standard edition is by G. C. Haughton, with Sir W. Jones's translation, 1825; the latest translations by A. Burnell and G. Bühler. There is also a critical essay on the work by F. Johäntgen. On the relation between the Dharmasatras and Smyltis seo especially West and Bühler, Digest of Hindu Law, d ed., 1. p. 37 sq.

Next in importance among Smritis ranks the Yajnavalkya YâjñaDharmasastra. Its origin and date are not less uncertain,-except valkya that, in the opinion of Prof. Stenzler, which has never been questioned, it is based on the Manusmriti, and represents a more advanced stage of legal theory and definition than that work. Yajnavalkya, as we have seen, is looked upon as the founder of the Vâjasaneyins or White Yajus, and the author of the Satapathabrâhmana. In the latter work he is represented as having passed some time at the court of King Janaka of Videha (Tirhut); and in accordance therewith he is stated, in the introductory couplets of the Dharmasastra, to have propounded his legal doctrines to the sages, while staying at Mithila (the capital of Videha). Hence, if the connexion between the metrical Smritis and the old Vedic schools be a real one and not one of name merely, we should expect to find in the Yâjñavalkya-smriti special coincidences of doctrine with the Kâtîyasûtra, the principal Sutra of the Vâjasaneyins. Now, sonie sufficiently striking coincidences between this Smriti and Pâraskara's KâtiyaGrihyasútra have indeed been pointed out; and if there ever existed a Dharmasûtra belonging to the same school, of which no trace has hitherto been found, the points of agreement between this and the Dharmaśâstra might be expected to be even more numerous. in the case of Manu, slokas are quoted in various works from a Brihat and a Vriddha-Yajnavalkya. The Yâjñavalkya-smṛiti consists of three books, corresponding to the three great divisions of the Indian theory of law :-áchára, rule of conduct (social and caste duties); vyavahâra, civil and criminal law; and prayaschitta, penance or expiation. There are two important commentaries ou the work :-the famous Mitakshard,3 by Vijñânesvara, who lived under the Châlukya king Vikramâditya of Kalyâna (1076-1127); and another by Aparârka or Aparâditya, a petty Sîlîra prince of the latter half of the 12th century.

As

The Parásara-smriti contains no chapter on jurisprudence, but treats only of religious duties and expiations in 12 adhyâyas. The deficiency was, however, supplied by the famous exegete Mâdhava (in the latter half of the 14th century), who made use of Parâsara's text for the compilation of a large digest of religious law, usually called Parásara-madhaviyam, to which he added a third chapter on vyavahâra, or law proper. Besides the ordinary text of the Parâšara-smriti, consisting of rather less than 600 couplets, there is also extant a Brihat-Parásarasmriti, probably an amplification of the former, containing not less than 2980 (according to others even 3300) slokas. The Náradiya-Dharmasastra, or Naradasmriti, is a work of a more practical kind; indeed, it is probably the most systematic and business-like of all the Smritis. It does not corcern itself with religious and moral precepts, but is strictly confined to law. Of this work again there are at least two different recensions. Besides the text translated by Dr Jolly, a portion of a larger recension has come to light in India. This version has been commented upon by Asahâya, “the peerless"esteemed writer on law who is supposed to have lived before Medhâtithi (19th century)-and it may therefore be considered as the older recension of the two. But, as it has been found to contain the word dinara, an adaptation of the Roman denarius, it cannot, at any rate, be older than the 2d century; indeed, its date is probably several centuries later.

-a very

Whether any of the Dharmasâstras were ever used in India as actual "codes of law" for the practical administration of justice is very doubtful; indeed, so far as the most prominent works of this class are concerned, it is highly improbable. No doubt these works were held to be of the highest authority as laying down the principles of religious and civil duty; but it was not so much any single text as the whole body of the Smriti that was looked upon as the embodiment of the divine law. Hence, the moment the actual work of codification begins in the 11th cen tury, we find the jurists engaged in practically showing how the Smritis confirm and supplement each other, and in reconciling seeming contradictions between them. This new phase of Indian jurisprudence commences with Vijñânesvara's Mitakshard, which, though primarily a commentary on Yajnavalkya, is so rich in original matter and illustrations from other Smritis that it is far more adapted to serve as a code of law than the work it professes to explain. This treatise is held in high esteem all over India, with the exception of the Bengal or Gaudiya school of law, which recognizes as its chief authority the digest of its founder, Jimûtavâhana, especially the chapter on succession, entitled Dayabhaga

2 Edited, with a German transl., by F. Stenzler.

3 Transl. by H. T. Colebrooke.

The section of this chapter on inheritance (daya-vibhāga) has been translated by A. C. Burnell, 1868. Seo West and Bühler, Digest. 1. p. 55. A different views expressed by A Burnell, Dayavibhāga, p. xill. Transl. by H. C. Colebrooke, 1810.

6