Introductory Remarks
3 (P. 3; H. 3).
- kasya cid eva kadā cid dayayā viṣayaṃ Sarasvatī viduṣaḥ
ghaṭayati kam api tam anyo vrajati jano yena vaidagdhīm.
‘Sarasvatī through her favor furnishes to any intelligent man at any time that subject, whatever it be (kam api), by which somebody else becomes cultured.’
Notes. The sense is: The goddess Sarasvatī freely provides themes for literary works to persons of intelligence, and through these works culture is diffused among others.—Meter: āryā.
4 (P. 4; H. 4).
- uddhṛtyoddhṛtya sāraṃ yam akhilanigamān
nāṭyavedaṃ Viriñciś
cakre yasya prayogam munir api Bharatas
tāṇḍavaṃ Nīlakaṇṭhaḥ
Śarvāṇī lāsyam asya pratipadam aparaṃ
lakṣma kaḥ kartum īṣṭe
nāṭyānāṃ kiṃ tu kiṃ cit praguṇaracanayā
lakṣaṇaṃ saṃkṣipāmi.
‘Who, pray, is able to make a new detailed nomenclature (pratipadaṃ lakṣma) of dramatic science, which Viriñci [i. e. Brahma] created after repeatedly extracting the essence from the entire sacred writ—[that dramatic science] of which Bharata, though a seer, gave an exhibition, Nīlakaṇṭha [i. e. Śiva] performing the wild dance (tāṇḍava) and Śarvāṇī [i. e. Pārvatī] performing the gentle dance (lāsya)? Yet I shall give concisely, in orderly arrangement, some sort of description of dramatic representations.’
Notes. A reference to the legend of the creation of the drama by Brahma and of the codification and application of its rules by Bharata, the reputed author of the Bhāratīya-nātyaśāstra.—Meter: sragdharā.—Cf. Lévi, p. 16.
