ic poems which were to the Hindus what the Iliad and the
Odyssey were to the Greeks. He was originally of the regal caste; and,
having raised himself to the rank of a Brahman by the length and
rigour of his penance, he became the preceptor of Ramachandra, who
was the hero of the Ramayana, and one of the incarnations of the god
Vishnu. With such an antecedent interest in the particulars of the
story, the audience could not fail to bring a sharpened appetite, and
a self-satisfied frame of mind, to the performance of the play.

Although in the following translation it has been thought expedient to
conform to modern usage, by indicating at the head of each Act the
scene in which it is laid, yet it is proper to apprise the English
reader that in scenery and scenic apparatus the Hindu drama, must have
been very defective. No directions as to changes of scene are given in
the original text of the play. This is the more curious, as there are
numerous stage directions, which prove that in respect of dresses and
decorations the resources of the Indian theatre were sufficiently
ample.

It is probable that a curtain suspended across the stage, and divided
in the centre, answered all the purposes of scenes. Behind the curtain
was the space or room called _nepathya_, where the decorations were
kept, where the actors attired themselves, and remained in readiness
before entering the stage, and whither they withdrew on leaving it.
When an actor was to enter hurriedly, he was directed to do so 'with a
toss of the curtain.'

The machinery and paraphernalia of the Indian theatre were also very
limited, contrasting in this respect unfavourably with the ancient
Greek theatre, which appears to have comprehended nearly all that
modern ingenuity has devised. Nevertheless, seats, thrones, weapons,
and chariots, were certainly introduced, and as the intercourse
between the inhabitants of heaven and earth was very frequent, it is
not improbable that there may have been aerial contrivances to
represent the chariots of celestial beings, as on the Greek stage. It
is plain, however, from the frequent occurrence of the word
_natayitwa_, 'gesticulating,' 'acting,' that much had to be supplied
by the imagination of the spectator, assisted by the gesticulations of
the actors.

For further information relative to the dramatic system of the Hindus,
the reader is referred to the notes appended to the present
translation. It is hoped that they will be fo