mingoes, bright-hued parrots, and Indian cuckoos, in the
midst of which they move, are often addressed by them and form an
essential part of their lives. Hence the influence of Nature on the
minds of lovers is much dwelt on. Prominent everywhere in classical
Sanskrit poetry, these elements of Nature luxuriate most of all in the
drama.

The dramas of Bhavabhuti except Malati-Madhava, and the whole herd of
the later dramatic authors, relate to the heroic traditions of the
Ramayana and the Mahabharata, or else to the history of Krishna; and the
later the pieces are, the more do they resemble the so-called
'mysteries' of the middle ages. The comedies, which, together with a
few other pieces, move in the sphere of civil life, form, of course, an
exception to this. A peculiar class of dramas are the philosophical
ones, in which abstractions and systems appear as the _dramatis
personae_. One very special peculiarity of the Hindu drama is that women,
and persons of inferior rank, station, or caste are introduced as
speaking the _Prakrit_ or vulgarised Sanskrit, while the language of the
higher and more educated classes is the classical Sanskrit of the
present type.

THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SANSKRIT DRAMA.

According to the code of criticism laid down in works on Sanskrit drama,
it should deal principally either with the sentiment of love, or the
heroic sentiment; the other sentiments should have a subsidiary
position. There should be four or five principal characters, and the
number of acts should vary from five to ten.

There are several species of the drama,--ten principal, and eighteen
minor. Of these none has a tragic end.

Every drama opens with a prologue or, to speak more correctly, an
introduction designed to prepare the way for the entrance of the
dramatis personae. The prologue commences with a prayer or benediction
(_Nandi_) invoking the national deity in favour of the audience.

Then generally follows a dialogue between the stage-manager and one or
two of the actors, which refers to the play and its author, mentions
past events and present circumstances elucidating the plot, and
invariably ends by adroitly introducing one of the dramatic personages,
and the real performance begins.

The play thus opened, is carried forward in scenes and acts; each scene
being marked by the entrance of one character and the exit of another.
The stage is never left vacant till the end of an act, nor does any
change of local