Studies in the History of Sanskrit Poetics v1.c6.31

v1.c6.31

There are also indications that Bharata’s teachings are probably older than Kālidāsa, who generally adheres to Bharata’s dramaturgic prescriptions². Kālidāsa refers to Bharata as the mythical nāṭyācārya; but apart from this, it may be pointed out that while Bharata ignores Māhārāṣṭrī as one of Prakrits used in the drama, it is well known that in Sanskrit dramatic works, including those of Kālidāsa, Prakrit verses are in Māhārāṣṭrī and the prose-parts are in Śaurasenī and other allied Prakrits. In Raghu xix 36, again, Kālidāsa speaks of aṅgasattva-vacanāśraya nṛtya, which, as Mallinātha rightly points out, agrees with Bharata’s dictum sāmānyābhinayo nāma jñeyo vāgaṅga-sattvajaḥ³.