A History of Sanskrit Literature c9.s3.4

c9.s3.4

The testimony of the *Mahābhāṣya*, however, is quite clear, and its value is all the greater because it is given incidentally and by accident in the discussion of disputed rules of the master. Patañjali, of course, knows the Bhāratan epic, but he refers also to dramatic recitals of epic legends—perhaps to actual dramatic performances—and the topics mentioned include the slaying by Kṛṣṇa of his wicked uncle Kaṅsa and the binding of Bali by the god Viṣṇu. We are told of rhapsodes who tell their tales until the day dawns, and stories were current which dealt with the legends of Yavaprīta, Yayāti, Priyaṅgu, Vāsavadattā, Sumanottarā, and Bhīmaratha. A Vāraruca Kāvya is actually mentioned, though unfortunately we know no more of it. We have, however, invaluable help in appreciating the growth of Kāvya in the incidental citation of stanzas clearly taken from poems of the classical type. Many are tantalizing in their brevity; we hear of a maiden bought with a price who was dearer to her lord than his life (*sā hi tasya dhanakrītā prāṇebhyo 'pi garīyasī*). The verse *varatanu sampravadanti kukkuṭāḥ*, 'O fair one, the cocks proclaim together', has afforded later authors an opportunity of exhibiting skill in filling up the missing three verses (*samasyāpūraṇa*).¹ Erotic verse is attested also by *priyāṁ mayūraḥ pratinarnṛtīti*, 'The peacock danceth towards his beloved', perhaps also by *ā vanāntād odakāntāt priyam pantham anuvrajet*, 'Let her follow the wanderer she loveth to the end of the woods, to the end of the waters'. Epic or panegyric is found in the address *prathate tvayā patimatī pṛthivī*, 'The earth with thee as lord maketh true its name as wide'; so also *asidvitīyo 'nusāra Pāṇḍavam*, 'With sword as mate he attacked Pāṇḍu's son', *jaghāna Kaṁsaṁ kila Vāsudevaḥ*, 'Vāsudeva slew Kaṁsa.' Brief as it is, there is pathos in