The Sanskrit Drama in its Origin, Development, Theory & Practice c16.s5.8

c16.s5.8

There can be no doubt of the demerits of Rājaçekhara’s works; he is devoid of the power to create a character: Vidyādharamalla is stiff and uninteresting beside his model, the gay and gallant Vatsa; the queen is without the love or the majesty of Vāsavadattā; Bhāgurāyaṇa is a feeble Yaugandharāyaṇa, whose magician is borrowed in the *Karpūramañjarī* and spoiled in the borrowing. The heroines are without merit; the Vidūṣaka in the *Karpūramañjarī* is tedious, but Cārāyaṇa in the *Viddhaçāla-bhañjikā* has merits; he has plenty of sound common sense, though he is simple and capable of being taken in by others. The intrigue in both Nāṭikās is poorly managed; the confusion of exits and entrances in the *Karpūramañjarī* is difficult to follow and probably more difficult to act, while in the *Viddhaçāla-bhañjikā* the queen is induced to arrange a marriage out of a puerile incident affecting the Vidūṣaka only. The taste of giving two brides to the king at once is deplorable, as is the failure to explain why the king accepts the suggested marriage when ignorant of its true import.)