A History of Sanskrit Literature c16.6

c16.6

The earliest references to the acted drama are to be found in the *Mahābhāshya*, which mentions representations of the *Kaṁsavadha*, the "Slaying of Kaṁsa," and the *Balibandha*, or "Binding of Bali," episodes in the history of Kṛishṇa. Indian tradition describes Bharata as having caused to be acted before the gods a play representing the *svayaṁvara* of Lakshmī, wife of Vishṇu. Tradition further makes Kṛishṇa and his cowherdesses the starting-point of the *saṁgīta*, a representation consisting of a mixture of song, music, and dancing. The *Gītagovinda* is concerned with Kṛishṇa, and the modern *yātrās* generally represent scenes from the life of that deity. From all this it seems likely that the Indian drama was developed in connection with the cult of Vishṇu-Kṛishṇa, and that the earliest acted representations were therefore, like the mysteries of the Christian Middle Ages, a kind of religious plays, in which scenes from the legend of the god were enacted mainly with the aid of song and dance, supplemented with prose dialogue improvised by the performers.