A History of Indian Literature v2.c19.s3.t1.91

v2.c19.s3.t1.91

These poems can scarcely be anything but sacred ballads, counterparts of those Ākhyānas with which the epic poetry of the Indians originated.2) If, with J. *Charpentier*,3) we were to regard them as “little dramas,” then they would be artistic creations of an exquisiteness with which we could hardly credit the Buddhist monks, so much the less as, in the entire Tipiṭaka, we do not find even the slightest trace of such sacred dramas having been performed. On the contrary, the monks are often forbidden, in the Buddhist texts, to take part in plays and similar performances. Had there been a sacred drama in existence, our texts would surely have made an exception in favour of religious performances of this nature. We shall frequently meet with these sacred ballads, always characterised by the same strong dramatic element. The secular and sacred ballads of this kind have surely contributed much towards the origin of the dramas, but these poems themselves should not, on that account, be called "dramas" any more than they can be called "epics," though both probably proceeded from them. The only doubtful point is whether the prose of these poems in the mixed form should always be regarded as being as ancient as the verses. To take an instance, the prose enwrapping the beautiful and impressive sayings on Karman (III, 2, 10; 3, 1) reads much like a commentatorial addition.