Life and Conditions of the People of Hindustan (1200–1550 A.D.) c7.s3.t3.57

c7.s3.t3.57

The popular dramatic art was degenerating into the mimicries of the mountebanks and the vulgar tricks of buffoons and professional jesters, when it was rescued to some extent by the new stimulus of the Krishna cult. The Krishnite forms were better suited to the needs of dramatic art, since they were so much more erotic than Ramite. *Krishna-lilas*, as these performances were called, were staged in certain parts of the country. Herein were enacted the familiar and popular events of the life of Krishna and his various exploits, such as his loves and the pranks he played on the milkmaids, the separation and grief of Radha, the killing of the tyrant Kans, etc. etc.² The *Rama-lilas* of a later date, which came into vogue with the popularity of the Rama cult and the poems of Tulasi Das and are still celebrated, were modelled on the lines of the Krishnalilas. This stimulus, however, was not sufficient to revive the ancient glory of Hindu Drama. Dancing and music also began to degenerate, mainly through assigning a special caste for them and by confining the scope of their development to the amusement of the upper classes and the service of religion.