# Dasarupa (Haas 1912)

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THE DAŚARŪPA
A TREATISE ON HINDU DRAMATURGY
THE DAŚARŪPA
A TREATISE ON HINDU DRAMATURGY
THE
DAŚARŪPA
A TREATISE ON HINDU DRAMATURGY
By DHANAṂJAYA
NOW FIRST TRANSLATED FROM THE SANSKRIT WITH THE TEXT AND AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES
BY
GEORGE C. O. HAAS, A. M.
SOMETIME FELLOW IN INDO–IRANIAN LANGUAGES IN COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF THE DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, IN THE FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
New York 1912 All rights reserved
Copyright 1912 By Columbia University Press
Printed from type, August, 1912
Press of The New Era Printing Company, Lancaster, Pa.
TO MY FATHER
PREFATORY NOTE
In the present volume an important treatise on the canons of dramatic composition in early India is published for the first time in an English translation, with the text, explanatory notes, and an introductory account of the author and his work. As a contribution to our knowledge of Hindu dramaturgy, I am glad to accord the book a place in the Indo–Iranian Series, particularly as it comes from one who has long been associated with me as a co-worker in the Oriental field.
A. V. Williams Jackson.
PREFACE
The publication of the present volume, originally planned for 1909, has been delayed until now by various contingencies both unforeseen and unavoidable. While in some respects unfortunate, this delay has been of advantage in giving me opportunities for further investigation and enabling me to add considerably to my collection of comparative material.
For information regarding the plan and scope of the book I would refer the reader to pages xli–xlv of the Introduction. I take this opportunity, however, to emphasize the fact that the transliterated text of Dhanaṃjaya’s treatise has been included solely for the convenience of those using the book; with the exception of a few minor corrections and emendations it is the same as that originally published by Hall in 1865. It should be noted, furthermore, that I have not undertaken to present the comments of Dhanika except in a few special cases, the paragraphs headed ‘Com.’ being devoted chiefly to recording the source of his numerous illustrative quotations. The limitations I have imposed on myself in the notes will be evident to the reader on inspection.
In deference to the wishes of the publishers I have refrained from using in the present volume the simpler English spellings recommended by the Simplified Spelling Board. I should have preferred to adopt them here, as I have done in my personal correspondence, because I believe that the use of the simpler forms in the publication of books and papers is one of the most effective means of furthering a change at once so necessary and so reasonable.
I am indebted to the librarians of the India Office and of the Deutsche Morgenländische Gesellschaft for their kindness in sending to Professor Jackson, for my use, a number of volumes that were not accessible in this country. It is a pleasure to acknowledge also the uniform courtesy of the publishers, whose ​patience must have been sorely taxed by the long course of publication, and of the printers, who have not only performed their part of the task in a highly creditable manner, but have shown the greatest forbearance with the unavoidable delays incident to the production of the book.
My special thanks are due to Professor E. Washburn Hopkins for the use of his copy of the Satsaiya of Bihārī and for comments on certain difficult passages; to Professor Charles R. Lanman for placing at my disposal a rare version of the Mahānāṭaka and giving me suggestions regarding certain parts of my translation; and to Dr. Franklin Edgerton for material from an unpublished MS. of the Vikramacarita. I am sincerely grateful as well to Dr. Charles J. Ogden, who read the entire book in proof and gave me numerous welcome corrections and suggestions, and to Dr. Louis H. Gray, who carefully examined with me many difficult passages and whose broad scholarship has been helpful at all stages of the work. I wish to express also my appreciation of the help of two other friends, Miss Marie L. Weiss and Miss Jane Porter Williams, who have in various ways generously contributed to the successful completion of my task.
And I wish to record here, above all, some expression, however inadequate, of the debt of gratitude I owe to my friend and teacher, Professor A. V. Williams Jackson. His kindly interest in my work has never flagged since the day, now twelve years past, when I first took up the study of Sanskrit under his guidance, and, even amid the pressure of multifarious duties, he has always placed his time and energy ungrudgingly at my disposal. In the preparation of this book I have had throughout the benefit of his encouragement and his stimulating criticism, and it bears some evidence of his comments and suggestions on almost every page. My years of association with him at Columbia as pupil and as co-worker will always remain a precious memory.
George C. O. Haas.
CONTENTS
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