The sun., 1900-06-17

in the second and third centuries seems un-
doubted. The Gnostic doctrine OF the oppo.
stlon between soul and matter, of the personai
existence of Intellect will. and so forth' ana
the Identification Of soul and light are de-
rived from the Sankhya system. Ihe oivlsioh'
peculiar to everal Gnostics, OF men INTO three
classes is also based on the sankhya oocu'he
Of the three dumas or triple constituents o'
prmeval matter. Again. the many heavens
Of the Gnostics are evidently derived from
the fantastic cosmogony Of latter Buddhism,
Even In the ninstaenth century, the Influence
of Indian Thought on the 1essimlstic philosophy
of Schopenhaucr aud Won Hartmann Is uh-
mistakahle How great an impression the
Vpunshads produced on the former even
in n secondhand Latin translation may be
Inferred from his written assertion that they
were his consolation in life and would bc so
in death
With regard to the relation OF Indian and
Crock epic poetry, the Greek rhetorician, Dio
Chrysostom t5O-li7 A. D. maintained that the
Indians sang In their own language the soTows
n Priam. the laments of Andromsche and Hec-
tor and the yalor OF Achilles and Hector. The
similarity Of some of the leading characters in
the Mahafharata to which he evidently alludes
caused him 10 suppose that the Indian epic was
a translation of the Had As "A matter OF fact.
there IN no connection OF any kind between the
two poems. Neither does there seem to be a
sufficient basis for the assumption o' Greek
influence Oh another famous Indian epic. the
Rnmayana. u has been alleged that the wor-
ship OF Krishna. who plays an important part
in the Mahafhar ata, arose under the influence Of
Christianity, with which II unauestionably has
so,ne rather striking points Of resemblance.
The theory Is. however. rendered improbable,
at least 50 far as the origin of the cult of Krishna
is concerned by the conclusions reached by
scholars regard the age Of the Mahafharata.
az well a. by the statements Of Megasthenes.
which indicate that Krishna was deified and
worshiped some centuries before the begin
ming Of our era. II Is certain that the story OF
Krishna was the subject OF dramatic represen-
tations in the second or at latest. the first CEN
tury before the birth Of Christ.
Whether the Indian drama has any genetic
connection with that OF Greece has been dis
puted question. That opportunities for such
q connection eI lsted during the first three CEN
turtles preceding our era cannot be denied The
existence of such conditions induced Prof.
Weber to believe that the representations Of
Greek plays. which. OK he takes for granted.
must hive taken place at the courts OF Greek
Princes in Bactra, in the Panjab and In Gujarat,
suggested the drama to the Indians as a sub
iect for imitation. He finds n prop for this
theory in the fact that the curtain Of the Indian
stage is called Yavanika, OF the Greek parti-
ton" Weber at the same time admitted that
there is no internal connection between the
Indian and the Greek drama. Prof Wndisch,
however went further and maintained
tha existence Of such internal con-
perion. He could not point out, indeed.
any affinity to Greek tragedy. but he thought
he could trace in a play named Mriccha-
katika the influence of the new Attic comedy
which reached its zenith with Menander about
800 b, G, The points in which that play re-
sembles the later Greek comedy are fewer and
sgh'er N other Sanskrit dramas, and may
be eXI lained. no doubt as having been
Independently developed in India. The i'm
probability Of Windisch's theory Is en-
phaszrd by the fact that the Indian
drama exhibits still greater affinity 10
that OF Shakespeare than to that of
Athens. As n matter OF fact, too ii Is doubtful
whether Greek plays were ever performed in
India at any rate. no references to such per-
formances have ever been preserved The
earliest Snn-krit plays extant, moreover. are
separated from the Greek p,riod by az least
four hundred years, Our authors conclusion
is that the Indian drama had thoroughly ma
tional development. and even its origin. though
obscure, admits Of an indigenous explanation.
The naine OF the curtain. indeed. Yavanika,
may be a rcminscence Of Greek plays actually
seen in India: but II is uncertain whether the
Greek theatre had curtain at oil. In any case,
it did not form the back ground Of the stage.
Here the interesting fact may be noted that the
beginning of one of the most famous Of modern
European dramas was modelled on that of a
celebrated Sanskrt play. The prelude OF
Cakuntala suggested TO Goethe the plan Of the
prologue on the stage in Faust" where the
stage manager. the merry-andrew and the poet
converse regarding the play about TO be per-
formed Forster's German translation OF the
Sanskrit masterpiece appeared in 1891. and the
profound impression ii made on Goethe Is
proved by the well-known epigram which he
composed on 1t In the same year The impress
sion was lasting one; for the stage prologue
Of Faust" was not written till 1907, and. as late
as 1880. the poet thought OF adapting the In
dian play fer the theatre at Weimar.