ARTOLA - PRASANGIKA untying the knot of her sari. The king, upon seeing this, orders the Viduşaka to catch the monkey. The Viduşaka hesitates, saying that under the circumstances it is dangerous to interfere. When his wife is finally released by the monkey, Prakṛṣṭadeva exclaims, with good reason: "Oh beloved one! May nothing inauspicious happen to you!". Then just as Vyanjanamukha takes a big stone to hit the monkey, the latter gets caught in the braid of the hair of Yonimanjari, and they struggle together to get released. The Vidusaka brings a piece of burning wood and waves it in front of the monkey. Yonimanjari and the monkey go round and round and it is only when the ribbon of her hair gets burnt that the monkey is freed. The monkey then runs. away and the Viduşaka is fast in its pursuit. After all this disturbance and confusion, Prakrstadeva suggests to his wife that they leave the court. Bhaṭṭamāra takes the suggestion also, and he prepares to leave with the child, but the Vidusaka, who has just returned, detains him and tells the child to call him father which he does. Thereupon Vyanjanamukha and his wife feel very sad, for they are aware of the confusion of the child. A sudden uproar indicates that the monkey has entered the harem, and this delights the king who says that the important thing is to catch the monkey. Both he and the Viduşaka follow the monkey into the harem, and the play ends with the exit of all those whom they left behind. 10 Inspite of manuscript which is full of incorrect Sanskrit, many scribal errors and substandard Prakrit, it is possible to understand at least seventy-five percent of the text. The Prakrit which is spoken by Yonimanjari is similar to the Prakrit of the other prahasanas of Harijivana Misra in that it is one which has been invented by the author, since in the seventeenth century the standard theatrical Prakrits were no longer in use. Harijivana Misra's Prakrit is close enough to Sanskrit so that a contemporary audience could follow it without difficulty. It is unfortunate that we do not have additional manuscripts of the Präsangika which would enable us to edit ARTOLA - PRASANGIKA critically the text. Notwithstanding very few objectionable references, that is by comparison with other late prahasanas, the Prasangika is highly humorous and fast moving and in its well-constructed plot it is a decided improvement over the three farces of the Adbhutataranga. 11 Among the comedy-farces of Harijivana Miśra the only one which lends itself to a critical edition is assuredly the Palandumandana for there are at least three manuscripts of this prahasana and a comparative textual study of them can result in a satisfactory text. The Palandumandana is decidedly the comic masterpiece of Harijivana Misra and it demonstrates beyond a question his talent as a composer of comedy-farces. The other plays which he composed later, although he calls them prahasanas, are not characterised by those traits which we normally associate with prahasanas. They lack the comic elements which we would expect to find in a prahasana, The Vibudhamohana and Sahrdayananda represent the culmination of the dramatic art of Harijivana Misra; they are works in which he puts into practice his own specialised knowledge of alamkara sastra, demonstrating his skill in theory rather than in practical stage technique. Relatively devoid of action, they seem to be exercised in erudition by means of which the author wishes to show his superior knowledge of the tenets of alamkara sastra. It would not be unreasonable to suppose that they are the last of his dramatic productions, composed sometime after his longer plays, the Vijayapärijata and Prabhavali. About these nātikās I am 6 Besides the Bikaner manuscript, there is another one in the India Office Library, London; cf. Keith's Catalogue, II. p.1226. There is a third manuscript in the private library of the Maharaja of Jaipur. 7 Dr.V. Raghavan brought out a good edition of Palandumandana from the above three Sanskrit Journal, Malayamaruta, vol.III, 1973, pp.116-35.
