पृष्ठम्:पलाण्डुमण्डनप्रहसनम्.pdf/३

K.S.R. Institute First Edition : 600 copies Price: Rs. 70/- (Indian) $ 5 (Foreign) ISBN 81-85170-10-X Printed By: M/S. VIGNESHA PRINTERS, Mylapore, Madras - 4. Ph: 8555597 (P.P.) PREFACE The Governing Body of the Kuppuswami Sastri Research Institute is privileged to bring out, to mark the Valedictory function of its Golden Jubilee on 10th July 1996, a monograph of an edition with critical study and English translation of a little known unique farce, the Palandumandana (P.M.) of Harijivana Miśra, a poet scholar who lived in Jaipur in the 17th century. The Prahasana (comedy - farce) and Bhaṇa (one-man show) are two minor play-forms described by Bharata in his Natyaśāstra under the general category of 'Dasarüpaka'. All the post-Bharatal dramaturgists also dealt with them. Although distinct in their technical format, the Prahasana and Bhana arc rightly clubbed together by Bharata as they are both of pure entertaintment value. (ranjakapradhana) and form an important medium to expose the weaknesses of society in general or contemporary to the author. Naturally, comical and satirical elements are dominant in both of them. It is noteworthy that amongst the ten (or eleven) drama-types, besides the full-fledged Nataka, only the Prahasana and Bhāna as preferred by many poets, are represented by a large number of specimens from the early centuries to the present times. As part of my D.Phil. thesis at the University of Oxford during 1969-71 I had an opportunity to critically study for the first time the characteristic features and presentability of the genre of Bhana as available in the theoretical texts from the Natyafastra (2nd century B.C. to 2nd A.D.) to the Rasarṇavasudhakara of Singabhüpāla (14th century A.D.) and correlate and evaluate it with such information as gleaned from the available printed specimens. Subsequently a similar