The So Called Sanskrit Plays

We have our vast ancient classical dramatic literature in which various characters are required to speak either Sanskrit or Prakrit as prescribed by our ancient dramaturgists The proportion of Sanskrit and Prakrit varies with the theme of the play and the status of the characters Without taking into consideration the actual space occupied by the

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चन्द्र चारुदत्त, मृच्छकटिक, मालविकाग्निमित्र, रत्नावली और प्रियदर्शिका में संस्कृत तथा प्राकृत में बोले गए ग्रन्थाग्रों की गणना करते हैं। अधिकांश नाटकों में आधे से अधिक भाग प्राकृत का है, अतः इन्हें 'संस्कृत नाटक' कहना भाषा की वास्तविक स्थिति और प्राकृत के स्वतन्त्र महत्त्व, दोनों के साथ अन्याय है। Chandra counts the granthagras actually spoken in Sanskrit and in Prakrit in the Carudatta, Mrcchakatika, Malavikagnimitra, Ratnavali and Priyadarsika. Prakrit holds more than half of most of them, so calling the classical plays Sanskrit dramas misrepresents both their language and the independent standing of Prakrit.

Written by the archive’s cataloguers, not by the author.