Page:Bibliography of the Sanskrit Drama.djvu/121



A complete classification of the extant dramas according to the divisions (rūpakas) and subdivisions (uparūpakas) recognized in Indian dramaturgical treatises cannot be made at the present time, because, as pointed out above (p. 3, n. 1), the meagre details of the manuscript catalogues and the ambiguous use of the term nāṭaka leave the precise character of many plays still in doubt. Those dramas whose character is definitely known, however, are here grouped under their respective classes, and plays known only by name have also been included, but distinguished from those actually in existence by a prefixed asterisk (*). The authorship of the plays has not been indicated, even in cases where there is more than one work of the same name, as this and other details can easily be ascertained from the corresponding entries in the main body of the work.

Owing to the difficulties of classification pointed out above, very few dramas could with certainty be defined as nāṭakas in the narrower sense. In the list there have been included certain others (distinguished by interrogation-points) that seem, for one reason or another, to belong to this group, but cannot be definitely assigned to it at the present time. In spite of these additions, the proportion of plays of this class is much larger than would seem to be indicated by the meagre list here given, and an examination of the large number of dramas vaguely designated as nāṭakas would unquestionably disclose many additional productions of this variety.