Page:The Sanskrit Drama.djvu/49

 44 Post-Vedic Literature sented as a series of dialogues in which the Buddha himself, now supernatural, is the chief, but not the only interlocutor. The same love of the Buddhists for artistic effects is seen in the use of music, song, dance, and some scenic effects in the cere- monial attaching to the foundation of Thūpas in Ceylon by a prince of the royal house; the Mahavansa assumes that dramas were displayed on such occasions, though this may be an anachronism. The frescoes of Ajaṇṭā show the keen appreciation felt for music, song, and the dance, though they date from a time when there is certain evidence of the full existence of the drama. We find also in Tibet¹ the relics of ancient popular religious plays in the contests between the spirits of good and those of evil for mankind, which are part of the spring and autumn festivals. The actors wear strange garments and masks; monks represent the good spirits, laymen the evil spirits of men. The whole company first sings prayers and benedictions; then an evil spirit seeks to seduce into evil a man; he would yield but for the intervention of his friends; the evil spirits then arrive in force, a struggle ensues, in which the men would be defeated but for the intervention of the good spirits, and the whole ends with the chasing away with blows of the representatives of the spirits of evil. With Jainism it is as with Buddhism; we find censure of such ideal enjoyments as the arts akin to the drama, but also recognition of song, music, dance, and scenic presentations in the Canon. But it is hopeless, in view of the utter uncertainty of the date of that collection, to draw any conclusion from it as to the age of the drama. As in the case of Buddhism, Jainism in its development was glad to have recourse to the drama as a means of propagating its beliefs.³ The evidence is conclusive on the close connexion of religion and the drama, and it strongly suggests that it was from religion 1 E. Schlagintweit, Buddhism in Tibet, p. 233; JASB. 1865, p. 71. Ridgeway's Dramas, &c., ignores Tibet. For similar Chinese performances, see Annales Guimet, xii. 416 f. 2 Ayaramga Sutta, ii. 11. 14; Rajapraçniya, IS. xvi. 385. The love of the Indians song and dance is recorded by Greek tradition; Arrian, Anabasis, vi. 2. for 3 Unfortunately the date of this change of view is uncertain. No early Jain drama is certainly recorded. A number of mediaeval works have recently been printed; see E. Hultzsch, ZDMG. lxxv. 59 ff.