पृष्ठम्:विक्रमोर्वशीयम् (कल्पलताव्याख्यासमेतम्).djvu/९६

पुटमेतत् सुपुष्टितम्
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ESTIMATE OF THE PLAY


P. 222 Act IV). The next is the beautiful description of the mother Ganges, the King's capital and the landscape about it. The dignified demeanour of Urvashi even in self approach to the lover is very striking. Then this is the only drama which contains the Unmādānk in the Sanskrit literature, which so beautifully puts the king to ask of every animate or inanimate object in regard to the whereabouts of his beloved. It strikingly reminds of the poet and his hero of the Cloud Messenger with a step ahead in the sense that this demeanour of the Hero in this drama is attended with the spell of music and dance and impressive delusions. This art of the poet throws the reader in entire sympathy with the hero and is a device which makes the readers in unison with the hero, an element necessary to the perfect relish of the rasa (Vide " विगलितवेद्यान्तरो रसास्वाद" " etc), which is painfully absent in Shākuntal. Though the fourth act of this drama if admitted to be free from interpolation is at a couple of places incongruous as pointed out in the commentary, it only goes to establish that the poet did not feel interested in this play in observing closely the unities of time and place (Of. “पूर्वदिक्पवनाहतकल्लोलोद्गतबाहुः p. 202..अन्यथा कथं पुरूरवसमपहाय समुद्राभिसारिणी भवेत् p. 208 Act IV.) Even this incongruity has a charm in the case of a bewildered hero and every independent critic will feel the charms of this Act in no way less than that of the corresponding act of the poet's other dramas. The poor displays in this drama also the same concinnity of style, and his close acquaintance with the human feelings, his delineation of characters and picturesque description of natural phenomena appear as appreciable and bewitching as in the case of Shākuntal.

 This is, however, a succinct survey into the merits of the play and it is felt that on the lines indicated above the reader will take pains to study this drama of Kalidasa and will feel its worth in its own way.