Under such circumstances the Hindoo playwrights must have found
themselves in a curious dilemma. They were sufficiently versed in the
poetic art to build up a plot; but what chance for an amorous plot was
there in a country where there was no courtship, where women were
sold, ignored, maltreated, and despised? Perforce the poets had to
neglect realism, give up all idea of mirroring respectable domestic
life, and take refuge in the realms of tradition, fancy, or liaisons.
It is interesting to note how they got around the difficulty. They
either made their heroines bayadères, or princesses, or girls willing
to be married in a way allowing them their own choice, but not reputed
respectable. Bayadères, though not permitted to marry, were at liberty
to choose their temporary companions. Cûdraka indulges in the poetic
license of making Vasantasena superior to other bayadères and
rewarding her in the end by a regular marriage as the hero's wife
number two. By way of securing variety, apsaras, or celestial
bayadères, were brought on the scene, as in Kalidasa's _Urvasi_,
permitting the poet to indulge in still bolder flights of fancy.
Princesses, again, were favorite heroines, for various reasons, one of
which was the tradition concerning the custom called Svayamvara or
"Maiden's Choice"--a princess being "permitted," after a tournament,
to "choose" the victor. The story of _Nala and Damayanti_ has made us
familiar with a similar meeting of kings, at which the princess
chooses the lover she has determined on beforehand, though she has
never seen him. Apart from the fantasticality of this episode, it is
obvious that even if the Svayamvara was once a custom in royal circles
it did not really insure to the princesses free choice of a rational
kind. Brought up in strict seclusion, a king's daughter could never
have seen any of the men competing for her. The victor might be the
least sympathetic to her of all, and even if she had a large number of
suitors to choose from, her selection could not be based on anything
but the momentary and superficial judgment; of the eye. But for
dramatic purposes the Svayamvara was useful.