According to the code of criticism laid down in works on Sanskrit drama,
it should deal principally either with the sentiment of love, or the
heroic sentiment; the other sentiments should have a subsidiary
position. There should be four or five principal characters, and the
number of acts should vary from five to ten.
There are several species of the drama,--ten principal, and eighteen
minor. Of these none has a tragic end.
Every drama opens with a prologue or, to speak more correctly, an
introduction designed to prepare the way for the entrance of the
dramatis personæ. The prologue commences with a prayer or benediction
(_Nandi_) invoking the national deity in favour of the audience.
Then generally follows a dialogue between the stage-manager and one or
two of the actors, which refers to the play and its author, mentions
past events and present circumstances elucidating the plot, and
invariably ends by adroitly introducing one of the dramatic personages,
and the real performance begins.
The play thus opened, is carried forward in scenes and acts; each scene
being marked by the entrance of one character and the exit of another.
The stage is never left vacant till the end of an act, nor does any
change of locality take place till then. The commencement of a new act
is often marked, by an introductory monologue or dialogue spoken by one
or more of the _dramatis personæ_, and is called _Viskambhaka_ or
_Praveshaka_, which alludes to events supposed to have occurred in the
interval, and the audience are prepared for national plenty and
prosperity, addressed by one of the principal personages of the drama,
to the favourite deity. The development of the plot is brought about
through five divisions called the five _sandhis_. A _sandhi_ is a
combination of incidents whereby the object is attained.