Vol. 1X, No. 7.) The Plays of Bhasa. 263 
[V.S.] 
ered in this country. They appear to be older than the edition 
of the Maha-Bharata which we have to-day and which can be 
safely placed about the third century a.c.' The lowest limit 
of the age of Bhasa would be thus cir. 250 a.c. 
In considering the earlier limit we are guided by these 
3 i— 
(I) Buddhism is so familiarly known to the author that 
one of the chief characters—the minister Rumanvat—disguises 
himself as a Sramana.? This familiarity is an indication of 
the post-Asokan period. 
(II) The works depict a society which had just adopted 
Buddhist institutions in the orthodox system, i.e. the society of 
the first orthodox revival (second and first centuries B.C.). Ve 
have the Queen-Dowager of Magadha living the life of an 
orthodox nun. 
(IfIl) At the same time there is an anti-Buddhistic tendency 
noticeable. The Sramana is hated by the Brahmin.* 1e 
Budddhist layman seems to receive a hit in the address * O mad- 
upasaka’®; and the Sramana is on the whole ridiculed as being 
no better than a conjurer.6 The Sramana is hated and ridi- 
culed, but at the same time he is tolerated. This I take to 
point out the closing period of the anti-Buddhistic Brahmin 
Empire of the Sungas and Kanvas. 
(IV) At the end of his plays Bhasa gives a benedictory 
verse which is substantively one and the same. It mostly 
reads as follows :— : 
Imam sagar-paryantam himvadvindhya-kundatam, Mahim 
= ekata patrankam raja-simhah prasastuna re 
[ sai aracuai fenaferqeas | 
aviaaraiag usfde: VagT |) 
“ Let our Raja-Simha rule with sole sovereignity (lit. * ried 
one umbrella’) over this land up to the ocean — 
between the Himalayas and the Vindhyas.”’ 
1 Amongst other things, the tribe of Kanishka (Tusharas) are 
mentioned in the Santi-Parva (LXV, 13-15) amongst foreigners living 
under Hindu Kings. The Hinas are not in that list, and their mention 
elsewhere does not prove their presence within India when the M 
Bharata was cast in its present form. It is not unlikely that they were 
known to the Hindus in the first and the second centuries a.c, Commu- 
Hications with Tartary and China were very frequent in the early cen- 
Prati-Yaug., pp. 43-44. 3 §. Vasava., p. 4. 
* “Shame oe 48 Brahmin-hood that I shall be ee aan 
a abhaya-dina) by a Sramanaka, a wealth-seeker.’’ Prati a 
5 ** Unmattopasaka.’’ Prati.-Yaug., P- 43; also see p. 64. 
5 Ibid., pp. 45-46 
