31. The Origin of Indian Drama. 
By MaHAMAHOPADHYAYA HARAPRASAD SHASTRI. 
Indian tradition almost uniformly assumes that Bharata is 
founder of Indian Dramatic “Art. 
acca” tradi- Kalidasa in his Vikromorvasi speaks 
Samasrami would make him live i while Biihler, 
basing his argument on a story given in the Kathasarits‘gara, 
would place him in His conclusions have not yet 
tre But the priority of Natyasastra to Panini cannot be 
enied. 
More than sixty years ago Colonel Ouseley discovered two 
: pigraphic evidence. country inscribed with sentences in 
Afoka-characters. The inscriptions in their nature were 
preted them to be theatrical. Lipadakhe, in that inscription, 
he interpreted as expert in acting. And inside one of 
caves he found a stage with paintings still faintly discernible, 
with galleries for the audience, with holes for putting in screens, 
and so forth (see his report in Archeological Annual, Vol. 2). 
The staze, he thinks, should be as old as the inscriptions, that 
is, second or third century B. 
os introd L, Saye 
With all due deference to the weight of Professor Néldeke’s 
