Abstract

It is well known that the concept of play is employed on a cosmic scale as an explanatory device in certain quarters of classical Indian metaphysics. What is less well known is that in the theory of drama, which explicitly appeals to this ‘playelement’ in the human imagination, the tension and play between different competing rasas is made a requirement of good theater: na hy ekarasajaṃ kāvyam kiṃcid asti — “from one rasa alone, no artwork can be,” says Bharata.1 In other words, there can be no play without contradiction. What is even less widely known is that one of the most frequently staged and widely commented upon Sanskrit plays, Śūdraka’s Little Clay Cart, combines..