प्रियदर्शिका नाटिका (सम्राट हर्षवर्धन - चतुरङ्क शास्त्रीय नाटिका सान्वय सटीक)

XXVII
above*. The story of Bandhumatī resembles that of Priya-
darśikā, as the student can see from the passage from the
कथासरित्सागर quoted above, the names उदयन, वत्सराज, वसन्तक,
वासवदत्ता and साङ्कृत्यायनी, being common to both. Hence we con-
clude that Harsha took for his basis the meagre story of
Bandhumatī, perhaps written in greater detail in the बृहत्कथा,
and worked it up into the present charming play.
(3) TIME ANALYSIS OF THE PLAY.
The action of the Priyadarśikā covers a period of a little
over a year, from the autumn (शरद्) of one year to the
autumn of another. For we are told in the Viṣkambhaka of
the first Act by the chamberlain of Dṛḍhavarman, the king of
the Anga country, that his master was already a captive
of the king of Kalinga; and from the closing speech of the
same chamberlain we learn that the season of the year is
autumn; for he speaks of the uncommon severity of the
autumnal heat and of the sun having passed from the zodiacal
sign virgo to libra. From thiswe know that the month was
A'svina, in which generally the sun is in libra. And we learn
from the message sent by the Queen Aṅgāravatī to her daughter
Vāsavadattā (see p. 46) some days after the events of the
third act which happened on the full moon-day of Aśvina that
it was more than a year since Dṛḍhavarman was taken a
captive. So the action of the play spreads over a period of a
year and a few days more.
Act I. It is not possible exactly to fix the time of
the action of the 1st Act. It begins in the forenoon
of some day in the month of A'śvina some two hours
before noon as the Act closes at mid-day (see Śl. 12). The
King is introduced as holding conversation with his companion
Vasantaka some day after his escape from prison and return

• There is also a third and a more faithful abridgement, which is
  also earlier, of the Bṛhatkathā, known as the Bṛhatkathāśloka-
  saṅgraha, by one, Buddhasvāmin. It is, however, incomplete, only
  28 cantos being extant. In this also the events connected with the
  birth and early years of Udayana are narrated including his visits
  to the city of the Serpents and his acquisition there of the magic
  lute, Ghoṣavatī and of the art of taming elephants Col U. Ed.
  Introd. pp lxx, lxxi.