the latter and became Sūdras. The Artha-Sastra of Canakya mentions them only as Sūdras.

Bharata Muni gives us some account of theatres as they existed in this country in ancient times. He says there were many schools of dramaturgy and each school had its sūtra and each sūtra had its Bhāsya or commentary, Vārtika, Nirukta, Samgraha and its Kārikā. These collected together formed the BharataNatya Sastra which was compiled probably in 200 в.с. For in this work we find simultaneous mention of the three tribes known as the Saka, Yavana and Palhava. Nöldke, the celebrated German antiquarian, is of opinion that any work containing the names of these tribes together must have been written between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200. It must be said however that in the Bharata-NatyaSastra the word "Pahlava " occurs in its ancient form which is "Parthav." In the Azarbaijan hills, lying on the south of the Caspian sea, a powerful tribe called Parthav or Parada flourished between 250 B.c. and A.D. 222. Situated as they. were between India on the one side and the Roman territory on the other, they often attempted to extend their dominions at the expense of both. They were formerly called "Pathrav," but in their declining days received from the Indians the appellation of " Pahlava." In the Puranas they are mentioned as "Pārada." If therefore the Bharat-Satra was written in 200 B.C. it must be supposed that many dramatic schools had existed even before that date. In Panini we find mention of two Nata-Sūtras, one of which was composed by Silali, the other by Krsāsva. From the drama of Bhāsa we learn that Vatsarāja Udayana boasted that the Sūtrakāra Bharata had been his ancestor.

The methods of dramatic representation, varying as they did with the tastes and natural characteristics of different peoples, were four in number: -Avanti, Decanese, Pañcāli and Odramagadhī. The people of the Deccan liked dancing and music during a performance. They also loved to see the "acting" provided it was clever, sweet and entertaining.

The methods peculiar to the eastern parts of India was Odramagadhī. Bengal stood at the head of the countries in

which it prevailed. For it was from Bengal that Malach, Molla Barshak, Brahmattar, Bhargava, Mārgava, Prāgjyotisa, Pulinda, Videha, Tamralipta and other countries derived their dramatic pravrtti (taste). The peculiarity of this method consisted in the fact that it gave preference to satires and small dramas, dialogues and sanskrit recitation. The Bengalis had a special liking for the "acting" of men and disliked that of females. Eastern Bengal showed a partiality for benedictions and auspicious sounds. Now a word about this Bengali dislike for dancing and music in ancient times. It is with no small surprise that I learn from Babu Amrta Lal Bose, the premier playwright and actor of Bengal, that the Bengalis have still retained their national characteristic. Even now they are averse to dancing and music which however have been retained in the programme solely to please the Marwaris.

It reflects no small glory upon Bengal that 200 years before Christ she could boast of a method of dramatic representation, which was her own.

II.-The Story of a Cotton Printed Fabric from Orissa.

By O. C. Gangoly,

What has hitherto passed as "a piece of ancient Chinese calico" offers in the female types depicted so close a parallel to Orissan figures so familiar to us through old ancient Orissan paintings and wall cartoons, that the inference is almost irresistible that the piece of printed cotton here illustrated (Plate I] may have originally come from some part of Orissa. The fabric is supposed to have come from China and was originally reproduced in the Kokka, No. 115, Plate VI. And whether it is Orissan or not, there is absolutely no doubt that is a piece of Indian cloth and the fact that it now hails from China gives it a quite unique interest. From the edict of Asoka at Dhauli we get a glimpse of the kingdom of Kalinga, of which ancient Orissa was a part. It was an extensive, populous and civilized kingdom before the conquest of Asoka. That frequent sea voyages were made to countries outside India from the ports of Kalinga is now a recognized fact in Indian history. It is highly probable if not absolutely certain, that a section of the inhabitants of ancient Kalinga sent out a colony to Java where Indians have ever since come to be called the "Klings" [i.e. Kalinga. ites]. As late as the eighth century we have evidence of an intercourse of Orissa with China. This is afforded by the Japanese edition of the Chinese Tripitaka which is a translation of a portion of the Buddhist Buddhāvatamsaka Sutra made by a Chinese monk named Prajna on the basis of a manuscript sent as a present to the Chinese Emperor Te Tsung by the King of Utcha [Odra] in A. D. 795. The name of this King in the letter of presentation has been read as Subhakara Kesari [No. 89 in Mr. Buniyu Nanjio's Catalogue; Watters On Yuan Chwang, Vol. II, page 196; Puri District Gazetteer, 1908, page 26]. On the basis of this evidence, it may be possible to suppose that the printed fabric in question may have travelled to China either by the inland or the maritime route. At present the chief centres of production of printed cloths and wax-dyed palampores are at Masulipatam, Kuruppur, Ponneri, Kalahasti, Saidapet, and Sikkanyakanpet [near Kumbakonam]. There is reason to believe that the traditions of this craft in Southern India have been derived from ancient Kalinga where cloth used to be manufactured in such large quantities that Kalinga became the word for cloth in old Tamil. In minor details of the architecture represented and in the general spirit of the design the fabric in question has many interesting coincidences with a piece of modein painted cotton from Sikkanayakanpet [reproduced as Fig. 4 in the account of The Victoria Technical Institute, Madras, 1909]. So that it is possible that our printed fabric from China originated either in Orissa or some part of Southern India. My reasons for suggesting that the piece of cloth came from Orissa are: -(1) that the female figures represented are unmistakably Orissan in type, rather than Southern Indian and this can be easily demonstrated by comparison with figures in old Orissan paintings; (2) some of the architectural details appear to be specially characteristic of Orissa; these are the towers and sikharas of the Vimanas which closely reproduce the towers of many Orissan temples, particularly the towers placed over the Kirtimukhas on the tri-foiled arches, which are characteristically Gaudian or at least Northern Indian types. The principal objection to identify the piece as Orissan is in the type of the male figures represented which rather recall the dress and headgear of the Mahrattas who occupied Orissa from A.D. 1742. If the old textile craft of Kalinga be supposed to have survived to the time of the Mahratta occupation, it is hardly possible that the craft was actually practised during the misrale, anarchy and violence which followed the tyrannieal occupation of the country by the Mahrattas. It is unlikely that after 1742 any direct intercourse either by sea or land could have taken place between India and China. On the other hand, we