Sanskrit Manuscripts : Hanumannāṭakadīpikā

Sanskrit Manuscripts

<p style='text-align: justify;'> A modern paper manuscript of the Bengali recension of the <i>Hanumannāṭaka with Dīpikā</i> commentary by Mohanadāsa. Similar to other <i>mahānāṭaka</i>s, this play in fourteen acts (nine or ten in the Western or Nāgārī recension) has the particularity of being wholly in Sanskrit and mainly in narrative verses. It was presumably composed between the 10th and the 13th century, although an older recension may have existed by the time of Ānandavardhana, who quotes some of its verses. Alternatively, the <i>Hanumannāṭaka</i>, also called <i>Mahānāṭaka</i>, may have incorporated verses from some older lost Rāma play. A legend recorded in the manuscripts of the Bengali recension says that Hanumān himself composed this play, but it was thrown into the ocean by Vālmīki for fear that it might overshadow his <i>Rāmāyaṇa</i>. Later on Bhoja recovered it and Dāmodara Miśra reconstructed it. </p>