But in the end
I have acquiesced in my first and still abiding conviction that a
literal translation (such as that which I have given in the notes of
my edition of the Sanskrit text) might have commended itself to
Oriental students, but would not have given a true idea of the beauty
of India's most cherished drama to general readers, whose minds are
cast in a European mould, and who require a translator to clothe
Oriental ideas, as far as practicable, in a dress conformable to
European canons of taste.

And most assuredly such a translation would never have adapted itself
to actual representation on a modern stage as readily as it now
appears that my free version has done. It has gratified me exceedingly
to find that youthful English-speaking Indians--cultured young men
educated at the Universities of Calcutta, Madras and Bombay--have acted
the [S']akoontala, in the very words of my translation with the greatest
success before appreciative audiences in various parts of India.

And lest any one in this country should be sceptical as to the
possibility of interesting a modern audience in a play written
possibly as early as the third or fourth century of our era (see p.
xvi), I here append an extract from a letter received by me in 1893
from Mr. V. Padmanabha Aiyar, B.A., resident at Karamanai, Trivandrum,
Travancore.

'SIVEN COIL STREET, TRIVANDRUM,

_'May 1, 1893_.

'The members of the "Karamanai Young Men's Mutual Improvement Society"
acted your translation of "[S']akoontala" on the 3rd and 5th of
September last year, in the Government Museum Theatre, Trivandrum.

'It was acted in two parts. On the first day Acts I to IV were acted,
and on the second the remaining three Acts.

'All our chief native officials and many Europeans and their ladies
honoured the occasion with their presence. We acted it a second time
at the special request of H.H. the Second Prince of Travancore, in the
Palace of His Highness' mother, the Junior Ranee.

'The public were kind enough to pronounce it a success. In many cases
the applause given was not so much for the acting as for the beauty of
your translation. The Hindus have a great liking for this play, and
not one of the enlightened Hindu community will fail to acknowledge
your translation to be a very perfect one. Our object in acting Hindu
plays is to bring home to the Hindus the good lessons that our ancient
authors are able to teach us. If there is one lesson in these days
m