Ten Acts and a Merchant Hero: Nataka or Prakarana?
A +2 Sanskrit Sahitya revision test asks a six-mark question: 'The prescribed play has ten acts, a happy ending, and a hero who is not a king. Classify it as nataka or prakarana and justify with two criteria from the Natyashastra tradition.' The class has been taught that nataka has a famous or royal hero and a plot drawn from legend, while prakarana has an invented plot and a hero who is a brahmin, merchant, or minister, often with a courtesan heroine. Script X writes 'nataka' because of the ten acts and the happy ending. Script Y writes 'prakarana' because the hero is a merchant and the plot is invented. Script Z writes 'nataka' because the play has a vidushaka. The teacher's key says prakarana. A parent challenges X's mark, arguing that ten acts is a nataka feature.
1. Evaluate the criteria. Which features are diagnostic and which are shared?
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Y is correct. The diagnostic criteria are the source of the plot (legend versus invention), the hero's status (royal or divine versus brahmin, merchant, or minister), the heroine (princess versus courtesan or respectable woman), and the presence of divine intervention. Ten acts and a happy ending are shared features: nataka may have five to ten acts, and prakarana may also end happily. The vidushaka appears in both. X's answer uses true but non-diagnostic facts, so it earns 2/6 for accurate observation but not the classification marks. The parent's challenge should be answered by showing that a shared feature cannot discriminate between the two types.
2. How should Z's answer be marked, given that the conclusion is wrong?
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Z is wrong in conclusion and reason. The vidushaka is not a diagnostic feature; he appears in nataka and prakarana alike. A right term with a wrong reason would still be a guess; here both are wrong. Award 0–1/6 only if the script shows some real knowledge of character types, and give feedback: 'Replace the vidushaka test with the plot-source and hero-status tests.' The examiner should not award classification marks for a feature that does not discriminate.
3. Design a one-item follow-up that distinguishes students who know the classification from those who guessed.
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Use a transfer item: 'A play has an invented plot, a merchant hero, and only five acts. Is it a prakarana? Why?' The answer must be yes, because act count is not diagnostic. This separates students who memorised 'ten acts equals nataka' from those who can apply the criteria. A second item could ask them to name one nataka and one prakarana and give the single feature that separates them. The item should require a reason, not just a label, because the original question's difficulty lies in justification.