Text 35
vṛndāvane nāṭakera ārambha karilā
maṅgalācaraṇa ‘nāndī-śloka’ tathāi likhilā
vṛndāvane — at Vṛndāvana; nāṭakera — of the drama; ārambha — the beginning; karilā — wrote; maṅgalācaraṇa — invoking auspiciousness; nāndī-śloka — introductory verse; tathāi — there; likhilā — he wrote.
In Vṛndāvana, Rūpa Gosvāmī began to write a drama. In particular, he composed the introductory verses to invoke good fortune.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura quotes from the Nāṭaka-candrikā, wherein it is written:
prastāvanāyās tu mukhe nāndī kāryā śubhāvahā
āśīr-namaskriyā-vastu- nirdeśānyatamānvitā
aṣṭābhir daśabhir yuktā kiṁ vā dvādaśabhiḥ padaiḥ
candra-nāmāṅkitā prāyo maṅgalārtha-padojjvalā
maṅgalaṁ cakra-kamala- cakora-kumudādikam
Similarly, in the sixth chapter of the Sāhitya-darpaṇa, text 282, it is said:
āśīr-vacana-saṁyuktā stutir yasmāt prayujyate
deva-dvija-nṛ-pādīnāṁ tasmān nāndīti saṁjñitā
The introductory portion of a drama, which is written to invoke good fortune, is called nāndī-śloka.