L1definition
sūtri-vākyaṁ tad-arthaṁ vā svetivṛtta-samaṁ yadā |
sūtri-vākyaṁthe utterance of the Sūtradhāra (the stage-manager who opens the play) — this is what gets taken up accusative object of svīkṛtya in L2; sūtrin = the sūtradhāraसूत्रधार का कथन (जिसे पात्र आगे ग्रहण करता है)
tad-arthaṁor the sense of that utterance — its meaning rather than its exact words accusative, the second thing that can be picked upअथवा उसी कथन का अर्थ
vāor — offering the two options, the words themselves or just their senseअथवा — दोनों में से कोई एक
sva-itivṛtta-samaṁwhich fits his own plot — the entering character's own storyline (itivṛtta) accusative, qualifying sūtri-vākya / tad-artha; sama = matching, suited toजो अपने इतिवृत्त (कथानक) के अनुरूप हो
yadāwhen — sets up the condition, answered by 'that is called…' in L2जब (ऐसा होता है)
yadā — when; sūtri-vākyaṁ — the Sūtradhāra's utterance; tad-arthaṁ vā — or its sense; sva-itivṛtta-samaṁ — matching his own plot; …
sūtri-vākyaṁ — सूत्रधार का कथन; tad-arthaṁ — अथवा उसी कथन का अर्थ; vā — या; sva-itivṛtta-samaṁ — जो पात्र के अपने इतिवृत्त (कथानक) के अनुरूप हो; yadā — जब (पात्र उसे ग्रहण करके प्रवेश करे)
The setup runs: whenever the Sūtradhāra (the stage-manager) says something at the opening, and a character finds that either the very words, or just their sense, fit his own part of the story — he takes hold of it. The line names the condition; the naming comes in the next line.
जब कोई पात्र सूत्रधार के कथन को, अथवा उस कथन के अर्थ को ग्रहण करता है — और वह कथन या अर्थ पात्र के अपने कथानक के अनुकूल हो —।
kathodghāta means the 'opening up' (udghāta) of the 'story' (kathā) — one of the recognized devices for launching a play out of the sūtradhāra's opening prologue. The trick is that the character's entrance is hooked to the stage-manager's words, so the story seems to unfold naturally from them.
कथोद्घात का अर्थ है कथा का 'उद्घाटन' — नाटक को सूत्रधार की प्रस्तावना से आरम्भ करने के लिए मान्य उपायों में से एक। इसकी विशेषता यह है कि पात्र का प्रवेश सूत्रधार के वचनों से जुड़ा रहता है, जिससे कथा उन्हीं वचनों से सहज रूप से खुलती हुई प्रतीत होती है।
L2definition
svīkṛtya praviśet pātraṁ kathodghātaḥ sa kīrtitaḥ ||
svīkṛtyahaving taken it up / picked it up as his own absolutive of svī-kṛ; the object is sūtri-vākya / tad-artha from L1(उस कथन या अर्थ को) ग्रहण करके
praviśetand then enters the stage optative, giving the standard form of the deviceरंगमंच पर प्रवेश करे
pātraṁthe character — the role who makes this entrance neuter nominative, subject of praviśetपात्र (यही कर्ता है)
kathodghātaḥthe kathodghāta (the 'opening-up-of-the-story' device)कथोद्घात (नामक उपाय)
sathat — pointing back to the entrance just describedवह (यही)
kīrtitaḥis what has been declared / is called past participle, the naming verb that closes the definitionकहा गया है
pātraṁ — the character; [tat] svīkṛtya — having taken it up; praviśet — enters; saḥ — that; kathodghātaḥ — the kathodghāta; kīrtitaḥ — is declared to be.
pātraṁ — पात्र; svīkṛtya — (सूत्रधार के वाक्य या उसके अर्थ को) ग्रहण करके; praviśet — प्रवेश करे; saḥ — वह; kathodghātaḥ — कथोद्घात; kīrtitaḥ — कहा गया है
When the character takes up the Sūtradhāra's words (or their sense) and enters on the strength of them, that entrance is called the kathodghāta. So the whole two-line rule is one definition: story-fitting words from the stage-manager, picked up by the character, become the hook for his entry.
पात्र (उस कथन या अर्थ को) ग्रहण करके रंगमंच पर प्रवेश करे — इसी को कथोद्घात कहा गया है।
yadā pātraṁ sūtri-vākyaṁ tad-arthaṁ vā sva-itivṛtta-samaṁ svīkṛtya praviśet, saḥ kathodghātaḥ kīrtitaḥ.
yadā pātraṁ sūtri-vākyaṁ tad-arthaṁ vā sva-itivṛtta-samaṁ (sat) svīkṛtya praviśet, saḥ kathodghātaḥ (iti) kīrtitaḥ।
Whenever a character takes up the Sūtradhāra's opening words — or merely their sense — finds that they fit his own part of the story, makes them his own, and then enters the stage on the strength of them, that entrance is called the kathodghāta.
जब कोई पात्र सूत्रधार के कथन को, अथवा उसी कथन के अर्थ को — जो उसके अपने इतिवृत्त अर्थात् कथानक के अनुरूप हो — ग्रहण करके रंगमंच पर प्रवेश करता है, तब उसी उपाय को कथोद्घात कहा गया है।
A lakṣaṇa-kārikā of Rūpa defining the kathodghāta, the device by which a character's entrance is hooked to the Sūtradhāra's opening words so the story seems to open up (udghāta) naturally from the prologue.
यह कारिका मुख (सन्धि) के एक अङ्ग कथोद्घात का लक्षण देती है।