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Bhāsa
Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, predating Kalidasa. His name was already well-known by the 1st century BCE and he belongs to the late-Mauryan (322-184 BCE) period at the earliest, but the thirteen plays attached to his name are commonly dated closer to the first or second century CE. His plays had been lost for centuries until the manuscripts were rediscovered in 1913 by the Indian scholar Ganapati Shastri. Bhāsa had previously only been known from mentions in other works, like the '' Kavyamimamsa'' on poetics from 880–920 AD. In the Kavyamimamsa, Rajashekhara attributes the play ''Swapnavasavadattam'' to Bhāsa. In the introduction to his first play ''Malavikagnimitram'', Kālidāsa wrote: "Shall we neglect the works of such illustrious authors as Bhāsa, Saumilla, and Kaviputra? Can the audience feel any respect for the work of a modern poet, a Kālidāsa?" Date Bhāsa's date of birth is uncertain, but his name was a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskrit Drama
The term Indian classical drama refers to the tradition of dramatic literature and performance in ancient India. The roots of drama in the Indian subcontinent can be traced back to the Rigveda (1200-1500 BCE), which contains a number of hymns in the form of dialogues, or even scenes, as well as hymns that make use of other literary forms such as animal fables However, Indian drama begins its classical stage in the 3rd-4th century BCE with the composition of the Nātyaśāstra (''lit. The Science of Drama''). Indian classical drama is regarded as the highest achievement of Sanskrit literature. The Buddhist playwright, poet and philosopher Asvaghosa, who composed the ''Buddhacarita'', is considered to have been one of the first Sanskrit dramatists along with Bhāsa, who likely lived in the 2nd century BCE, and is famous for writing two of the only surviving tragedies in Sanskrit drama. Despite its name, a classical Sanskrit drama uses both Sanskrit and Prakrit languages giving i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karnabharam
Karnabharam or ''The Anguish of Karna'' (literally: ''The Burden of Karna'') is a Sanskrit one-act play written by the Indian dramatist Bhasa, an Indian playwright complimented even by the Kalidasa in the beginning of his play Malavikagnimitram. The play describes the mental pain of Karna on the previous day of the Kurukshetra War. Karnabharam is essentially the retelling of an episode of the Indian epic Mahabharata but the story is presented in a different perspective in the play. It is perhaps the only potential tragedy in the classic Sanskrit literature, presented in a form that comes closest to the "Vyayoga" (Sanskrit: व्यायोग) form of one-act play. That is so perhaps because the Natya Shastra ordains the playwrights to create plays for recreation, and essentially create happy endings. In Karnabharam, the tragedy does not occur on-stage (Unlike Urubhanga, a tragedy that shows Duryodhana dying - again, written by Bhasa). Karnabharam shows the valiant, generou ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swapnavāsavadattam
''Svapnavasavadattam'' ( sa, स्वप्नवासवदत्तम्, ) (English: ''The dream of Vasavadatta'') is a Sanskrit play in six acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhāsa. The plot of the drama is drawn from the romantic narratives about the kaushambi king Udayana and Vasavadatta, the daughter of Pradyota, the ruler of Avanti, which were current in the poet's time and which seem to have captivated popular imagination. The main theme of the drama is the sorrow of Udayana for his queen Vasavadatta, believed by him to have perished in a fire, which was actually a rumour spread by Yaugandharayana, a minister of Udayana to compel his king to marry Padmavati, the daughter of the king of Magadha. It forms, in context, a continuation of his another drama, ''Pratijnayaugandharayana''. Background The complete text of the ''Svapnavasavadattam'' was long lost until it was discovered by Indian scholar T. Ganapati Sastri in Kerala in 1912. Characters The main characte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pratigya Yaugandharayanam
''Pratijnayaugandharayana'' ( sa, प्रतिज्ञायौगन्धरायणम्, ) (English: ''The Pledge of Minister Yaugandharāyaṇa'') is a Sanskrit play in four acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhāsa. It is the oldest extant political play of India and the prequel to Bhāsa's ''Svapnavasavadattam''. These plays were written by Bhāsa on the account of Udayana, king of Vatsa (Kaushambi). Throughout the play, Yaugandharayana, minister of Udayana, takes two vows which are ultimately fulfilled. Background ''Pratijnayaugandharayana'' was rediscovered, along with Bhāsa's 12 other plays, in 1912 by Indian scholar T. Ganapati Sastri. As with other plays of Bhasa, the name of the author does not appear in the prologue of the play or anywhere else in the extant manuscripts. But a verse from the play is attributed to Bhasa in ''Subhashitavali'', a 15th century anthology compiled by Vallabhadeva. The play is based on Udayana's story in the ancient Indian epic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swapnavasavadattam
''Svapnavasavadattam'' ( sa, स्वप्नवासवदत्तम्, ) (English: ''The dream of Vasavadatta'') is a Sanskrit play in six acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhāsa. The plot of the drama is drawn from the romantic narratives about the kaushambi king Udayana and Vasavadatta, the daughter of Pradyota, the ruler of Avanti, which were current in the poet's time and which seem to have captivated popular imagination. The main theme of the drama is the sorrow of Udayana for his queen Vasavadatta, believed by him to have perished in a fire, which was actually a rumour spread by Yaugandharayana, a minister of Udayana to compel his king to marry Padmavati, the daughter of the king of Magadha. It forms, in context, a continuation of his another drama, ''Pratijnayaugandharayana''. Background The complete text of the ''Svapnavasavadattam'' was long lost until it was discovered by Indian scholar T. Ganapati Sastri in Kerala in 1912. Characters The main characte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pratijnayaugandharayana
''Pratijnayaugandharayana'' ( sa, प्रतिज्ञायौगन्धरायणम्, ) (English: ''The Pledge of Minister Yaugandharāyaṇa'') is a Sanskrit play in four acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhāsa. It is the oldest extant political play of India and the prequel to Bhāsa's ''Svapnavasavadattam''. These plays were written by Bhāsa on the account of Udayana, king of Vatsa (Kaushambi). Throughout the play, Yaugandharayana, minister of Udayana, takes two vows which are ultimately fulfilled. Background ''Pratijnayaugandharayana'' was rediscovered, along with Bhāsa's 12 other plays, in 1912 by Indian scholar T. Ganapati Sastri. As with other plays of Bhasa, the name of the author does not appear in the prologue of the play or anywhere else in the extant manuscripts. But a verse from the play is attributed to Bhasa in ''Subhashitavali'', a 15th century anthology compiled by Vallabhadeva. The play is based on Udayana's story in the ancient Indian epic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swapnavāsavadatta
''Svapnavasavadattam'' ( sa, स्वप्नवासवदत्तम्, ) (English: ''The dream of Vasavadatta'') is a Sanskrit play in six acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhāsa. The plot of the drama is drawn from the romantic narratives about the kaushambi king Udayana and Vasavadatta, the daughter of Pradyota, the ruler of Avanti, which were current in the poet's time and which seem to have captivated popular imagination. The main theme of the drama is the sorrow of Udayana for his queen Vasavadatta, believed by him to have perished in a fire, which was actually a rumour spread by Yaugandharayana, a minister of Udayana to compel his king to marry Padmavati, the daughter of the king of Magadha. It forms, in context, a continuation of his another drama, ''Pratijnayaugandharayana''. Background The complete text of the ''Svapnavasavadattam'' was long lost until it was discovered by Indian scholar T. Ganapati Sastri in Kerala in 1912. Characters The main characte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Madhyamavyayoga
'' Madhyamavyayoga'' or ''Madhyama Vyāyoga'' (Hindi: मध्यमव्यायोग), (''The Middle One'') is a Sanskrit play attributed to Bhāsa, a famous Sanskrit poet. There is no consensus regarding when the play was written, and it has been dated variously from 475 BCE to the 11th century CE. The Sanskrit poet Nannaya, who lived around 400 AD, has mentioned Bhasa in his works, and this suggests Bhasa may have lived around 350 AD. However, many scholars disagree, and opine that Bhasa lived around the 7th to 8th centuries CE, placing the play's creation within the same time period. Madhyama Vyayoga focuses on the name confusion between the priest Keshav Das's middle son and the middle Pandava prince Bhima. Also, the reunion of Bhima and Ghatotkach as father and son take place. While the characters in this tale are taken from the ''Mahabharata'', this particular incidence is solely a product of Bhasa. Madhyamavyayoga falls under a particular type of Sanskrit drama calle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Urubhanga
''Urubhanga'' or ''Urubhangam'', (Devanagari: ऊरुभङ्गम्), ( en, The Breaking of the Thighs, italic=yes) is a Sanskrit play written by Bhasa in the 2nd or 3rd century CE. Based on the well-known epic, the ''Mahābhārata'', by Vyasa, ''Urubhanga'' focuses on the story of the character Duryodhana during and after his fight with Bhima. Although ''Urubhanga'' contains the same core storyline as that in the ''Mahābhārata'', Bhasa's altering of certain aspects results in a different presentation of the story. The most extreme of these alterations is Bhasa's portrayal of Duryodhana, who, in the ''Mahābhārata'', is viewed as a villain, but in ''Urubhanga'' is given more human qualities. Bhasa's presentation of Duryodhana's side of the tale adds certain tragic elements to the play. Synopsis ''Urubhanga'' is derived from the famous epic ''Mahabharata''. Although portrayed as a villain in the original play, the protagonist Duryodhana is presented in a different lig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theatre In India
Theatre of India is one of the most ancient forms of theatre and it features a detailed textual, sculptural, and dramatic effects which emerged in mid 1st millennium BC, first millennium BC. Like in the areas of music and dance, the Indian theatre is also defined by the dramatic Performance art, performance based on the concept of ''Indian classical dance, Nritya'', which is a Sanskrit word for drama but encompasses dramatic narrative, virtuosic dance, and music. Historically, Indian theatre has exerted influence beyond its borders, reaching ancient China and other countries in the Far East. With the Muslim conquests in the Indian subcontinent, Islamic conquests that began in the 10th and 11th centuries, theatre was discouraged or forbidden entirely.Brandon (1997, 72) and Richmond (1998, 516). Later, in an attempt to re-assert indigenous values and ideas, village theatre was encouraged across the subcontinent, developing in a large number of regional languages from the 15th to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Indian Theatre
Theatre of India is one of the most ancient forms of theatre and it features a detailed textual, sculptural, and dramatic effects which emerged in mid first millennium BC. Like in the areas of music and dance, the Indian theatre is also defined by the dramatic performance based on the concept of ''Nritya'', which is a Sanskrit word for drama but encompasses dramatic narrative, virtuosic dance, and music. Historically, Indian theatre has exerted influence beyond its borders, reaching ancient China and other countries in the Far East. With the Islamic conquests The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ... that began in the 10th and 11th centuries, theatre was discouraged or forbidden entirely.Brandon (1997, 72) and Richmond (1998, 516). Later, in an attempt to re-assert indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kālidāsa
Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas. His surviving works consist of three plays, two epic poems and two shorter poems. Much about his life is unknown except what can be inferred from his poetry and plays. His works cannot be dated with precision, but they were most likely authored before the 5th century CE. Early life Scholars have speculated that Kālidāsa may have lived near the Himalayas, in the vicinity of Ujjain, and in Kalinga. This hypothesis is based on Kālidāsa's detailed description of the Himalayas in his ''Kumārasambhava'', the display of his love for Ujjain in ''Meghadūta'', and his highly eulogistic descriptions of Kalingan emperor Hemāngada in '' Raghuvaṃśa'' (sixth ''sarga''). Lakshmi Dhar Kalla (1891–1953), a Sanskrit scholar an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
