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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] |
List Of Sanskrit Plays In English Translation
Of around 155 extant Sanskrit plays, at least 46 distinct plays by at least 24 authors have been translated into English. William Jones published the first English translation of any Sanskrit play ('' Shakuntala'') in 1789. About 3 decades later, Horace Hayman Wilson published the first major English survey of Sanskrit drama, including 6 full translations (''Mṛcchakatika'', ''Vikramōrvaśīyam'', ''Uttararamacarita'', ''Malatimadhava'', ''Mudrarakshasa'', and ''Ratnavali''). These 7 plays — plus ''Nagananda'', '' Mālavikāgnimitram'', and '' Svapnavasavadattam'' (the text of which was not discovered until almost a century after Wilson's volumes) — remain the most-translated plays. The period of Sanskrit dramas in India begins roughly with the composition of the '' Natya Shastra'' (c. 200 BCE – 200 CE) — though this treatise evidences a mature theatrical practice already in existence. Literarily, the period dwindles around the composition of the Natya Shatra's influe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Svapnavasavadattam
''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 charac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Udayana (king)
Udayana was a king of Vatsa in India, a contemporary of Gautama Buddha. He is a popular figure in Indian literature, for both his romantic and military stories, but though he probably existed, little is known for certain about his life or reign. According to Buddhist sources, the Buddha visited Kauśāmbī several times during the reign of Udayana on his effort to spread the dharma, the Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths. Udayana was an Upasaka (lay follower) of Buddha. The Chinese translation of the Buddhist canonical text states that the first image of Buddha, curved out of sandalwood was made under the instruction of Udayana. Life Niti Adaval mentions about Udayana and his love for music, art and fondness of women. Due to a ''dohada'' ("pregnancy craving"), Mṛgāvatī, pregnant with Udayana, is either covered or immersed in red. A monstrous bird mistakes her for raw meat and carries her away, later dropping her. She is cared for in a hermitage, where she raise ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
English Language
English is a West Germanic language of the Indo-European language family, with its earliest forms spoken by the inhabitants of early medieval England. It is named after the Angles, one of the ancient Germanic peoples that migrated to the island of Great Britain. Existing on a dialect continuum with Scots, and then closest related to the Low Saxon and Frisian languages, English is genealogically West Germanic. However, its vocabulary is also distinctively influenced by dialects of France (about 29% of Modern English words) and Latin (also about 29%), plus some grammar and a small amount of core vocabulary influenced by Old Norse (a North Germanic language). Speakers of English are called Anglophones. The earliest forms of English, collectively known as Old English, evolved from a group of West Germanic (Ingvaeonic) dialects brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the 5th century and further mutated by Norse-speaking Viking settlers starting in the 8th and 9th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting impact on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Old Indo-Aryan language varieties. The most archaic of these is the Vedic Sanskrit found in the Rig Veda, a colle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vatsa
Vatsa or Vamsa (Pali and Ardhamagadhi: , literally "calf") was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas (great kingdoms) of Uttarapatha of ancient India mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya. Location The territory of Vatsa was located to the south of the Gaṅgā river, and its capital was the city of or , on the Yamunā river and corresponding to the modern-day location of Kosam. History The early period The Vatsas were a branch of the Kuru dynasty. During the Rig Vedic period, the Kuru Kingdom comprised the area of Haryana/ Delhi and the Ganga-Jamuna Doab, till Prayag/ Kaushambi, with its capital at Hastinapur. During the late-Vedic period, Hastinapur was destroyed by floods, and the Kuru King shifted his capital with the entire subjects to a newly constructed capital that was called Kosambi or Kaushambi. In the post Vedic period, when Arya Varta consisted of several Mahajanpads, the Kuru Dynasty was split between Kurus and Vatsas. The Kurus controlled the Haryana/ Delhi/ Up ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sahitya Akademi
The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its office is located in Rabindra Bhavan near Mandi House in Delhi. The Sahitya Akademi organises national and regional workshops and seminars; provides research and travel grants to authors; publishes books and journals, including the ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature''; and presents the annual Sahitya Akademi Award of INR. 100,000 in each of the 24 languages it supports, as well as the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship for lifetime achievement. The Sahitya Akademi Library is one of the largest multi-lingual libraries in India, with a rich collection of books on literature and allied subjects. It publishes two bimonthly literary journals: '' Indian Literature'' in English and ''Samkaleen Bharatiya Sahitya'' in Hindi. Languages The Sahitya Akad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brihatkatha
''Bṛhatkathā'' (Sanskrit, "the Great Narrative") is an ancient Indian epic, said to have been written by Gunadhya, Guṇāḍhya in a poorly-understood language known as Paiśācī. The work no longer exists but several later adaptations — the ''Kathasaritsagara, Kathāsaritsāgara'' (''कथासरित्सागर''), ''Bṛhatkathāmañjarī'' (''बृहत्कथामंजरी'') and ''Bṛhatkathāślokasaṃgraha'' (''बृहत्कथाश्लोकसंग्रह'') in Sanskrit, as well as the ''Peruṅkatai'' and ''Vasudevahiṃḍi'' in vernaculars — make commentary on the piece. The date of its composition is uncertain. According to testimonials by later Sanskrit poets such as Daṇḍin, Subandhu, and Bāṇabhaṭṭa, Bāṇa, the ''Bṛhatkathā'' existed in the 6th century CE. According to other estimates it predates that period by several more centuries. For example, if the story of Udayana (king), Udayana by poet Bhāsa (and als ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gunadhya
Guṇāḍhya is the Sanskrit name of the sixth-century Indian author of the ''Bṛhatkathā'', a large collection of tales attested by Daṇḍin, the author of the ''Kavyadarsha'', Subandhu, the author of ''Vasavadatta'', and Bāṇabhaṭṭa, the author of the ''Kadambari''. Scholars compare Guṇāḍhya with Vyasa and Valmiki even though he did not write the now long-lost ''Brihatkatha'' in Sanskrit; the loss of this text is one of the greatest losses of Indian literature. Presently available are its two Kashmiri Sanskrit recensions, the ''Brihatkathamanjari'' by Kshemendra and the ''Kathasaritsagara'' by Somadeva. Date Guṇāḍhya could have flourished during the reign of a Satavahana dynasty, Satvahana king of Pratishthana (modern-day Paithan, Maharashtra). According to D. C. Sircar, he probably flourished between the 1st century BCE and 3rd century CE. An alternative account, mentioned in the ''Nepala Mahatmya'' of the Skanda Purana, states that Gunadhya was born i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pradyota
Pradyota dynasty, also called ''Prthivim Bhoksyanti'' (lit. enjoying the earth), is an ancient Indian dynasty, which ruled over Avanti (Ancient India), Avanti and Magadha, though most of the Puranas ''(except a manuscript of the Brahmanda Purana, preserved in the University of Dhaka)'' say that this dynasty succeeded the Brihadratha dynasty in Magadha. The dynasty ruled for 138 years. ''Pradyota'' is the founder of the dynasty and ruler of Avanti (Ancient India), Avanti & Magadha. Pradyota dynasty was Second dynasty who ruled Magadha. Pradyota was son of Pulika (''Punika''), who is said to have killed Ripunjaya of Brihadratha dynasty at Rajagriha, to make his son the king. Pradyota dynasty was preceded by Brihadratha dynasty and succeeded by Haryanka dynasty of Magadha. Pradyota is said to have ruled for 23 years. Palaka's reign started in (659–635 BCE) according to ''Visarasreni'' of Merutunga. He was the son of Chanda Pradyota of Magadha. He is said to have conquere ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ujjayini
Ujjain (, Hindustani pronunciation: d͡ːʒɛːn is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative centre of Ujjain district and Ujjain division. It is one of the Hindu pilgrimage centres of Sapta Puri famous for the '' Kumbh Mela'' held there every 12 years. The famous temple of Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is located in the center of the city. An ancient city situated on the eastern bank of the Shipra River, Ujjain was the most prominent city on the Malwa plateau of central India for much of its history. It emerged as the political centre of central India around 600 BCE. It was the capital of the ancient Avanti kingdom, one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas. During the 18th century, the city briefly became the capital of Scindia state of the Maratha Empire, when Ranoji Scindia established his capital at Ujjain in 1731. It remained an important political, commercial and cultu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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