''Pratijnayaugandharayana'' ( sa, प्रतिज्ञायौगन्धरायणम्, ) (

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

: ''The Pledge of Minister Yaugandharāyaṇa'') is a

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 ...

play in four acts written by the ancient Indian poet

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 thir ...

. It is the oldest extant political play of India and the prequel to Bhāsa's ''

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 ...

''. These plays were written by Bhāsa on the account of

Udayana Udayana, (Devanagari: उदयन) also known as Udayanācārya (Udyanacharya, or Master Udayana), (circa 975 - 1050 CE) was an Indian philosopher and logician of the tenth century of the Nyaya school who attempted to devise a rational theol ...

, king of

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 ...

(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

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 — ...

, written by

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 ...

Plot

The plot is set before the events of ''Svapnavasavadattam''.D.D.Kosambi, Pracheena Barathathinte Samskaravum Nagarikathayum: Charithraparamaya rooparekha (Translation: M Leelavathi (Page 294) It describes the imprisonment of Vatsa King Udayana under

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 Puran ...

, King of

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 ...

and the events in Ujjayini, following his capture. While out on a hunting trip, Prince Udayana is tricked into being captured by his enemy, King Pradyota. Pradyota's daughter, Vasavadatta, takes music lessons from the captured prince, and they fall in love. Yaugandharayana, Udayana's minister, helps them and Udayana elopes with Vasavadatta. The story is presented through

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

and narration—by minor characters.

References

External links

* (edited by T. Ganapati Sastri with commentary)
English translation
of the play (tr. A. S. P. Ayyar). {{Authority control Sanskrit plays Ancient indian Dramas

Background

Plot

See also

References

External links