''Vikramōrvaśīyam'' (Devanagari विक्रमोर्वशीयम्), meaning ''Ūrvaśī Won by Valour'') is a five-act

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

play by ancient Indian poet

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 ...

, who lived in the 4th or 5th Century CE, on the

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute th ...

love story of King

Pururavas Pururavas ( Sanskrit: पुरूरवस्, ''Purūravas'') is a character in Hindu literature, a king who served as the first of the Lunar dynasty. According to the Vedas, he is a legendary entity associated with Surya (the sun) and U ...

and an Apsarā (celestial nymph) named Ūrvaśī, known for her beauty. As per the tradition, while the basic plot has taken elements from the sources such as the Samvāda Sūkta of the

Ṛgveda The ''Rigveda'' or ''Rig Veda'' ( ', from ' "praise" and ' "knowledge") is an ancient Indian collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns (''sūktas''). It is one of the four sacred canonical Hindu texts (''śruti'') known as the Vedas. Only one ...

Mahābhārata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...

and others, Kālidāsa has made significant adaptations to make the presentation more appealing while establishing his prowess as a playwright. ''Vikramorvaśīyam'' is the second of the three plays written by Kālidāsa, the first being ''

Mālavikāgnimitram The ''Mālavikāgnimitram'' (Sanskrit, meaning ''Mālavikā and Agnimitra'') is a Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. Based on some events of the reign of Pushyamitra Shunga, it is his first play. ''Mālavikāgnimitram'' tells the story of the love of ...

'' and the third being the celebrated ''

Abhijñānaśākuntalam ''Abhijnanashakuntalam'' (Devanagari: अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम्, IAST: ''Abhijñānaśākuntalam''), also known as ''Shakuntala'', ''The Recognition of Shakuntala'', ''The Sign of Shakuntala'', and many other variant ...

''. According to one theory, "Vikrama" in the title alludes to Kālidāsa's patron king Vikramāditya. However, there is no conclusive evidence for this, although both are said to have lived around the same time period. It simply means "Valour".

Origin of the plotPatel, G. (2014). n GujaratiVikramorvashiyamnu Mool ane Kavini Maulikata. Chapter-25, Part-2: Vikramorvashiyam in 'Mahakavi Kalidasvirachitam Malavikagnimitram, Vikramorvashiyam', Vol. 3 of Mahakavi Kalidasa-Samagra Granthavali, p. 238-240.Pandya, S. M. & Shah, U. (1993). The Sources of the Play and the Changes Brought about by Kalidasa. (Ed.s) Chapter-3, Mahakakavikalidasavirachitam Vikramorvashiyam, Saraswati Pustak Bhandar, Ahmedabad. p. 25-29.

The classical theory of Sanskrit drama, known as Natyaśāstra makes it a rule that the plot of a Sanskrit drama 'must be famous'. Accordingly, authors of Sanskrit plays use the stories from Purāṇas, Vedic texts and classic epics, namely Mahābhārata and Rāmāyaṇa for developing plays. However, the core objective of a drama is entertainment. Since everyone is familiar with the basic plot, if the presentation of the play is not interesting or enchanting in some way, people would be bored. Hence there is emphasis on originality of the playwright. In the case of Vikramorvaśīyam, here is how Kālidāsa has adapted the original subject: Ṛg-veda : In the 95th section, called Sūkta of the tenth cluster (called Maṇḍala), there is a dialogue between Pururava and Ūrvaśī. Situation suggests that she has left the king after living for four years with him. The king beseeches her to return, but she refuses (saying, "na vai straiṇāni santi śālavṛkānām hṛdayānyetāḥ" - meaning, the hearts of women are not like those of jackals). The story ends at that. Śatapatha Brāhmaṇa: Apparently aimed at emphasizing importance of a Yagya, Pururava was attracted to Ūrvaśī when she came to his city