CLASSICAL SANSKRIT PLAYWRIGHTS

 

Sanskrit drama is defined by the works of dramatists such as Sudraka, Bhasa, Bhavbhuti, Harsha, and Kalidasa to name a few. They have survived through thousands of years because of their literary prowess in depicting characters, settings, plots in their own individualistic way. Almost all the great Sanskrit playwrights benefitted from royal patronage or were part of royal households or even of kings. 

BHASA

Bhasa (3rd- 4th CE) was a Sanskrit playwright, preceding Kalidasa, believed to have lived in the city of Ujjain. Relatively unknown to Sanskrit scholars except through references in other dramatic works, Bhasa’s works saw the light of the day in 1909 when the play Swapnavasavadatta (Vision of Vasavadatta) was discovered by Pandit Anandalvar of the Archaeological Survey of Mysore. In 1913 a total of thirteen plays were discovered in an old library in Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) by T Ganapati Shastri. Bhasa drew his inspiration from epics such as the Mahabharata, the Ramayana, the Puranaandsemi-historical legends and figures. Bhasa’s plays do not follow the Natyashastra very strictly, even breaking dramatic conventions. 

This hasled some critics to conclude that Bhasa’s plays were written before Bharatamnuni’s treatise, others see this as an indication of Bhasa’s poetic experiments and disregard for dramatic conventions. Swapnavasavadatta is his most famous play that depicts the story of King Udayana, who must choose between marrying for beloved Vasavadatta or the daughter of a neighbouring king, Princess Padmavati, for political gain. In the play Bhasa combines romance with political intrigue creating a new kind of drama. Along with traditional dramas, Bhasa also wrote short plays, one act plays, and monologues. Among the many dramatic conventions that Bhasa broke was depicting a tragic ending in his plays. Both Uru-bhanga (Breaking of the Thighs) and Karnabhara (Karna’sTask), which deal with the stories of Duryodhana and Karna respectively, end on tragic notes. The heroes of these two plays are traditionally seen as villains or anti-heroes in the Mahabharata however, Bhasa treats them with sympathy and shows a side of their character hitherto not dealt with in the epic. Furthermore, Bhasa does not shy away from showing violent acts onstage, which was another Natyashastra convention that he disregards.

 

Sudraka

Sudraka, literally translated as the little servant, was a poet-king who lived in Ujjain in the 2nd CE. He is well known for his Prakarana play, Mrichchhakatika (The Little Clay Cart), which is an extended version of Bhasa’s incomplete play Charudattam (Charudatta). The ten act play tells the love story of a Brahmin merchant, Charudata and a courtesan Vasantasenâ, whose union is thwarted by a jealous suitor. Even with a few serious elements, the play ends happily and is primarily seen as a mix of romance and humour. It also offers an interesting and realistic picture of urban society and the complex social structure of that time. Sudraka’s other plays include Vinavasavadatta, and a Bhana (short one-act monologue), and Padmaprabhritaka. Incidentally, the 1984 Hindimovie Utsav, directed by Girish Karnad is believed to have been based largely on Mrichhakatika.

 

BHAVBHUTI

Bhavabhuti, a major dramatist of the later Sanskrit dramatic period, was the court poet of King Yashovarman of Kannauj, in north India in 8th CE. He too wrote plays based on the Ramayana, such as the Mahaviracharita(Exploits of a Great Hero), which depicts the early life of Rama and Uttaramcharita (The Latter History of Rama), which shows the final years of Rama’s life as written in the Uttara Kanda of the Ramayana. Both the plays consist of seven acts written in the Nataka style. Histhirddrama, Malatimadhava (Malati and Madhava), is a Prakarana play centered on the love story of Malati, the daughter of a minister and Madhavya, her beloved. Malati is set to be married off to Nandana in accordance with the king’s wishes. The powerful suitor as well as a mix-up with another couple interrupts the union of Malati and Madhava, which is finally resolved with the aid of magic. The use of the supernatural makes this play a one of a kind drama that skilfully combines romance with horror. Bhavabhuti’s long poetic descriptions are seen as mere embellishment that does not add anything to the drama, but tends to obfuscate his clear and simple diction. He is known for completely doing away with the vidusaka and thus eliminating the comic element in his plays. Critics see this as a reflection of his temperament that could not portray humour effectively. Bhavabhuti instead compensates for it by highlighting the supernatural and the grotesque thus evoking the rasa Bibhasta(disgust) and Raudra (anger)in his works. His plays have the unique combination of heroism, romance and horror unrivalled in Sanskrit literature. The next section will deal with a brief look at Kalidasa as we place him in the tradition.

 

KALIDASA

One of best-known Sanskrit dramatists in the world, whose works have been adapted and translated in to numerous languages and forms, Kalidasa’s poetic skills are unparalleled even today. Basing his works on the Vedas, the Purana and the epics, Kalidas are imagined and breathed new life into the plots that he took from these works. His works include notable plays, such as Mâlâvikâgnimitram (Pertaining to Mâlavikâ and Agnimitra), and Vikramorvasiyam (Pertaining to Vikrama and Urvashi). He also wrote epic poems such as Raghuvams ’a (Dynasty of Raghu)and Kumârasambhava (Birth of ‘Kumara’ or S ’ubrahmanya) along with Khandakavyas (minor poems). However, his most popular and famous work remains the Abhijñâna Shâkuntalam (TheRecognitionofShakuntala).

Generally, in approaching a text our movement of inquiry is from the outside world of the writer to the inside world of the text. But there is scarce information about his surroundings so we are forced to look at his text first and then make our impression about the world he inhabited. In Kalidasa, the movement is thus, from inside the textual world outwards and it makes interpreting and finding meaning more exploratory and open-ended, there being no pre-determined ideas influencing the view of Kalidasa.  Secondly, Kalidasa appears conscious about the existing literary trends and stylistics. This helped him focus on the themes associated with courtly life as well as with the gods.

 

His subject was lofty (it is believed he was among the nine gems/ navratnas, in the court of Chandragupta II) and as a court poet he followed the tradition of courtly drama with an eye on the whims and fancies of the nobility. Was, then, Kalidasa an elitist poet? Interestingly, Kalidasa emphasises poignant human emotions in his works; this might have struck a chord with the ordinary people. Yet,  Kalidasa should be seen under the larger paradigm of classical writing.

 

It is believed, for instance, that Kalidasa was a court poet of Agnimitra Sunga (second century BC) who lived during the years of the Sunga Empire 184 BC to 78BC. According to the belief, Kalidasa made Agnimitra Sunga the protagonist of his first play Malavikagnimitran. Another view of Kalidasa’s period places him in first century BC during the reign of Vikramaditya of Ujjain, around57BC. Thus, Kalidasa was associated with King Vikramaditya who was the poet’s patron. A third opinion establishes Kalidasa’s date between the fourth and fifth centuries AD—the age of Chandra Gupta II who assumed the title of Chandra Gupta Vikramaditya after his winning spree in western India.

 

It emerges from the settings of Kalidasa’s works that he was greatly inspired by the natural beauty of the Malwa region in central India. His fondness for Ujjain particularly comes to the fore in the way he describes the city. Chandra Rajan has keenly delineated how the topography of Malwa might have shaped Kalidasa’s imagination. She says:

The poet describes the topography of the Vindhyas and the Malwa region with a loving exactitude as if the landscape lay on the palm of his hand. Malwa, in central India (now part of Madhya Pradesh) is watered by many rivers and streams, rising from the Vindhya ranges and draining its slopes and valleys. Malwa’s landscapes streaked by its many rivers and streams with glades and pleasure-gardens on their banks; dotted with groves and meadows and woodlands stretching along the slopes of the hills; its holy spots and long low hills containing caves overgrown with bushes, stir the poet’s imagination and evoke in us the beauty that once was.

The Loom of Time, (26)

This tells us that Kalidasa has depicted with immense pride scenes from Ujjain in his works. It has made Kalidasa’s imagery highly evocative. Ujjain with its picturesque sights was also a cultural and commercial hub. It was the centre of learning and intellectual movements where music and the arts were given primacy. While living in Ujjain, Kalidasa was directly in touch with the harmony of nature and the world of art associated with the court. The latter also lent high aesthetic appeal to his works.

 

Additionally, Ujjain was a centre of scientific learning during the period. Amartya Sen importantly brings to our notice the fact that the city of Ujjain “in the early centuries of the first millennium CE” was “the location of the ‘principal meridian’ for Indian calendars, serving for Indian astronomers as something like an Indian Greenwich”. Talking of astronomy, Sen adds,

Technical development clearly had much to do with the location of imperial power as well as scientific research at the time. Ujjain (or Ujjayini as it was then called), as an ancient city moved from its role as the capital of Avanti (later Malwa) in the seventh century BCE to become the capital of the Saka royalty, and most prominently served as the base of the later Gupta dynasty, in the period of the flowering of Indian Mathematics and science.

The Argumentative Indian (40-1)

Along with mathematical and scientific studies Ujjain had to its credit a rich literary tradition of which Kalidasa was a part. This is corroborated by E M Forster in his essay “Nine Gems of Ujjain.” Certainly, there was no dearth of wealth in Ujjain, in fact the palaces and gardens described in Kalidasa convey the sense of that splendour which the city carried. Kalidasa instills both optimism and pride in his characters that seem to be leading organised lives and amassing resources at the same time. An immense scope for progress and riches is discernible in Kalidasa’s works that conveys the sense of optimism that the period conveyed. This lends an epic quality to his works as the great feats of kings and the glory of their kingdom become important markers of assertion in Kalidasa. The great poet was guided in this by the patronage he received from his benefactors. The plays of Kalidasa were performed in court during festivities. This made his preference for lofty subjects justifiable.

 

Even though Kalidasa was a court poet, he was extremely sensitive to the emotions, feelings of those who lived in humble dwellings, in distant corners of the land, away from the court and where the king resided. Kalidasa presents a critique of duty and decorum that represses the passions of an individual. What makes Kalidasa stand out amongst writers is that he expresses nuances of human emotions buried deep in the heart of simple men and women.