Thirteen Plays of Bhasa

Thirteen Plays of Bhasa
Author: A. C. Woolner
Publisher: Motilal Banarsidass
Total Pages: 396
Release: 2015-01-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 8120809084

This translation is of thirteen Sanskrit plays discovered in South India by the late Pandit Ganapati Sastri and edited by him in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series. It comprises the following titles: 1. Pratijnayaugandharayana, 2. Svapnavasavadatta, 3. Carudatta, 4. Pancaratra, 5. Madhyamavyayoga, 6.Pratima-nataka, 7.Dutavakya, 8.Dutaghatotkaca, 9.Karnabhara, 10.Urubhanga, 11.Avimaraka, 12.Balacarita, and 13.Abhiseka. Sastri attributed all the thirteen plays to Bhasa and the prevailing opinion of the scholars is in agreement with him, though the available evidence is not conclusive and so the question still remains open. The translation was done by two eminent Sanskrit scholars. It was published s early as 1930 and a reprint is now issued in view of a persistent demand of scholars. Pandit Ganapati Sastri attributed all thirteen plays to Bhasa, a famous dramatist earlier than Kalidasa. Some verses are ascribed to Bhasa by medieval anthologies, but only ten with unanimity. We are told that he composed a Svapnavasavadattam (his best play) and that in another play the device of the wooden elephant was used. Characteristic features of his work are described by Bana, and other poets evidently held him in high estimation. One or two verses from his plays are quoted by writers on poetics. Otherwise, the text of BhasaÍs numerous plays had completely disappeared. The learned editor of the Trivandrum plays found that they contained a Svapnavasavadattam (the best play in the collection), and, in the Pratijna-Yaugandharayanam, a scene dealing with the wooden elephant. He noticed also certain peculiarities in the technique of the plays which he regarded as signs of antiquity. All these points confirmed the opinion that Bhasa was the author.

Complete Plays of Bhāsa

Complete Plays of Bhāsa
Author: Bhāsa
Publisher:
Total Pages: 328
Release: 1996
Genre: Sanskrit drama
ISBN:

Complete plays of Bhāsa; Sanskrit text with English translation.

Bhasa

Bhasa
Author: G.S.Iyer
Publisher: D C Books
Total Pages: 310
Release: 2013-06-29
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 9381699240

The rediscovery of the 13 plays of Bhasa Mahakavi and their publication in Thiruvananthapuram in 1912 by Mahamahopadhyaya T. Ganapatisastri was as important an event in the recovery of India's cultural and literary history as was the deciphering of the Ashokan edicts in the 19th century in the recovery of India's political history. Bhasa was known from allusions by other poets and fragments stretching from the time of Kalidasa all the way to the 12th century. Inexplicably, he vanished from India's collective memory since then. At the same time, the reverence in which he was held is amply evident from the regularity of references to him and the unanimity of critics and rasikas on the superb quality of his work. The recovered Bhasa has now taken his rightful place in the stage and is presented again and again not only in Sanskrit but in most modern Indian languages too. It is an eloquent demonstration of his enduring power to move an audience, his undiminished relevance and, most important of all, the stunning stage worthiness of his works, the quality that raises him far above every other ancient dramatist of India known to us.

Collected Plays (OIP)

Collected Plays (OIP)
Author: Girish Karnad
Publisher: Oxford University Press
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2020-09-10
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 0190993405

The troubled reign of a fourteenth-century sultan of Delhi helps dramatize the crisis of secular nationhood in post-Independence India. A twelfth century folktale about ‘transposed heads’ offers a path-breaking model for a quintessentially ‘Indian’ theatre in postcolonial times. The folktale about a woman with a snake lover explores gender relations within marriage. Individual human sexuality meets the historical debate on violence in Indian culture. The plays in this volume span roughly the first half of the career of Girish Karnad, one of India’s pre-eminent playwrights. The three-volume set of Karnad’s Collected Plays brings together English versions of his important works. Each volume contains an extensive introduction by theatre scholar Aparna Bhargava Dharwadker, Professor of English and Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison. The introductions trace the literary and theatrical evolution of Karnad’s work over six decades and position it in the larger context of modern Indian drama. In addition, they comment on Karnad’s place as author and translator in a multilingual performance culture and the relation of his playwriting to his work in the popular media. Each of these volumes serves as a collector’s item, making Karnad’s works accessible to theatre lovers worldwide.

Madhyama-vyayoga

Madhyama-vyayoga
Author: Bhāsa
Publisher: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Chowkhamba
Total Pages: 90
Release: 1999
Genre:
ISBN:

The Madhyama Vyayoga; a Drama Composed by the Poet Bhasa

The Madhyama Vyayoga; a Drama Composed by the Poet Bhasa
Author: Bhasa Bhasa
Publisher: Legare Street Press
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2022-10-27
Genre:
ISBN: 9781016508711

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

How the Nagas Were Pleased by Harsha & The Shattered Thighs by Bhasa

How the Nagas Were Pleased by Harsha & The Shattered Thighs by Bhasa
Author: Harṣa
Publisher: NYU Press
Total Pages: 376
Release: 2009-03
Genre: Drama
ISBN: 0814740669

"Two plays that break the rules: both show the hero dying on stage, an inauspicious scenario forbidden in Sanskrit dramaturgy. From widely different ideological and social backgrounds, each evokes intense emotion in an exploration of love and heroism, conflict and peace, idealism and pragmatic reconciliation. Each portrays the reconciliation of hate and retaliation in love and mercy." "King Harsha's play, composed in the seventh century, re-examines the Buddhist tale of a magician prince who makes the ultimate sacrifice to save a hostage snake (naga)." "Attributed to Bhasa, the illustrious predecessor to Kali-dasa, The Shattered Thighs transforms a crucial episode of the Maha-bharata war. As he dies from a foul blow to the legs delivered in his duel with Bhima, Duryodhana's infamous character is here inverted, where he is depicted as a noble and gracious exemplar amidst the wreckage of the fearsome battle scene. An ignoble man dies a hero's death." --Book Jacket.