Mudrarakshasa

Mudrarakshasa

The Mudrarakshasa ("The Signet of the Minister"), a historical play in Sanskrit by Vishakhadatta in late 4th or early 5th century narrates the ascent of the king Chandragupta Maurya to power in Northern India.

Contents

Origin

Origin of the book is under some doubt the range in which the book is composed vary greatly from the late 4th century to early 8th century.[1][2]

Plot

Chanakya allies himself with Chandragupta in the latter's plans for usurpation and is forced out by the king. Chanakya's pact with king Parvata (Porus) from the Northwest ensures his victory over Nanda.

Parvata and Chandragupta divide up the old possessions of Nanda. Next, Parvata dies poisoned by a youth and his son Malayketu succeeds him. Malayaketu, together with Rakshasa, the last minister of Nanda, demands the inheritance of all the old territories of the Nanda.

The drama begins when Malayaketu and his allies (the kings of Persia, Sindh and Kashmir) are poised to attack Pataliputra (present day Patna), the capital of Chandragupta.

The outcome arrives when Chanakya, by the use of guile, manages to attract Rakshasa to the Maurya side, thus undoing the coalition of Malayaketu.

The historical authenticity of the Mudrarakshasa is somewhat supported by the description of this period of history in Classical Hellenistic sources: the violent rule of the Nanda, the usurpation of Chandragupta, the formation of the Maurya Empire, and the various battles with the kingdoms of the Northwest resulting from the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Adaptations

There is a Tamil version based on the Sanskrit play.[3]

The later episodes of the TV series Chanakya were based mostly on the Mudrarakshasa.

A film in Sanskrit was made in 2006 by Manish K. Mokshagundam, using the same plot as the play but in a modern setting.[4]

The play was performed (as Rakshasa's Ring) by students of the Missouri Southern State University's theatre program in November 2002.[5]

Editions

References


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Mudrarakshasa — El Mudra rakshasa (‘la protección del símbolo [del rey]’) es un drama histórico del siglo IV d. C., obra del escritor Vishakha Datta, que narra la ascensión del rey Chandragupta Mauria (c. 340 293 a. C.) al poder en la… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Chandragupta Maurya — Mauryan Emperor Reign 320–298 BCE Born 340 BCE …   Wikipedia

  • Maurya Empire — Mauryan Empire ← …   Wikipedia

  • Kambojas in Kautiliya's Arthashastra — The Kambojas, an ancient Ksatriya clan of Indo Iranian affinities [Vedic Index I, p 138, Dr Macdonnel, Dr Keith.] [Ethnology of Ancient Bhārata – 1970, p 107, Dr Ram Chandra Jain.] [The Journal of Asian Studies – 1956, p 384, Association for… …   Wikipedia

  • History of the Punjab — The first known use of the word Punjab is in the book Tarikh e Sher Shah Suri (1580), which mentions the construction of a fort by Sher Khan of Punjab . The first mentioning of the Sanskrit equivalent of Punjab , however, occurs in the great epic …   Wikipedia

  • Greek conquests in India — In ancient times, trade between India and Greece flourished with silk, spices and gold being traded. The Greeks invaded India several times, starting with the conquest of Alexander the Great.Conquests of Alexander The Great (327 326 BCE)In 327… …   Wikipedia

  • Kashinath Trimbak Telang — (August 20, 1850 in Bombay ndash;September 1, 1893 in Bombay) was an Indian judge and Indologist.BiographyBy profession an advocate of the high court, he also took a vigorous share in literary, social, municipal and political work, as well as in… …   Wikipedia

  • Bahlikas — Bahlika (बाह्लिक) finds mention in Atharvaveda, Mahabharata, Ramayana, Puranas, Vartikka of Katyayana, Brhatsamhita, Amarkosha etc and in the ancient Inscriptions. The inhabitants of Bahlika were known as the Bahlikas . The other variations of… …   Wikipedia

  • Chanakya (TV series) — Chanakya Genre Historical drama, Costume drama Created by Chandraprakash Dwivedi Written by …   Wikipedia

  • Saśigupta — (Arrian Sisikottos; Curtius Sisocostus) was an historical personage of considerable eminence hailing from the Paropamisadean region i.e region lying between Hindukush and Indus. His name appears twice in Arrian’s Anabasis and once in Historiae… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”