Arts

Arts Jan 02, 2026

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Prasanna-rāghava and Jānakī-pariṇaya

Prasanna-rāghava Jayadeva, the author of Candrāloka, has also penned a play called Prasanna-rāghava. The play in seven acts narrates the story of the Rāmāyaṇa...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Nov 21, 2025

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Āścarya-cūḍāmaṇi and Anargha-rāghava

Āścarya-cūḍāmaṇi Śakti-bhadra, who belongs to the Malabar region, is the author of Āścarya-cūḍāmaṇi. The play in seven acts contains the story of the Rāmāyaṇa,...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Nov 14, 2025

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Hanūmannāṭaka (Part 1)

The Hanūmannāṭaka, which is also called the Mahānāṭaka narrates the entire story of the Rāmāyaṇa. The play is famous more for its unique structure and less for...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Oct 30, 2025

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kundamālā (Part 3)

From the Uttara-kāṇḍa of Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa, we learn that Rāma had made up his mind to perform the aśvamedha accompanied by the golden image of Sītā. He does n...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Oct 24, 2025

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kundamālā (Part 2)

The Kundamālā is a play in six acts based on the Uttara-rāmāyaṇa. The following is the summary – Lakṣmaṇa, as per the command of Rāma, drops off a pregnant Sīt...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Oct 10, 2025

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kundamālā (Part 1)

In 1923, Mānavalli Rāmakṛṇa-kavi and Rāmanātha-śāstrī compiled and published the play called Kundamālā authored by Diṅnāga. Later, they declared that the name i...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Oct 02, 2025

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - The Later-day Rūpakas and Upa-rūpakas

By the beginning of the tenth Century CE and more so in the later years, Sanskrit literature had turned into a barren land. The history of Sanskrit drama that f...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Sep 25, 2025

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kṛṣṇamiśra (Part 2)

In sum, the subject matter of the play is Advaita-vedānta; the play also has passing references to the other darśanas as well; avaidika matas such as Jaina and...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Sep 18, 2025

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kṛṣṇamiśra (Part 1)

Kṛṣṇamiśra (11th Century CE) It is likely that Kṛṣṇamiśra, the author of Prabodhacandrodaya lived in the second half of the eleventh century CE. We can say s...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Sep 11, 2025

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kṣemīśvara (Part 2)

The story of Hariścandra is quite old, and it dates back to the Vedic times; as it won the hearts of the people at large, it gathered more substance with time;...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Sep 04, 2025

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kṣemīśvara (Part 1)

Kṣemīśvara, also called Kṣemendra, is the author of a play called Caṇḍa-kauśika. The introductory segments of his play reveal to us his place and period to some...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Aug 28, 2025

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Rājaśekhara (Part 4)

The king finally marries not one, but two women of his antaḥpura with the help of his queen. One of them, as narrated before, was in the disguise of a man and p...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj