Arts

Arts Oct 31, 2024

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kālidāsa - Vikramorvaśīyam (Part 3)

There is quite a lot of difference between the story narrated above and the version that occurs in the Kathāsaritsāgara[1]. According to the Kathāsaritsāgara, P...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Oct 24, 2024

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kālidāsa - Vikramorvaśīyam (Part 2)

Once, when the precious gem was being brought upon a golden plate, an eagle mistook it for a piece of flesh and flew away with it. The king chased behind the bi...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Oct 18, 2024

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kālidāsa - Vikramorvaśīyam (Part 1)

The Vikramorvaśīyam, like the Mālavikāgnimitram consists of five acts. The following the summary of its plot King Purūrava, who was returning after having fini...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Oct 12, 2024

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kālidāsa (Part 6) - Mālavikāgnimitram

Pātra-prāśastya – Excellence of Character Pātra-viśeṣanyastaṃ guṇāntaraṃ vrajati śilpam-ādhātuḥ! Jalam-iva samudra-śuktau muktāphalatāṃ payodasya ॥ Act 1,...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Oct 03, 2024

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kālidāsa (Part 5) - Mālavikāgnimitram

In the characters of Queen Dhāriṇī and Irāvatī, we can see the abhinaya of mature and experienced women; there is a difference of flavour in them. Dhāriṇī is th...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Sep 23, 2024

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kālidāsa (Part 4) - Mālavikāgnimitram

The story so far is a tale of love that takes place in the king’s antaḥpura and the garden. Though there are incidents connected with the politics of the kingdo...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Sep 19, 2024

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kālidāsa (Part 3) - Mālavikāgnimitram

Mālavikāgnimitram is a play in five acts. The following is the summary of the plot – The province of Vidiśā was ruled by a king named Agnimitra; he had two wiv...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Sep 12, 2024

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kālidāsa - Introduction (Part 2)

Kālidāsa uses astrological terms such as uccha and jāmitra in his works; these are from Greek origin. From this, we can estimate that he did not live before 350...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Sep 05, 2024

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Kālidāsa - Introduction (Part 1)

It is difficult to tell when and where Kālidāsa lived, just as in the case of Bhāsa. Quite an amount of research has taken place on the subject and there have b...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Aug 29, 2024

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Śūdraka (Part 4) - The Mṛcchakaṭika

There is another unique feature in the theme of the play Mṛcchakaṭika – it is the story of a brāhmaṇa; Cārudatta is a brāhmaṇa by birth but a trader by professi...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Aug 22, 2024

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Śūdraka (Part 4)- The Mṛcchakaṭika

In these literary works, the life of  Cārudatta is the central theme; the story of Āryaka is of secondary importance and only serves to bolster the main pl...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj

Arts Aug 15, 2024

Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Śūdraka (Part 3)- The Story of Mṛcchakaṭika

... continued from the previous episode... Śarvilaka brings Vasantesenā’s ornaments to Madanikā; she gathers the reality from him and sends the ornaments to Va...

A R Krishna Sastri | Trans: Arjun Bharadwaj