DRAMATISTS

Bhasa : Scholars variously place Bhasa as early as fourth
century B.C. and as late as 10th century AD. he lived in the
northern region. and created plays mainly on themes drawn from
the Mahabharata and The Ramayana.

In Madhyamavyayoga, a one - act play, Bhima is involved
in a conflict with his son Ghatotkacha who is unaware of Bhima's
identify;

Urubhangam depicts the death of Duryodhana whose thigh
is broken by Bhima in the Mahabharata war.

Pratijrrya Yaugandharayana and Swapnavasavadatta based
on the Katha literature, deal with the Udayana cycle of stories.

Kalidasa : The most famous poet and dramatist in Sanskrit. Generally he is placed in 4th - 5th century AD. Some scholars believe he was a court poet of Vikramaditya of Ujjaini - one of the "navaratnas'" of the court. He wrote splendid poems like Raghuvamsha, Rirusamhara, Kumarasambhava and Meghaduta. besides three well known Plays, Malavikagnimitra is a comedy of love depicting the romance of the Vidarbha princess Malavika and king Agnimitra is the love story of Urvashi, the heavenly nymph, and king Pururava. Abhijnanasakuntalam, presents the story of king Dushyanta and Sakuntala, how the two meet. fall in Jove, get married, how the ring, a token of the king gets lost and with it the king's memory of the young Sakuntala, how the ring is found and brings recognition to the king and finally the reunion of Dushyanta, Sakuntala and their son Bharata.

Shudraka: The details of who Shudraka was, are obscure. But his Mricchakatika has a prologue which indicates that he was a king. He modified and extended the play CHARUDATTA, to create MRICCHAKATIKA (The Little Clay Can). a beautiful drama full of vitality. It depicts the love between a beautiful intelligent courtesan Vasantasena and a poor brahmin. Charudatta. A subplot of political revolution is also woven into the play. The characterization is remarkable, with even a minor character having a distinct personality. The scenes are well-laid out and there,are poetic descriptions of beauty.

Vishakadatta ;Probably of the sixth century, Vishakadatta
was the dramatist of politics. His only surviving play,
Mudraraksasa (Signet ring of Raksasa) deals with the schemes
of Chanakya to foil the plots of Raksasa, the minister of the last
of the nanda rulers, and to place Chandragupta Maurya on the
throne. The complicated plot is worked out skilfully and the play
is beautifully constructed to lead up to a brilliant scene where
one of the chief charadqs is saved from death at the last moment.
His Devichandnigupt about the rise to power of Chandragupta
exists only in fragments.

Harsha: Three plays are supposed to have. been written by Harshavardhana the ruler of Kanauj Ratnavali is the love story of King Udayana and pnncess Ratnavali who lives in disguise in the king's harem, Priyadarshika has similar theme concerning king Udayana. Nagananda has a Bupdhist theme, telling of prince Jimutavahana, who gives his own body to stops the sacrifice of snakes to the divine Garuda

Mahendravikraman : The Pallava king, a contemporary of Harsha, wrote a delightful farce, Mattavilasa (Sport of Drunkards). It depicts the degeneration that had come into different religious cults.

Bhavabhuti : Held second only to Kalidasa Bhavabhuti (early 8th century) lived at Kanyakubja, and marks the last of the greatest Sanskrit dramatists. His Mahaveeracharita and Uttara ramacharita are based on the-story from his marriage to coronation, and the second depicts the later part of the Ranla story- from Sita's exile to the reunion with Rama at Valmiki's hermitage. Malati - Madhava is a romantic comedy of two young lovers who are finally united by the clever moves of a Buddhist run. Kamandaki. There are spectacles of terrible tantric rituals and human sacrifice - unusual in Sanskrit literature