Sanskrit Drama

The typical character of the funny panakawan figures in Indonesian wayangtheater is frequently mentioned in academic papers. These characters do not participate in any Indian dramas, so they are generally regarded as local deities, who represent a vestige of the old religion of the local population predating the arrival of Hinduism. This statement, however, deserves more scrutiny, since it is not the case that we cannot find figures similar to the panakawans in India. The vidūṣaka, a common character in classical Sanskrit plays, resembles the panakawans to a large extent. A small, deformed figure with rude speech, he often incites laughter among the spectators with his funny and often harsh com-ments. This description is true for the vidūṣaka and the panakawan alike, which means that the possible connections between them need to be examined. Is it possible that the panakawan is just an Indonesian variant of the vidūṣaka? After a closer look we can determine that in spite of the many similarities between the two characters there still remain a lot of differences as well. The conclusion is that, while the connection between them is evident, we still cannot state that one is just a simple continuation of the other. Their differences clearly point to different origins.

This article aims to study “Nāndī” in the Sanskrit play “Vāsantikasvapna”, which is  adapted from William Shakespeare's English play "A Midsummer Night's Dream". This play follows Sanskrit drama rules i.e.composition in prosody namely in śārdūlavikrīḍita, using register and meter with auspicious meanings, using rhetoric which can be classified as Patrāvalī. In addition, other special elements are found, such as the absence of words of worship, praise to a particular deity, and bestowing auspiciousness to its audience, such as ancient Sanskrit poets. This absence could be because the poet wanted to express his admiration for the teachings of the Upaniṣads, who value essence by liberation from transmigration. Moreover, there are traces of implications which can be considered as resistance against British imperialism through literary techniques such as pattern and use of poetic wisdom. In reality, the poet wants  to raise the anti-colonialist awareness of the Indian scholars.

Śṛṅgārarasa, the erotic sentiment, is the first and most significant of the eight sentiments in the sentiment theory in the Nāṭyaśāstra, the foremost treatise on Sanskrit drama, which also strongly influences the treatise on Sanskrit poetic writing, or the Alaṅkāraśāstra. As dramas ultimately aim to entertain readers and audiences, and the art of writing is one of the essential elements of creating dramas, a poet who thoroughly understands the theory of the bhāva (emotion) and rasa (sentiment) will firmly succeed in creating dramas.

This article provides an in-depth explanation of the theory of the bhāva and rasa of Śṛṅgārarasa, covering their meaning, components, importance, relationship, and examples. The study indicates that the erotic in the Nāṭyaśāstra brings auspiciousness, happiness, and hope for life. It is the love of a woman and man that arises from beautiful natural environments and gentle treatment of each other in a loving relationship. There are two types of love in the Nāṭyaśāstra: successful and disappointed.

This paper delves into the fundamental elements of drama, using the ancient Indian treatise, the Nāṭyaśāstra, as a guiding lens. The Nāṭyaśāstra, a cornerstone of Sanskrit theatre tradition, offers a comprehensive framework for theatrical performance. This exploration will examine key dramatic elements like plot, characterization, dialogue, spectacle, and rasa (aesthetic experience) as outlined in the Nāṭyaśāstra. The paper will analyze how these elements work together to create a captivating and impactful theatrical experience.

Furthermore, the abstract will highlight the unique contributions of the Nāṭyaśāstra to dramatic theory. This may include its emphasis on the actor's physical and vocal techniques (angika, vācika), the significance of emotions and sentiments (rasa), and the role of music and dance in theatrical performance.

Bhāsa's Svapnavāsavadatta (The Dream of Vāsavadatta) skillfully weaves nature into its narrative, using it as a symbolic and emotional backdrop that enhances the drama's exploration of love, loss, and illusion. The play is set primarily in natural spaces like forests and rivers, which reflect the protagonist Udayana's exile and longing for his lost love, Vāsavadatta. These natural elements, described in rich detail, contrast with the grandeur of royal life, symbolizing Udayana's fall from power. The forest, often a space of solitude and reflection, serves as a stage for his emotional journey. Bhāsa also uses specific natural symbols, such as the lotus flower, to embody purity, resilience, and hope, while seasonal metaphors like the monsoon rains signify renewal and the cyclical nature of life. Through these natural images, Bhāsa aligns with Sanskrit aesthetics, evoking emotions like karuna rasa (sorrow) and shanta rasa (peace), reflecting characters' inner turmoil and peace. Ultimately, nature in Svapnavāsavadatta is not merely a backdrop but an active force that mirrors the emotional and philosophical currents within the play, offering a profound commentary on life's impermanence, beauty, and the interconnectedness of human experience with the natural world.

This article analyses the ancient Indian materialistic aesthetics in Śūdraka̍s Mṛcchakaṭika by examining the ancient philosophical school where primordial matter or Prakṛti was the source of the universe, first cause of creation or Jagadkāraṇa. It further looks at the feminine figure as a performative embodiment of materiality.

(ICH) program, with its emphasis on the intergenerational transmission of expressive culture, has been characterized as part of an emergent "East Asian paradigm" of heritage at the international organization. Through an examination of the cultural dynamics of Kutiyattam Sanskrit theater in both policy and practice, this article stakes a claim for India within this global heritage paradigm shift. In so doing, it suggests the possibility of a wider "pan-Asian" heritage paradigm at work, distinguished by an emphasis on the intergenerational transmission of expressive culture as well as a recognition of its continually changing nature.

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This paper aims to respond to Peter Hacker and Gordon Baker’s debate on “Middle” Wittgenstein’s metaphilosophy. I investigate two literatures: The Bit Typescripts: 213, and Friedrich Waismann’s records. Based on my reading, I argue that the main divergence between Hacker and Baker lies in two aspects: their attitude toward Waismann; their different understandings toward “Middle” Wittgenstein’s conception of philosophy as “therapy”. Baker’s interpretation is unacceptable, because Wittgenstein’s linguistic/conceptual analysis approach are essentially different from Freud’s psychoanalysis. Baker had misread Waismann’s text in several points. In a word, I have four proposals: (1) Wittgenstein’s attitude towards Freud is rational;(2) Wittgenstein’s “psychoanalysis” and “therapeutic” philosophy is only a rhetorical way of speaking;(3) Waismann’s texts cannot support Baker’s “psychoanalysis” reading;(4) and there is complex correlation between Waismann and Wittgenstein.

Leisure, recreation and pleasure are not just interrelated and just don’t
coexist but grow with the help of each other as well. According to me,
they are interdependent terms, as recreation can’t happen without leisure
and, thus, pleasure can’t be obtained without recreational activities. And
if there is no recreation or pleasure obtained through leisure, that might
be anything but leisure. Because leisure is not just free time or no work,
as per definition, but it also has element of free will to engage or engross
into something which you like doing personally.

Although it is rare to find a comparative treatment of Greek and Sanskrit drama as thoughtful and passionate as this one, students of classical Indian theater will recognize a familiar topic in the title. It is natural to want to see how two great ancient cultures that produced both a body of dramatic theory and a limited number of extant plays can shed light on each other. When the comparative study comes from the Indian side, or from a cultural fellow-traveler (such as myself), there is often an additional motivation. When colonial administrators introduced the

Wouldst thou the blossoms of spring, as well as the fruits of the autumn, Wouldst thou what charms and delights, wouldst thou what plenteously feeds, Wouldst thou include both Heaven and earth in one designation, All that is needed is done, when I Sakontala name.

The Samyukta special issue on 'Women in Indian Performance' is a continuation of the research focusing on women in Asian performance which I started in 2013.. Being a performer and researcher on Kutiyattam from India, I am specifically interested in studying the contribution of women to Indian performance traditions and this special issue is the culmination of that ambition. The volume brings together eight essays and two interviews contributed by scholars from India, the United States and Italy. The contributions also cover a range of highly interesting topics, from the interview of Kalanidhi Narayanan about her initial years of training and career, to a critical review of Nirbhaya, a play on the Delhi gang rape written by Yael Farber in 2013.

Essays and interviews this volume feature offers a radical reassessment of the place of women in Indian performances. What is the purpose of this special issue beyond the personal reasons listed above? Indian performance practice have been an active area of study among theatre scholars and practitioners all over the world for several decades, exerting substantial influence on the contemporary performance practices and actor-training methods. Nevertheless, critical debates and studies that aim at investigating and reassessing the role of women and their contribution to artistic practices in the Indian performance scene are relatively limited. Given the fact that Indian performances are broad and varied in number and style, such studies only marginally address the place and contribution of women in Indian performances. Critical work generating a more comprehensive view On women in Indian performances and mapping a broader territory in this relation is indeed necessary. Therefore, Samyukta special issue on 'Women in Indian performance is a novel attempt at initiating thoughts, generating scholarly work and critically reassessing the contribution of women in Indian performances.

Complexities involved with assessing the place of women in Indian performances are manifold and I am attempting to simply map the territory. Academic essays and interviews published in this special issue aim to acknowledge the creative contributions of women practitioners in Indian performances. I genuinely hope that this volume will make significant contribution to the area of gender studies in India.

Although it is rare to find a comparative treatment of Greek and Sanskrit drama as thoughtful and passionate as this one, students of classical Indian theater will recognize a familiar topic in the title. It is natural to want to see how two great ancient cultures that produced both a body of dramatic theory and a limited number of extant plays can shed light on each other. When the comparative study comes from the Indian side, or from a cultural fellow-traveler (such as myself), there is often an additional motivation. When colonial administrators introduced the

The Rhyme Scheme and Poetic Style of Bhāsa's One-Act Play Ūrubhaṅga

跋娑独幕剧《断股》（Ūrubhaṅga）取材自印度史诗《摩诃婆罗多》（Mahābhārata），受到印度乃至世界梵语文学研究者的高度评价，是现存最具悲剧色彩的古典梵语戏剧。《断股》形式与诗剧相近，全剧共66首诗歌，运用8种诗律；剧情时而舒缓从容，时而动魄惊心；语言如泣如歌，优美动人，具有极高的文学价值。本文以《断股》情节发展为主线，兼与《摩诃婆罗多》相关内容比照，着力探讨《断股》的诗律与诗风。

King Udayana was a famous emperor of ancient India, who lived around the same period of the Buddha. The legend of love affairs between King Udayana and Princess Vāsavadattā appeared frequently in both Sanskrit literature and Chinese Buddhist literature. However, this extremely interesting topic is rarely involved in academic research, especially when both classical Sanskrit literature and Chinese Buddhist literature are concerned. This article focuses on the similarities and differences of the legend of love affairs between King Udayana and Princess Vāsavadattā in Sanskrit literature and Chinese Buddhist literature, from the perspective of the history of Buddhism, the history of ancient society, the history of classical literature, as well as the history of cultural communications between India and China to discuss this famous love affairs’ evolution and its spread to China.

优填王是印度古代与佛陀同时代的著名君王。优填王传说中的优填王与仙赐公主姻缘构思奇巧、扣人心弦，不仅是梵语戏剧、故事文学的重要题材，也在汉译佛典中完整呈现。然而兼顾梵汉文本之相关研究，国内尚未得见。本文着重分析优填王仙赐姻缘在梵汉文本中的相同和相异之处，从佛教史、社会史、文学史乃至中印文化交流史的角度深入考察这段千古情事进入汉地的嬗变始末。

Ancient Indosphere and Modern Sinosphere

古印度文化圈与古汉文化圈既各具特色，又遥相呼应。印度因其独特的地理位置，自古以来就是世界古代文明的十字路口，也是各民族、语言、文化交汇碰撞之地。古印度以印度为“中”，以中国等国为“边”、“夷”、“蔑戾车”之地。中国的求法僧甚至常以生于“边地”而“自伤”，发愿“不生边地”，足以见出其时古印度文化圈的巨大魅力。古汉文化圈以汉字为核心，是人类文明发展的摇篮之一，也是世界古代文明的重要枢纽，与古印度文化圈具有很大程度的交叉融合。当欧洲工业革命带来的近代文明迅速追赶上东方文明，古印度文化圈与古汉文化圈相继解体。在新汉文化圈和谐重建的过程中，中国的作用举足轻重，印度的作用也不容小觑。第一，新汉文化圈的重建需要印度。古印度文化圈一度以佛教征服世界，也曾对古代中国影响深远。古印度文化圈为新汉文化圈的重建提供了不可或缺的营养。正是与“二西”（释迦之“西”和耶稣之“西”）相遇，成就了今日之中国。第二，新汉文化圈的重建裨益印度。一如残缺不全的梵文三藏，在汉文三藏中重生；云遮雾绕的印度历史，在汉文史料中重生；艰涩生疏的梵文语汇，在现代汉语中重生。从某种程度上讲，重新崛起的汉文化圈容纳了古代的印度，让已不复存在的古印度文化圈在新汉文化圈中获得了部分重生，亦必将对当今印度的发展带来启示。

The Sanskrit dramatist Bhāsa was a very significant poet and playwright in the history of Sanskrit literature, who left 13 Sanskrit plays behind him, and two of which were about the legend of King Udayana. Bhāsa’s Svapnavāsavadattam was the earliest extant Sanskrit play that was based on the legend of love affairs between King Udayana and the Magadha Princess Padmāvatī. This article, beginning with Svapnavāsavadattam, makes close comparisons among Bhāsa’s play and the Sanskrit play Tāpasavatsarāja, the Sanskrit story collection Kathāsaritsāgara, and three Chinese Buddhist scriptures, to further discuss the circulation and evolution of love affairs between King Udayana and Princess Padmāvatī in the legend of King Udayana.

梵语戏剧家跋娑是梵语文学史上重要的诗人和剧作家，有13部梵剧作品传世，其中2部是取材自印度古代著名君王优填王的传说。跋娑的《惊梦记》是现存最早的讲述优填王与摩揭陀国莲花公主姻缘的梵语戏剧。本文从《惊梦记》入手，将之与梵语戏剧《苦行犊子王》、梵语故事集《故事海》及三部汉译佛典进行详细比对，借以深入考察优填王传说中优填王与莲花公主姻缘的流传与嬗变。

King Udayana’s Queens and the Buddha: The Legend of King Udayana in the Perspective of the History of Buddhism

优填王是印度古代历史上与佛陀同时代的著名君王，在梵语文学和佛教典籍中一再出现。优填王传说在印度佛教史、社会史、文学史乃至中印文化交流史等研究领域都具有重要学术价值。本文系统梳理优填王传说在梵文、巴利文及汉文史料中关于优填王妻及优填王妻与佛陀、僧众等关系的不同记载，旨在考察其所蕴涵的丰富的历史文化元素。

King Udayana was a famous emperor of ancient India, who lived around the same period of the Buddha, who appeared time after time in Sanskrit literature, and who was very familiar in Buddhist literature. The legend of King Udayana not only is an important motif in ancient Indian literature, but also has significant academic value in the history of Indian Buddhism, social history, the history of literature, as well as the history of cultural communications between India and China. However, this extremely interesting personage is rarely involved in academic research, especially when both classical Sanskrit literature and Chinese Buddhist literature are concerned. In classical Sanskrit literature, King Udayana had rich experiences and was a brave and resourceful and romantic lover; while in Buddhist literature, King Udayana had multi-faces and moved between uglification and beautification. From classical Sanskrit literature to Buddhist literature, the reconstruction of King Udayana contains both the part of continuation and resemblance and the part of separation and complete difference. This article focuses on the former part, from “Magnificent Lover” to “Once a Sinner” and to “Deduction of Identity” these three reconstructive levels to discuss the early reconstruction of King Udayana in Buddhist literature.

Based on the theoretical support of ancient calligraphy, referring to the development history of  running script in ancient Roman and its letter characteristics, and comparing the fonts appearing in Tibetan inscriptions  and Dunhuang documents, it is found that the Tibetan fonts appearing in Dunhuang documents are roughly divided into  many  shapes  and  styles.  Through  textual  research  on  the  characteristics  of  the  above-mentioned  fonts,  the  changing  process of strokes, the writing rules, and the identity characteristics of the writers, it is inferred that the Tibetan Dbu Med  was influenced by the political system of the Tubo Period and required for the rapid writing of early square inscription  fonts.  Some  single  strokes  were  written  in  tandem,  redundant  strokes  were  deleted,  and  the  square  shape  was  sketched  into a circle, resulting in the formation of the early Dbu Med. During the Tubo reign, political personnel in Dunhuang  and other places conducted systematic and organized learning about this, thereby consolidating the promotion and use of  Tibetan fonts, as well as the demise of Tubo. Although it had caused a huge impact on all aspects of society at that time,  due to the loss of the shackles of unified norms, it effectively promoted the development of Tibetan fonts, resulting in the  emergence of multiple fonts. From these perspectives, the evolution and origin of the unique and aesthetically pleasing  Dbu  Med  seen  today  are  elaborated,  resulting  in  a  conclusion  that  the  writing  form  of  Tibetan  Dbu  Med  was  not  seen  today at its inception, but formed through long-term development and evolution.

The main aim of the present study is to indicate the most salient elements of the image of pigeons and doves in Classical Sanskrit literature (kāvya). The author has identified three groups of such elements, which are dealt with in three separate sections of the paper: pigeons and doves are discussed as birds closely associated with humans, as well as symbols of love and sorrow. With the help of this information, in another section of the paper, selected kāvya stanzas featuring pigeons or doves are analysed in more detail.

Indian Knowledge System, the repository of the entire literary and aesthetic corpus of the sub-continent, has a rich repertoire comprising texts like The Ramayana and The Mahabharata and critical texts like The Natyasastra. The former belong to the canon of Epics, they stand representatives of a tradition comprising texts like Chandrabati’s Ramayana, Jaini Ramayana, Asura: Tale of the Vanquished by Neelakantan, Draupadi by Pattanaik, etc. The genres that the tradition comprises vary from poetry to novel and a long oral tradition, as Nabneeta Dev Sen opines, of songs from these epics. In the list, however, is another writer, belonging to the canon of Sanskrit Dramaturgy, whose works are the oldest surviving extant texts in Sanskrit drama: Bhasa, the father of Sanskrit Drama. Chronologically, Bhasa is placed between the composition of Natyasastra and Malvikagnimitram and his plays are dramatic representations of the events of The Ramayana and The Mahabharata. The research paper attemp...

viii the paper if they wanted to do so, and to take care of the English language editing of the two volumes, on the condition that the two volumes would first appear in Studia Orientalia, the journal of the Finnish Oriental Society. Republication of a printed version of these volumes is the prerogative of the MLBD, who, we trust, will also be happy for the completion of the series. Dr. Butters is a specialist of Indo-Tibetan Buddhism and thus also qualified to handle Sanskrit studies. It has been an arduous task for him, but he has succeeded. We are most grateful to him, and also to all the authors who nearly without exception have welcomed his initiative. Helsinki and Rantasalmi,

Goa is on red alert courtesy the rains. As scoot on my bike along the causeway of the river Mhadeyi, takes me Years back when I was actively involved in theatre there was lot stuff I had on rains, just sifting through it and thought will share it.

The main aim of the present study is to indicate the most salient elements of the image of pigeons and doves in Classical Sanskrit literature (kāvya). The author has identified three groups of such elements, which are dealt with in three separate sections of the paper: pigeons and doves are discussed as birds closely associated with humans, as well as symbols of love and sorrow. With the help of this information, in another section of the paper, selected kāvya stanzas featuring pigeons or doves are analysed in more detail.

This paper examines and unveils the tenets of Nātyaśāstra postulated by Bharatmuni in Kālidāsa’s play, Abhijnānaśākuntalam. Kālidāsa invokes Lord Śiva through his eight embodied forms – water, fire, priest, the time setting sun and moon, earth, sky and air. This is the pattern of Nāndῑ (benediction) as developed by Bharatmuni. The play also implements Bharatavākya as a concluding part of the play where Duśyanta extends wishes for the welfare of all. The dramatist divides the play in seven acts which is the parameters of Anka proclaimed in Nātyaśāstra. He exploits the paradigm of Prāsangika, which is known as the sub plot of the play. It revolves around the characters like Anasūyā, Priyamvadā, Mātali, Menakā, and so on. Likewise, there are five Sandhis (junctures) in the play like Mukha, Pratimukha, Grava, Vimarśa and Nirvahana. The eight rasas (sentiments) like Sringāra, Hāsya, Karunā, Raudra, Vira, Bhayānaka, Bibhatsa, and Adbhuta consolidate the essence of the play. All these tene...

The paper examines the depiction of a previously famous female protagonist of Sanskrit literature named Vāsavadattā, the chief queen of king Udayana of Kauśāmbi by comparing two versions, that of Bhāsa in the play, Svapnavāsavadattā (Svp), and that of the Kathasaritsagara (KSS), where it is part of the framing narrative. In the paper we can see the gendered nature of the language of elitist courtly life that had the nature of being a public ‘spectacle.’ We can also see very sharply the shift in the use of theme, character, and affective expression, from the Svp to the KSS. What differences can be perceived between the characterization of the two versions contained in the very different genres of drama and narrative literature and are wide apart in time? Can we connect this with the changed historical context? The paper attempts a reflective gaze on the supposedly self-sacrificing protagonist, Vāsavadattā, and her relationships. In the depiction of female agency, mediated through the male gaze, can we unravel the purely feminine voice?

My hypothesis is that Book 4, as with the whole Mahābhārata, was created by an author who draws upon written materials from the Greco-Roman world (though of course not only upon those sources). In particular, Book 4 bears such striking parallels to the Omphale and Heracles story that we can infer the author of the former had access to written versions of the latter. I suggest criteria to test this hypothesis, some focusing on the story itself and others on the author’s working methodology. I briefly develop the existence of a whole common draft, i.e., a shared overall plot skeleton between the two stories, some remarks on the author’s process of adapting stories and characters from one work to another (stories, characters...), the possibility of interpreting the presence of otherwise bizarre elements as a consequence of the borrowing and adaptation, and the high density of direct literal borrowings of words and expressions. By understanding the author’s use of the Greco-Roman materi...

The dramas of Kalidas, particularly Abhijnanasakuntalam, have mesmerised western culture. Numerous translations have brought this tale to the western reader. However, each translation has been unique, reflecting the translators' efforts to acquire the language of the original text as well as their own leanings, which frequently result from their normative perspective. In the end, each translation proves to be a true representation of the translator's mental image and amply demonstrates their own cultural and intellectual preferences. It also brings to light the challenges—and frequently impossibility—of translating between different eras, tongues, and civilizations.

McGrath's Heroic Kr. s. n. a, published by the Ilex Foundation, is a small and tightly focused monograph on the character Vāsudeva Kr. s. n. a in the enormous Sanskrit epic poem the Mahābhārata. The Mahābhārata, which is thought to have emerged in its present form perhaps in roughly the 4th century CE, tells of the war between the Pāṅḋavas and the Kauravas. Kr. s. n. a is a central figure of this long and varied narrative, and is one of the most widely venerated deities in the Hindu tradition. McGrath's concern in Heroic Kr. s. n. a is to strip Kr. s. n. a of the divinity with which he is endowed in the Mahābhārata, and to present us with what he takes to be the underlying "original" human hero figure embodying ancient Indo-Āryan virtues. This is the third monograph from McGrath published in the Ilex series treating the Mahābhārata, the earlier two dealing with women and performance. As is indicated by the titles of these three books, as well as his 2004 Brill volume on the character Karṅa, his concern is with the "Epic Mahābhārata." The Mahābhārata is of course nothing if not an epic, and there is nothing controversial in broadly designating the work as such. However, McGrath's consistent qualification of the poem with this term in the titles of his works signals his highly selective reading of only those materials which he deems to be "epic." This means throwing out as "late" or the product of "bricolage" (a term used constantly throughout) almost all of the material following the battle books (e.g. 48, note 10; 135, note 6), without providing a hint of argument or analysis to support this. The format of Heroic Kr. s. n. a is therefore an "explication de texte" (ix) composed of translated passages, commentary upon these passages, and summaries of other selected scenes, largely drawn from the "battle books." Each chapter focuses on one facet of Kr. s. n. a's character: his close friendship with Arjuna (2. Two Kr. s. n. as); the alliance with the Pāṅḋavas and the nature of Kr. s. n. a's political relationship with Yudhis. ṫhira (3. The Alliance); Kr. s. n. a's function as diplomat and envoy to the Kauravas just prior to the war (4. The Embassy); Kr. s. n. a's character as a charioteer Book Reviews / Comptes rendus

Rāmapāṇivāda, who belonged to the eighteenth century Kerala is the author of two vīthī types of plays called Candrikā and Līlāvatī . Vīthī has very few illustrative examples in Sanskrit. The author mentions that  Candrikā was composed at the behest of King Śrīvīrarāya, of the Veṭṭattu kingdom, to be staged in an  assemblage of  brahmins  on the occasion of the  Śivarātri festival in the famous Tṛpraṅṅote Temple. There is no attested record of either Candrikā or Līlāvatī belonging to the repertoire of Kūṭiyāṭṭam , the traditional temple theatre of Kerala. The present paper will examine if    the structural requirements of the genre has influenced  the frame work of the play  in which  only two characters  are allowed to  make  their appearance on the stage and in which  ākāśabhāṣita technique is used profusely in respect of other characters. Another  question  to be probed is  how the consideration of  the  limited  nature of resources available for a Sanskrit  play outside the Kūtiyāttam repertoire in premodern Kerala  would have influenced the author for  opting a minor type of play like the vīthī which requires minimum characters and very little props.

This article aims to study "Nāndī" in the Sanskrit play "Vāsantikasvapna", which is adapted from William Shakespeare's English play "A Midsummer Night's Dream". This play follows Sanskrit drama rules i.e.composition in prosody namely in sārdūlavikrīḍ ita, using register and meter with auspicious meanings, using rhetoric which can be classified as Patrāvalī. In addition, other special elements are found, such as the absence of words of worship, praise to a particular deity, and bestowing auspiciousness to its audience, such as ancient Sanskrit poets. This absence could be because the poet wanted to express his admiration for the teachings of the Upaniṣ ads, who value essence by liberation from transmigration. Moreover, there are traces of implications which can be considered as resistance against British imperialism through literary techniques such as pattern and use of poetic wisdom. In reality, the poet wants to raise the anti-colonialist awareness of the Indian scholars.

Kabir Singh, the bollywood remake of the 2017 Telugu movie Arjun Reddy, was the second highest grossing movie of 2019. Interestingly, it was also highly criticized for glamorizing misogyny and toxic masculinity. Yet another interesting fact about this movie is that its plot seems quite parallel with that of the drama Shakuntala by the ancient poet Kalidasa. In this context, this paper studies masculinity in the heroes of these two texts: Kabir Singh and King Dushyanta and argues that popular representations change in time and space with the modern entertainment industry's commercial motivation and yet patriarchy remains unchanged.

The influential Sanskrit aesthetic works of Abhinavagupta present an elaborate and compelling system of artistic interpretation. His treatises appeared several centuries after Kālidāsa, the classical Sanskrit playwright, wrote his AbhijnanaŚakuntalām, to which they often turn for supporting examples of their theories. Discussions of Sanskrit Drama regularly use the terms and categories of the great aesthetician in analyzing plays of the earlier periods, including Śakuntalā. The play itself, however, is remarkably replete with instances of ekphrasis and musical performance that have an impact within the social world on stage. Visual art and songs appear at pivotal moments in the drama, and play significant roles in shaping both the plot and character development. The leading motivation for this paper is the thought that, instead of imposing the terms and categories of later thinkers on Kālidāsa, one could well deduce elements of Kālidāsa's own poetology and aesthetic principles by examining his treatment of art in this play. The text's language and dramatic situations provide rich fodder for discussions on various aspects of aesthetic investigation. This paper teases out the drama's textual and performative stances, which are not always in agreement with one another, on debates that animate both Kālidāsa's work and more contemporary speculation about art. The essay is an exploration of the aesthetic principles implicit in the actions of art in society depicted in Kālidāsa's drama.