Pratijnayaugandharayana

2021-07-15T16:48:08Z

142.196.186.57:

{{Short description|play by Bhāsa}}
'''''Pratijnayaugandharayana''''' ({{lang-sa|प्रतिज्ञायौगन्धरायणम्}}, {{IAST|Pratijñāyaugandharāyaṇam}}) ([[English language|English]]: '''''The Pledge of Minister Yaugandharāyaṇa''''') is a [[Sanskrit]] play in four acts written by the ancient Indian poet [[Bhāsa]]. It is the oldest extant political play of India<ref>{{cite book |last1=Varadpande |first1=Manohar Laxman |title=History of Indian Theatre: Classical theatre |date=2005 |publisher=Shakti Malik, Abhinav Publications |location=New Delhi |isbn=81-7017-430-9 |page=60}}</ref> and the prequel to Bhāsa's ''[[Svapnavasavadattam]]''.<ref name="Keith1924">{{cite book|last=Keith|first=Arthur Berriedale|authorlink=Arthur Berriedale Keith|title=The Sanskrit Drama in Its Origin, Development, Theory & Practice|url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.102820/page/n111/mode/2up|year=1924|publisher=Clarendon Press|pages=91–126}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{cite book |last1=Ayyar |first1=A.S.P |author-link=A. S. P. Ayyar |title=Bhasa (The Indian Men of Letter Series) |url=https://archive.org/details/BhasaIndianMenOfLettersSeries/page/n115/mode/2up |year=1942 |publisher=The Madras Law Journal Office |location=Mylapore, Madras |pages=112–124 |edition=1st}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=P.G |first1=Dr. Rajukkuttan |title=Malayala Nadakam (M.A. IInd Year) |date=2015 |publisher=Calicut University |location=Kozhikkode |page=6 |edition=I}}</ref> These plays were written by Bhāsa on the account of [[Udayana (king)|Udayana]], king of [[Vatsa]] (Kaushambi).

Throughout the play, Yaugandharayana, minister of Udayana, takes two vows which are ultimately fulfilled.<ref name="Pillai2007">{{cite book|last=Pillai|first=K. Raghavan|author-link=K. Raghavan Pillai|editor1-last=Datta|editor1-first=Amaresh|editor2-last=Lal|editor2-first=Mohan|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: Navaratri-Sarvasena|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sOsbAAAAIAAJ|year=2007|edition=4th|publisher=[[Sahitya Akademi]]|location=New Delhi|pages=3331|isbn=((978-81-260-1003-1))}}</ref>

==Background==
''Pratijnayaugandharayana'' was rediscovered, along with Bhāsa's 12 other plays, in 1912 by Indian scholar [[T. Ganapati Sastri]].<ref>Johnson, W. B. (2009). [https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198610250.001.0001/acref-9780198610250-e-446?rskey=SyoGKw&result=4 Bhāsa]. In A Dictionary of Hinduism. : Oxford University Press.</ref><ref>Lal, Ananda (2011). [https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780195644463.001.0001/acref-9780195644463-e-0074 Bhasa]. Oxford Reference.</ref> As with other plays of Bhasa, the name of the author does not appear in the prologue of the play or anywhere else in the extant manuscripts. But a verse from the play is attributed to Bhasa in ''Subhashitavali'', a 15th century anthology compiled by Vallabhadeva.<ref>{{cite book |author=A. K. Warder |author-link=A. K. Warder |title=Indian Kāvya Literature |volume=3: The Early Medieval Period (Śūdraka to Viśākhadatta) |url=https://www.google.ca/books/edition/Indian_K%C4%81vya_Literature_The_early_medie/trA2AAAAIAAJ |year=1977 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0615-3 |page=6 }}</ref>

The play is based on Udayana's story in the ancient Indian epic [[Brihatkatha]], written by [[Gunadhya]].<ref name="Mukherjee1998">{{cite book|last=Mukherjee|first=Sujit|title=A Dictionary of Indian Literature: Beginnings-1850|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YCJrUfVtZxoC&pg=PA295|year=1998|publisher=Orient Blackswan|isbn=978-81-250-1453-9|pages=295–296}}</ref>

== Plot ==
The plot is set before the events of ''Svapnavasavadattam''.<ref name = "kosambi">D.D.Kosambi, Pracheena Barathathinte Samskaravum Nagarikathayum: Charithraparamaya rooparekha (Translation: M Leelavathi (Page 294)</ref><ref name="auto"/>
It describes the imprisonment of Vatsa King Udayana under [[Pradyota]], King of [[Ujjayini]] and the events in Ujjayini, following his capture.<ref name="auto"/>

While out on a hunting trip, Prince Udayana is tricked into being captured by his enemy, King Pradyota. Pradyota's daughter, Vasavadatta, takes music lessons from the captured prince, and they fall in love. Yaugandharayana, Udayana's minister, helps them and Udayana elopes with Vasavadatta.<ref name="Mukherjee1998"/>

The story is presented through [[Action (narrative)|action]] and narration—by minor characters.<ref name="Pillai2007"/>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Internet Archive|id=in.ernet.dli.2015.490194}} (edited by [[T. Ganapati Sastri]] with commentary)
* [https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.326689/page/n117/mode/2up English translation] of the play (tr. [[A. S. P. Ayyar]]).

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Sanskrit plays]]

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Pratijnayaugandharayana