Bhāsa: Difference between revisions

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Bhāsa is one of the earliest Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, predating Kālidasa. Estimates of his floruit range from the 4th century BCE^[1] to the 4th century CE;^[2] the thirteen plays attributed to him are commonly dated closer to the first or second century CE.^[3]

Bhasa's plays had been lost for centuries until the manuscripts were rediscovered in 1910 by the Indian scholar Ganapati Shastri.^[4] Bhāsa had previously only been known from mentions in other works, such as the Rajashekhara's Kāvya-mimāmsā, which attributes the play Swapnavāsavadattam to him.

In the introduction to his first play Mālavikāgnimitram, Kālidāsa wrote: "Shall we neglect the works of such illustrious authors as Bhāsa, Saūmilla, and Kaviputra? Can the audience feel any respect for the work of a modern poet, a Kālidāsa?"^[5]

Date[edit | edit source]

Bhāsa's date of birth is uncertain: he likely lived after Aśvaghoṣa (1st-2nd century CE) as a verse in his Pratijna-yaugandharayana is probably from Aśvaghoṣa's Buddha-charita. He definitely lived before Kālidāsa (4th-5th century CE), who knew of his fame as an established poet.^[6] Bhāsa's language is closer to Kālidāsa than it is to Aśvaghoṣa.^[7]^[6]

Indian scholar M.L. Varadpande dates him as early as 4th century BCE.^[1] According to British scholar Richard Stoneman, Bhasa may have belonged to the late Maurya period at the earliest, and was already known by the 1st century BCE. Stoneman notes that the thirteen plays attributed to Bhasa are generally dated closer to the 1st or 2nd century CE.^[3] Other scholarly estimates of Bhasa's floruit range from the late 2nd century CE^[8] to the 4th century CE.^[9]^[2]

Bhāsa's works do not follow all the dictates of the Natya Shastra. This has been taken as a proof of their antiquity; no post-Kālidāsa play has been found to break the rules of the Natya Shastra. Scenes from Bhāsa present signs of physical violence on the stage, as in plays like Urubhangam. This is strictly frowned upon by Natya Shastra.^[10] However, these facts alone don't make chronology certain. Indu Shekhar states that, "Whatever the exact date [of Natya Shastra] may have been, it is significant that no direct reference to NS was made before the seventh century," when it became accepted as the subject of attention for many poets, writers, and theorists.^[11]

Plays of Bhāsa[edit | edit source]

The Urubhanga and Karna-bhara are the only known tragic Sanskrit plays in ancient India. Though branded the villain of the Mahabharata, Duryodhana is the actual hero in Uru-Bhanga shown repenting his past as he lies with his thighs crushed awaiting death. His relations with his family are shown with great pathos. The epic contains no reference to such repentance. The Karna-bhara ends with the premonitions of the sad end of Karna, another epic character from Mahabharata. Early plays in India, inspired by Natya Shastra, strictly considered sad endings inappropriate.^[12]

The plays are generally short compared to later playwrights and most of them draw on themes from the Indian epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana. Though he is firmly on the side of the heroes of the epic, Bhāsa treats their opponents with great sympathy. He takes a lot of liberties with the story to achieve this. In the Pratima-nataka, Kaikeyi who is responsible for the tragic events in the Ramayana is shown as enduring the calumny of all so that a far noble end is achieved.^[13]

Following plays are attributed to Bhāsa^[14]

Plays based on Ramayana[edit | edit source]

Pratimā-nāṭaka
Abhiṣeka-nāṭaka
Yajnaphalam-nāṭaka

Plays based on Mahābhārata[edit | edit source]

Dūtavākya
Karṇabhāra
Dūtaghaṭotkaca
Ūrubhaṅga
Madhyama-vyāyoga
Pañcarātra

Based on story of Bṛhatkathā[edit | edit source]

Pratijñā-Yaugandharāyaṇa
Svapnavāsavadatta
Avimāraka
Cārudatta

Other plays[edit | edit source]

Bālacarita: On childhood of Kṛṣṇa and slaying of Kaṃsa

His most famous plays — Pratigya Yaugandharayanam^[15] (the vow of Yaugandharayana) and Swapnavāsavadattam (Vasavadatta in the dream) — are based on the legends that had grown around the legendary King Udayana, probably a contemporary of the Gautama Buddha. Another play called Yajñaphalam is also attributed to him.

Modern revival[edit | edit source]

The first person to revive Bhasa in modern Indian theatre was a Professor of Ancient Indian Drama at National School of Drama, and theatre director, Shanta Gandhi, who first directed productions of Madhyamavyayoga (1966) ("The Middle One") and Urubhanga ("The Broken Thigh") in Hindi. A decade later, his work was approached by playwright Kavalam Narayan Panikkar and theatre director, Ratan Thiyam using Manipuri dance and theatre traditions, and traditional martial art of Thang-Ta, who first performed Karna-bhara ("Karna's burden") in 1976, and later Urubhanga.^[16]^[17]

Waman Kendre did an adaptation of Madhyama Vyāyoga in three different languages: O My Love in English, Mohe Piya in Hindi and Piya Bawari in Marathi.^[18]

Notes[edit | edit source]

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Varadpande, M. L.; Varadpande, Manohar Laxman (1987). History of Indian Theatre. Abhinav Publications. p. 90. ISBN 978-81-7017-221-5. The earliest known Indian playwright Bhasa (c. 400 BC) wrote about 13 plays.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Goodwin, Robert E. (1998), The Playworld of Sanskrit Drama, Motilal Banarsidass, p. xviii, ISBN 978-81-208-1589-6
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Stoneman, Richard (2019). The Greek Experience of India: From Alexander to the Indo-Greeks. p. 414. ISBN 978-0-691-15403-9.
↑ "About Sanskrit". Central Sanskrit University, Government of India.
↑ C. R. Devadhar (1966) "Mālavikāgnimitram of Kālidāsa", p.3
↑ ^6.0 ^6.1 Keith, Arthur Berriedale (1992), The Sanskrit Drama in Its Origin, Development, Theory & Practice, Motilal Banarsidass, pp. 93–95, ISBN 978-81-208-0977-2
↑ Winternitz, Maurice; Winternitz, Moriz (1985), History of Indian Literature, Motilal Banarsidass, pp. 204–205, ISBN 978-81-208-0056-4
↑ Singh, Upinder (2017). Political Violence in Ancient India. Harvard University Press. p. 130. ISBN 978-0-674-97527-9. Retrieved 4 February 2024. Bhasa probably lived in the late second century
↑ Kroeber, Alfred Louis (1944), Configurations of Culture Growth, University of California Press, p. 419, GGKEY:Q5N845X8FFF, His date cannot be much earlier than 300, nor later than 350
↑ V. Venkatachalam (1986) "Bhāsa", p.14
↑ Īndū Shekhar (1 May 1978). Sanskrit Drama: Its Origin and Decline. Brill Archive. pp. 44–. GGKEY:3TX00B7LD6T.
↑ K. P. A. Menon (1996) "Complete plays of Bhāsa", p.28
↑ Govind Keshav Bhat(1968) "Bhāsa-studies", p.47
↑ Mahakavi, Bhāsa (1959). Sehgal, S. R. (ed.). Bhāsa's Bālacaritam. Delhi: Munshi Ram Manoharlal. p. 35.
↑ Ahlborn, Matthias (2006) Pratijñāyaugandharāyaṇa : digitalisierte Textkonstitution, Übersetzung und Annotierung, Universität Würzburg, Dissertation (German translation)
↑ Dharwadker, p. 167
↑ Dharwadker, p. 105
↑ "Interview with Waman Kendre". Mumbai Theatre Guide. Retrieved 25 July 2015.

References[edit | edit source]

Thirteen Trivandrum plays ascribed to Bhāsa( 2 Vols), translated by H.C.Woolner, Lakshman Sarup, 193
Māni Mādhava Chākyār (1975), Nātyakalpadruma, Kerala Kalamandalam, Vallathol Nagar
Dharwadker, Aparna Bhargava (2005). Theatres of independence: drama, theory, and urban performance in India since 1947. University of Iowa Press. ISBN 0-87745-961-4.
Encyclopaedia of Indian Theatre: Bhasa, by Biswajit Sinha, Ashok Kumar Choudhury. Raj Publications, 2000. ISBN 81-86208-11-9.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Short description|Indian playwright in Sanskrit}}
-{{redirect|Bhasa|the word for "language"| Bahasa|other uses|Bhasa (disambiguation)}}
+{{redirect|Bhasa|the word for "language"|Bhāṣā|other uses|Bhasa (disambiguation)}}
 {{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
 {{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
-'''Bhāsa''' is one of the earliest and most celebrated [[Theatre in India|Indian playwrights]] in Sanskrit, predating [[Kalidasa]]. His plays had been lost for centuries until the manuscripts were rediscovered in the early 20th century. Bhāsa had previously only been known from mentions in other works, like the ''Kavyamimamsa'' on poetics from 880–920 AD. In the Kavyamimamsa, [[Rajashekhara (Sanskrit poet)|Rajashekhara]] attributes the play ''[[Swapnavasavadattam]]'' to Bhāsa.
+'''Bhāsa''' is one of the earliest [[Theatre in India|Indian playwrights]] in Sanskrit, predating [[Kālidāsa|Kālidasa]]. Estimates of his floruit range from the 4th century BCE<ref name="MLV"/> to the 4th century CE;<ref name="Goodwin1998"/> the thirteen plays attributed to him are commonly dated closer to the first or second century CE.<ref name="Stoneman"/>
-In the introduction to his first play ''Malavikagnimitram'', [[Kālidāsa]] wrote:
+Bhasa's plays had been lost for centuries until the manuscripts were rediscovered in 1910 by the Indian scholar [[T. Ganapati Sastri|Ganapati Shastri]].<ref name="CSU">{{Cite web|author=|url=https://www.sanskrit.nic.in/about_sanskrit.php#bhasa|title=About Sanskrit|publisher=Central Sanskrit University, Government of India}}</ref> Bhāsa had previously only been known from mentions in other works, such as the [[Rajashekhara (Sanskrit poet)|Rajashekhara]]'s ''Kāvya-mimāmsā'', which attributes the play ''[[Swapnavāsavadattam]]'' to him.
-"Shall we neglect the works of such illustrious authors as Bhāsa, Saumilla, and Kaviputra? Can the audience feel any respect for the work of a modern poet, a Kālidāsa?"<ref>C. R. Devadhar (1966) "Malavikagnimitram of Kalidasa", p.3</ref>
+In the introduction to his first play ''Mālavikāgnimitram'', [[Kālidāsa]] wrote:
+"Shall we neglect the works of such illustrious authors as Bhāsa, Saūmilla, and Kaviputra? Can the audience feel any respect for the work of a modern poet, a Kālidāsa?"<ref>C. R. Devadhar (1966) "Mālavikāgnimitram of Kālidāsa", p.3</ref>
 ==Date==
-Bhāsa's date of birth is uncertain, but it most likely falls within the third or fourth century BCE.<ref name="Keith1992">{{citation |last=Keith |first=Arthur Berriedale |title=The Sanskrit Drama in Its Origin, Development, Theory & Practice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sfqRhylNBpwC&pg=PA95 |year=1992 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0977-2 |pages=95–}}</ref><ref name="Kroeber1944">{{citation |last=Kroeber |first=Alfred Louis |title=Configurations of Culture Growth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ROvDtaUI9xMC&pg=PA419 |year=1944 |publisher=University of California Press |pages=419– |id=GGKEY:Q5N845X8FFF}}</ref><ref name="Goodwin1998">{{citation |last=Goodwin |first=Robert E. |title=The Playworld of Sanskrit Drama |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_PKcu23-xoC&pg=PR18 |year=1998 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1589-6 |page=xviii}}</ref> Bhāsa's language is closer to [[Kālidāsa]] (1st century BCE) than it is to [[Aśvaghoṣa]] (1st-2nd century CE).<ref name="WinternitzWinternitz1985">{{citation |last1=Winternitz |first1=Maurice |last2=Winternitz |first2=Moriz |title=History of Indian Literature |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ql0BmInD1c4C&pg=PA204 |year=1985 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0056-4 |pages=204–205}}</ref>
-Bhāsa's works do not follow all the dictates of the [[Natya Shastra]]. This has been taken as a proof of their antiquity; no post-Kālidāsa play has been found to break the rules of the Natya Shastra's. Scenes from Bhāsa present signs of physical violence on the stage, as in plays like ''[[Urubhanga]]''. This is strictly frowned upon by Natya Shastra.<ref>V. Venkatachalam (1986) "Bhāsa", p.14</ref> However, these facts alone don't make chronology certain. Indu Shekhar states that, "Whatever the exact date [of Natya Shastra] may have been, it is significant that no direct reference to NS was made before the seventh century," when it became accepted as the subject of attention for many poets, writers, and theorists.<ref name="Shekhar1978">{{cite book|author=Īndū Shekhar|title=Sanskrit Drama: Its Origin and Decline|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=68wUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA44|date=1 May 1978|publisher=Brill Archive|pages=44–|id=GGKEY:3TX00B7LD6T}}</ref>
+Bhāsa's date of birth is uncertain: he likely lived after [[Aśvaghoṣa]] (1st-2nd century CE) as a verse in his ''Pratijna-yaugandharayana'' is probably from Aśvaghoṣa's ''Buddha-charita''. He definitely lived before [[Kālidāsa]] (4th-5th century CE), who knew of his fame as an established poet.<ref name="Keith1992">{{citation |last=Keith |first=Arthur Berriedale |title=The Sanskrit Drama in Its Origin, Development, Theory & Practice |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sfqRhylNBpwC&pg=PA93 |year=1992 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0977-2 |pages=93–95}}</ref> Bhāsa's language is closer to Kālidāsa than it is to Aśvaghoṣa.<ref name="WinternitzWinternitz1985">{{citation |last1=Winternitz |first1=Maurice |last2=Winternitz |first2=Moriz |title=History of Indian Literature |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ql0BmInD1c4C&pg=PA204 |year=1985 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-0056-4 |pages=204–205}}</ref><ref name="Keith1992"/>
-==Discovery of his plays==
+Indian scholar M.L. Varadpande dates him as early as 4th century BCE.<ref name="MLV">{{cite book|last1=Varadpande|first1=M. L.|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SyxOHOCVcVkC|title=History of Indian Theatre|last2=Varadpande|first2=Manohar Laxman|date=1987|publisher=Abhinav Publications|isbn=978-81-7017-221-5|language=en |page=90 |quote=The earliest known Indian playwright Bhasa (c. 400 BC) wrote about 13 plays. }}</ref> According to British scholar Richard Stoneman, Bhasa may have belonged to the late [[Maurya Empire|Maurya]] period at the earliest, and was already known by the 1st century BCE. Stoneman notes that the thirteen plays attributed to Bhasa are generally dated closer to the 1st or 2nd century CE.<ref name="Stoneman">{{Cite book|last=Stoneman|first=Richard|url=https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691154039/the-greek-experience-of-india |title=The Greek Experience of India: From Alexander to the Indo-Greeks|date=2019|isbn=978-0-691-15403-9|pages=414|language=en}}</ref> Other scholarly estimates of Bhasa's floruit range from the late 2nd century CE<ref>{{cite book |last=Singh |first=Upinder |author-link=Upinder Singh |title=Political Violence in Ancient India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t6A4DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA130 |year=2017 |publisher=Harvard University Press |isbn=978-0-674-97527-9 |access-date=2024-02-04 |page=130 |quote=Bhasa probably lived in the late second century }}</ref> to the 4th century CE.<ref name="Kroeber1944">{{citation |last=Kroeber |first=Alfred Louis |title=Configurations of Culture Growth |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ROvDtaUI9xMC&pg=PA419 |year=1944 |publisher=University of California Press |page=419 |id=GGKEY:Q5N845X8FFF |quote=His date cannot be much earlier than 300, nor later than 350}}</ref><ref name="Goodwin1998">{{citation |last=Goodwin |first=Robert E. |title=The Playworld of Sanskrit Drama |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=p_PKcu23-xoC&pg=PR18 |year=1998 |publisher=Motilal Banarsidass |isbn=978-81-208-1589-6 |page=xviii}}</ref>
-In the year 1909 the play ''Swapnavasavadatta'' was discovered by Pandit Anandalvar of the Archeological Survey of Mysore, two years later the Mahamahopadhyaya [[T. Ganapati Sastri]] came upon 13 [[Sanskrit drama|Sanskrit plays]] that were used in the [[Koodiyattam]] plays. The first discovery yielded ten complete manuscripts (''Svapnavasavadattam, [[Pratijnayaugandharayana]], Pancharatra, Charudatta, Dootaghatotkacha, Avimaraka, Balacharita, Madhyamavyayoga, Karnabhara'' and ''Urubhanga'') and fragments of one. Later, he found two more: ''Abhisheka'' and ''Pratimanataka''. Finally, he found intact manuscript of ''Dootavakyam'', adding up to total thirteen plays believed to be authored by Bhasa. Unlike other classical plays, none of them mentioned the author, but one was the ''[[Swapnavāsavadatta]]''. Comparing the style of writing and techniques employed in these plays and based on the knowledge that ''Swapnavāsavadatta'' was Bhāsa's work, all of them were credited to him. Some scholars have disputed Bhāsa's authorship of all the plays but over the years the plays have generally come to be ascribed to Bhāsa.
+Bhāsa's works do not follow all the dictates of the [[Natya Shastra]]. This has been taken as a proof of their antiquity; no post-Kālidāsa play has been found to break the rules of the Natya Shastra. Scenes from Bhāsa present signs of physical violence on the stage, as in plays like ''[[Urubhangam]]''. This is strictly frowned upon by Natya Shastra.<ref>V. Venkatachalam (1986) "Bhāsa", p.14</ref> However, these facts alone don't make chronology certain. Indu Shekhar states that, "Whatever the exact date [of Natya Shastra] may have been, it is significant that no direct reference to NS was made before the seventh century," when it became accepted as the subject of attention for many poets, writers, and theorists.<ref name="Shekhar1978">{{cite book|author=Īndū Shekhar|title=Sanskrit Drama: Its Origin and Decline|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=68wUAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA44|date=1 May 1978|publisher=Brill Archive|pages=44–|id=GGKEY:3TX00B7LD6T}}</ref>
 ==Plays of Bhāsa==
-The ''Uru-Bhanga'' and ''[[Karnabharam by Bhasa|Karna-bhara]]'' are the only known [[Tragedy|tragic]] Sanskrit plays in ancient India. Though branded the villain of the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', [[Duryodhana]] is the actual hero in ''Uru-Bhanga'' shown repenting his past as he lies with his thighs crushed awaiting death. His relations with his family are shown with great pathos. The epic contains no reference to such repentance. The ''Karna-bhara'' ends with the premonitions of the sad end of [[Karna]], another epic character from ''Mahabharata''. Early plays in India, inspired by Natya Shastra, strictly considered sad endings inappropriate.<ref>K. P. A. Menon (1996) "Complete plays of Bhāsa", p.28</ref>
+{{see|List of Sanskrit plays in English translation}}
+The ''[[Urubhanga]]'' and ''[[Karnabharam|Karna-bhara]]'' are the only known [[Tragedy|tragic]] Sanskrit plays in ancient India. Though branded the villain of the ''[[Mahabharata]]'', [[Duryodhana]] is the actual hero in ''Uru-Bhanga'' shown repenting his past as he lies with his thighs crushed awaiting death. His relations with his family are shown with great pathos. The epic contains no reference to such repentance. The ''Karna-bhara'' ends with the premonitions of the sad end of [[Karna]], another epic character from ''Mahabharata''. Early plays in India, inspired by Natya Shastra, strictly considered sad endings inappropriate.<ref>K. P. A. Menon (1996) "Complete plays of Bhāsa", p.28</ref>
+The plays are generally short compared to later playwrights and most of them draw on themes from the Indian epics, ''Mahabharata'' and ''[[Ramayana]]''. Though he is firmly on the side of the heroes of the epic, Bhāsa treats their opponents with great sympathy. He takes a lot of liberties with the story to achieve this. In the ''Pratima-nataka'', [[Kaikeyi]] who is responsible for the tragic events in the ''Ramayana'' is shown as enduring the calumny of all so that a far noble end is achieved.<ref>Govind Keshav Bhat(1968) "Bhāsa-studies", p.47</ref>
-The plays are generally short compared to later playwrights and most of them draw the theme from the Indian epics, ''Mahabharata'' and ''[[Ramayana]]''.Though he is firmly on the side of the heroes of the epic, Bhāsa treats their opponents with great sympathy. He takes a lot of liberties with the story to achieve this. In the ''Pratima-nataka'', [[Kaikeyi]] who is responsible for the tragic events in the ''Ramayana'' is shown as enduring the calumny of all so that a far noble end is achieved.<ref>Govind Keshav Bhat(1968) "Bhāsa-studies", p.47</ref>
+Following plays are attributed to Bhāsa<ref>{{Cite book |last=Mahakavi |first=Bhāsa |title=Bhāsa's Bālacaritam |publisher=Munshi Ram Manoharlal |year=1959 |editor-last=Sehgal |editor-first=S. R. |location=Delhi |pages=35}}</ref>
 ===Plays based on ''Ramayana''===
-* ''Pratima-nataka'': The statues
+* ''Pratimā-nāṭaka''
-* ''Yagna-Phalam'':<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.281136 |title=The Yajnaphala Of Mahakavi Bhasa }}</ref>
+* ''Abhiṣeka-nāṭaka''
-* ''Abhisheka-natka'': The coronation
+* ''Yajnaphalam-nāṭaka''
-===Plays based on ''Mahabharata''===
-* ''Panch-ratra'': The five-nights
+=== Plays based on ''Mahābhārata'' ===
-* ''[[Madhyamavyayoga|Madhyama-vyayoga]]'': The middle one
-* ''Duta-Ghattotkacha'': Ghattotkacha as envoy
-* ''Duta-Vakya'' : The envoy's message
-* ''[[Urubhanga]]'': The broken thigh
-* ''[[Karnabharam]]'': Karna's burden
-* ''Harivamsa'' or ''Bala-charita'': Hari's dynasty or the tale of Childhood
-The ''Duta-Vakya'' and ''Bala-charita'' are perhaps the only Sanskrit plays by a famous playwright with [[Krishna]] as the central character.
+* ''Dūtavākya''
+* ''Karṇabhāra''
+* ''Dūtaghaṭotkaca''
+* ''Ūrubhaṅga''
+* ''Madhyama-vyāyoga''
+* ''Pañcarātra''
-His other plays are not epic based. ''Avimaraka'' is a fairy tale, which later became part of a [[Mani Kaul]] film, ''[[The Cloud Door]]'' (1994).<ref>{{IMDb name|0080269}}</ref> The unfinished ''Daridra-Charudatta'' (Charudatta in poverty) tells the story of the courtesan Vasantasena and is interesting for the same story was developed by [[Śhudraka]] into the more famous play ''[[Mrichakatika]]''.
+=== Based on story of Bṛhatkathā ===
+* ''Pratijñā-Yaugandharāyaṇa''
+* ''Svapnavāsavadatta''
+* ''Avimāraka''
+* ''Cārudatta''
-His most famous plays ''[[Pratigya Yaugandharayanam]]''<ref>Ahlborn, Matthias (2006) [http://opus.bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/2070 Pratijñāyaugandharāyaṇa : digitalisierte Textkonstitution, Übersetzung und Annotierung], Universität Würzburg, Dissertation (German translation)</ref> (the vow of Yaugandharayana) and ''[[Swapnavāsavadattam]]'' (Vasavadatta in the dream) are based on the legends that had grown around the legendary King Udayana, probably a contemporary of the [[Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]. The first play tells the story of how the king Udayana married the princess Vasavadatta (his first wife).The second play tells the story of how the king Udayana, with the help of his loyal minister Yaugandharayana, later married the princess Padmavati, a daughter of the king of Magadha, and thus made this king his ally rather than enemy.
+=== Other plays ===
-Though his plays were discovered only in the 20th century, two of them ''Uru-Bhanga'' and ''Karna-bhara'', have become popular due to their appeal to modern tastes and performed in translation and Sanskrit.
+* ''Bālacarita'': On childhood of Kṛṣṇa and slaying of Kaṃsa
-Many of Bhasa's plays are staged in [[Koodiyattam]] even now, like parts of ''Pratijna-Yaugandharayana'', ''Abhisheka-nataka'' etc.
+His most famous plays — ''[[Pratigya Yaugandharayanam]]''<ref>Ahlborn, Matthias (2006) [http://opus.bibliothek.uni-wuerzburg.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/2070 Pratijñāyaugandharāyaṇa : digitalisierte Textkonstitution, Übersetzung und Annotierung], Universität Würzburg, Dissertation (German translation)</ref> (the vow of Yaugandharayana) and ''[[Swapnavāsavadattam]]'' (Vasavadatta in the dream) — are based on the legends that had grown around the legendary [[Udayana (king)|King Udayana]], probably a contemporary of the [[Gautama Buddha]]. Another play called ''Yajñaphalam'' is also attributed to him.
 ==Modern revival==
@@ Line 50: / Line 56: @@
 The first person to revive Bhasa in modern [[Indian theatre]] was a Professor of Ancient Indian Drama at [[National School of Drama]], and theatre director, [[Shanta Gandhi]], who first directed productions of ''[[Madhyamavyayoga]]'' (1966) ("The Middle One") and ''[[Urubhanga]]'' ("The Broken Thigh") in Hindi. A decade later, his work was approached by playwright [[Kavalam Narayan Panikkar]] and theatre director, [[Ratan Thiyam]] using Manipuri dance and theatre traditions, and traditional martial art of [[Thang-Ta]], who first performed ''Karna-bhara'' ("Karna's burden") in 1976, and later ''Urubhanga''.<ref name=Da>[[#Da|Dharwadker, p. 167]]</ref><ref>[[#Da|Dharwadker, p. 105]]</ref>
-[[Waman Kendre]] did an adaptation of ''Madhyama Vyāyoga'' in three different languages - ''O My Love'' in English, ''Mohe Piya'' in Hindi and ''Piya Bawari'' in Marathi.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mumbaitheatreguide.com/dramas/interviews/30-waman-kendre-interview.asp  |title=Interview with Waman Kendre |access-date=25 July 2015 |publisher=Mumbai Theatre Guide}}</ref>
+[[Waman Kendre]] did an adaptation of ''Madhyama Vyāyoga'' in three different languages: ''O My Love'' in English, ''Mohe Piya'' in Hindi and ''Piya Bawari'' in Marathi.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mumbaitheatreguide.com/dramas/interviews/30-waman-kendre-interview.asp  |title=Interview with Waman Kendre |access-date=25 July 2015 |publisher=Mumbai Theatre Guide}}</ref>
-The legendary [[Natyasastra]] scholar and [[Koodiyattam]] maestro Guru [[Mani Madhava Chakyar]] choreographed and started to perform ''Swapnavāsadatta'' and ''Pancharātra'' for the first time in the history of [[Koodiyattam]].
 ==See also==
@@ Line 80: / Line 84: @@
 {{Authority control}}
+{{Bhāsa}}
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Bhasa}}
 [[Category:Sanskrit poets]]
@@ Line 88: / Line 92: @@
 [[Category:Indian male poets]]
 [[Category:Indian male dramatists and playwrights]]
-[[Category:Koodiyattam exponents]]
+[[Category:Koodiyattam dancers]]
 [[Category:3rd-century Indian writers]]
 [[Category:4th-century Indian writers]]