itthaṃ rāmāyaṇe dṛśyā gītā-tātparya-mūrtayaḥ ।
īśa-prītyā loka-saṃsthā-kṣemārthaṃ datta-jīvitāḥ ॥11॥The personification of the Gītā’s teachings are thus seen in the Rāmāyaṇa; they surrendered their lives for the love of Īśvara and for the sustenance of the world.
yathā vasante taravaḥ sva-svajātyaiḥ sumaiḥ phalaiḥ ।
śobhante tatvad-evāmī sva-sva-sattva-guṇodgamaiḥ ॥ 12॥
Vanitākavitotsavaḥ is a unique Sanskrit play written by Śatāvadhānī Dr. R Ganesh, an eminent contemporary poet. As the title indicates, it is a celebration of poetry composed by women. This work was first written around thirty years ago and was then published in Saṃskṛta-pratibhā, a quarterly journal brought out by Sahitya Akademi. It was recently revised and published as a book.[1]
It is hard to say when and where Śūdraka was born. The following verses that occur at the beginning of his play, the Mṛcchakaṭika, provide us with some details about the playwright –
Dviradendra-gatiścakora-netraḥ pari-pūrṇendu-mukhaḥ suvigrahaśca |
Dvija-mukhyatamaḥ kavirbabhūva prathitaḥ śūdraka ityagādha-sattvaḥ ||
ṛg-vedaṃ sāma-vedaṃ gaṇitam-atha kalāṃ vaiśikiṃ hasti-śikṣāṃ
jñātvā śarva-prasādād-vyapagata-timire cakṣuṣī copalabhya |
When Arjuna said he would not fight, what did Svāmi say? He said, “I stand for upholding dharma. This war is for the sake of that. This war will not end if you do not fight. Before you could even think of it, I have already destroyed those who were against dharma” (“mayaivaite nihatāh pūrvameva ।)” — 11.33
Bhāsa’s plays contain quite a number of novel and fresh ideas and emotions. He also brings in proverbial statements through the dialogues of the characters; they inclusion bolsters the overall aesthetic experience. The following are examples from the Yajña-phala,
चन्द्रगुप्त विक्रमादित्य ने जो भी निर्णय लिए तथा जो भी संबंध स्थापित किये थे वे सब शास्त्रानुसार तथा परम्परानुगत प्रथा द्वारा मान्य थे। उसके शासन काल में सनातन धर्म का उत्थान अपने चरम शिखर पर था जिसकी कोई तुलना नही की जा सकती है। उसके शासन काल में विभिन्न वर्णों के मध्य सामंजस्य के अनेक उदाहरण है। के.एम.मुंशी कहते हैं –
A similar example can be seen even in business : (1) Adhiṣṭhāna = Capital and site of business (2) Kartā: the businessman’s and his knack (3) Karaṇa: the stock and instruments of measuring weights and lengths (4) Ceṣtāḥ - advertising and other means of attracting buyers (5) Daiva - customers liking a product or otherwise.