The playwright has displayed his special calibre in compressing the events of an epic into a play, just as he has done in the Mahāvīracarita; in merely a single scene[1], he has effectively condensed all aspects of the first part of the epic of Rāmāyaṇa. The story of the rest of the play is suggested through the dialogue between the naṭa and the sūtradhāra.
Uttara-kāṇḍa of the Rāmāyaṇa does not mention anything about the battle involving Lava and Kuśa; the Pātāla-khaṇḍa (adhyāyas 1-68) of the Padma-purāṇa speaks about the yajñāśva roaming around different lands. Moreover, as per the version that we come across in the purāṇa, Rāma and Sītā reunite and live happily ever after; thus, the story ends on a positive note, just like the play Uttara-rāma-carita.
We may safely say that the Uttara-rāma-carita was the final product of Bhavabhūti’s talent; however, we are discussing the play here because its story is a continuation of the Mahāvīracarita. The following is the summary of its plot –
(Sītā is in her final stages of pregnancy; the elders of the family leave her in the care of Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa and are away to attend a yajña performed by Ṛṣyaśṛṅga)
Mālyavanta is distressed that his plans are failing. (The burning of Laṅkā; Akṣakumāra is slain; Hanūmān offers Rāma’s ring as a token of recognition to Sītā); conversation between Rāvaṇa and Mandodarī. (Laṅkā is besieged by the vānara army). Aṅgada comes to Rāvaṇa as a messenger; the events of the battle between Rāma and Rāvaṇa are described by Vāsava and Citraratha. (Slaying of Rāvaṇa). [Aṅka 6]
One of the manuscripts of the Mālatī-mādhava states that the work was authored by Bhaṭta-kumārila’s student (prose at the end of Act 3); the colophon at the end of the sixth act in same manuscript says that Umbekācārya authored it; furthermore, the colophon at the end says Kumārila’s student Bhavabhūti penned the play. From this, it is reasonable to think that Bhavabhūti is no different from Kumārila’s student Umbekācārya. However, we must reflect upon the amount of importance we must associate with these colophons. None of the other manuscripts say anything similar to this.
Bhavabhūti is the author of three plays, namely – Mahāvīra-carita, Mālatī-mādhava, and Uttara-rāma-carita. It is quite probable Mahāvīra-carita was the first play that he penned. In the play, he narrates his biographical details as follows –
किं पद्मस्य रुचिं न हन्ति नयनानन्दं विधत्ते न वा
वृद्धिं वा झषकेतनस्य कुरुते नालोकमात्रेण किम् ।
वक्त्रेन्दौ तव सत्ययं यदपरः शीतांशुरभ्युद्गतो
दर्पः स्यादमृतेन चेदिह तदप्यस्त्येव बिम्बाधरे ॥ (3.13)
Doesn’t your moon-face eclipse the beauty of the lotus? Doesn’t it make the flag-bannered Manmatha to swell, just by its appearance? Now, this other moon has risen. If there is pride on account of the presence of nectar (in the real moon), that too is present in your lower lip, which is like a bimba fruit.
In this way, the poet has pictured dāna-vīra rooted in dayā; śṛṅgāra, hāsya, karuṇa, and adbhuta rasas are secondary in the play. In other words, they become the aṅga-rasas, while dāna-vīra is the aṅgi-rasa. If the play were to be written by Bhāsa, it would have taken a shape similar to that of Karṇa-bhāra, and the hero would have succumbed to excessive generosity; in that case, karuṇa-rasa would have been the primary emotion.
Some wonder why and how Harṣa was inspired to write a story connected with the bodhi-sattva; it is not difficult to surmise a possibility. Though there is some flavouring of Buddhism at the beginning and end of the Nāgānanda, the elements of jāti-smaratva and pūrva-janma-vṛttāna (i.e., recollection of past lives) that are part of the original story are not found in the play.
There is nothing special in the characterisation in the Ratnāvalī and Priyadarśikā; the characters are well known through the works of Bhāsa and Kālidāsa; their names and nature were familiar to the readers of Harṣa. Vatsa-rāja is a dhīra-lalita-nāyaka, who is interested in various forms of art and is tender by heart; though he is not irresponsible, he desires luxury. His kingdom, treasury, and army are looked after by his ministers and commanders-in-chief.