कलिंग देश का सम्राट खारवेल यद्यपि जैन धर्म का अनुयायी था जो अहिंसा की परम्परा व विचारों के लिए विश्वविख्यात है, किंतु वह क्षात्र के सिद्धान्त को मानने वाला महान योद्धा के रुप में प्रसिद्ध हुआ जिसके बारे में बहुत कुछ जानना शेष है। वह उन प्राचीन शासकों में से या जिन पर हम गर्व कर सकत हैं। खारवेल के बारे में सबसे बडा साक्ष्य हाथीगुम्फ काशिलालेख है जो भुवनेश्वर के निकट उदयगिरी गुफा में स्थित है। भुवनेश्वर उडिसा की राजधानी है।
There is another unique feature in the theme of the play Mṛcchakaṭika – it is the story of a brāhmaṇa; Cārudatta is a brāhmaṇa by birth but a trader by profession; he is like a kṣattriya in the dhārmic activities he engages himself in; he had spent all his wealth by performing dāna to those in need from time to time; Vasantasenā, who was moved by this quality, comes to him offering her love.
In these literary works, the life of Cārudatta is the central theme; the story of Āryaka is of secondary importance and only serves to bolster the main plot. The fact that Cārudatta and his associates are the focal point, is attested by the name of the play – Mṛcchakaṭika. The name refers to a toy cart made out of clay; Cārudatta’s son, Rohasena refuses this mṛcchakaṭika; the play is the story of this toy cart – it was a golden cart in the past and turned into a clay one due to a sad twist of fate; it again turns golden with time.
वास्तु शिल्प तथा मूर्तिकला के क्षेत्र में गुप्तकाल में असाधारण कार्य हुआ था। आज भी गुप्तकालीन उपहार के रुप में अनेक गुफा मंदिर पाये जाते है [1]।
Dr. Ganesh is a noted scholar of Indian aesthetics. Apart from studying a staggering number of works in this discipline, he has conceived original ideas, unknotted ticklish issues and provided insights into ancient concepts. He has peppered the present work with several such insights, as is his wont. Let us sample a few.