Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka - Viśākha-datta - Mudrārākṣasa (Part 5)

The nature of various characters in the play is clear. In the world of Sanskrit literature, it is rare to find such well-defined characters and sets of events that naturally progress from one to another. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that in the triad constituted by the plot, emotion, and characterisation, the last, i.e., the characterisation in the play merits the best applause; the plot naturally depends on character. It can be said that vīra-rasa dominates the play; however, we cannot classify it under any of the traditional sub-genres such as dāna-vīra, dayā-vīra, yuddha-vīra, and dharma-vīra; the poet has not constructed the plot keeping a specific rasa in mind; if he had done so, it would have become artificial like in the play Veṇī-saṃhāra and the characters would have been lifeless. What kind of a story can emerge from lifeless characters? Can it evoke any deep rasa experience?

The style and diction of the play are well aligned with the nature of the story and its characters; there are not too many unnecessary and pedantic descriptions; the poet is wise in his employment of alaṅkāras as well. In sum, we can say that Viśākhadatta has truly authored a play that can be staged; he hasn’t penned an elaborate and flowery treatise in the name of a play, like the later-day ‘playwrights’ do; it is therefore dear to scholars and connoisseurs alike. Western critics have especially appreciated the Mudrārākṣasa for its plot and dramatic quality.

~

Devī-candragupta is another play authored by Viśākhadatta. It is a historical play and has borrowed much from the life of Candragupta II; the king of the śakas (the ‘śakapati’) desires the wife of Candragupta’s older brother, Rāmagupta; to rescue her, Candragupta disguises himself as his sister-in-law Dhruvādevī, enters into the camps of the śakapati, and kills him. Bhoja in his Śṛṅgāra-prakāśa and Bāṇa in his Harṣa-carita make references to this story; we don’t seem to have been able to procure a complete copy of the play till date; Manavalli Ramakrishna Kavi brought out an edition of the play based on the fragments he was able to procure.[1] Following this, Sylvain Lévi quoted a few more segments of the play from the Nāṭya-darpaṇa and published some parts.[2] We cannot say much about it until we lay hands on the complete text of the play. The following segments may help readers get an idea of the play.

1. (…विशाखदत्तकृते देवीचन्द्रगुप्ते माधव-सेनां समुद्दिश्य कुमार-चन्द्रगुप्तस्योक्तिः [3])

(… the following are the words spoken by the young Candragupta to Mādhavasenā in the play Devī-candragupta, penned by Viśākhadatta)

 

आनन्दाश्रुजलं सितोत्पलरुचोराबध्नता नेत्रयोः

प्रत्यङ्गेषु वरानने पुलकिषु स्वेदं समातन्वता।

कुर्वाणेन नितम्बयोरुपचयं संपूर्णयोरप्यसौ

केनाप्यस्पृशताप्यधोनिवसनग्रन्थिस्तवोच्छ्वासितः॥

 

2. देवीचन्द्रगुप्ते चन्द्रगुप्तो ध्रुवदेवीं दृष्ट्वा स्वगतमाह –

(… Candragupta tells himself the following upon seeing Dhruvadevī)

 

इयमपि देवी तिष्ठति यैषा

रम्यां चारतिकारिणीं च करुणाशोकेन नीता दशां

तत्कालोपगतेन राहुशिरसा गुप्तेव चान्द्री कला।

पत्युः क्लीबजनोचितेन चरितेनानेन पुंसः सतो

लज्जाकोपविषादभीत्यरतिभिः क्षेत्रीकृता ताम्यति॥

(अत्र ध्रुवदेयभिप्रायश्य चन्द्रगुप्तेन निश्चयः)

 

3. …देवीचन्द्रगुप्ते द्वितीयाङ्के प्रकृतीनां आश्वासनाय शकस्य ध्रुवदेवीसंप्रदाने अभ्युपगते राज्ञा रामगुप्तेनारिवधनार्थं यियासुः प्रतिपन्न-ध्रुवदेवी-नेपथ्यः कुमार-चन्द्रगुप्तो विज्ञापयन्नुच्यते यथा

प्रतिष्ठोत्तिष्ठ न खल्वहं त्वां परित्यक्तुमुत्सहे[4]

प्रत्यग्रयौवन-विभूषणमङ्गमेत-

-द्रूपश्रियं च तव यौवन-योग्य-रूपम्।

सक्तिं च मय्यनुपमामनुरुध्यमानो

देवीं त्यजामि बलवांस्त्वयि मेऽनुरागः॥

अन्यस्त्रीशङ्कया ध्रुवदेवी…

राजा - अपि च

त्यजामि देवीं तृणवत्वदन्तरे

त्वया विना राज्यमिदं हि निष्फलं।

ऊढेति देवीं प्रति मे दयालुता

त्वयि स्थितं स्नेहनिबन्धनं मनः॥

 

4. (देवीचन्द्रगुप्ते चतुर्थेऽङ्के…)

चन्द्रगुप्तः - प्रिये माधवसेने, त्वमिदानीं मे बन्धमाज्ञापय।

कण्ठे किन्नरकण्ठि! बाहुलतिका-पाशः समासज्यतां

हारस्ते स्तनबान्धवो मम बलाद्बध्नातु पाणिद्वयम्।

पादौ त्वज्जघनस्थलप्रणयिनी-सन्दानयेन्मेखला

पूर्वं त्वद्गुण-बद्धमेव हृदयं बन्धुं पुनर्नार्हति॥

 

Jayaswal is of the opinion that it is quite probable that Viśākhadatta had a play called Kaumudī-mahotsava before him when he penned the Mudrārākṣasa[5]. Let us discuss a little on this matter here. Kaumudī-mahotsava is a play based on romance like the Mālavikāgnimitra and Mṛcchakaṭika composed with a historical backdrop. It is said to have been authored by a poetess by the name Vijjikā (or Kiśorikā?) around 325 CE. In the play, we see that Kalyāṇa-varmā, the prince of Magadha wins back his kingdom with the help of his minister; he also marries Kīrtimatī, the daughter of Kīrtiṣeṇa – the commander-in-chief of the śūras. The hero and the heroine had seen each other in the past; they are also assisted by a Buddhist monk in their pursuit. The wedding takes place in the sugāṅga-prāsāda in Pāṭalīputra. That was the season where kaumudī-mahotsava – a full moon night celebration was to take place. The play is the story of their romantic lives until the kaumudī-mahotsava.

However, we cannot say what part of the plot is actually historical; there is hardly anything other than the mention of licchavis in the play, which can be considered factual; there are many such stories, whose historical accuracy is hard to assess; the play also mentions the stories of Śaunaka-Bindumatī and Avimāraka-Kuraṅgī. Bhāsa, Kālidāsa, Harṣa, and Śūdraka have written plays which are based on some historical reality. The Kaumudī-mahotsava appears like a faint shadow of their plays; the style and plot are quite weak and boring. It is therefore hard to believe that this play is ancient and is the source of inspiration for the Mudrārākṣasa.

 

To be continued ...
The current series of articles is an enlarged adaption of Prof. A. R. Krishnasastri's Kannada treatise Saṃskṛta-nāṭaka. They are presented along with additional information and footnotes by Arjun Bharadwaj.