Mudrarakshasa

Mudrārākṣasa
Original languageSanskrit
Written byVishakhadatta
Characters
GenreIndian classical drama
SettingPataliputra, 3rd century BCE

The Mudrārākshasa (मुद्राराक्षस, IAST: Mudrārākṣasa, transl. 'The Signet of the Minister') is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of the Emperor Chandragupta Maurya (r.  c. 324 – c. 297 BCE) to power in India. The play is an example of creative writing, but not entirely fictional. It is dated variously from the late 4th century to the 8th century CE.

Characters

Adaptations

There is a Tamil version based on the Sanskrit play and Keshavlal Dhruv translated the original into Gujarati as Mel ni Mudrika (1889). There is a Kannada version of the play Mudramanjusha written by Kempunarayana.

The later episodes of the TV series Chanakya were based mostly on the Mudrarakshasa.

Feature film

A film in Sanskrit was made in 2006 by Dr Manish Mokshagundam, using the same plot as the play but in a modern setting.

Editions

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Romila Thapar (2013). The Past Before Us. Harvard University Press. p. 403. ISBN 978-0-674-72652-9.
  2. ↑ Manohar Laxman Varadpande (1 September 2005). History Of Indian Theatre. Abhinav Publications. pp. 223–. ISBN 978-81-7017-430-1. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  3. ↑ Upinder Singh (1 September 2008). A History of Ancient and Early Medieval India: From the Stone Age to the 12th Century. Pearson Education India. pp. 30–. ISBN 978-81-317-1120-0. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
  4. ↑ Viśākhadatta; S. M. Natesa Sastri (1885), Mudrarakshasam: A tale in Tamil founded on the Sanskrit drama, Madras School Book and Vernacular Literature Society
  5. ↑ "mudrarakshasa promo - sanskrit film". 24 April 2009. Archived from the original on 13 April 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2016 – via YouTube.

Sources