Among the known dramatic composition of ancient India, the Mrichchhakatika occupies a very high and distinguished position. It is a creation of outstanding brilliance. The Mrichchhatika is a drama in ten Acts based on the story of the love of Charudatta, a prominent but poor inhabitant of Ujjayini, and Vasantasena, an exquisitely beautiful but pure-minded courtesan of the city. By virtue of its high dramatic charm and its great literary excellence it has endeared itself to generations of spectators and readers; the play has been adapted in many Indian vernaculars, and in that modern form still continues to draw admiring crowds. The editor makes this book as comprehensive and useful as possible. To the commentary of Prithvidhara, which is somewhat abrupt and meager in places, he has made considerable additions where he felt them to be necessary for the elucidation of the text. The relation of this play to: Bhasa's Charudatta has been fully discussed in the Introduction. The Prakrit passages, which prove a hindrance to the student, have been printed below the text, and along with the' text, only the Sanskrit renderings are given above; the utility of this contrivance has been established in actual use.

Drama, on the love of Carudatta, an impoverished merchant, for Vasantasena, a hetaera.

Kalidasa is the major poet and dramatist of classical Sanskrit literature - a many-sided talent of extraordinary scope and exquisite language. His great poem, Meghadutam (The Cloud Messenger), tells of a divine being, punished for failing in his sacred duties with a years' separation from his beloved. A work of subtle emotional nuances, it is a haunting depiction of longing and separation. The play Sakuntala describes the troubled love between a Lady of Nature and King Duhsanta. This beautiful blend of romance and comedy, transports its audience into an enchanted world in which mortals mingle with gods. And Kalidasa's poem Rtusamharam (The Gathering of the Seasons) is an exuberant observation of the sheer variety of the natural world, as it teems with the energies of the great god Siva.

Mrchchhakatika Is One Of The Best Dramas In Ten Acts Composed By Sudraka. He Bypass Many Conventional Rules Of Dramaturgy And Shows Such Unusual Scenes As The Nocturnal Pursuit Of A Girl By Lustful Men, Street-Fights Of Gamblers, Open Quarrel And Abuse Between King S Guards And Between The Contestants In A Court Of Law, House-Breaking And Theft, Sleep Scene, Murder And Parade Of The Accused Though City Streets, And A Scene Of Sati. Even The Angel Of Love Is Different, Because The Heroine, A Young Woman And A Young Man Goes To Meet In Pouring Rain, Thunder And Darkness. The Story Is Partly Historical And Partly Invented, With No Mythological Ingredients.

One of the supreme comic writers of the Roman world, Plautus (c.254-184 BC), skilfully adapted classic Greek comic models to the manners and customs of his day. This collection features a varied selection of his finest plays, from the light-hearted comedy Pseudolus, in which the lovesick Calidorus and his slave try to liberate his lover from her pimp, to the more subversive The Prisoners, which raises serious questions about the role of slavery. Also included are The Brothers Menaechmus, which formed the prototype for Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, and The Pot of Gold, whose old miser Euclio is a glorious study in avarice. Throughout, Plautus breathes new, brilliant life into classic comic types - including deceitful twins, scheming slaves, bitter old men and swaggering soldiers - creating an entertaining critique of Roman life and values.

The breathtaking poems in Love Stands Alone speak to us across time, space, language and culture. The interior, akam, and the exterior, puram, form their two overarching themes. The akam poems are concerned with love in all its varied situations: clandestine and illicit; conjugal happiness and infidelity; separation and union. The puram poems encompass all other aspects of worldly life: wars and battlefields, the munificence of kings and chieftains, and the wisdom of bards. With a comprehensive introduction by A.R. Venkatachalapathy, M.L. Thangappa’s translations delight the senses and bring alive a world long past.

Men And Women Of Maturai Of The Four Temples! I Curse This City. Its King Erred In Killing The Man I Loved One Of The World'S Masterpieces, The Cilappatikaram (5Th Century Ce) By Ilanko Atikal Is India'S Finest Epic In A Language Other Than Sanskrit. It Spells Out In Unforgettable Verse The Problems That Humanity Has Been Wrestling With For A Long Time: Love, War, Evil, Fate And Death. The Tale Of An Anklet Is The Love Story Of Kovalan And Kannaki. Originating In Tamil Mythology, The Compelling Tale Of Kannaki Her Love, Her Feats And Triumphs, And Her Ultimate Transformation To Goddess Follows The Conventions Of Tamil Poetry And Is Told In Three Phases: The Erotic, The Heroic And The Mythic. This Epic Ranks With The Ramayana And The Mahabharata As One Of The Great Classics Of Indian Literature And Is Presented For The First Time In A Landmark English Verse Translation By The Eminent Poet R. Parthasarathy, Making It Accessible To A Wider Audience. Winner Of The 1995 Sahitya Akademi Prize For Translation (English), The 1994 Pen/ Book-Of-The-Month Club Translation Citation Of The Pen American Centre, And The 1996 Association For Asian Studies A.K. Ramanujan Book Prize For Translation.

A gripping satire of romance, betrayal and intrigue set in ancient India The Clay Toy-cart remains one of the foundational works of Sanskrit drama, having been performed numerous times around the world and even serving as the inspiration for Girish Karnad's highly acclaimed film Utsav. The story follows the fortunes of a rich and beautiful courtesan, Vasantasena, who falls in love with the handsome Charudatta, a former merchant who is now penniless. Although Charudatta is happily married, he is deeply drawn to Vasantasena. The two embark on a love affair that leads to some terrible complications and shocking reversals of fortune-involving violent crime as well as political rebellion-before matters are ingeniously resolved. Padmini Rajappa's lucid translation revitalizes this iconic play for contemporary readers while also shedding light on its unique place in the Sanskrit canon as well as the mystery shrouding the identity of its author.

The fourth and fifth volumes of the Global History of Philosophy are