Mudrarakshasa

The Mudrarakshasa (मुद्राराक्षस, IAST: Mudrārākṣasa, transl.'The Signet of the Minister') is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of the king Chandragupta Maurya (r. c.324 – c.297 BCE) to power in India. The play is an example of creative writing, but not entirely fictional.[1] It is dated variously from the late 4th century[2] to the 8th century CE.[3]

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

Characters

  • Chandragupta Maurya, one of the protagonists
  • Chanakya, one of the protagonists
  • Rakshasa, the main antagonist
  • Malayketu, the son of Parvataka and one of the henchmen
  • Parvatak, a greedy king who firstly supported Chandragupta but later changed his preference to Dhana Nanda
  • Vaidhorak
  • Durdhara, wife of Chandragupta Maurya
  • Bhadraketu
  • Chandandasa
  • Jeevsidhhi

Adaptations

There is a Tamil version based on the Sanskrit play[4] 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.[5]

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. Film promo

Sources

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