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Sanskrit play by Vishakhadatta
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]
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
Parvataka, a greedy king who firstly supported Chandragupta but later changed his preference to Dhana Nanda
Vairodhak
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
Antonio Marazzi (1871),
Teatro scelto indiano tr. dal sanscrito (Italian translation) , D. Salvi e c.
Kashinath Trimbak Telang (1884),
Mudrarakshasa With the Commentary of Dhundiraja (written in 1713 CE) edited with Sanskrit text, critical and explanatory notes, introduction and various readings , Tukârâm Javajī .
Second edition 1893 ,
Fifth edition 1915 . Sixth edition 1918, reprinted 1976 and by Motilal Banarsidass, 2000.
Ludwig Fritze (1886),
Mudrarakschasa: oder, Des kanzlers siegelring (German translation) , P. Reclam jun.
Victor Henry (1888),
Le sceau de Râkchasa: (Moudrârâkchasa) drame sanscrit en sept actes et un prologue (French translation) , Maisonneuve & C. Leclerc
Moreshvar Ramchandra Kāle (1900),
The Mudrárákshasa: with the commentary of Dhundirája, son of Lakshmana (and a complete English translation)
Hillebrandt, Alfred (1912).
Mudrarakshasa Part-i .
K. H. Dhruva (1923),
Mudrārākshasa or the signet ring: a Sanskrit drama in seven acts by Viśākhadatta (with complete English translation) (2 ed.), Poona Oriental Series (Volume 25), archived from
the original on 23 June 2010, retrieved 21 May 2010 . Reprint 2004,
ISBN
81-8220-009-1
First edition 1900
Vasudeva Abhyankar Shastri; Kashinath Vasudeva Abhyanker (1916),
Mudraraksasam: a complete text; with exhaustive, critical grammatical and explanatory notes, complete translation, and introduction , Ahmedabad {{
citation }}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (
link )
Ananta Paṇḍita (1945),
Dasharatha Sharma (critical introduction) (ed.), Mudrarakshasapurvasamkathanaka of Anantasarman (with an anonymous prose narrative) , Bikaner: Anup Sanskrit Library
P. Lal (1964),
Great Sanskrit Plays, in Modern Translation , New Directions Publishing,
ISBN
978-0-8112-0079-0
J. A. B. van Buitenen (1968), Two plays of ancient India: The little clay cart, The minister's seal , Columbia University Press
Review
Sri Nelaturi Ramadasayyangaar (1972),
Mudra Rakshasam , Andhra Pradesh Sahitya Academy (In
Telugu script , with Telugu introduction and commentary)
Another version
Michael Coulson (2005),
Rākṣasa's ring (translation) , NYU Press,
ISBN
978-0-8147-1661-8 . Originally published as part of Three Sanskrit plays (1981, Penguin Classics).
References
Citations
Sources