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How the Nagas Were Pleased by Harsha & the Shattered Thighs by Bhasa book cover
How the Nagas Were Pleased by Harsha & the Shattered Thighs by Bhasa
2008
First Published
4.00
Average Rating
353
Number of Pages

Part of Series

Two tragic plays that break the rules: both show the hero dying on stage, a scenario forbidden in Sanskrit dramaturgy. King Harsha's play, composed in the seventh century, re-examines the Buddhist tale of a magician prince who makes the ultimate sacrifice to save a hostage snake (naga). The Shattered Thighs, attributed to Bhasa, the illustrious predecessor to ancient Kali-dasa, transforms a crucial episode of the Maha-bh�rata war. As he dies from a foul blow to the legs delivered in his duel with Bhima, Dury�dhana's character is inverted, depicted as a noble and gracious exemplar amidst the wreckage of the fearsome battle scene.
Avg Rating
4.00
Number of Ratings
5
5 STARS
20%
4 STARS
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3 STARS
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2 STARS
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1 STARS
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Authors

Bhasa
Bhasa
Author · 3 books

Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him. He is dated between the 2nd century BCE and 2nd century CE. Based on the language used, his date is also supposed to be around 5th century BC. The plays of Bhāsa had been lost for centuries. He was known only from mention in other works such as Kālidāsa's first play Malavikagnimitram, or the the famous text on poetics Kavyamimamsa written during 880–920 AD by Rajashekhara a famous poet, dramatist and critic. This was until 1912, when Mahamahopadhyaya T. Ganapati Sastri came upon 13 Sanskrit plays at a nampoothiri home named Manalikkara Madom (present Kanyakumari District) that were used in the Koodiyattam plays. Unlike other classical plays, none of them mentioned the author, but one was the Swapnavāsavadatta. Comparing the style of writing and techniques employed in these plays and based on the knowledge that Swapnavāsavadatta was Bhāsa's work, all of them were credited to him. Some scholars have disputed Bhāsa's authorship of all the plays but over the years the plays have generally come to be ascribed to him.

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