Shudraka is a
great dramatist whose reputation is next only to great Kalidasa. He is believed
to be the King of Ujjain. He is the author of ‘maRcCkiTkma\’
(Mrcchakatikam).
It is a Prakarana type of play in 10
acts depicting the love of a poor young Brahmin Charudatta and a rich Courtesan
Vasantasena who also reciprocates his love. It is a love plot interwoven with a
political plot according to which the reigning King is deposed by a political
prisoner. The incident where Vasantasena keeps her jewels in the toy cart made
of mud belonging to Rohasena, Charudatta’s son, leads to an order of execution
of Charudatta on the alleged charge of having murdered Vasantasena for her
jewels justifies the title. The scenes describing the theft, gambling and the
search by the policemen for the escaped convict are very realistic. The
author’s knowledge in music, gambling and astronomy is well presented.
Effective characterisation, vigorous action, graphic description and the simple
and clear diction make the drama very realistic.
No comments:
Post a Comment