Mudrarakshasa

The Mudrarakshasa ("The Signet of the Minister"), a historical play in Sanskrit by Vishakhadatta in late 4th or early 5th century narrates the ascent of the king Chandragupta Maurya to power in Northern India.

Origin

Origin of the book is under some doubt the range in which the book is composed vary greatly from the late 4th century to early 8th century.^[1][2]

Plot

Chanakya allies himself with Chandragupta in the latter's plans for usurpation and is forced out by the king. Chanakya's pact with king Parvata (Porus) from the Northwest ensures his victory over Nanda.

Parvata and Chandragupta divide up the old possessions of Nanda. Next, Parvata dies poisoned by a youth and his son Malayketu succeeds him. Malayaketu, together with Rakshasa, the last minister of Nanda, demands the inheritance of all the old territories of the Nanda.

The drama begins when Malayaketu and his allies (the kings of Persia, Sindh and Kashmir) are poised to attack Pataliputra (present day Patna), the capital of Chandragupta.

The outcome arrives when Chanakya, by the use of guile, manages to attract Rakshasa to the Maurya side, thus undoing the coalition of Malayaketu.

The historical authenticity of the Mudrarakshasa is somewhat supported by the description of this period of history in Classical Hellenistic sources: the violent rule of the Nanda, the usurpation of Chandragupta, the formation of the Maurya Empire, and the various battles with the kingdoms of the Northwest resulting from the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Adaptations

There is a Tamil version based on the Sanskrit play.^[3]

The later episodes of the TV series Chanakya were based mostly on the Mudrarakshasa.

A film in Sanskrit was made in 2006 by Manish K. Mokshagundam, using the same plot as the play but in a modern setting.^[4]

The play was performed (as Rakshasa's Ring) by students of the Missouri Southern State University's theatre program in November 2002.^[5]

Editions

• Antonio Marazzi (1871), Teatro scelto indiano tr. dal sanscrito (Italian translation), D. Salvi e c., http://books.google.com/?id=0LVAAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PR4 
• 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, http://books.google.com/?id=VL0IAAAAQAAJ . 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., http://books.google.com/?id=ddkMkL8EjnUC 
• Victor Henry (1888), Le sceau de Râkchasa: (Moudrârâkchasa) drame sanscrit en sept actes et un prologue (French translation), Maisonneuve & C. Leclerc, http://books.google.com/?id=gnZIAAAAYAAJ 
• Moreshvar Ramchandra Kāle (1900), The Mudrárákshasa: with the commentary of Dhundirája, son of Lakshmana (and a complete English translation), http://books.google.com/?id=mNMoAAAAYAAJ 
• 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), http://sanskritebooks.wordpress.com/2009/06/30/mudrarakshasa-of-visakhadatta-sanskrit-drama-with-english-translation/ . 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, http://www.archive.org/details/mudraraksasamcom00visauoft 
• 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 9780811200790, http://books.google.com/?id=RfgbmJ_iLw4C 
• 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, http://www.archive.org/details/mudrarakshasam021535mbp  (In Telugu script, with Telugu introduction and commentary) Another version
• Michael Coulson (2005), Rākṣasa's ring (translation), NYU Press[1] and Clay Sanskrit Library[2], ISBN 9780814716618, http://books.google.com/?id=omUKpSG41DEC . Originally published as part of Three Sanskrit plays (1981, Penguin Classics).

References

1. ^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=o-6kXR9JqMwC&pg=PA64&dq=mudrarakshasa+7th+century+work&hl=en&ei=9c5hTqGbJcTXrQeZuYSzCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CEEQ6AEwAw
2. ^ http://books.google.co.in/books?id=gE7udqBkACwC&pg=PA231&dq=mudrarakshasa+7th+century+work&hl=en&ei=Ns9hTousKsOHrAfU79GcCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=8&ved=0CE4Q6AEwBzgK#v=onepage&q&f=false
3. ^ Viśākhadatta; S. M. Natesa Sastri (1885), Mudrarakshasam: A tale in Tamil founded on the Sanskrit drama, Madras School Book and Vernacular Literature Society, http://books.google.com/?id=oVI_AAAAIAAJ 
4. ^ Film promo
5. ^ The India Semester at MSSU