262 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal. [N.S., XIII, 



j> 



knowledge ; but we can with a great degree of certainty identify 

 several characters in these plays as well as their historical 

 period. Both plays are without doubt the work of one author. 

 They have the same peculiarities of style and language. Even 

 more ; the second play, " Vasavadatta," is the sequel to the first 

 one and contains several allusions to " Yaugandharayana. 



The historical setting is the period before the unification 

 of Northern India by Candragupta Maurya, a period with 

 which we have been made familiar by the Buddhist scriptures. 

 The Ganges valley and the adjacent country was split up into 

 a number of petty principalities, which were in a constant state 

 of rivalry and war. The greater ones, especially Magadha and 

 Avanti-Ujjaini, tried to reduce the smaller ones to a state of 

 feudatory dependence. The smaller ones, as far as they did 

 not voluntarily surrender, used every possible means to save 

 their liberty. Spies and bribes were common, political mar- 

 riages were considered to be of great importance. On this 

 historical background our poet has painted a number of magnifi- 

 cent human portraits, the chief figures of our two plays. For 

 this is one of our poet's main qualities ; he has the power to 

 draw living, breathing, human portraits of great psychological 

 reality, and does it as a true dn matist by action and not by 

 verbose description. 



The plot of the first drama is the following : Pradiota, the 

 warlike king of Avanti, to whom his contemporaries gave the 

 proud title of Mahasena, i.e. Great Warrior, has spread his po 

 litical influence over all the princes around. Only the small 

 country Vatsa-Kausambi, ruled by prince U day ana, has managed 

 to remain independent. This is unbearable to Mahasena's 

 pride and interferes with his |4 world-policy." But he is rather 

 afraid of Udayana \s prowess and still more of the skill of 

 Yaugandharayana, Udayana's chief minister, Ee has there- 

 fore recourse to a ruse. Udayana besides the usual qualities 

 of a stage prince, as beauty, prowess and an excellent character, 



has a special gift, hereditary in his dynasty. He possesses a 

 veena the sounds of which tame even the wildest elephants. 

 He is naturally very proud of this wonderful gift and does not 

 miss an opportunity to use it. On this passion of the prince 

 Mahasena builds his rather simple plan. \t is a variation of 

 the Trojan horse-trick. A huge elephant is made of wood, 

 painted blackish-grey and placed so skilfully in the dense jangle 

 that the deceit can be discovered only at a very short distance. 

 Behind the elephant in the jungle a force of select warriors is 

 concealed under the command of Mahasena's best general. 

 Udayana promptly falls into this trap. Too proud to tackle 

 the animal with all his hunting-companions, whose number 

 would have more or less equalled the number of the enemies, 

 he advances towards the elephant accompanied onlv by a fe« 

 friends. As soon as the prince is near enough, Mahasena's men 



