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·bhárata war. As he dies from a foul blow to the legs delivered in his duel with Bhima, Duryódhana's character is inverted, depicted as a noble and gracious exemplar amidst the wreckage of the fearsome battle scene.
| ISBN: | 9780814740668 |
| Publication date: | 1st March 2009 |
| Author: | Andrew Skilton |
| Publisher: | New York University Press |
| Format: | Hardback |
| Pagination: | 380 pages |
| Series: | Clay Sanskrit Library |
| Genres: |
Anthologies: general |