''Nagananda'' (''Joy of the Serpents'') is a

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

play attributed to emperor

Harsha Harshavardhana ( IAST Harṣa-vardhana; c. 590–647 CE) was a Pushyabhuti emperor who ruled northern India from 606 to 647 CE. He was the son of Prabhakaravardhana who had defeated the Alchon Huna invaders, and the younger brother of Rajy ...

(ruled 606 C.E. - 648 C.E.). ''Nagananda'' is among the most acclaimed Sanskrit dramas. Through five acts, it tells the popular story of Vidyadhar King Jimutavahana's self-sacrifice to save the Nagas. The unique characteristic of this drama is the invocation to

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

in the Nandi verse, which is considered one of the best examples of the dramatic compositions. ''Nagananda'' is the story of how prince Jimutavahana gives up his own body to stop a sacrifice of a Naga prince to the divine

Garuda Garuda ( Sanskrit: ; Pāli: ; Vedic Sanskrit: गरुळ Garuḷa) is a Hindu demigod and divine creature mentioned in the Hindu, Buddhist and Jain faiths. He is primarily depicted as the mount (''vahana'') of the Hindu god Vishnu. Garu ...

Characters

* Jimutavahana – The Hero and Vidhyadhara Prince * Jimutaketu – The father of hero * Vidushaka (Atreya) – The friend of the hero * Mitravasu – Son of Vishvavasu and brother of the heroine * Shankachuda – A serpent, intended to be the victim of Garuda * Garuda – King of birds and enemy of the serpents * Kanchukin – Superintendent of the harem * Malayavati – The heroine and daughter of king Vishvavasu * Devi – The mother of the hero * Vriddha – The mother of Shankhachuda * Gauri – The Goddess * Chaturika – Maid of Malayavati * Manoharika – Maid of Malayavati * Navamalika – Maid of Malayavati

Synopsis

The first act of the play opens in the penance-grove near the temple of Gauri. Jimutavahana with his friend Atreya, the Vidushaka is in search of a suitable place of residence on the

Malaya Mountains The Malaya Mountains were a range of mountains that were mentioned in the Hindu sacred texts like ''Matsya Purana'', the ''Kurma Purana'', the ''Vishnu Purana'', and the epics of the ''Ramayana'' and the ''Mahabharata''. The Vishnu Purana specifi ...

, southern part of the Western Ghats, as his old parents have expressed a desire to stay there. He would spend his youth in serving the parents, as he considers such a service far above the enjoyment of the pleasures of kingdom. He had done everything in his power to make his subjects happy and had made the kingdom secure. Moving about, both of them are struck by the grandeur of the mountain and decide to stay there. Here, they happen to hear the ravishing tunes of melodious music. They enter the temple of Gauri but hide themselves to find out who was singing. Through her conversation with her maid they learn that she is a maiden and that Gauri revealed herself to her in a dream and conferred a boon that the Emperor of Vidhyadharas, Jimutavahana will marry her. The two friends reveal themselves only to make Malayavati embarrassed. Malayavati leaves the temple with a hermit without knowing Jimutavahana's true identity. The hero and heroine fall in love with each other, though they are yet strangers to each other.

Sources

The story of Jimutavahana is found in the Kathasaritsagara of Somadeva and Brihatkathamanjari of

Kshemendra Kshemendra (; ) was an 11th-century Sanskrit polymath- poet, satirist, philosopher, historian, dramatist, translator and art-critic from Kashmir in India. Biography Kshemendra was born into an old, cultured, and affluent family. His fat ...

both written in the 11th century A.D. The story of Nagananda follows closely the shorter narrations in both these books. Both these books are the Sanskrit versions of the Brihatkatha of Gunadhya in Paishachi language, composed about the 1st century A.D. But neither the Kathasaritsagara nor the Brihatkathamanjari, both composed in the 11th century A.D. can be accepted as the source of Nagananda which was composed in the 7th century A.D. Sri

has added his own ideas and has deviated from the main story in Brihathkatha in many places. It must be admitted that the treatment of it at

's hands is quite original and that the play on the whole is a very charming and fascinating one .

Performance history

The play was produced in January 2008 at

Panaji Panaji (; also known as Panjim) is the capital of the Indian state of Goa and the headquarters of North Goa district. Previously, it was the territorial capital of the former Portuguese India. It lies on the banks of the Mandovi river estuary i ...

; Goa ( India ) in Marathi by Prabhakar Sanskritic Sanstha following the conventions propagated in the Natyasastra. Nagananda play was designed by Saish Deshpande, translated & directed by Anagha Deshpande whereas the Natyadharmi Abhinaya was conceived by Dr. Sharmila Rao. The play is now also available in Marathi text. the 2008 production of "Nagananda" was adjudged as the best experimental theatre production along with best research based production both by Maharashtra state Dept. of Art & Culture as well as Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Natya Parishad. this product by the young theatre artistes from Goa has been documented for archival purpose by All India Radio, Panaji & also by Doordarshan; Goa. The Video is open for referencial purpose.

External links

* * ''Nagananda'' - Translated by Palmer Boyd (http://www.yorku.ca/inpar/nagananda_boyd.pdf) {{Authority control Ancient Indian literature Sanskrit texts 7th-century plays 7th-century Indian books Sanskrit plays

Characters

Synopsis

Sources

Performance history

See also

External links