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Shudraka
Shudraka (IAST: ) was an Indian playwright, to whom three Sanskrit plays are attributed: '' Mrichchhakatika'' (''The Little Clay Cart''), ''Vinavasavadatta'', and a '' bhana'' (short one-act monologue), ''Padmaprabhritaka''. According to the prologue of ''Mrichchhakatika'', he was a king; according to one theory, he may have been a third century Abhira king. According to another theory, Shudraka is a mythical figure, and the authorship of plays attributed to him is uncertain. Col. Wilfred has identified him with Simuka, the founder of Satavahana dynasty and placed him in 200 B.C. Sources In the prologue of the play ''Mrichchhakatika'', the stage manager states that its poet was a wise king renowned as "Shudraka". He had performed Ashvamedha ritual to prove his superiority, and immolated himself aged 110 years, after crowning his son as the new king. The prologue describes him as a distinguished wise man, who had gained knowledge of the Rigveda, the Samaveda, mathematics, the Ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vinavasavadatta
''Vina-Vasavadatta'' (IAST: Vīṇā-Vāsavadattā) is an Indian Sanskrit-language Indian classical drama, play attributed to Shudraka (c. 3rd century). The first eight act (drama), acts of the play survive; its last portion is now Lost literary work, lost. The title of the play refers to its heroine Vasavadatta and the musical instrument Veena, vina. In the play, Vasavadatta's father, king Pradyota of Avanti (Ancient India), Avanti, searches for a suitable husband for his daughter. Based on interpretation of a dream, Pradyota and his ministers determine that king Udayana (king), Udayana of Vatsa is a suitable match, but is too proud to willingly accept a proposal to marry to the princess. To break his pride, Pradyota arranges for Udayana to be captured and imprisoned in Ujjayini, the capital of Avanti. There, Udayana falls in love with Vasavadatta, and meets her on the pretext of giving her vina lessons. With the help of his aides, Udayana plans to escape with the princess. The re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vikramaditya
Vikramaditya (Sanskrit: विक्रमादित्य IAST: ') was a legendary king as mentioned in ancient Indian literature, featuring in traditional stories including those in ''Baital Pachisi, Vetala Panchavimshati'' and ''Singhasan Battisi''. Many describe him as ruler with his capital at Ujjain (Pataliputra or Pratishthana in a few stories). "''Vikramaditya''" was also a common title adopted by several List of Indian monarchs, monarchs in ancient and medieval India, and the Vikramaditya legends may be embellished accounts of different kings (particularly Chandragupta II). According to popular tradition, Vikramaditya began the Vikram Samvat era in 57 BCE after defeating the Shakas, and those who believe that he is based on a historical figure place him around the first century BCE. However, this era is identified as "''Vikrama Samvat''" after the ninth century CE. Nepal uses Vikram Samvat, Bikram Sambat named after him, 57 years ahead of Gregorian calendar, as state ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ujjain
Ujjain (, , old name Avantika, ) or Ujjayinī is a city in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It is the fifth-largest city in Madhya Pradesh by population and is the administrative as well as religious centre of Ujjain district and Ujjain division. It is one of the Hindu pilgrimage centres of Sapta Puri famous for the ''Kumbh Mela'' (Simhastha) held there every 12 years. The ancient and world famous temple of Mahakaleshwar Jyotirlinga is located in the center of the city. The city has been one of the most prominent trade and political centres of the Indian Subcontinent from the time of the ancient Mahājanapadas until the British colonisation of India. An ancient city situated on the eastern bank of the Shipra River, Ujjain was the most prominent city on the Malwa plateau of central India for much of its history. It emerged as the political centre of central India around 600 BCE. It was the capital of the ancient Avanti kingdom, one of the sixteen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abhira Dynasty
The Abhira dynasty was a dynasty that ruled over the western Deccan, where it perhaps succeeded the Satavahana dynasty. From 203 to roughly 270 or 370, this dynasty formed a vast kingdom. The Abhiras had an extensive empire comprising modern-day Maharashtra, Konkan, Gujarat and parts of southern Madhya Pradesh. Some scholars regard the Abhiras as a great almost an imperial power in the third century A.D. Origin Though often referenced in ancient Indian literature, the origin of the Abhiras is obscure. According to the Mahabharata, the Abhiras lived near the seashore and on the bank of the Sarashvati, a river near Somnath in Gujarat. The '' Mahābhashya'' of Patañjali simply mentions them as a tribe distinct from the Shudras. The Puranic texts associate the Abhiras with Saurashtra and Avanti. According to Balkrishna Gokhale, the Abhiras have been well-known since epic times as a martial tribe. The Bhagavata calls the Abhiras, "Saurashtra" and "Avantya" rulers (Saurashtra- ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simuka
Simuka (Brahmi:𑀲𑀺𑀫𑀼𑀓, ''Si-mu-ka'') was an ancient Indian king belonging to the Satavahana dynasty, which ruled the Deccan region. He is mentioned as the first king in a list of royals in a Satavahana inscription at Nanaghat. In the Puranas, the name of the first (Satavahana) king is variously spelt as Shivmukha, Sishuka, Sindhuka, Chhismaka, Shipraka, Srimukha, etc. These are believed to be corrupted spellings of "Simuka", resulting from copying and re-copying of manuscripts. Based on available evidence, Simuka cannot be dated with certainty. According to one theory, he lived in 3rd century BCE; but he is generally thought to have lived in the 1st century BCE. Epigraphical evidence strongly suggests a 1st-century BCE date for Simuka: Simuka seems to be mentioned as the father the acting king Satakarni in the Naneghat inscription dated to 70-60 BCE, itself considered on palaeographical grounds to be posterior to the Nasik Caves inscription of Kanha (probably Si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion, diffused there from the northwest in the late Bronze Age#South Asia, Bronze Age. Sanskrit is the sacred language of Hinduism, the language of classical Hindu philosophy, and of historical texts of Buddhism and Jainism. It was a lingua franca, link language in ancient and medieval South Asia, and upon transmission of Hindu and Buddhist culture to Southeast Asia, East Asia and Central Asia in the early medieval era, it became a language of religion and high culture, and of the political elites in some of these regions. As a result, Sanskrit had a lasting effect on the languages of South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia, especially in their formal and learned vocabularies. Sanskrit generally connotes several Indo-Aryan languages# ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malwa
Malwa () is a historical region, historical list of regions in India, region of west-central India occupying a plateau of volcanic origin. Geologically, the Malwa Plateau generally refers to the volcanic plateau, volcanic upland north of the Vindhya Range. Politically and administratively, it is also synonymous with the former state of Madhya Bharat which was later merged with Madhya Pradesh. At present the historical Malwa region includes districts of western Madhya Pradesh and parts of south-eastern Rajasthan. Sometimes the definition of Malwa is extended to include the Nimar region south of the Vindhya Range, Vindhyas. The Malwa region had been a separate political unit from the time of the ancient Malava Kingdom. It has been ruled by several kingdoms and dynasties, including the Avanti (India), Avanti Kingdom, The Maurya Empire, Mauryans, the Malavas, the Gupta Empire, Guptas, the Paramara dynasty, Paramaras, The Rajput, Rajputs, the Delhi Sultanate, the Malwa Sultanate, M ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bhoja
Bhoja was the Paramara dynasty, Paramara king of Malwa from 1010 until his death in 1055. He ruled from Dhara (city), Dhara (modern Dhar), and Military career of Bhoja, fought wars with nearly all his neighbours in attempts to extend his kingdom, with varying degrees of success. At its zenith, his empire extended from Chittorgarh Fort, Chittor in the north to upper Konkan in the south, and from the Sabarmati River in the west to Vidisha in the east. Because of his patronage of scholars, Bhoja became one of the most celebrated kings in Indian history. After his death, he came to be featured in several legends as a righteous scholar-king. The body of legends clustered around him is comparable to that of the Emperor Vikramaditya. Bhoja is best known as a patron of arts, literature, and sciences. The establishment of the Bhoj Shala, a centre for Sanskrit studies, is attributed to him. He was a polymath, and several books covering a wide range of topics are attributed to him. He i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shringara-Prakasha
''Sringara Prakasa'' ( – ) is a voluminous set of Sanskrit poetry consisting of thirty-six chapters, documented in 1908. It deals mostly with Alamkara-Shastra (rhetoric) and rasa, and is claimed to have been authored by Raja Bhoja, the king of Paramara dynasty in the early 11th century. A large extent of this magnum opus is dedicated to Sringara Rasa, which according to Bhoja's theory: "is the only one Rasa admissible." Overview A specialist on the subject, Sivaprasad Bhattacharya, considered ''Shringara-Prakasha'' as the most "detailed and provocative" discourse on rasa. According to P.V. Kane, ''Shringara-Prakasha'' can be considered as an encyclopaedia of various branches in Sanskrit literature such as Darsanas, poetry, and dramaturgy, written extensively by quoting numerous works which existed in that period. Some have argued, however, that no Sanskrit literature was developed after Abhinavagupta's rasa literature – Abhinavabharati. But scholars such as V Raghavan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sten Konow
image:StenKonow.jpg, Sten Konow Sten Konow (17 April 1867 – 29 June 1948) was a Norwegian Indologist. He was a professor of Indian philology at the University of Oslo, Christiania University, Oslo, from 1910, until moving to Hamburg University in 1914, where he was a professor of Indian history and culture. He returned to Oslo as a professor of Indian languages and history in 1919. He was a specialist in the Tibeto-Burmese languages. Konow was born in Sør-Aurdal in Oppland where his father, Wollert Otto Konow (1833–95) was a parish priest married to Henrikka Christiane Johanne Molde Wolff (1841–1927). Konow studied art, graduating from Lillehammer in 1884. He then studied in Kristiania before moving to Halle and worked in the Oslo University library for some time. In 1890, he collated a Norwegian lexicon. He returned to studies in Indian philology at the University of Halle under Richard Pischel and received a doctorate in 1893 with studies on the Sāmavidhānabrāhmana. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviving works consist of three plays, two epic poems and two shorter poems. Much about his life is unknown except what can be inferred from his poetry and plays. His works cannot be dated with precision, but they were most likely authored before the 5th century CE during the Gupta era. Kalidas is mentioned as one of the seven Brahma avatars in Dasam Granth, written by Guru Gobind Singh. Early life Scholars have speculated that Kālidāsa may have lived near the Himalayas, in the vicinity of Ujjain, and in Kalinga. This hypothesis is based on Kālidāsa's detailed description of the Himalayas in his '' Kumārasambhavam'', the display of his love for Ujjain in '' Meghadūta'', and his highly eulogistic descriptions of Kalingan emperor Hem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
