Question

Which among the following, Kavya of Sanskrit, deals with court intrigues and access to power of Chandragupta Maurya?
A. Mricchakatika
B. Ritusamhara
C. Kumarasambhava
D. Mudrarakshasa

Answer 1

Hint:This play is written by Vishakadatta in the Sanskrit language that narrates the rise to power in India of King Chandragupta Maurya. The script of Sanskrit Kavya is an example of creative writing, not a fantasy play. This play reveals how spies are an important weapon in the arsenal of both Chanakya and Rakshasa.

Complete answer:
 Mricchakatika is a ten-act Sanskrit drama written by Sudraka. This is an ancient playwright, which is probably from the \[{5^{th}}\] century CE. This is remembered by the prologue as both a Kshatriya king and a \[100\]-year-old devotee of Siva.

Ritusamhara is written by Kalidas which is a long poem or mini-epic. For the six Indian seasons, the poem has six cantos: grisma (summer), varsa/pavas (monsoon/rains), sarat (autumn), hemanta (cool), sisira (winter), and vasanta (winter) (spring). This Sanskrit Kavya is known to be the earliest work of Kalidasa.
Kumarasambhava is Kalidasa's epic poem. It is generally known in Classical Sanskrit as Kalidasa's finest work as well as the best kavya poem. Basically, Kumarasambhava speaks about the birth of the son of Shiva and Parvati, Kumara. The compositional period is unknown, but it is assumed that Kalidasa flourished in the \[{5^{th}}\] century.

The Mudrarakshasa is a Sanskrit Kavya which is written by Vishakhadatta (\[{4^{th}}\] century CE) in Sanskrit which story of King Chandragupta Maurya to power in Northern India with the assistance of his guru and chief minister, Chanakya. In Classical Hellenistic sources, the historical credibility of the Mudrarakshasa is somewhat confirmed by the portrayal of this time of history that the brutal reign of the Nanda, the usurpation of Chandragupta, the establishment of the Maurya Empire, and the numerous wars with the Northwest kingdoms resulting from the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Note:An odd part of this play is that there is no romance at all, and I have to say that I have not read much of them. There are currently no key female characters (there are minor ones like guards and wife of one character). Sanskrit dramas, evidently, have a vidushaka heroine, which is lacking in this one. Of suspense and intellectual debates over responsibility and commitment, it is a cut and dried parliamentary drama.