Question

Which of the following Sanskrit plays were written by Harshavardhan?
A) Nagananda
B) Ratnavali
C) Priyadarshika
D) All of the above

Answer 1

Hint: KIng Harshavardhana was an emperor of the Vardhana Dynasty and he ruled in North India from 606 to 647 CE. A lot of information about Harshavardhana can be found in the accounts written by the famous Chinese traveller Xuanzang, who visited India during Harshavardhan’s reign.

Complete answer:
Emperor Harshavardhan was known to have keen interest in writing and composing. Hence, we have several plays and compositions attributed to him.

Let us analyze the given options:
Option A) Nagananda – It is a highly acclaimed Sanskrit play which was written by Emperor Harshavardhan. It contains five acts, through which it tells the story of Vidyadhar King Jimutavahana, who sacrifices himself to save the Nagas. Though it is written by Harshavardhan, it is not the correct option because the following options also include other books written by him.
Option B) Ratnavali – Ratnavali (meaning, Precious Garland) is a Sanskrit drama written by King Harshavardhan of Vardhana Dynasty. This play is about a beautiful princess whose name was ‘Ratnavali’ and a great king named Udayana. This option will be incorrect because the text given in the previous option is also a work of king Harshavardhan.
Option C) Priyadarshika – Priyadarshika is a play written in Sanskrit, by King Harshavardhan of the Vardhana Dynasty. It was translated to English for the first time in 1923 by G.K. Nariman, A.V. Williams Jackson and Charles G. Ogden. This option will be incorrect because the other two texts given in the options are also written by Harshavardhan.
Option D) All of the above – As we have seen, all of the above given options are plays and dramas written by Harshavardhan. Therefore, this is the correct option.

Thus, the correct answer is Option (D) All of the above.

Note: Though it is very evident that Harshavardhan wrote all three of the plays, some historians also argued that he did not write these plays himself. They believe that it was Dhavaka (a poet in Harshavardhan’s court) who was paid commission to write the plays.