Mrichhakatika as a literary text Mrichchhkatika, a drama text that belongs to the beginning years of the first millennium. Keeping this in view, we shall focus upon the conditions that prevailed in that distant past and the way they were recreated in the imaginative-cultural mode by its writer. Even as this play presumably entertained the audiences of its time, it has a good dose of humour and suspense. It holds an interest for us today as well. Also, a discussion about the characters in it and the conditions that surround them is sure to help us in understanding our own social atmosphere.
SUDRAKA, THE PLAYWRIGHT
Sudraka, the playwright of Mrichchhkatika, lived at some
point of time between the first and third century A.D. The name of the writer
raises the question of whether he belonged to the marginalised sections of our
society. Mark the word ‘Sudraka’ and consider. There may be some connection
between the name of the playwright and his background that tells us the story
of his antecedents and source. Contrarily or otherwise, the range and depth of
the play suggest that he had a powerful literary imagination and was well
acquainted with Sanskrit writings of his period, apart from being well-versed
in the rich learning that ancient writing is known for. Mrichhakatika as a
literary text , A look at the text of the play makes clear that Sudraka
expressed himself with equal felicity in Sanskrit prose and verse as well as in
Prakrit. The latter was a dialect used by the common masses of the time. In
Sudraka’s hands, Prakrit became an efficient medium of communication and did
justice to the complex thought processes of the semiliterate and illiterate. Since
the dialect was closer to life’s rhythms, it left a peculiar impact on the
reader and viewer then. Today as well, it might strike us for its flow and
flexibility. Its raw nature moved the reader/viewer immensely.
There exist numerous references to Sudraka in writings of the
ancient period. The man is remembered as a great ruler, a fine statesman, a
scholar and thinker of repute, and one who knew many languages. Mrichhakatika
as a literary text , These references turn him into a mythical figure. In view
of the information we have, we may be tempted to guess whether he indeed was
the writer of the play Mrichchhkatika that has a wide range of imagination and
a close view of life at the grassroots. It is hard to surmise, for instance,
that a king, howsoever knowledgeable, would be steeped in the nuances of
feelings the play offers in its descriptions. It is possible that another
person bearing the name Sudraka wrote this play and those many other plays that
find mention in stray records of the period when he lived. This other Sudraka
would have culled details of the plot and the happenings woven in it from his
own sources of information and knowledge. Also, it is not necessary that an
unknown figure in that period bore the name Sudraka that suggested origins of
the man in the lower orders of society. It is possible that the writer of the
play Mrichchhkatika thought of hiding behind an assumed name Sudraka.
THE PLAY MRICHCHHKATIKA REFLECTING PERIOD OF COMPOSITION
Mrichhakatika as a literary text , This is an India full of
energy, passion, street-smart people crowding the roads, quarrels and fights
among the mighty and influential? In this we come across, too, the economic,
political, crass as well as violent and scandalous facets of life—all thriving
on what transpired really at the time. Historicalaccounts of the period may
give us an inkling of this.
Related to developments in the early centuries of the
first millennium, read the following account by D N Jha:
Increased commercial activity and the consequent
growth of a money economy led to the proliferation of arts and crafts. … The
increase in trade demanded an efficient organization of production and
distribution. Individual artisans congregated together and formed guilds;
merchants also organized themselves into corporations. No less than two dozen
guilds of artisans existed in this period. The guild system seems to have
become the general pattern of production, facilitating high output. … The
guilds sometimes acted as trustees and bankers. … The guilds evidently utilized
the capital deposited with them to augment production and paid interest on it
of the proceeds from the sale of their commodities. The possibility of the
increasing output may have prompted the guilds to hire additional labour, both
free labour and slaves. This naturally gave a measure of freedom to artisans
and craftsmen. (134-135)
Jha
talks of an India active and vibrant. The increased economic activity created a
platform for people to relate to one another on a plane of useful give and
take. Commerce helped them increase the scope of their living beyond the narrow
confines of a country market to one that, offered opportunities of expansion. Mrichhakatika
as a literary text, As a consequence of this, preoccupations multiplied giving
a chance to actors in the scene for tricks and innovative methods; these would
enhance the quality of life stretching it beyond limits of sanctioned freedom.
“Augmented production” and interest being paid on “proceeds for sale” indicate
higher levels of participation in the entrepreneurial world of ancient India.
Jha has stated in the quotation that “Increased commercial activity and the
consequent growth of a money economy let to the proliferation of arts and
crafts.” He has provided a link between activity in society and art. You know
that Literature is also placed in the category of art. Do you agree with Jha
regarding this link? If you do, you would have the idea that ancient Literature
drew useful influences from the life of the times. Also, if the prevailing life
had a strong economic activity working in it, the Literature of the period will
also carry an impact of that activity in it. You may, then, see Sudraka’s
Mrichchhkatika in a new light Mrichhakatika as a literary text.
Mrichhakatika
as a literary text
Sudraka has in mind, a town with an active administration, a
powerful section of the rich and privileged, as well as a whole group of
officers who on the sly will violate the existing norms and rules. The point is
that a situation such as this might give an occasion to clever manipulators for
seeking pleasures of the senses. Yet, the scene we talk about captures more
than a legally permissible scenario. It presents in tangible ways the clash
between civilised norms and baser motives of men away from the light of law and
constitution. The fight is between morality supported by ideals and
pleasure-seeking by a pack of law-breakers. What should art do in such a case?
Such a consideration works behind the structure of the play.
Mrichchhakatika may give the impression of being a comic play meant to offer titillation alone. Nothing is farther from the truth. In fact, there is no titillation in the scene referred to. Mrichhakatika as a literary text , Instead, a serious anomaly of social behaviour connected to a ruling clique in the town is being shown graphically. We may understand this point in precise terms when we compare the concerned scene with the dramatic happenings that unfold before us as the action proceeds. The range of action in the play is wide and it draws attention to those ethical questions as well as the connected issues of goodness and idealism that make a society meaningful in its dynamic working.
The guiding principle in Mrichchhakatika is the comic
approach. It holds the main function of art to be entertaining, and letting
people know that society, howsoever difficult and complex, is manageable. It
dawns on us that the issue in Mrichchhakatika is a crisis that shows itself in
the situation of the protagonist. Mrichhakatika as a literary text , He is
rendered poor by circumstances. Yet, the value of high drama in which kings,
gods, and mythical figures are predominant is not assigned to Mrichchhakatika.
It is not a nataka or natakiyakriti in that sense. Nataka denotes
representation of the sacred and godly in a form that indicates the lofty and
profound, not the ordinary. Instead, the name given to Mrichchhakatika is
Prakarana. If politics and courtly issues involving change of order, lofty
questions of war and preserving large territories were at the centre of the
work, the play may have enjoyed a higher reputation than it has. Mrichhakatika
as a literary text , What we find instead is that an ordinary scholar rendered
poor by fate, or worldly shuffles of events is emotionally supported by a
courtesan. The two indeed are lovers, each holding the other in high regard and
earning on that account adulation from the middle rung citizens in the society
of the town. We may, therefore, accept the word Prakarana for it that may stand
as explained in terms of a supposedly lesser play. Biswanath Banerjee defines
the word as follows:
This work of Shudraka is a prakarana type of dramatic
composition which presents the love-episode of Charudatta, a poor but noble
Brahmin tradesman of Ujjayini, and Vasantasena, a rich and attractive courtesan
of the same place, which ends in their happy union. The main theme of the play
has been furnished with various impressive and attractive incidents and actions
to make the work of Shudraka the most enjoyable one in the whole range of
Sanskrit dramatic literature.
The prakarana form is defined further
by Banerjee thus:
The primary condition of a parkarana to which class
this drama belongs, is that it should be a drama of invention, i.e., the plot
should be an invention of the poet, kavi-kalpita, based on worldly life
focusing on the actions of men and women. In this respect Shudraka’s drama
fulfils the condition of dramaturgy quite well, and even goes beyond it to be
considered as the only drama of invention. As are the requirements of the type
of composition the main theme has been presented in ten acts, the predominant
sentiment (rasa) is love or shringara, a deep and calm (dhir-prashanta) Brahmin
is the hero, of the two heroines, one, i.e., Dhuta, is born of a noble family,
kulaja, and the other, Vasantasena, is a public woman or ganika, and this makes
the composition a mixed or samkirna type of prakarana.
Mrichhakatika as a literary text , The issue of 15 aesthetic form is also dealt
with in brief. An important aspect of thematic richness finally catches our
attention. We noted that the ancient period had many aspects that are of
interest to us even today.
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