Bhasa
Topic: Gupta Empire and the Classical Age · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Bhasa was one of the earliest known writers of Sanskrit plays. He lived before Kalidasa. Kalidasa names him with respect as a famous earlier dramatist. For a long time, Bhasa's plays were thought to be lost. Then thirteen plays linked to him were found in Kerala by T. Ganapati Sastri and published in 1912. Scholars still debate whether all of these plays were really written by Bhasa.
Example
Bhasa's best-known play is Svapnavasavadattam, "The Dream of Vasavadatta". It tells the story of King Udayana of Vatsa and his queen Vasavadatta. Udayana believes that his queen has died, and then he dreams of her.
Don't confuse with
- Kalidasa: a later dramatist and poet linked to Gupta court circles, who wrote Malavikagnimitram and Meghadutam. Bhasa was an older writer whom Kalidasa praised.
Related concepts
- Aryabhata
- Aryabhatiya
- Hindu-Arabic numerals
- Bakhshali manuscript
- Surya Siddhanta
- Varahamihira
- Bhaskara I
- Virahanka
- Kalidasa
- Abhijnanashakuntalam