"How the nāgas were pleased" by Harsa & "The Shattered thighs" by Bhāsa / translated by Andrew Skilton

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"Two plays that break the rules: both show the hero dying on stage, an inauspicious scenario forbidden in Sanskrit dramaturgy. From widely different ideological and social backgrounds, each evokes intense emotion in an exploration of love and heroism, conflict and peace, idealism and pragmatic reconciliation. Each portrays the reconciliation of hate and retaliation in love and mercy." "King Harsha's play, composed in the seventh century, re-examines the Buddhist tale of a magician prince who makes the ultimate sacrifice to save a hostage snake (naga)." "Attributed to Bhasa, the illustrious predecessor to Kali-dasa, The Shattered Thighs transforms a crucial episode of the Maha-bharata war. As he dies from a foul blow to the legs delivered in his duel with Bhima, Duryodhana's infamous character is here inverted, where he is depicted as a noble and gracious exemplar amidst the wreckage of the fearsome battle scene. An ignoble man dies a hero's death." -- Contracoberta

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