Bhāsa is one of the earliest Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, predating Kālidasa . Estimates of his floruit range from the 4th century BCE to the 4th century CE; the thirteen plays attributed to him are commonly dated closer to the first or second century CE.
41-644: [REDACTED] Look up sa:रामपुर in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Ramapura may refer to places in India: Ayodhya , a city in India, said to have been ruled by Rama Ramapura, Chamarajanagar , Karnataka Ramapura, Gauribidanur , Karnataka See also [ edit ] Ramapuram (disambiguation) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
82-520: A Saketa, based on a verse that supposedly describes Dasharatha as the king of "Saketa-nagara". However, this verse was fabricated by a Brahmin of Lucknow : it is not found in the original Ramayana text. A local oral tradition of Ayodhya, first recorded in writing by Robert Montgomery Martin in 1838, mentions that the city was deserted after the death of Rama's descendant Brihadbala . It remained deserted for several centuries until King Vikrama (or Vikramaditya) of Ujjain came searching for it. On
123-636: A garrison town. Early Buddhist and Jain texts mention Shravasti and Saketa, not Ayodhya, as the major cities of the Kosala region. The later texts such as the Puranas , which mention Ayodhya as the capital of Kosala, simply follow the legendary Ramayana . According to Hans T. Bakker 's analysis, the Sanskrit sources that mention Ayodhya but not Saketa are predominantly fictional in nature: these texts include Mahabharata , Ramayana , and Purana-pancha-lakshana . On
164-517: A lot of liberties with the story to achieve this. In the Pratima-nataka , Kaikeyi who is responsible for the tragic events in the Ramayana is shown as enduring the calumny of all so that a far noble end is achieved. His most famous plays — Pratigya Yaugandharayanam (the vow of Yaugandharayana) and Swapnavāsavadattam (Vasavadatta in the dream) — are based on the legends that had grown around
205-456: A proof of their antiquity; no post-Kālidāsa play has been found to break the rules of the Natya Shastra. Scenes from Bhāsa present signs of physical violence on the stage, as in plays like Urubhangam . This is strictly frowned upon by Natya Shastra. However, these facts alone don't make chronology certain. Indu Shekhar states that, "Whatever the exact date [of Natya Shastra] may have been, it
246-407: A verse in his Pratijna-yaugandharayana is probably from Aśvaghoṣa's Buddha-charita . He definitely lived before Kālidāsa (4th-5th century CE), who knew of his fame as an established poet. Bhāsa's language is closer to Kālidāsa than it is to Aśvaghoṣa. Indian scholar M.L. Varadpande dates him as early as 4th century BCE. According to British scholar Richard Stoneman, Bhasa may have belonged to
287-615: Is a city mentioned in the ancient Sanskrit -language texts, including the Ramayana and the Mahabharata . These texts describe it as the capital of the Ikshvaku kings , including Rama . The historicity of this legendary city is of concern to the Ayodhya dispute . According to one theory, it is same as the present-day Indian city of Ayodhya . According to another theory, it is a legendary city, and
328-511: Is also found with some variations in the Atharvaveda : aṣṭācakrā navadvārā devānāṃ pūrayodhyā tasyāṃ hiraṇyayaḥkośaḥ svargo loko jyotiṣāvṛtaḥ yo vai tāṃ brahmaṇo vedāmṛtenāvṛtāṃ puram tasmai brahma ca brāhmā ca āyuḥ kirtim prajāṃ daduḥ vibhrājamānām hariṇīṃ yaśasā saṃparīvṛtām puraṃ hiraṇyayīṃ brahmā viveśāparājitām Ayodhya (impregnable), the city of the gods, consists of eight circles (also cycles) and nine entrances; within it there
369-614: Is based on the fact that according to the ancient Buddhist texts, the ancient Ayodhya town was located on the banks of the river Ganga (Ganges), not Sarayu. For example, the Samyutta Nikaya states "Once Lord Buddha was walking in Ayodhya on the bank of the Ganga river". Buddhaghosha 's commentary on the Samyutta Nikaya mentions that the citizens of Ayodhya (Ayujjha-pura) built a vihara for
410-560: Is possibly alluded to in the Raghuvamsha . Kishore Kunal argues that there is no historical evidence to support the theory that Saketa was renamed as "Ayodhya" by Skandagupta. He notes that the Kalidasa 's Raghuvamsha clearly refers to the same city by the names "Saketa" and "Ayodhya", while narrating the legend of Rama. Historian Gyanendra Pandey argues that Kalidasa's mention of "Saketa" and "Ayodhya" do not prove any connection between
451-642: Is significant that no direct reference to NS was made before the seventh century," when it became accepted as the subject of attention for many poets, writers, and theorists. The Urubhanga and Karna-bhara are the only known tragic Sanskrit plays in ancient India. Though branded the villain of the Mahabharata , Duryodhana is the actual hero in Uru-Bhanga shown repenting his past as he lies with his thighs crushed awaiting death. His relations with his family are shown with great pathos. The epic contains no reference to such repentance. The Karna-bhara ends with
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#1732894658415492-477: Is the golden treasure-dome, the celestial world, ever-illuminated with light (north pole). Whoever knows it as the Creator's city ever surrounded with nectar will have long life, fame, and offspring bestowed on him, by Brahma (the sun), and Brahma (the moon). Into this city ever shining, moving, and pervaded with Yasas (fame and lustre), the Creator has entered. Joshi argues that the Ayodhya city, as described in
533-545: The Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), among others. According to these scholars, the process of identifying the legendary Ayodhya with Saketa (an ancient name of present-day Ayodhya) began in the early centuries CE, and was completed during the Gupta period . The various arguments made in favour of identifying the legendary Ayodhya as a fictional city include the following: The JNU historians argue that according to
574-493: The Rajashekhara 's Kāvya-mimāmsā , which attributes the play Swapnavāsavadattam to him. In the introduction to his first play Mālavikāgnimitram , Kālidāsa wrote: "Shall we neglect the works of such illustrious authors as Bhāsa, Saūmilla, and Kaviputra? Can the audience feel any respect for the work of a modern poet, a Kālidāsa?" Bhāsa's date of birth is uncertain: he likely lived after Aśvaghoṣa (1st-2nd century CE) as
615-528: The Taittiriya Aranyaka (and Atharvaveda ), is obviously a mythical city, because it is said to be surrounded by a pool of nectar, and is described as the location of "the golden treasure-dome of the celestial world". According to Joshi, this Ayodhya is similar to the mythical places such as Samavasarana and Nandishvaradvipa, which appear in the Jain mythology. According to other scholars, such as B. B. Lal ,
656-479: The 2nd century CE. The earliest extant inscriptions mentioning a place called Ayodhya are from the Gupta period. For example, a 436 CE inscription describes a donation to Brahmins hailing from Ayodhya. A 533–534 CE inscription mentions a nobleman from Ayodhya. The Gaya inscription, said to be issued by Samudragupta (4th century CE), but possibly an 8th century fabrication according to modern historians, describes Ayodhya as
697-452: The 7th century Chinese Buddhist traveler Xuanzang states that he reached Ayodhya ("A-yu-te") after crossing the Ganga river, while traveling southwards (Ayodhya is actually located to the north of the Ganges river). Xuanzang seems to have used the term Ganga to describe "a long affluent of the great river". M. C. Joshi asserted that Ayodhya is mentioned in a Taittiriya Aranyaka verse, which
738-558: The Buddha "in a curve of the river Ganga". Kishore Kunal argues that the word "Ganga" is also used as common noun for a holy river in Sanskrit. In his support, he presents another verse from Samyutta Nikaya (4.35.241.205), which states "Once Lord Buddha was walking in Kaushambi on the bank of the Ganga river". The ancient city of Kaushambi was actually located on the banks of the river Yamuna , not Ganga. S. N. Arya similarly points out that
779-713: The Rama legend into Jain mythology. During this period, the Jains linked the mythology of the Ikshvaku dynasty with their tirthankaras and chakravartins . For example, the first tirthankara Rishabha is said to have been born in Ikkhagabhumi (according to Kalpasutra ) or Viniya (according to Jambu-dvipa-prajnapati ), which are identified as Ayodhya (Aojhha) or Saketa. In the 19th century, Alexander Cunningham of Archaeological Survey of India believed that Ramayana also identifies Ayodhya with
820-544: The advice of a sage, Vikrama determined that the site of ancient Ayodhya as the place where the milk would flow from the udder of a calf. He cut down the forests that had covered the ancient ruins, established a new city, erected the Ramgar fort, and built 360 temples. According to the JNU historians, this myth of "re-discovery" seems to recognize that modern Ayodhya is not same as the ancient Ayodhya, and appears to be an attempt to impart
861-424: The archaeological evidence, the earliest possible settlements at Ayodhya can be dated to c. 8th century BCE, while the Ramayana is set much earlier. The Ramayana depicts Ayodhya as an urban centre with palaces and buildings, while the excavations at present-day Ayodhya indicate a primitive life. Hans T. Bakker notes that no place called Ayodhya is attested by any epigraphic or other archaeological evidence before
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#1732894658415902-491: The capital of Gandhilavati, a district of the "largely mythological" Mahavideha country. This indicates that the Ayodhya of Sanskrit epic literature is a fictional city. Among the Sanskrit sources, the identification of Ayodhya with Saketa first appears in texts from the Gupta period, including the Brahmanda Purana and Kalidasa's Raghuvamsha . The Jain text Paumachariya (dated before 4th century CE) first incorporates
943-429: The city as the capital of Ikshvaku kings, including Harishchandra . The Ramayana states that the city was ruled by king Dasharatha , a descendant of king Ikshvaku. His son Rama was exiled to the forest, and returned to the city after several travails, establishing an ideal rule in the kingdom. According to Uttara Kanda , a later addition to the Ramayana , Rama divided the kingdom into North and South Kosala at
984-585: The commonly accepted identification of the ancient city with the modern one". For example, in the Ayodhya Kanda of the Ramayana, Bharata takes a geographically "non-sensical" route while traveling to Ayodhya from the kingdom of his uncle Kekeya (located in the extreme west of the Indian subcontinent). During this journey, he passes through places located in present-day Odisha and Assam . According to Hans T. Bakker ,
1025-495: The end of his reign, with respective capitals at Shravasti and Kushavati , and installed his two sons (Lava and Kusha) to rule them. Rama himself entered the waters of the Sarayu river , along with all the inhabitants of the city, and ascended to heaven. The location where they ascended is Gopratara Tirtha , according to the Mahabharata . Ayodhya was subsequently repopulated by king Rishabha. Several other literary works based on
1066-459: The late Maurya period at the earliest, and was already known by the 1st century BCE. Stoneman notes that the thirteen plays attributed to Bhasa are generally dated closer to the 1st or 2nd century CE. Other scholarly estimates of Bhasa's floruit range from the late 2nd century CE to the 4th century CE. Bhāsa's works do not follow all the dictates of the Natya Shastra . This has been taken as
1107-508: The legendary King Udayana , probably a contemporary of the Gautama Buddha . The first person to revive Bhasa in modern Indian theatre was a Professor of Ancient Indian Drama at National School of Drama , and theatre director, Shanta Gandhi , who first directed productions of Madhyamavyayoga (1966) ("The Middle One") and Urubhanga ("The Broken Thigh") in Hindi. A decade later, his work
1148-517: The legendary Ayodhya and the present-day Ayodhya, as he lived in the Gupta period (c. 5th century CE), presumably after the Guptas had changed the name of Saketa to "Ayodhya". The rise of the modern Ayodhya town as a centre of Rama worship is relatively recent, dating back to the 13th century, when the Ramanandi sect started gaining prominence. Several inscriptions dated between 5th and 8th centuries mention
1189-402: The legendary Ayodhya with the present-day Ayodhya town, but this theory is not universally accepted. Arguments cited in favour of this identification include: A section of scholars have argued that the legendary Ayodhya of Ramayana is a purely mythical city, and is not same as the present-day Ayodhya. These scholars include M. C. Joshi , Hans T. Bakker , and a group of 25 historians from
1230-428: The modern town a religious sanctity that it originally lacked. These historians theorize that the 5th century emperor Skandagupta (who adopted the title Vikramditya) moved his residence to Saketa, and renamed it to Ayodhya, probably to associate himself with the legendary solar dynasty . According to Bakker, the Guptas moved their capital to Saketa either during the reign of Kumaragupta I or Skandagupta, and this event
1271-532: The older parts of Mahabharata and Purana-pancha-lakshana mention Ayodhya as the capital of the Ikshvaku kings, but do not state that it was situated on the banks of the Sarayu river. The older parts of Ramayana only suggest that it was located in the vicinity of the Sarayu river. For example, Ramayana 2.70.19 states that the funeral processions of Dasharatha traveled from the city to Sarayu using palanquins and chariots, which according to Bakker, suggests that Sarayu
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1312-479: The other hand, the Sanskrit sources that mention Saketa but not Ayodhya are of "semi-scientific or factual nature". The Buddhist Pali-language texts name a city called Ayojjha or Ayujjha (Pali for Ayodhya), but suggest that it was located on the banks of the Ganges river ( see below ). In the early Jain canonical literature, "Aujjha" (a Prakrit form of "Ayodhya") is mentioned only once: the Thana Sutta describes it as
1353-450: The premonitions of the sad end of Karna , another epic character from Mahabharata . Early plays in India, inspired by Natya Shastra, strictly considered sad endings inappropriate. The plays are generally short compared to later playwrights and most of them draw on themes from the Indian epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana . Though he is firmly on the side of the heroes of the epic, Bhāsa treats their opponents with great sympathy. He takes
1394-507: The present-day Ayodhya (originally called Saketa) was renamed after it around the 4th or 5th century, during the Gupta period . According to the Ramayana , Ayodhya was founded by Manu , the progenitor of mankind, and measured 12x3 yojanas in area. Both the Ramayana and the Mahabharata describe Ayodhya as the capital of the Ikshvaku dynasty of Kosala , including Rama and Dasharatha . The Purana-pancha-lakshana also describes
1435-568: The story of Rama also mention Ayodhya. These include the Abhisheka and Pratimanataka by the poet Bhāsa (dated 2nd century CE or earlier), and the Raghuvamsha of Kalidasa (c. 5th century CE). According to the Jain tradition, five tirthankaras were born at Ayodhya, including Rishabhanatha , Ajitanatha , Abhinandananatha , Sumatinatha , and Anantanatha . Many modern scholars, including B. B. Lal and H. D. Sankalia , have identified
1476-462: The title Ramapura . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ramapura&oldid=1252380607 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ayodhya (Ramayana) Ayodhya
1517-406: The town, but do not mention its association with Rama. The writings of Xuanzang (c. 602–664 CE) associate the town with Buddhism. It has also been an important Jain pilgrimage centre, and an ancient Jain figure (dated 4th-3rd century BCE) has been found here. The 11th century texts refer to Gopataru tirtha in Ayodhya, but do not refer to the birthplace of Rama. Bakker notes that the legend of Rama
1558-720: The word ayodhya in this context is not a proper noun (the name of a city), but an adjective, meaning "impregnable". The verse describes the human body ( pur ) as having eight chakras and nine orifices : aṣṭācakrā navadvārā devānāṃ pūrayodhyā tasyāṃ hiraṇyayaḥkośaḥ svargo jyotiṣāvṛtaḥ Eight-wheeled, nine-doored, is the impregnable stronghold of the gods; in that is a golden vessel, heaven-going (swarga), covered with light Lal points out that two cognate forms ayodhyena and ayodhyaḥ appear in Atharvaveda 19.13.3 and 19.13.7 respectively, in similar sense of "invincible". The 14th century commentator Sayana also confirms this meaning of
1599-507: The word. the later text Bhagavad Gita also describes the human body as a city with nine doors, in which the soul resides. This confirms that the Atharvaveda uses "ayodhya" as an adjective, not as the name of a city. Bh%C4%81sa Bhasa's plays had been lost for centuries until the manuscripts were rediscovered in 1910 by the Indian scholar Ganapati Shastri . Bhāsa had previously only been known from mentions in other works, such as
1640-424: Was located at some distance from the city. According to Bakker, only the newer (5th century and later) parts of Ramayana explicitly describe Ayodhya as located on the banks of the Sarayu river. The JNU historians agree that an ancient historical city called "Ayodhya" (Pali: Ayojjha or Ayujjha ) existed, but argue that it was not same as the modern Ayodhya, or the legendary city described in the Ramayana. This theory
1681-561: Was not always connected with Ayodhya: for example, the Buddhist Dasaratha-jataka mentions Varanasi, not Ayodhya, as the capital of Dasharatha and Rama. Thus, the association of Rama with Ayodhya may be a result the claim that he was a member of the Ikshvaku family, and this family's association with Ayodhya. According to M. C. Joshi , "a critical examination of the geographical data available in Valmiki's narratives does not justify