Vasavadatta

A Dramatic Romance

VASAVADUTTA was written in Pondicherry in October 1915. A few months later it was Revised and recopied, and subsequently was further revised. Several versions of some of the acts exist. The play was first published in SRI AUROBINDO MANDIR ANNUAL in 1957, and issued in book-form the same year.

AUTHOR’S NOTE

The action of the romance takes place a century after the war of the Mahabharata; the capital has been changed to Cowsambie; the empire has been temporarily broken and the kingdoms of India are overshadowed by three powers, Maghadha in the East ruled by Pradyota, Avunthie in the West ruled by Chunda Mahasegn who has subdued also the southern kings, and Cowsambie in the Centre where Yougundharayan strives by arms and policy to maintain the house of Parikshit against the dominating power of Avunthie. Recently since the young Vuthsa has been invested with the regal power and appeared at Cowsambie, Chunda Mahasegn, till then invincible, has suffered rude but not decisive reverses. For the moment there is an armed peace between the two empires.

The fable is taken from Somadeva’s Kathasaritsagara (the Ocean of the Rivers of Many Tales) and was always a favorite subject of Indian romance and drama, but some of the circumstances, a great many of the incidents and a few of the names have been altered or omitted and others introduced in their place. Vuthsa, the name of the nation in the tale, is in the play used as a personal name of the King Udayan.