Bhavabhuti

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Bhavabhuti was an 8th century scholar of India noted for his plays and poetry, written in Sanskrit. His plays are considered equivalent to the works of Kalidas. Bhavabhuti was born in a Deshastha Brahmin family of Padmapura, Vidarbha, central India. His real name was Srikantha Nilakantha, and he was the son of Nilakantha and Jatukarni. He is believed to have been the court poet of King Yashovarman of Kannauj. Kalhana, the 12th century historian, places him in the entourage of the king, who was defeated by Lalitaditya, King of Kashmir, in 736 AD.

[edit] Malatimadhava

The play is set in the city of Padmavati. The king desires that his minister's daughter Malati marry a youth called Nandana. Malati is in love with Madhava ever since she saw him and drew his portrait. Madhava reciprocates, and draws a portrait of her in turn. Malati suspects her father's motives in falling in with the King's plans for her. A side plot involves the lovers' friends Makaranda and Madayantika. The latter is attacked by a tiger, and Makaranda rescues her, getting wounded in the process. After numerous travails, all ends well, with the two couples uniting.

[edit] Bibliography

• Mahaviracharita (The story of highly courageous), depicting the early life of Rama
• Malatimadhava a play based on the romance of Malati and Madhava
• Uttararamacharita (The story of Rama's later life), depicts Rama's coronation, the abandonment of Sita, and their reunion