6. Characterisation in Mudrārākṣasa

Viśākhadatta’s skill of character delineation is wonderful. Mudrārākṣasa is perhaps, in the whole range of Sanskrit dramatic literature the only play containing a large variety of characters belong to the political world. Thus, in our play we have kings, ministers, spies or secret emissaries under various disguise and royal attendants. There are some characters no doubt in it that are free from any political bias; but they are only too few and insignificant to mar the political atmosphere of the play.

In delineating the characters Viśākhadatta arranges them in group of two (or three in some places) each, which forms a novel feature of the play. Thus we have two ministers-the astute, resolute, impulsive, irascible, but ever vigilant, ever resourceful Cāṇakya and on the other side Rākṣasa, the Prime Minister of the Nandas finding fault with fate, occasionally blundering, not careful enough in the choice of men, devoted to the master no doubt, but to depend on Malayaketu his condition becomes deplorable, therefore, failing in his object of ousting Candragupta from the throne.

Then we have two kings, there is Candragupta, well-disciplined, full of reverence for his preceptor, regarding the order of preceptor, to act independently for a while to be nothing less than a sin. Contrasted with him is Malayaketu with no diplomacy and very little modesty to his credit, suspecting the one (Rākṣasa) whose sincerity of purpose was beyond dispute, vain and therefore defeated most disastrously by Cāṇakya with the minimum amount of fighting.

There are two friends, Śakaṭadāsa and Candanadāsa (to which may be added the name of Jīvasiddhi to make the member three). Cāṇakya’s spy Jīvasiddhi, in the guise of a Kṣapaṇaka, the fake friend of Rākṣasa is well contrasted with Candanadāsa, the flame of whose love for his friend, Rākṣasa, wanted to sacrifice own life.

There are also two Chamberlains and two female attendants each from the both side of Candragupta and Malayaketu and a large member of spies or secret emissaries on either side. It is by contrasting these with one another that Viśākhadatta has very often succeeded in making his characters livelier.

In the drama each character is made to stand out from the rest so well that the scholars like Prof. Wilson have said about Viśākhadatta “……..he has a vigorous perception of character and a manly stain of sentiment that are inferior only to elevated conception and delicate feeling.”^[1]

Therefore, let us now examine the characters of the drama Mudrārākṣasa in the following:

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

As quoted by Satyavarta Singh in his preface of the translated version of the Mudrārākṣasa, p. 44.