Bhāsa (भास) is the earliest surviving Sanskrit dramatist whose works have come down to us in any substantial number. Long known only from references in later writers — Kālidāsa speaks respectfully of "Bhāsa and other illustrious predecessors" in the prologue to his Mālavikāgnimitra — Bhāsa was for many centuries a name without surviving plays. Then in 1912 the Sanskrit scholar T. Gaṇapati Śāstrī announced the discovery in Trivandrum of a body of thirteen anonymous plays in palm-leaf manuscripts. Most scholars have since accepted these as the long-lost works of Bhāsa, although a few attributions remain debated.
Date
Bhāsa's date is uncertain. He must be earlier than Kālidāsa, who knew him; this places him no later than the fourth century CE. Some scholars argue for a date as early as the second century BCE, others for the second or third century CE. Wherever he is placed, he stands close to the beginnings of the classical Sanskrit drama.
The Thirteen Plays
The thirteen plays attributed to Bhāsa cover a remarkable range of source material:
From the Mahabharata
- Madhyamavyāyoga (मध्यमव्यायोग, "The Middle One") — Bhīma's encounter with his rākṣasa son Ghaṭotkaca
- Pañcarātra (पञ्चरात्र, "Five Nights") — events surrounding Virāṭa's court
- Dūtavākya (दूतवाक्य, "The Message") — Kṛṣṇa as peace-envoy to the Kaurava court
- Dūtaghaṭotkaca (दूतघटोत्कच, "Ghaṭotkaca as Messenger")
- Karṇabhāra (कर्णभार, "Karṇa's Burden") — Karṇa giving away his armour to a disguised Indra
- Ūrubhaṅga (ऊरुभङ्ग, "The Shattered Thighs") — the death of Duryodhana
From the Ramayana
- Pratimā-nāṭaka (प्रतिमानाटक, "The Statue Play") — events of Rāma's exile
- Abhiṣeka-nāṭaka (अभिषेकनाटक, "The Coronation Play") — Rāma's eventual coronation
Historical and Romantic Drama
- Svapnavāsavadattā (स्वप्नवासवदत्ता, "The Dream of Vāsavadattā") — King Udayana's love for Vāsavadattā, often considered Bhāsa's masterpiece
- Pratijñā-yaugandharāyaṇa (प्रतिज्ञायौगन्धरायण, "The Vow of Yaugandharāyaṇa") — a companion play to the Svapna
Legendary
- Bālacarita (बालचरित, "The Childhood Deeds") — the boyhood of Kṛṣṇa
- Avimāraka (अविमारक) — a romance about Prince Avimāraka
Adapted from Earlier Drama
- Cārudatta (चारुदत्त) — the love of the poor Brahmin Cārudatta and the courtesan Vasantasenā; this is the apparent source for Śūdraka's later, more famous Mṛcchakaṭika
Dramatic Innovations
Bhāsa's plays are remarkable for several features rarely seen in later Sanskrit drama:
- Battle and death on stage, rather than reported by messenger. The Ūrubhaṅga shows Duryodhana dying with shattered thighs on the field, an unusual scene since classical Sanskrit drama typically avoided showing violent death.
- Sympathetic portrayal of antagonists. Bhāsa's Duryodhana is dignified and tragic rather than villainous; Karṇa is heroic and generous to a fault.
- Compact form. Most of his plays are short — sometimes a single act — pointed and intense.
- Distinctive prologue. The Bhāsa plays open with the stage-manager (sūtradhāra) directly, without the usual benedictory verse and elaborate prelude that became standard later.
Style
Bhāsa's Sanskrit is simpler and more direct than that of the high classical tradition. He uses prose freely, intersperses Prakrit dialogue for female and lower-class characters as the conventions require, and favours short, vivid scenes. His dialogue conveys emotion with great economy.
Influence and Legacy
Whatever the final scholarly verdict on the attribution of the Trivandrum plays, they represent the earliest substantial body of Sanskrit drama to survive. They prefigure many of the techniques later perfected by Kālidāsa and Bhavabhūti — the use of mythological material, the interweaving of love and duty, the structured five-act nāṭaka — while preserving a freedom of form that the later tradition narrowed. Bhāsa stands at the threshold of the classical Sanskrit stage, and many of his plays continue to be performed today in revivals across India.