Chandragupta Maurya and His Times c7.112

c7.112

*Mudrā-Rākshasa.* In the later drama of *Mudrā-Rākshasa*, there is an interesting description of Pāṭaliputra. It indicates that Pāṭaliputra was situated at the confluence of the two rivers, Gaṅgā and Śoṇa. In the drama, Chandragupta after taking possession of the Nanda king's palace called Sugāṅga-prāsāda sees from the palace the beauty of the river Gaṅgā being led fast, as a declining stream, after the rains, by the season of autumn towards her lord, the sea [III, 9]. This shows that the city was directly on the river Ganges. At the same time, the drama tells us that Malayaketu had to cross the river Śoṇa to be able to reach Pāṭaliputra. He says: "My elephants in their hundreds will drink up the waters of the river Śoṇa in their march towards the city" [IV, 16].