Theory of Government in Ancient India (Post-Vedic) c13.13

c13.13

It is in the drama that classical Sanskrit literature touched its high-water mark. Bhâsa is probably the first of the long line of dramatists which continued for many centuries. Probably, he is not later than 350 A.D. But during the last few years the date and authorship of the works attributed to him have formed the subject of an acute controversy. While their discoverer and editor Ganapati Sâstri stands for the 5th century B.C., and for the common authorship of the thirteen plays discovered, it has been argued that these are not the product of a single mind, that, at the most, they can only belong to a single school and that they took shape about the 7th century A.D. But the fourth century A.D. and along with it identity of authorship is still the best working hypothesis. Like so many later dramatists, Bhâsa borrows his plots from the Râmâyana, the Mahâbhârata and popular legends. Kings, ministers and ambassadors jostle one another