Hindu Medicine c7.178

c7.178

The play, in seven acts, is an allegory on the order of Kṛṣṇamiśra’s more famous play “The Rise of the Moon of Enlightenment” (Prabodhacandrodaya), though the latter, an excellent poem, is of superior quality. “Jīvānanda” is a late specimen of a type of dramatic allegory, whose early existence is attested by the most ancient fragments of Indian drama extant. They date from the beginning of our era and have come to light among Buddhist material found in Central Asia (Chinese Turkestan). Ānandarāyamakhī was particularly fond of this kind of allegorical poetry; another one of his didactic plays is “The Wedding of Wisdom” (Vidyāpariṇaya).¹³