रत्नावली नाटिका (सम्राट हर्षवर्धन - शास्त्रीय नाटिका रत्न सम्पूर्ण ४ अङ्क सान्वय सटीक)

XVI RATNAVALI
from 780 to 813 A. D. His minister Damodaragupta
wrote a work Kuttanimata in which references of Ratnávali
are found. This shows that Ratnávali was written long before the
9th cent. A. D. Before this period there was no other king S'ri
Harsha by name except S'ri Harsha otherwise named S'ila'ditya,
who was the paramount monarch whose feet were waited upon by
the circle of kings (पादपद्मोपजीवी राजसमूहः). So from these facts
it is conclusively proved that the authorship of Ratnávali goes
to no one else but to S'ri Harsha of Thaneswar. Priyadarśiká
was also written by the same author as the subjectmatter of
Priyadarśiká' resembles that of Ratnávali ; the प्रस्तावना and भरतवाक्य
of both of these works are almost the same ; and besides these, there
are various other matters in which a close resemblance is found
in these two books. Though the subject-matter of Nágánanda
is quite different from that of these two former books yet
definite proofs as to S'ri Harsha being its author are available.
The plot of Nágánanda appears to be taken from the story
of Jimutaváhana who going to substitute himself in the place of
the Nágas with a view to saving them from the clutch of Garuda
endangered his own life. That S'ri Harsa of Thaneswar of the
7th century is the author of the drama Nágánanda is definitely
proved by an account given by a Chinese traveller It-sing who
visited Harsha'. In his account he says, “King S'iláditya
versified the story of the Bodhisattva Jimutaváhana who surren-
dered himself in place of a Nága. This version was set to music ;
he had it performed by a band, accompained by dancing and
acting and thus popularized it in his time.” This work Nágánanda
might have been written towards the latter part of his life when
he was strongly inclined towards Buddhistic teachings and
often held religious councils in Prayága to welcome the
Buddhist monks. However, it is conclusively proved that these
three plays were written by the king S'ri Harsha in the 7th
century.