उत्तररामचरितम् (महाकवि भवभूति - संस्कृत मूल एवं हिन्दी व्याख्या)

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उत्तररामचरितम्
With the Commentary o

• घनश्याम
  AND III
  WITH NOTES AND INTRODUCTION 157
  BY ३ 182
  P. V. KANE, M. A. LL. M., '66
  L, HIGH COURT, BOMBAY, MEMBER OF THE SENATE, 67
  MBAY UNIVERSITY, ZALA VEDANT PRIZEMAN, SOMETIME '63
  PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT, ELPHINSTONE COLLEGE, 72
  FORMERLY SENIOR DAKSHINA FELLOW,
  WILSON COLLEGE, BOMBAY
  AND
  TRANSLATION
  BY
  C. N. JOSHI, M. A.
  Second Edition.
  1921
  (All Rights reserved)

Printed by Ramchandra Yesu Shedge, at the Nirṇaya sagara Press,
23 Kolbhat Lane, Bombay
Published by Pandurang Vaman Kane Angre's Wadi Front Chawl,
Girgaon Back Road, Bombay and Translation (pp 189-66)
Published by Chintaman Nilkant Joshi, Tullu's house,
11 Dhasvadi Thakurdvar,
BOMBAY

TABLE OF CONTENTS.
———♦———
INTRODUCTION . V—XXIII
TEXT . . 1—157
NOTES 1—188
TRANSLATION . 189—266
ABBREVIATIONS 267
METRE . . 268
INDEX OF VERSES . .. . ... 269—272

INTRODUCTION.
—>o<—
I. Personal History of Bhavabhûti
Although Bhavabhuti is one of the brightest stars in
the galaxy of Sanskrit poets, our knowledge about his
personal history is very meagre and is almost entirely
derived from his own works. Out of his three known works,
the Mahâvîracharita¹ gives us the fullest account of him.
The ancestors of Bhavabhuti came from a town called
Padmapura in the Deccan (in the Berars). They belonged
to the Kasyapagotra, they studied the Taittirîya recension
of the Black Yajurveda and their surname was Udumbara.
The fifth in ascent from Bhavabhuti was called Mahâkavi,
who had performed the Vâjapeya sacrifice. The name of
the poet's grandfather was Bhatta Gopâla. The father of the
poet was Nîlakantha and his mother's name was Jatukarni
(or Jâtukarnî). His teacher was Jnânanidhi.² From the
fact that Bhavabhuti's family belonged to the Berars and
studied the Taittirîya Sâkhâ, Dr. Bhandarkar conjectures
that his native place must have been somewhere near Chandra-
pura or Chanda in the Nagpur territories, where there are
still many families of Maratha Desastha Brahmanas of the
Taittirîyas'akha with Âpastamba for their Sutra, and in the
country to the south and south-east of which there are
Tailanga Brahmanas following the same Veda and sutra.
The commentator Ghanasyâma infers from Bhavabhuti's
peculiarities of expression that the poet was an inhabitant
1 'अस्ति दक्षिणापथे पद्मपुरं नाम नगरम् । तत्र केचित्तेत्तिरीयाः काश्यपाश्चरण-
गुरवः पङ्क्तिपावनाः पञ्चाग्नयो धृतव्रताः सोमपीथिन उदुम्बरनामानो ब्रह्मवादिनः प्रति-
वसन्ति । तदामुष्यायणस्य तत्रभवतो वाजपेययाजिनो महाकवेः पञ्चमः सुगृहीतनाम्नो
भट्टगोपालस्य पौत्रः पवित्रकीर्तेर्नीलकण्ठस्यात्मसंभवः श्रीकण्ठपदलाञ्छनः पदवाक्य-
प्रमाणज्ञो भवभूतिर्नाम जतुकर्णीपुत्रः' महावीरचरित (प्रस्तावना) The मालतीमाधव
omits the name of महाकवि. The मालतीमाधव adds that पद्मपुर was
in विदर्भ (Berars) and gives the surname as डम्बर. Whether
पद्मपुर is to be identified with पद्मावती that occurs in the मालतीमाधव
is a question. We think that they are not identical.
2 'श्रेष्ठः परमहंसानां महर्षीणामिवाङ्गिराः । यथार्थनामा भगवान्यस्य ज्ञाननि-
धिर्गुरुः ॥' महावीर० I 5, so also मान्ती० I 9 'गुर्वी गता न मम सा वयसो गुरुत्वः
प्रख्यापितो मनेतु । यथार्थनामा भगवन्दस्य ज्ञाननिधिर्गुरुः ॥'.

ii INTRODUCTION.
of the Dravida country (vide text pp 39, 64, 130) The poet
seems to have been quite familiar with the Godavari from
his descriptions of it in the 9th Act of the Malatīmādhava
and in the Uttararāmacharita He seems to have been also
familiar with the Vindhya mountain (Act V 14 of the
Uttararāmacharita)
About the name of the poet there is a controversy In
all his three dramas occur the words "srīkaṇṭhapada-
lāñchanaḥ Bhavabhūtir nāma One would naturally expect
from the position of the word 'nāma' that the poet's name
was Bhavabhūti and that later in life he received the title of
Srīkaṇṭha But most of the commentators say that his name
was Srīkaṇṭha and that later on he was called Bhavabhūti
in consequence of a certain benedictory verse in honour of
Pārvatī 3 It seems to us that the commentators had no
certain knowledge on the subject and that they were guided
probably by the etymologies to which the word Bhavabhūti
lent itself We are confirmed in this opinion by the fact that
the commentators are not in agreement as to the verse on
account of which the poet earned the epithet Bhavabhūti 4
Moreover there is another story mentioned by the commentator
Ghanaśyāma that the god Siva manifested himself to the poet
in the form of a Brāhmaṇa and gave him riches 5
Bhavabhūti came of a learned family Bhavabhūti himself
seems to have been a profound scholar He had made a
thorough study of the Vedas of the Vedānta, Sānkhya and
3 Vide p 2 com वीरराघव on महावीरचरित says "श्रीकण्ठपदला-
ञ्छन । विदूषणनामेदम् । भवभूतिनाम 'साम्बा पुनातु भवभूतिपवित्रमूर्ति' इति
श्लोकरचनामृतेन राजा भवभूतिरिति ख्यातिन " वीरराघव on the उत्तररामचरित
says the same जगद्धर commenting on the मालतीमाधव says 'नाम्ना
श्रीकण्ठ प्रसिद्धया भवभूतिरित्य ' while त्रिपुरारि on the मालतीमाधव says
'भवभूतिरिति व्यवहारे तस्यैव नामान्तरम्'
4 घनश्याम and वीरराघव say that it was on account of the verse
'साम्बा पुनातु भवभूतिपवित्रमूर्ति' that the poet was called भवभूति But
जगन्नाथपण्डित commenting on गाथासप्तशती (I 36) says 'श्रीधर इति कवि
नाम । भवभूतिरिति 'गिरेर्जाया । कुचौ वन्दे भवभूतिसिताननौ' इति पद्यकरणोत्तरं
पदवीनाम"
5 Vide p 4 com. Following this, वीर० says 'के चान्ते वचये
ईश्वर एव विप्ररूपेणागत्य भूरि दत्तवानिति वदन्ति । श्व च भवाद्ब्राह्मणतो भूतिर्यस्येति
भवभूतिरित्यभ्य इत्याहु ।'

[UTTARARĀMACHARITA. XXI
Yoga systems of philosophy and of the poetical and rhetori-
cal literature before him.⁶ He displays his knowledge of the
Vedānta in the use of the word Vivarta in several places and
in his references to Upanishad passages which we have duly
noted in the notes. His profound study of the Yoga system
is seen in the Mahāvīracharita (Act III) and in the Mālatī-
mādhava (Act V). He seems to have been a proud man and
feels no restraint in praising himself.⁷ In this he offers a
striking contrast to Kālidāsa who is so modest as not even to
mention his name in most of his works. There are indications
in his works which lead us to infer that Bhavabhūti had to
put up with neglect and ridicule from his contemporaries
before he secured for himself a niche in the temple of fame.⁸
Several stories about Bhavabhūti are current among the
Pandits, most of which are without any historical basis. In
the Bhojaprabandha of Ballāla we read that Kālidāsa, Bhava-
bhūti, Bāṇa, Mayūra and a host of other poets were contem-
poraries and engaged in many trials of wit in the court of
Bhoja king of Dhārā, who was a patron of letters. We are
६ यदध्याप्यं तपोनिष्ठम् नाम्नाऽसौ दीयते च हस्ते तद्ग्रन्थेन - न लभ्यते
कविर्गुरुर्नो नाटके। देवीमन्वगमल्लक्ष्मीः सा वाचना दैवीमश्रोत् 'रवेः ऋचोऽभि... रव ऋक्
पाणिन्दशशदक्षौ । मा०मा० I. 10. For display of his knowledge of
the Vedas, etc. notes on IV. 18; II. 12. In the words 'दृष्टिवेदे

• सुपानिदि दण्ड्यान्,' there is a reference to the शतपथब्राह्मण 13th
  काण्ड (a portion of which is devoted to the अश्वमेध sacrifice)
  'तस्यैते पुरस्ताद्रक्षिण उपक्लृप्ता भवन्ति। राजपुत्राः कवचिनः शतमास्यान्यधिकृत्य
  शतं भूमपत्याः पुत्रा राजन्याः शतं सूतसंग्रहीतृपुत्रा दण्डिनः शतमश्वशतं नित्यं
  रिमादप्रतिष्ठनमश्वमुपस्कन्दन्ति। शतपथ XIII. 4. 2. 5. In शु०यजु० XIII. 1. 6.

3. we read 'शतं कवचिनो रक्षन्ति दण्ड्यं मध्यमं प्रात्यरक्षेदथ'. As भवभूति
   was a follower of the तैत्तिरीयशाखा he probably refers to the
   तैत्तिरीयब्राह्मण III. 8. 9. 4. देवा आशापाला एतं देवेभ्योऽश्वं मेधाय प्रोक्षितं
   गोपायतेत्याह शतं च राजपुत्राः शतं च राजपुत्राः देवा आशापालाः and to the words of
   the आपस्तम्बश्रौतसूत्र 'अश्वमुत्सृज्य देवा आशापाला इति दिग्भ्यः परिददाति शतं
   कवचिनो राजपुत्रांश्चैकेभ्योऽन्वतिष्ठेत्'
   7 Vide उत्तररामचरित I. 1 and महावीरचरित I. 4 'वश्यवाचः कवेर्वाक्यं
   मा च रानामधा कथा।'
   8 Note the verse 'ये नाम केचिदिह नः प्रथयन्त्यवज्ञां जानन्तु ते किमपि
   तान्प्रति नैष यत्नः। उत्पत्स्यते मम तु कोऽपि समानधर्मा कालो ह्ययं निरवधिर्विपुला च
   पृथ्वी ॥' मा०मा० I.

IV INTRODUCTION.
told by the Bhojaprabandha that when Bhavabhūti and
Kālidāsa composed a verse each on a topic prescribed by
Bhoja, all went to the temple of Bhuvanes'varī and weighed
in a balance the parchments on which the verses composed by
the poets were written As the pan of Bhavabhūti's verse
went up, the goddess intervened in favour of Bhavabhūti by
dashing a little honey on to that pan from the lotus on her
head We shall see in the sequel that Kālidāsa is separated
from Bhavabhūti by several centuries All such stories which
partake of the marvellous were invented by the Pandits to
justify their own views about the merits of our author and
the other poets
There is another interesting story about Kālidāsa and
Bhavabhūti Bhavabhūti composed his Uttararāmacharita
and took it to Kālidāsa who was playing at chess Kālidāsa
asked him to read the drama, while he himself seemed to be
engrossed in the play Kālidāsa remarked, when the whole
drama was read by Bhavabhūti, that it was a creditable per-
formance but that there was an anusvāra too much in one
verse.⁹
It is interesting to note that in a MS of the Mālatī-
mādhava, the colophon at the end of two Acts makes the
author of the drama a pupil of Kumārilabhaṭṭa, the great
writer on the Pūrvamīmāmsā.10 There is nothing in the
chronological position of the two writers as established from
independent evidence to make this relationship impossible
II The date of Bhavabhūti
Although our knowledge of the personal history of
Bhavabhūti is very meagre, it is fortunate that there are suffi-
cient materials for fixing the exact period when he flourished
9 viz. in verse 27 of Act I The fourth pāda as written
by भवभूति ran रात्रिरेव व्यरंसीत् Kālidāsa suggested रात्रिरेव व्यरसीत्
It must be said that the latter yields a much happier meaning
than the former
10 Vide Pandit's Introduction to Gauḍavaho 206 ff, 'इति
श्रीमत्कुमारिलशिष्यकृते मालतीमाधवे तृतीयोंक ', 'इति श्रीकुमारिलस्वामिप्रसादप्राप्त-
वाग्वैभवश्रीमदुवेकाचार्यविरचिते मालतीमाधवे षष्ठोंक' Kumārila flourished
(Prof Pathak) in the first half of the 8th century Vide J
B B R A S vol 18 p 217

UTTARARĀMACHARITA. 3
According to the Rājataraṅgiṇī, Bhavabhūti was patro-
nized by Yaśovarmā, 10a king of Kānyakubja (Kanoj). This
Yaśovarmā was vanquished by a king of Kaśmīr named
Lalitāditya. Lalitāditya reigned according to General
Cunningham from 663 A. D. to 700. 11 Pandit comes to
the conclusion that the correct date of the accession of
Lalitāditya is 690 A. D. 12 and that one of his earliest achi-
evements was the defeat of Yaśovarmā. The Rājataraṅgiṇī
mentions another poet Vākpatirāja, who lived at the court of
Yaśovarmā. This poet was the chief court poet of Yaśovarmā
and wrote a prākrit poem called Gauḍavaho which deals with
the exploits of Yaśovarmā and his victory over a Gauḍa king.
In this poem Vākpatirāja says that certain excellences derived
from the ocean of Bhavabhūti still shine in his works. 13 Pandit
therefore comes to the conclusion that Vākpati had been in
youth either a pupil or a personal admirer of Bhavabhūti. 14
Dr Bhandarkar points out in the recent edition of his
Mālatīmādhava that Chinese chronology throws a doubt on
the correctness of these dates and that a correction of 31 years
is required in these dates. 15 Prof Jacobi confirms Chinese
chronology by finding out the exact date (14th Aug. 733 A. D)
on which an annular eclipse of the sun described by Vākpati
in his Gauḍavaho took place. 16 Dr Bhandarkar therefore
holds that Bhavabhūti flourished in the first quarter of the
8th century.
There are ample materials to corroborate the result
thus arrived at as to the date of Bhavabhūti. We shall set
forth some of them.
10a 'कविवाक्पतिराजश्रीभवभूत्यादिसेवितः । जितो ययौ यशोवर्मा तद्गुणस्तुति-
वन्दिताम् ॥' IV 144 (Stein)
11 Vide Dr Bhandarkar s preface to the Malatimadhava
XIV (edition of 1905)
12 Introduction to Gaudavaho p. 60
13 'भवभूइ जलहि-निग्गय-कव्वारिमयरसकणा इव स्फुरन्ति । जस्स विसेसा अज्जवि
वियडेसु कहाणिवेसेसु ॥' Pandit's Gaudavaho verse 799 (भवभूतिजलधि-
निर्गतकाव्यामृतरसकणा इव स्फुरन्ति । यस्य विशेषा अद्यापि विकटेषु कथानिवेशेषु ॥)
14 Introduction to Gaudavaho p 66
15 Introduction to Malatimadhava XIV
16 Introduction to Malatimadhava XIV

VI INTRODUCTION.
1 Kshemendra in his voluminous writings quotes Bhava-
bhuti by name several times. We have extracted in the
notes his remarks on several verses of the Uttararāmacharita
from his Auchityavicharacharcha.¹⁷ Kshemendra tells us that
he wrote his Kavikanthabharana and Suvrittatilaka in the
reign of Anantarāja (1028—1063 A. D.) of Kasmir. So he
flourished in the latter half of the 11th century A. D.
2 Rājasekhara in his Balaramayana says that he was
Bhavabhuti in his former life¹⁸ and quotes in his काव्यमीमांसा
several verses from the Malati madhava.
3 The Vyaktiviveka of Mahimabhatta quotes two verses
from the Uttararamacharita.¹⁹ Mr. T. Ganapati Sastri has
shown that Mahimabhatta flourished in the early part of the
11th century A. D.²⁰
4 The Dasarūpaka of Dhanañjaya quotes many verses
from the Uttararamacharita.²¹ Dhanañjaya was patronized
by king Muñja.²² If Muñja is the uncle of the great Bhoja,
as seems to be the case then Dhanañjaya flourished before
1000 A. D., as मुञ्ज reigned from 974 A. D. to 995 A. D.
5 Dhanapala in his Tilakamañjari praises Bhavabhuti
(vide note 36 below). Dhanapala tells us that he was called
'Sarasvati' on account of his learning by king Muñja. There-
fore Dhanapala flourished towards the end of the 10th century.
17 Vide notes on II. 27, IV. 27, V. 34.
18 'बभूव वल्मीकभवः पुरा कविस्ततः प्रपेदे भुवि भर्तृमेण्ठताम् । स्थितः
पुनर्यो भवभूतिरेखया स वर्तते संप्रति राजशेखरः ॥' बालरामायण I. 16.
राजशेखर was the उपाध्याय of महेन्द्रपाल of Kanoj whose inscriptions
are dated 903 and 907 A. D. See E. I. vol. I. p. 171.
19 The verse 'इयं गेहे लक्ष्मीर' (I. 35) on pp. 65 and 100 (of
the Trivandrum edition of the व्यक्तिविवेक) and the verse 'हे हस्त
दक्षिण' (Act II. 10) on p. 44.
20 Vide p. 10 of the Introduction to the व्यक्तिविवेक (Tri-
vandrum Sanskrit series).
21 viz. I. 27, 35, 38; III. 26, 37; V. 34; VI. 11, 19 of the
उत्तररामचरित.
22 'आविष्कृतं मुञ्चमहीशगोष्ठीवैदग्ध्यभाजा दशरूपमेतत् ।' last verse of
the दशरूपक.

UTTARARĀMACHARITA. VII
6. Vāmana in his Kāvyālaṅkārasūtravṛtti quotes from
the works of Bhavabhūti.²³ This is not the place to discuss
the date of Vāmana.²⁴ He flourished in the latter half of
the 8th century A. D.
Thus from the eleventh century to the eighth there are
writers who name Bhavabhūti or quote from his works. For
want of space we refrain from giving quotations from a host
of other writers such as Mammaṭa and Ruyyaka.²⁴
There is evidence of a negative character that Bhava-
bhūti could not have flourished much earlier than 700 A. D.
In the first place though Bāṇa mentions a number of his
predecessors such as Kālidāsa, Pravarasena, Subandhu, he is
silent about Bhavabhūti. Bāṇa flourished in the first half of
the 7th century A. D. Moreover, we can detect traces of the
influence of Kālidāsa upon our poet. In the Mālatīmādhava
our poet makes the hero Mādhava address two verses to a
cloud as a messenger.²⁵ Those will remind any one of certain
verses of the Meghadūta composed in the same metre. The
fact that Bhavabhūti uses very long and involved compounds
especially in prose passages shows that he flourished at a time
23 The verse 'इयं गेहे लक्ष्मीः' (उत्तररामचरित I. ३९) is quoted as
an example of रूपक under काव्याल० IV. 3. 2. A verse from the
महावीरचरित (I. 38) is quoted as an example of the Gauḍī style
under काव्याल० I. 2. 12. The words दधन्मीलन्निमेषिम (occurring in
a verse of the नान्दी to the मालतीमाधव) are criticised under
काव्याल० V. 2. 18.
24 Vide Introduction to our edition of Kādambarī (Pūrva-
bhāga)
25 Vide note 30 below.
26 Verses 25 and 26 of Act IX.
'कच्चित्सौम्य प्रियसहचरी विद्युदालिङ्गति त्वामाविर्भूतप्रणयमधुरानुग्रहा मन्दमन्दा वा
नन्दन्ते। दीरख्या वा मुखयति मरुत्साधुमन्वाहनोऽन्विर्बध्नन्नग्रिन्न सुरपतिधनुन्त्स्न रत्नं
वदेतन् ॥ दैवात्परस्येत्यपि विवरन्मन्दिरा मालती चेदाश्वासाद्यं तरतु कथयैमाधवीदाम-
बन्धान्। आशातन्तुर्न च सपदनार्यन्तमुच्छेदनीयः प्राच्याश कथयपि करोत्यायताक्ष्याः
स एकः ॥'. Mark the following 'कश्चित्सौम्य व्यपगतशुचा बन्धुकृत्यं त्वया मे'
(उत्तरमेघ 53), 'दूराल्लक्ष्यं सुरपतिधनुश्चारुणा तोरणेन' (उत्तरमेघ 14), 'आशा-
बन्धः कुसुमसदृशं प्रायशो ह्यङ्गनानां सद्यःपाति प्रणयि हृदयं विप्रयोगे रुणद्धि'
(पूर्वमेघ 10).

VIII INTRODUCTION.
when rhetorical conventions prescribed that long compounds
were the soul of prose, as expressed by Daṇḍin in his
Kāvyādarśa.²⁷
III Bhavabhûti's works
Bhavabhûti is known at present by his three plays, the
Mahāvīracharita, the Mālatīmādhava and the Uttararāma-
charita The first and third are based on the Rāmāyaṇa.
The plot of the second apparently is the author's own creation,
but it seems to us that the suggestion came to him from the
story of Madiravatī, which we now find in the Kathāsarit
sāgara (VIII), which work is based on the Bṛihatkathā of
Guṇāḍhya. Out of these it is beyond question that the
Uttararāmacharita is a product of the poet's mature intellect.
It seems to us in the present state of our knowledge of his
works that the Mahāvīracharita was his first work and the
Mālatīmādhava the second When he wrote the Mālatī
mādhava he must have incurred the ridicule of the critics of
his time (vide the verse from the Mālatīmādhava quoted
above) This presupposes that he had placed before the public
some work of his As we at present know of only three
works of his, it follows that the Mahāvīracharita preceded
the Mālatīmādhava The fuller details about his ancestors
contained in the Mahāvīracharita point in the same direction
Whether Bhavabhūti wrote any other work cannot be
said with certainty In the Sārṅgadharapaddhati there are
two stanzas attributed to him which are found in none of his
three works ²⁸ Therefore it is not unlikely that Bhavabhūti
may have composed some other work which has not come
down to us
27 ओजः समासभूयस्त्वमेतद्गद्यस्य जीवितम् । पद्येप्यदाक्षिणात्यानामिदमेकं
परायणम् ॥' I 80
२8 लिखितानि पदानि यदि नात्यल्प डा भवति । किं तत्कथानिदिति ... क्रियते-
Bhavabhūti also in the Rasikajīvana compiled by Gadadhara
bhatta In the सूक्तिमुक्तावलि of जहण the first verse is attributed
to a poet मालतीमाधव, the reading being वधनायस्य for यदि नात्यल्प
In the सूक्तिमुक्तावलि there are other verses attributed to भवभूति
which are not found in his known works

UTTARARĀMACHARITA ix
IV Literary estimate
Bhavabhuti is a great poet. From very early times
Sanskrit critics have looked upon Bhavabhūti as contesting
with Kālidāsa for the first place among Sanskrit poets. Most
however would give the palm of superiority to Kālidāsa.
The muse of Kālidāsa is always smooth and polished and
never grates upon the ear, while that of Bhavabhūti is often
rugged and jarring. Kālidāsa is a consummate artist, and his
execution is always even. Bhavabhūti is inferior as an artist
and his execution is most uneven. While there are passages
in Bhavabhūti's works that are unrivalled in their beauty,
force and loftiness of sentiment, there are many others
that are marred by verbosity and slovenliness. Kālidāsa was
a court poet, while Bhavabhūti hardly ever dwells upon the
pomp and luxuries of royalty. Kālidāsa seems to have moved
in a world of conventionalities, while Bhavabhūti is an
unsophisticated child of Nature. But there are certain
provinces in which Bhavabhūti admits of no equal. We
shall briefly point out some of the merits of the autho-
(1) The tone of the whole drama and of every part of
it is highly elevated. Every one of the characters is an
ideal one in its own way. Even Durmukha, a spy and as
such hated by all, is painted as a high-souled public servant,
who faithfully does his duty towards his master, though
with the greatest reluctance and sorrow. It is not necessary
to say anything about Rāma and Sītā, the hero and heroine
of the drama. These two have been cherished for thou-
sands of years by all classes in India as the loftiest ideals of
manly and womanly virtues respectively. It is difficult to
find another work in Sanskrit where the conflict of generous
feelings in elevated walks of life is depicted so deftly and in
such impressive colours. In connection with the tone of
gravity that pervades Bhavabhūti we may note that none of
his three works contains a buffoon.
(2) Bhavabhūti shows a true love of Nature in its
beautiful and sublime moods. He was a minute observer of
Nature, and could draw out lessons from the most trivial
aspect of it. His descriptions of scenery are always realistic,
vivid and forcible. What can be more graphic and picture-
sque than his description of the Daṇḍakā forest and
Janasthāna in the second Act of the Uttararāmacharita?
2

x INTRODUCTION
(3) He is unrivalled in the treatment of tender human
feelings.²⁹ He is very happy in his description of child life.³⁰
The Uttararamacharita contains many verses that reach the
high water mark of tenderness and pathos.³¹
(4) Bhavabhuti had a great command over language
and was a master of style and expression. He often
composes verses where the sound is an echo to the sense.³²
(5) In his descriptions of Nature and human feelings,
Bhavabhuti is entirely free from conventions. The attitude
of other Sanskrit poets (not excluding even Kalidasa) is
generally conventional. They concern themselves chiefly
with the cooing of the cuckoo, the mango blossom, the ex-
citing influence of moonlight, the Asoka and Bakula trees
&c. But Bhavabhuti hardly refers to the note of the cuckoo
and the other conventions of Sanskrit poets. He treats us
with descriptions of the awful forests, the mellow peaks of
mountains, the panoramic views from the tops of mountains,
the wild onrush of cascades down the slopes of hills. These
and a hundred other particulars of natural scenery which he
had himself seen, he is never tired of describing.
We shall now turn to some of the shortcomings of
Bhavabhuti's works.
(1) He is inferior in the skilful development of the
plot and in the arrangement of incidents (except in the
Uttararamacharita). In two of his dramas he was handicap-
ped, it must be admitted by his choice of a plot from the
national epic. But even in the Malatimadhava he has
introduced scenes that do not fit in with the harmonious
development of the plot.
(2) He throws the unities of time and place to the
winds and betrays a want of the sense of proportion. In
the Uttararamacharita, between the first and second Acts an
interval of about twelve years elapses, while the remaining
Acts follow in quick succession.
29 Mark the verdict of Sanskrit critics 'कारुण्यं भवभूतिरेव
तनुते'
30 Mark the verse अनिभिन्न० Act IV. 4
31 e. g. उत्तर० III. 25, 26, 27, 38, I. 43, 46, 49
32 Note Uttararamacharita I. 40, IV. 29, V. 26
33 Vide Dr. Bhandarkar's preface to the Malatimadhava

UTTARARÂMACHARITA XI
(3) He is fond of long and involved compounds, especi-
ally in prose passages. The Mâlatîmâdhava is the greatest
offender in this respect.
(4) He is extremely fond of repeating himself. We have
noted that there are at least sixteen verses of the Uttararama-
charita that are found either in the Mahavîracharita or in
the Malatimadhava.³⁴ Besides these there are numerous
padas of verses and prose passages that are common to all his
three works.³⁵
We shall now make a few observations particularly in
connection with the Uttararamacharita. We have pointed
out at the beginning and end of the several Acts and in
several places elsewhere the art of Bhavabhuti and his eminent
skill as a dramatist. We have already said that the main plot
is taken from the Ramayana. We have indicated in the notes
by quoting extracts from the Ramayana how closely the
author followed his source. He made one vital change and a
few minor changes. The catastrophe of the drama is different
from that in the Ramayana (vide notes p. 186). Among the
changes are (1) the fight between Lava and Chandraketu,
(2) Rama's meeting with Vasanti, (3) the invisible presence
of Sita while Rama was in the Dandaka forest, (4) the stay of
Vasishtha, Arundhati and Rama's mothers in the hermitage
of Valmiki.
३४ उत्तर० I 8=महा० IV 33, उत्तर० I 15=महा० I 42, उत्तर०
I 22=महा० I 51 उत्तर० II 20-21=महा० V 40-41, उत्तर० IV
20=महा० I 18, उत्तर० IV 29=महा० III 29, उत्तर० VI 9=महा०
II 41, उत्तर० I 34=मालती० VIII 3, उत्तर० II 21=मालती० IX.
6 उत्तर० III 16=मालती० IX 34, उत्तर० III 31=मालती० X. 12,
उत्तर० III. 38=मालती० X 20, उत्तर० IV 4=मालती० X 2, उत्तर०
IV 15=मालती० IV 7, उत्तर० VI 12=मालती० I 27
३५ उत्तर० I 13 (last half)=महा० IV 27, उत्तर I 14=
मालती० IX 51 (last half), उत्तर० I 16 (latter half)=महा० I
19 उत्तर० I 17 and महा० I 57, उत्तर० IV 9 (latter half) and
महा० I 14, उत्तर० VI 21 (first half) and महा० II 46, उत्तर० I 36
(first half) and मालती० VI 8, उत्तर० II 29 and मालती० X 19,
उत्तर० III. 4 and मालती० II 4, उत्तर० V 13 and मालती० IX. 54,
X 8 उत्तर० VII 4 (last half) and मालती० X 13

lii INTRODUCTION
We shall close this brief literary estimate by quoting a
few remarks on Bhavabhūti by Sanskrit critics ³⁶
V Text
The text in the present edition is principally based on
four printed editions : Vidyāsāgara's that issued by the
Nirṇaya-sāgara Press, Mr Kale's and Mr Ghate's. The text of
the Uttararāmacharita has become hopelessly corrupt in many
places ³⁷ especially in prose passages ³⁸ It has been our en-
deavour to note all important readings and to show what the
original reading may have been. We have generally preserved
36 (a) स्पष्टभावरसा चित्रे पदव्यामिव दर्शिता। नाटकेषु नटस्येव भारती
भवभूतिना॥ Verse 30 Introduction to तिलकमञ्जरी of धनपाल (It
will be noticed that the first line is capable of two meanings)
(b) भवभूतेः शिखरिणी निर्गलत्तरङ्गिणी। रुचिरा घनसन्दर्भे या मयूरीव नृत्यति॥
वृत्ततिलक (of क्षेमेन्द्र) III 33 (The words तरङ्गिणी and घनसन्दर्भे
are द्वि०) It will be seen from the note on metres appended
at the end that in the उत्तररामचरित the poet employs the शिखरिणी
वृत्त more frequently than any other metre (except अनुष्टुभ्)
(c) भवभूतेः सम्बन्धाद्भूधरभूरेव भारती भाति। एतत्कृतकारुण्ये किमन्यथा
रोदिति ग्रावा॥ आर्यामप्तशती (I 36) of गोवर्धनाचार्य Here भवभूति means
(1) the ashes on Śiva (2) the poet भवभूति The last few words
refer to 'अपि ग्रावा रोदित्यपि दलति वज्रस्य हृदयम्'
(d) सुकवित्वित्थमन्वे भङ्गिरिल्लेखि मद्धिरः। भवभूतिः शुकश्चाव वाल्मीकिश्चिनरो-
ऽनयोः॥ भोजप्रबन्ध Verse 191 (where कालिदास says this to भोज)
(e) 'उत्तरे रामचरिते भवभूतिर्विशिष्यते' विद्वन्मोद according to घनश्याम

• vide text p. 4)
  (f) रत्नावलीव्यदस्माद्यदास्तामन्धीमजोग्रसः वचोनयसः। पयोधरस्नेह हिमाद्रि-
  जादा परं विमृशा भवभूतिरेव॥ quoted anonymously in जहण's सूक्ति-
  मुक्तावलि रत्नावली-(1) a drama by श्रीहर्ष (2) a necklace भवभूति
  (1) poet (2) ashes on Śiva's body
  (g) भवभूतिमनादृत्य निर्वाणमतिना मया। मुरारिपदचिन्तायामिदमाधीयते
  मनः॥ quoted anonymously in जहण's सूक्तिमुक्तावलि and in शार्ङ्गधर-
  पद्धति भवभूति means (1) worldly prosperity (2) poet मुरारि
  काव्यमीमांसा Gaikwad's Oriental Series p. XIII)
  37 Vide Act VI 20 24, Act I 14, Act II 18 IV 03
  38 Vide text p. 114 103, 135 147

UTTARARĀMACHARITA. XIII
in the text the reading of Ghanasyama the commentator
We, however, depart from the text of Ghanasyama, wherever
other readings appear better to us or in some cases in
prose passages. Out of the four editions mentioned above,
those of Vidyasagara and Mr Ghate are closely allied,
while Mr Kale generally follows the Nirnaya sagara
edition It will be seen that Ghanasyama's text also
is in most places the same as that of the Nirnaya sagara
edition As our object was to present a tolerably correct
text to the University student, we did not think it necessary
to note each and every variance among the several printed
editions and have not therefore collated a large number of
manuscripts The words of the text that are explained in
the commentary have been put in thick type in order to
draw the attention of the student. On each page of the text
is given the citation of the Act and the verse with which the
page end
VI Commentaries
The only commentaries available on this side of India
were that of Vīrarāghava issued by the Nirnayasagara press
and the one included in Vidyasagara's edition We have been
fortunate enough to secure a transcript of the commentary
of Ghanasyama through the kindness of Mr Varadachari,
Librarian of the Government Oriental Mss. Library at
Madras We are informed by Mr Ganapati Sastri of Trivan-
drum that there is another commentary at Trivandrum by
a pupil of Narayanabhatta.
A few remarks about Ghanasyama must be made here
He furnishes us with a good deal of information about him-
self in the introductory verses to his commentary and the
colophons at the end of the first and seventh Acts He
seems to have been a Maharashtra (Desastha) Brahmana
His surname was Chaunde (Chaunde?) He belonged to the
Mauna—Bhargava Gotra. His grandfather's name was
Balaji His mother and father were respectively called
Kashi and Mahadeva His maternal grand father was Timmaji
Balaji of the Kaundinya Gotra He was the younger brother
of Sakambhari and Chidambara, the latter of whom is
styled Paramahamsa. Ghanasyama had two wives, Sundari
and Kamala. In the introduction the author furnishes us

XVI INTRODUCTION
posed by भर्तृमेण्ठ or ईश्वरकृष्ण" If घनश्याम be right, this
would open up the question whether ईश्वरकृष्णमिश्र (कालिदास)
is the same as the author of the सांख्यकारिका We do not
wish to pursue this topic here
The commentary of Viraraghava is fuller than that of
Ghanasyama and is more helpful to the student He calls
himself in the colophons at the end of the Acts a descendant
of the family of Rama himself and came from a town called
भूमार or भूभिमार His family name was वाधूल He is later
than Ghanasyama and often criticises him, though without
naming him 46 He seems to be the same वीरराघव that com
mented on the महावीरचरित where his name is also given as
Annappangarya. There is a third commentary by Rama
chandrabudhendra, who seems to have been an inhabitant of
Benares This was printed in Telugu and Grantha characters.
On comparing it with the commentary in Vidyasagara's
edition we found to our surprise that the two agree
word for word, excepting a few verses at the beginning
of the commentary which are not found in Vidyasagara s
edition 47 This has caused us a great deal of perplexity
46 Vide p 141 "न विशीर्ये कठिना खलु स्त्रिय (IV 5) इति कुमारसंभवे
ईश्वरकृष्णमिश्रस्येव दयनीय," p 68 'महाप्रभातान्विरुदञ्चयम्' (रघु० II 26)
इति ईश्वरकृष्णमिश्र', p 3 'सव्यमरविन्दसुरभि' (शाकुन्तल) इति भर्तृमेण्ठस्य ' p 5
'अनुष्ठितानन्तरजा' इति (रघु० 7 32) भर्तृमेण्ठप्रयोगवत्,' it is to be noted
that the Pada 'ईन्वे हि यस्मा प्रजिनात्वश्च' (रघु० V 51) is once
(p. 30 text) cited as of भर्तृमेण्ठ and at p 76 as of भारद्वाजस्य
There are a few other quotations given under these names
from the कुमारसंभव and the रघुवंश vide p 129
47 Note 'केचित्तु पूज्येषु वन्दिष्वेव कवेरस्य गुणानानाद्य। गणाना त्व
गणयन्ति इवामहे इति श्रुतौ । इति शुकपराणमन्वी इति। तन्न बहुवचनस्यारम्भाङ्
compare this with our text p 3 'केचित्तु सुमानुषस्य सौजन्यस्य इत्याहु
compare text p 25 (on सुमानुषस्य in I 39), 'अत्र मुहु मुहु येभ्यो मुहुता
तथाविधाश्च ते पुण्यजना राक्षसाश्चेति ते। विभीषणादय इति कश्चित्' compare
text p 83, 'व्येन अमृत्नभरागति कवे प्रमाद इति वदन् व्याख्याता निरस्त',
compare text p 144
48 रामचन्द्रबुधेन्द्र commences his टीका as follows - वन्दामहे महा
लक्ष्मीमारूङ्गेङ्कङ्करम् । यस्य स्मरणमात्रेण सिध्यत्यर्थचतुष्टयम् ॥ १ ॥ श्रीरामचन्द्र
विदुषा विदुषां वरेण वाराणशीपुरनिवासपरान्तरेण। व्याख्यास्यते कृतिरसावतिशुद्धभाव
तुष्टये सतां विगतमत्सरमानमानाम् ॥ २ ॥ भवभूतिहृति केय काश्चिमन्वन्वर्णित ।

वदति शशिकदस्य कूरदा वि न सान्द्रवे ॥ ३ ॥ भवभूतिधुरीन्द्रेण कृतेऽस्मिन्नाटकाग्रये ।
उत्तरे रामचरिते रचिता भावबोधिनी ॥ ४ ॥ The concluding words are —
इति श्रीराघवबुधेन्द्रविरचिते उत्तररामचरितनाटकव्याख्याने भावबोधिन्याख्ये संमेलना
नाम सप्तमोऽङ्कः'.
49 e. g. 'भद्र त्वं च समाश्वसिहीति सर्वेषु पुस्तकेषु पाठो दृश्यते स च न
सम्यग्भाति इति मत्वा समेत्याथ प्रेम इति पदं परिवर्तितम्'.

॥ श्रीरस्तु ॥
अथ उत्तररामचरितम् ।
॥ प्रथमोऽङ्कः ॥
इदं कविभ्यः पूर्वेभ्यो नमोवाकं प्रशास्महे ।
विन्देमं देवतां वाचममृतामात्मनः कलाम् ॥ १ ॥ ईश्वर-१
घनश्यामपण्डितविरचिता ।
उत्तररामचरितव्याख्या ।
चतुर्दशजगद्गोड्य नतिमाधन्महे वयम् । वत्रिप्ता नेदजेर्मोहैरितावन्तमने-
हमम् ॥ १ ॥ रुद्यादवाता विद्धसालभञ्जिका चित्रितार्थवे । विद्धे स्तम्भे
मालमाषिकाविना यत्र नाविद्धा ॥२॥ तनुर्गुचि यो न श्यामः कवि कवीना स
यदि घनश्यामः । कवते क्यमनश्याम हिमसूयाभिर्मुधैव नश्यामः ॥३॥ इति
समुद्दिश्य रहसि निजारामन्तमिनिनन्दन्ति मनसि सजातविविधवैकृत्यानि शुक-
विताकल्पानि ॥ लग्ने रीठे शवेप्वासनदलनिलया भूर्जरेत्तु धनुर्हर्यंशे कान्योऽथ
नके वियघटशरामेषु सौम्येनचन्द्रा । सौरिर्मेषे तुलारौ नृपमिथुनदले सैंहिये-
योऽथ जीव. कौलीरे सिद्धभाग्येव्यतिदननवमशे यदीयोऽवतारः ॥ ४ ॥ आहना
दक्षिगवोधिदम्बग्महारोगीन्द्रधात्रम्भरिआता धीद्वयसुन्दरीकमलन. काशी-
महादेवन् । यद्वागमखिलप्रयोगसमय कोशावलीवल्भ्मो नम्र सत्वरिवान-
दोरिति स घनश्यामः कवीना कवि ॥ ५ ॥ पत्रं पुष्पं वर्तते यद्गृहे मे तते
इदं तैरन्येभ्यो ददामि । योगक्षेमे संवृतेर्गन्थरीतो याचन्द्रार्कं देवि वाचे जय
त्वम् ॥ ६ ॥ मङ्गल्यवरिण महाह्मर्ग्य महास्तुतिपु महालक्ष्मीः । मस्कृतिकाटीषु
च मङ्गलमगणी भवतु तरुणि मरुविने ॥ ७ ॥ धन्ये चतुष्षष्टिनिरञ्जिकन्ये
निर्मातृकव्या भगिनीमुकुले • जंनानि शुक्तानि मुकुण्डुजानि धीदाम्यहं सौभ-
रिलापमानि ॥ ८ ॥ नमस्तङ्क्यो महान्तो ये भसत्कठनानला इव । नमोऽसब्बो
महान्तो ये मन्मत्कटा नला इव ॥ ९ ॥ निश्शेषं भुवनं मशेपमपि हा विष्णुम-
दन्तर्गता हे लोका शृणुताथिवानकमनस्कारे घनश्याम्वहम् । उन्मार्गा वलिदा-
दिक्षददमूगव्यूहाङ्कगे पुन श्यामाम्वाग्रहभावन. क्ति घनश्यामोऽस्मि भूमण्डले
१ 'पुन्नाः' इति क-घ. २ 'वन्देमहे च ता वागीम्' इति न-टी.