Thread by @shrikanth_krish

Bhavabhuti is one of the greatest of Sanskrit dramatists, along with Kalidasa and Bhasa

Came across an essay on him by Mysore Hiriyanna that sheds some light on his masterpiece - "Uttara Rama Charita"

How does it differ from Uttara Kanda in Valmiki Ramayana on which it is based

Some biographical details on Bhavabhuti

He belongs to the early part of 8th century - a native of Vidarbha, who nevertheless spent most of his career in the court of the Kannauj king Yashovarman = who was a successor to Harsha, though not related to him

We are also told by Hiriyanna that Bhavabhuti was a student of the great Mimamsa scholar Kumarila Bhatta

He is best known for his two Ramayana based plays - Mahaviracharita (deals with Rama's early life) and Uttara Rama Charita (based on Uttara Kandam)

While the first work is regarded as inferior, Uttara Rama charita is widely acknowledged to be among the greatest of Sanskrit dramas

Hiriyanna's essay outlines the differences b/w this play and Valmiki's Uttara Kandam, which probably precedes this play by nearly a thousand years

As everyone is familiar with the general outline of the events in Uttara Kandam concerning SIta's exile, let's look at the areas where the play differs

1. In the Epic, Sita prays to Mother Earth to relieve her of her misery. The Earth opens up and she disappears

While in Bhavabhuti's play, there is a happy ending and Sits is reunited with Rama

Perhaps the playwright was particular about a happier ending for his audience than the epic afforded

2. In the epic, after Rama orders Sita's exile, Lakshmana escorts her to Valmiki's ashram, where she gives birth to Lava / Kusha

In the play, SIta throws herself into Ganga, but gives birth to kids thanks to the intervention of Ganga and Bhumi, who entrust the kids to Valmiki

3. In the epic, everybody is aware of Sita's location. Shatrugna even visits Sita in the ashram at around the time of her delivering the kids...

In the play, nobody is aware of her whereabouts, which adds to the audience's appreciation of her pathos

While both the epic and the play emphasize Rama's sense of duty, and his desire to do what he thinks is right, notwithstanding his feelings for Sita, the treatment of Rama is nevertheless v different in the two texts

4. In the epic, Rama, though grieving deeply, reconciles to his fate at least outwardly, and suppresses his grief

In the play, Rama bursts into tears more than once, as per Hiriyanna, revealing his human side

One finds these differences very fascinating. and probably reflective of the changes in Indian life, between say the centuries preceding the Common Era (when Uttara Kandam took shape) vs 8th century AD, when Bhava Bhuti wrote his play

Perhaps the greater emphasis on emotion, and the human side of Rama, and the pangs of separation of the couple in the play suggest that the audience no longer had the appetite for the kind of severity that the epic reveals in its characters

The epic probably belongs to a hardier age, when emotions prevailed less often, and people found it easier to engage in the most severe austierities and self denial

Perhaps this appetite had reduced by the time we reach the end of the 1st millennium CE, a more sophisticated, arguably more prosperous, but a less rugged age with more time for romance, but less of an inclination for the spirit of Tapas and self denial