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NAGANANDA (THE JOY OF THE SERPENT)

 By Harsha

RESEARCH

Nagananda (Joy of the Serpents) is a Sanskrit play attributed to King Harsha (ruled 606 C.E. - 648 C.E.). The play is a story of how Prince Jimutavahana gives up his own body to stop a sacrifice of serpents to the divine Garuda. Its drama is regarded as the highest achievement of Sanskrit literature. It utilizes stock characters, such as the hero (nayaka), heroine (nayika) and clown (vidusaka). The rendering is inspired by researching Indian temples of gods and goddesses and studying Indian traditional clothing before and after colonialism.

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