Vasantasena is a fictional character and the protagonist of the iconic Sanskrit play Mṛichchhakatika (The Little Clay Cart) written by Śūdraka.[1]
Mricchakatika was translated in 1826 as The Toy Cart by Horace Hayman Wilson, a surgeon in the East India Company. In 1847, the text was translated by the German scholar A.F Stenzler, and published in Bonn. [2]
The play was subsequently adapted and performed widely across Europe.[3] Many of the adaptions were titled 'Vasantasena' after the main character.
The main characters in the play include:
Chārudatta : a wealthy noble-man who loses all his wealth due to his philanthropic and altruistic nature and is seriously impoverished.
Vasantasena : a wealthy courtesan(nagarvadhu) who lives a life of utmost luxury but falls in love with Chārudatta for his extremely noble nature.
Madanika : Vasantasena's attendant
Sansthanaka : the evil brother-in-law of the King Palaka; Sansthanaka fancies Vasantasena.
Aryaka : prophesied to become the King[4]
Different works in the domain of arts and media have been produced at different points of time in history because the legend has been popular since times immemorial. Recognisable works have been listed down as follows:
Utsav is a 1984 Hindi erotic drama film, produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by Girish Karnad and is based on this play.[5]