The drama in this volume is the English translation of the Tamil drama entitled Arichandra. It has its origin in the Sanskrit drama Harish Chandra which is the name of one of the noblest kings of ancient kingdom of Ayodhya and a descendant of Shri Ramchandra who, by virtue of his steadfastness to truth and dharma ranks among the incamations of Vishnu and is the hero of the farmed Sanskrit epic Ramayana. Harishchandra, as a martyr of Truth, is one of the most widely know mythological Kings of ancient India. His name is remembered with great veneration and piety and is regarded as the very incarnation of Truth.

As the author says, the value of this work consists in its being a Tamil Play and is held to be the most popular. The fate of its hero and heroine has again and again drawn tears from the crowds who so eagerly congregate in all parts of Southern India and Tamil Ceylon to witness its representation.. The whole gist of this play may be summed up in the words: Better die than lie.

The story of Arichandra may and may not be a myth. It is a story which deals equally with the mortals of the earth and the immortal gods of heavens who are animated with the sentiments of mutual love and jealousy. It is a heart-rendering scene to see the noble king and his virtuous wife and innocent son being tortured and put to indescribable cruelty And in the end he comes unscathed and triumphs over his adversity. Perchance a raging fire might become icy-cold; perchance a limpid stream from the snowy hills might scale one; Yea Meru, the king of mountains shake and totter, the God of Day rise in the West and set in the East but never, never, even in dreams, will Arichandra, the man of truth tell a lie.

Though it may not be easy to find another work which merits so high an encomium, yet the glories of the Indian drama end not here: indeed the labours of Professor Wilson prove that even in Sanscrit and Pracrit there exist many other plays of rare excellence, deserving the attention of the learned men of the Western World. Nor are dramatic works confined to these languages: for in all the numerous tongues which serve as the media of thought for India's millions of inhabitants, dramas of some kind or other are extant. The Indian mind has shown itself active in this direction, not merely in ancient times, but modern events also have furnished the materials for novel and perhaps fantastic plays. The far-famed Nil Darpan, which was the offshoot of the great indigo controversy, and the nucleus of so much excitement in Indian politics, is not quite unknown to English readers. The Hindus, in truth, appear to have cherished a peculiar leaning for displays of histrionic talent; and, led by their ardour for theatrical representations, not only have they ran- sacked their ancient legends for subjects, but, not content with the immense field which these offered, they have also made their philosophy and meta- physics subservient to the same purpose. Thus the Prabhoda Chandrodaya, or " Rise of the Moon of Intellect," is, like many others, a purely philosophical play, in which the different faculties of the human mind, as analyzed by Indian sages, are made the principal actors, its learned author embracing the opportunity to instruct Orientals on such abstruse subjects as the origin of man's misery and the means of redeeming his enslaved soul.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages