Preface THE book which is now published as its name correctly indicates, narrates in dramatical form, the romance of Subhadra and Dhananjaya described in the celebrated epic, the Mahabharata. Whatever has to be said of this play and its commentary as also of the dramatist, Kulasekhara-Varma and of the commentator Sivarama has been noted in the preface to the Nataka of the same author, the Tapatisamvarana published as the eleventh volume of the Series.

The work is informative and will be appreciated by the Scholars.

Introduction Mahodayapuram identified with the modern Tiruvancikulam near' Crangannore at the mouth of Periyir had been the capital of several kings of Kerala who possessed the title 'Kulalekhara. Kulasekhara Alvär the famous, Vaisnava saint is perhaps the first and foremost among the Kulasekharas. Sankaranarayana the author of Laghu-bhaskariya refers to two kings with the respective names of Ravi and Rama possessing the title Kulasekhara. There is another Kulackhara who composed the dramas Tapatisamvarana [TS] and Subhadra thanan jaya [SDh]. The patron of the yamaka poet Vasudeva is again a Kulasekhara. According to tradition the patrons of Prabhakara and Lilasuka are Kulafekhara. Yet another Kulašsekhara is known as the founder of the Kulasekhara era, and of the temple at Trkkulasekharapuram near Crangannore.

**Contents and Sample Pages**