MahakavyaMahākāvya (lit. great kāvya, court epic), also known as sargabandha, is a genre of Indian epic poetry in Classical Sanskrit. The genre is characterised by ornate and elaborate descriptions of scenery, love, battles and so on — in short, everything that tests a poet's skill at description. Typical examples of mahākāvya are the Kumarasambhava and the Kiratarjuniya. It is considered the most prestigious form in the Sanskrit literature. The genre evolved from the earlier epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
PrakritThe Prakrits (ˈprɑːkrɪt; प्राकृत, prākṛta; Tamil and Telugu: pāgadam; 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Indo-Aryan languages, excluding earlier inscriptions and Pali. Prākṛta has two meanings: one is "natural", as opposed to saṃskṛta, which literally means "constructed" or "refined". The other meaning, as quoted by A.
ShudrakaShudraka (IAST: ) was an Indian playwright, to whom three Sanskrit plays are attributed: Mrichchhakatika (The Little Clay Cart), Vinavasavadatta, and a bhana (short one-act monologue), Padmaprabhritaka. According to the prologue of Mrichchhakatika, he was a king; according to one theory, he may have been a third century Abhira king. According to another theory, Shudraka is a mythical figure, and the authorship of plays attributed to him is uncertain.
AiholeAihole (), also referred to as Aivalli, Ahivolal or Aryapura, is a historic site of ancient and medieval era Buddhist, Hindu and Jain monuments in Karnataka, India that dates from the sixth century through the twelfth century CE. Most of the surviving monuments at the site date from the 7th to 10th centuries. Located around an eponymous small village surrounded by farmlands and sandstone hills, Aihole is a major archaeological site featuring over one hundred and twenty stone and cave temples spread along the Malaprabha river valley, in Bagalakote district.
RatnavaliRatnavali (Precious Garland) is a Sanskrit drama about a beautiful princess named Ratnavali, and a great king named Udayana. It is attributed to the Indian emperor Harsha (606–648). It is a Natika in four acts. One of the first textual references to the celebration of Holi, the festival of Colours have been found in this text. Ratnāvalī subtitled (rajaparikatha) is also the title of a 3rd-century (?) Buddhist philosophical work by Nagarjuna, a discourse addressed to an Indian king (possibly a Satavahana monarch).
