Nāndī in " Vāsantikasvapna"

Abstract

This article aims to study “Nāndī” in the Sanskrit play “Vāsantikasvapna”, which is  adapted from William Shakespeare's English play "A Midsummer Night's Dream". This play follows Sanskrit drama rules i.e.composition in prosody namely in śārdūlavikrīḍita, using register and meter with auspicious meanings, using rhetoric which can be classified as Patrāvalī. In addition, other special elements are found, such as the absence of words of worship, praise to a particular deity, and bestowing auspiciousness to its audience, such as ancient Sanskrit poets. This absence could be because the poet wanted to express his admiration for the teachings of the Upaniṣads, who value essence by liberation from transmigration. Moreover, there are traces of implications which can be considered as resistance against British imperialism through literary techniques such as pattern and use of poetic wisdom. In reality, the poet wants  to raise the anti-colonialist awareness of the Indian scholars.