Ancient Indian dramas

Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa

thumbnail|Buddha's First Sermon', India, 11th century|alt=A sculpture of Buddha sitting Buddhacharita (; ) is an epic poem in the Sanskrit mahakavya style on the life of Gautama Buddha by Aśvaghoṣa of Sāketa (modern Ayodhya), composed in the early second century CE.

The Mālavikāgnimitram (Sanskrit: मालविकाग्निमित्रम्, translation : Mālavikā and Agnimitra) is a Sanskrit play by Kālidāsa. Based on some events of the reign of Pushyamitra Shunga, it is his first play.

Mṛcchakatika (), also spelled Mṛcchakaṭikā, Mrchchhakatika, Mricchakatika, or Mrichchhakatika (The Little Clay Cart) is a ten-act Sanskrit drama attributed to Śūdraka (Simuka), an ancient playwright who is possibly from the 5th century CE, and who is identified by the prologue as a Kshatriya king as well as a devotee of Shiva who lived for above 110 years. The play is set in the ancient city of Ujjayini during the reign of the King Pālaka, near the end of the Pradyota dynasty that made up the first quarter of the fifth century BCE. The central story is that of a noble but impoverished young Br

Vikramōrvaśīyam () is a five-act Sanskrit play by ancient Indian poet Kālidāsa, who lived in the 4th or 5th Century CE, on the Vedic love story of King Pururavas and an Apsarā (celestial nymph) named Ūrvaśī, known for her beauty.

The Mudrārākshasa (मुद्राराक्षस, IAST: Mudrārākṣasa, ) is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of the Emperor Chandragupta Maurya ( BCE) to power in India. The play is an example of creative writing, but not entirely fictional. It is dated variously from the late 4th century to the 8th century CE.

Svapnavasavadattam (, ) (English: The dream of Vasavadatta) is a Sanskrit play in six acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhāsa.

thumb|An actor portraying Duryodhana in a Yakshagana play Urubhanga or Urubhangam, () is a Sanskrit play written by Bhasa in the 2nd or 3rd century CE. Based on the well-known epic, the Mahābhārata, by Vyasa, Urubhanga focuses on the story of the character Duryodhana during and after his fight with Bhima. Although Urubhanga contains the same core storyline as that in the Mahābhārata, Bhasa's altering of certain aspects results in a different presentation of the story. The most extreme of these alterations is Bhasa's portrayal of Duryodhana, who, in the Mahābhārata, is viewed as a villain, but

Pratijnayaugandharayana (, ) (English: The Pledge of Minister Yaugandharāyaṇa) is a Sanskrit play in four acts written by the ancient Indian poet Bhāsa. It is the oldest extant political play of India and the prequel to Bhāsa's Svapnavasavadattam. These plays were written by Bhāsa on the account of Udayana, king of Vatsa (Kaushambi).

Kaumudi-Mahotsava (IAST: Kaumudīmahotsava, "Festival of Moonlight") is a Sanskrit play of uncertain date, known from a single manuscript discovered in the present-day state of Kerala, India. The portion of the manuscript that likely contained the playwright's name is damaged, but the name appears to be feminine—some scholars interpret it as "Vijjakaya"—though this remains uncertain. Several scholars have made attempts to identify the play's characters with historical figures, but most modern scholars consider it a work of fiction.