Essay name: Bhasa (critical and historical study)
Author: A. D. Pusalker
This book studies Bhasa, the author of thirteen plays ascribed found in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series. These works largely adhere to the rules of traditional Indian theatrics known as Natya-Shastra.
Page 355 of: Bhasa (critical and historical study)
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Pargiter thinks its capital was Upaplavya, at a
distance of two days' journey by chariot from Hastinapura;
but according to Nilakantha's commentary on the
Mahabharata, Upaplavya was a city near Vir膩峁璦nagara."
Vir膩峁璦nagara was the capital of the Matsya country and
a short note appears thereon later in this chapter.
2 Madra. Madra was a country in the Punjab between
the Ravi and the Chinaub. Some take it to have extended
from the Bias to the Jhelum. Dr. Ray Chaudhury
states the country to have been divided into two parts-
Northern and Southern. Northern Madra was beyond
the Himavat range, near the Uttarakurus, probably in
Kashmir. Southern Madra, or the Madra proper, was
the central Punjab, roughly corresponding with modern
Sialkot and the neighbouring districts. Madra was the
kingdom of Salya, the maternal uncle of the P膩峁囜笉avas.
Modern Sialkot, which is the corrupt form of Kot
(fort) of Salya, was its capital, which was known in those
days as Sakala.
Mithila. Mithila was another name for Videha,
though the capital of Videha was also known as
Mithila. During the Br膩hma峁嘺 period Mithil膩 had a
monarchical constitution." According to the R膩m膩ya峁嘺
the royal family of Mithila was founded by Nimi. Janaka
was the son of Mithi who was Nimi's son. The J膩takas
state that the Videha kingdom measured three hundred
leagues and consisted of sixteen thousand villages."
Kar膩la Janaka was the Videha king whose lascivious conduct
brought his line to an end, the overthrow of the monarchy
being followed by the rise of a republic-the Vajjian
confederacy. Thus, in Buddha's time, Videha country was
one of the eight constituent principalities of the Vajjian
confederacy, which constituted one of the sixteen
mahajanapadas mentioned both by the Jain and Buddhist
writers. The kingdom of Videha over which Janaka,
father of S墨t膩 ruled, roughly corresponds to modern Tirhut
in Bihar. Its western boundary was the Sad膩n墨r膩 which
1 Ray Chaudhury, Pol. Hist. Anc. Ind, 3rd Edn. p. 45. 2 Bhandarkar,
Carm. Lect, p. 156; Cunningham, Anc. Geog, pp. 212, 686; Dey, Geog. Dict,
p. 116; Ray Chaudhury, Pol. Hist. Anc. Ind, 2nd Edn. p. 37. 3 Pol. Hist. Anc.
Ind, 2nd Edn. p. 37. 4 Bhandarkar, Carm. Lect, p. 50;Cunningham. Anc. Geog,
pp. 509, 510, 718; Dey, Geog, Dict, p. 35; Law, Geog, Early Bud, pp. 30-31;
Ray Chaudhury, Pol. Hist, Anc. Ind, 2nd Edn, pp. 28, 74. 5 Ray Chaudhury,
Pol. Hist. Anc. Ind, 1st Edn, pp. 20-23. 6 J膩, 406, 489.
