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Story of Pyramus and Thisbe from Ovid's Metamorphoses

The story of Pyramus and Thisbe can be found in the Book IV of Metamorphoses by Ovid. Both of them lived next doors in ancient Babylon. They loved each other deeply, but were separated by a large brick wall. Both the families were against their relationship and it was forbidden for them to meet each other. They communicated with each other through a small crack that had developed in the wall that separated their houses. They talked in whispers, and envied the wall who stood between the two lovers.  One night, they planned to flee together and decided  to meet each other at the Ninus's Tomb, where a tall mulberry tree grew. As soon as the sun had set in and the night grew, the lovers got out of their houses. Thisbe was the first one to reach the spot, and she waited for Pyramus all alone amidst the bewildered night. Just as she was waiting for her lover, she saw a lioness coming to the nearby stream to drink water, whose claws were covered with the blood of her recent prey. Frighten
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Critically discuss the character of Narada

 Narada, also known as Narada Muni, is a celestial sage, who is seen in Hindu mythology and epics. He is one of the mind created children of Brahma, who is the creator of the universe. The character of Narada is very commonly seen in Hindu texts like the Mahabharata, Ramayana as well as Puranas. Narada is also referred to as Rishiraj, which means the king of all sages. He has the boon of knowledge of past, present and the future. When his knowledge became a hindrance in God's designs, he was cursed that although he would tell the truth, people wouldn't believe him. Narada is always seen with his khartal and veena and is regarded as a master of ancient musical instruments. Narada is a devoted sage of Lord Vishnu. He is often portrayed as mischievous who loves to create troubles in other people's lives. He has resulted in many fights in different texts, because of his mischievous nature. Narada is also regarded to be a wise sage, who worships Lord Vishnu through devotional so

Summary of Mrichcchakatika by Sudraka

  Mrichchhakatika   is a ten act Sanskrit play written by the ancient playwright Sudraka. Also called as 'The Little Clay Cart', this play is a Prakarana  which consists of different elements like romance, humor, political tension. The play is set in Ujjaini, during the reign of king Palaka. The protagonist of the play is a poor Brahmin named Charudatta, who has run out of his entire wealth because of massive charities. The heroine of the play is Vasantasena, a wealthy courtesan. The play is based upon the love story of the two protagonists.       The play starts with a short benediction to Lord Shiva, which is commonly seen in most of the Sanskrit plays. The Sutradhara introduces the characters of the play and gradually the play gains momentum. The poor hero Charudatta is seen to be crying about his state of  poverty as he is now unable to help people through charities. Charudatta is happily married to Dhuta and has a son named Rohasena. Yet he is fond of the courtesan Vasanta

Critical analysis of the play Parijata Harana

 The play Parijata Harana was written by the Saint-scholar Srimanta Sankardeva towards the end of his life. The play retells two stories from the Bhagavata and the Vishnu Purana. Notable Assamese scholar Moheshor Neog remarks "Sankardeva's masterpiece with its well- developed dialogue, bold and almost realize characterization finely developed pot and humour". The play Parijata Harana consists of two main plots. The first plot is about the killing of the evil demon Naraka at the request of the Gods, and the second plot is about the uprooting of the parijata tree from Amravati. Indra visits Krishna's palace asking for his help to execute Naraka to relieve the Gods from the troubles caused by him. In reply, Krishna agrees to help them. In the meantime, Satyabhama demands a Parijata flower from Krishna, to which Krishna agrees with a smile. Krishna and Satyabhama flies to Kamrup to slaughter the demons and recollect the stolen items. When Krishna visits Amaravati to retur

Theme of divine revenge in Book III of Metamorphosis

 Ovid's metamorphosis clearly picturizes different themes of life. Revenge is one of the recurring themes that is seen in Book III. This can be observed for the first time with Actaeon. Actaeon was walking amidst the woods after a day of hunting. The grandson of Cadmus was wandering through the woods which he had never seen before. Acteon suddenly reached the spot where Goddess Diana was bathing along with several other nymphs. When Actaeon accidentally caught a glance of their naked bodies, the nymphs cried in shame and tried to hide Diana's body with their own. But, since Diana was much taller than them, her body was clearly visible to Actaeon. Even though it was an accident, Diana cursed Actaeon and turned him into a deer seeking her revenge. as Actaeon was running away, his hunting dogs ripped him into pieces. The theme of revenge can be observed numerous times in book III. similarly, when Juno learnt that Semele was pregnant with her husband's child, she orchestrated a

The story of Narcissus and Echo

 The characters of Narcissus and Echo are found in the book titled "Metamorphoses"  which is authored by the famous Roman poet Ovid. The story of Narcissus and Echo is constructed in Book III of Metamorphoses. Echo was a beautiful river nymph who lived amidst the beautiful woods. Echo had the habit of chattering ceaselessly about different topics for long. However, this very habit of her later proved to be a curse.  Jupiter, the God of Gods often visited the riverside where he enjoyed his time with the beautiful river nymphs, far away from his court and his wife Juno. His wife was well aware of her husbands philandering personality and hence   one day when he was visiting the river nymphs, Juno followed him to catch him red-handed. When Echo learnt that Juno had seen the nymphs lying with Jupiter, she tried to engage Juno with her endless flow of talks. She kept prattling continuously to Juno until the nymphs could flee from the spot. Juno, being furious with Echo for wasting

Ring episode in Abhijnanasakuntalam

Kalidasa's play Abhijnanasakuntalam  illustrates the love story between the heroine Shakuntala with the king Dushyanta. The king falls in love with the beautiful maiden while visiting the hermitage of sage Kanva while a hunting expedition in the forest. Both of them marry in the hermitage with dual agreement. After the marriage, the king returns back to his kingdom to take care of his court. Before living, he gives her a gold wedding ring with his name carved on it. This ring has a very important role in the story. A few days later, sage Durvasa comes to the hermitage and knocks on Shakuntala's door. However, Shakuntala, who is lost in the thoughts of Dushyanta fails to notice him. The angry sage feeling insulted instantly incurs a curse against her, saying that the person whose thoughts were ruling her mind would completely forget about her. As a result King Dushyanta completely loses every bit of memory about his wife Shakuntala. At the requests of her friends Priyamvada and