Sudraka's play "Mrichchhakatika" is not only love story between Charudutta and Vasantasena, but also a social document. It becomes evident in the playwright's portrayal of the characters. Some of the principal characters are drawn from upper-middle class, while its subsidiary episodes introduce such low class people as gamblers, hangmen, deceivers etc. Actually, the characters are drawn from real life and naturally, we find in them and exact reflection of the conditions and manners of contemporary society, Including its Government and its law in particular.
To begin with, the king is not actually introduce in the play. It seems that he ruled as an absolute monarch. He was assisted by counselors and was also the head of the army; there were the usual departments of state such as revenue, justice, police etc. The ninth Act gives us special insight into the judicial administration. The judge was assisted by two assessors, and justice appears to have been both impartial and speedy; the presiding judge had to follow well-formulated rules of evidence and procedure in recording facts and in examining witness; but he could give his decision only in the form of a recommendation, the passing of the final orders living with the sovereign. If the facts were not clearly established by the evidence, recourse was to be had to four kinds of ordeals-a trial by ordeal being fairly common in ancient society for serious offences. The person under trial had to confess his crime when proved by facts. A criminal punished capitally would be set free if an adequate ransom was paid. The executioners gold release a prisoner if found innocent and even punish the real offender.
A creditor head absolute power over the person of his debater; he could inflict bodily punishment on him with impunity, or even sell him for the recovery of his money. the officers of the King seem to have been zealous in the performance of their duties; Viraka and Chandanaka pursue the escaped prisoner with as much vigour and promptitude as through it was an affair in which they were personally concerned; and although in the end Chandanaka proves a territory to which employer, it was not due to bribery or cowardice, but to an apple to his innate sense of comparison for one wrongfully oppressed.
The caste system seems to have been fully recognise in those day. The Brahmins held in great reverence and enjoyed certain privileges, immunity from capital punishment being among these; Sarvilaka, for example, declines to rob Brahmana of his gold presumably accumulated for sacrificial purpose. Brahmans often took to commerce since the ancestors of Charudutta, who was a Brahmana Got rich through trade. Among other casts, the kyasthas seem to have been held low in popular estimation. The vituperations hurled against each other's caste by Viraka and Chandanaka show how strong a hold the system had on people.
Commerce was carried on an extensive scale, Indian ships sailing to the furthest ends of the the earth. The wealth of the trading classes appears to have been almost fabulous, if we are to judge by the donations and public charities of Charudutta; a large portions of this wealth eventually passed into the hands of the the courtesan class so Vasantasena came to own a place which rivalled that of Kubera in Splendor. Such wealth meant luxury on a grand scale and it's necessary consequences such as the vices of drinking gambling and prostitution.
It is noticeable that a courtesan has been made the heroine of the play which may seem a little strange to modern readers. It appears, however, that low as the profession of a 'ganika' was so that Charudatta is ashamed to confess his connection with one. But this class had a certain recognized status at that time. It is true that a courtesan could never usurp the place of a legally wedded wife, but the fact that Vasantasena is afterwards invested with the title of a 'badhu' .This marriage is really significant and points to mixed marriages being in vogue in this days.
Slavery was common, and a slave could be bought, sold and legalized vice. Social, religious and superstition observances were common as in modern Hindu society. The play contains references to music parties, drawing and painting, showing therefore that the fine arts seem to have been cultivated on a large scale. The general economic condition of the people appears to have been prosperous on the whole, free from petty worries and minor troubles. Even political upheaval disturbs and dislocates human life at that individual and social levels. The play, therefore, registers the the impact of both a great work of art and a profound social document.
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