Who was the author of Mudrarakshasa?
- (a)Hemchandra
- (b)Ballal
- (c)Vishakhadutta
- (d)Padmagupta
Correct — C, Vishakhadutta (Visakhadatta). He wrote Mudrarakshasa, a Sanskrit political drama in seven acts dramatising Chanakya's scheming to win over Rakshasa — the loyal minister of the deposed Nanda king — and secure the throne for Chandragupta Maurya.
- (a)Hemchandra — A 12th-century Jain scholar (court of the Chaulukya king Kumarapala), famous for the Sanskrit grammar Siddha-Hema-Shabdanushasana — not for Mudrarakshasa.
- (b)Ballal — Not connected to Mudrarakshasa; no established authorship link to this Mauryan-era political drama.
- (d)Padmagupta — A court poet ('Parimala') of the Paramara king Sindhuraja, known for the Navasahasankacharita — a different work, different dynasty, different century.
Mudrarakshasa ('The Signet Ring of Rakshasa') is a Sanskrit Nataka (political drama) set at the fall of the Nanda dynasty and the rise of Chandragupta Maurya. Its central figure is Chanakya (Kautilya), whose statecraft and intrigue — not battlefield victory — bring Rakshasa, the last Nanda minister, over to the Mauryan side.
MPPSC/UPSC test this as an author-work pairing alongside other Sanskrit classics (Mrichchhakatikam–Shudraka, Harshacharita–Banabhatta). The trap is confusing Vishakhadutta with other scholars/poets used as distractor names.
- Mudrarakshasa — Sanskrit political drama by Vishakhadutta (Visakhadatta)
- Theme: Chanakya's diplomacy to win over Rakshasa, minister of the Nandas, for Chandragupta Maurya
- Genre: Nataka (court intrigue), not myth or romance
- Vishakhadutta is also credited with the play Devichandraguptam
- Confusing Vishakhadutta with unrelated scholars (Hemchandra, Padmagupta) used as distractor names
- Assuming Mudrarakshasa is about gods or romance — it is pure political intrigue
Usually a direct one-line author-work identification, sometimes as a List-I/List-II match with other Sanskrit classics.
The ancient Indian play Mudrarakshasa of Visakhadutt has its subject on
- (a) a conflict between Gods and Demons of ancient Hindu lore
- (b) a romantic story of an Aryan prince and a tribal woman
- (c) the story of the power struggle between two Aryan tribes
- (d) the court intrigues at the time of Chandragupta Maurya
Answer(d) the court intrigues at the time of Chandragupta Maurya.
Direct UPSC 2002 prelims question on the same play and author — tests what Mudrarakshasa's subject actually is.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Vishakhadutta's Sanskrit drama Mudrarakshasa deals with the political intrigue surrounding the rise to power of:
- (a)Ashoka
- (b)Chandragupta Maurya
- (c)Samudragupta
- (d)Harshavardhana
Answer(b) Chandragupta Maurya — the play dramatises Chanakya winning over the Nanda minister Rakshasa to secure his throne.
- practice — not a real PYQ
Which of the following author-work pairs is correctly matched?
- (a)Shudraka — Mrichchhakatikam
- (b)Vishakhadutta — Ratnavali
- (c)Banabhatta — Mudrarakshasa
- (d)Kalidasa — Devichandraguptam
Answer(a) Shudraka — Mrichchhakatikam is correctly matched; the others mis-pair the author (Ratnavali is Harshavardhana's play; Mudrarakshasa and Devichandraguptam are both Vishakhadutta's).