Modern Sanskrit Dramas– between Tradition and Innovation

The aim of the paper is to explore the dramatic output of modern Sanskrit writers in order to determine which traditional rules of Sanskrit drama have been obeyed by them, which have been refused, and what kind of innovations they introduced in their work. Although Sanskrit from many ages is no longer used as an everyday language, its literature, among which there is a significant number of dramas, is still being produced. However, even though contemporary Sanskrit writers are aware of the dramatic rules set by Bharata in the Nāṭyaśāstra and his continuators, they are also under the influence of Western culture and its own dramatic tradition, as well as they are influenced by relatively new visual arts such as movies and television. What is more, some recent writers have been more willing to raise more up-to-date subjects, such as social changes, political issues, or the impact of technology on the contemporary world, rather than conventional themes. Therefore, they have introduced changes in the genres, the structure of drama, and even the lexicon, which they used. On the other hand, they still have legitimized the place of their works in the realm of Sanskrit drama, by obeying certain traditional rules. Hence, the paper intends to examine what innovations are introduced in modern Sanskrit dramas, and what classical elements still can be traced in them. In order to explore this issue, several modern Sanskrit dramas are to be analysed.