In Hinduism

Kavya (poetry)

Source: academia.edu: A Textual and Intertextual Study of the Mudrārākṣasa

Sugāṅga is the name of a palace mentioned in the Mudrārākṣasa.—The scene of much of the action in Act 3 [is] where [Sugāṅga] is named repeatedly, every instance in compound with the word prāsāda, leaving no doubt that it is a palace. However, the first reference to it is in Act 2, where the name is not accompanied by the word prāsāda or any other indication of what it might signify. Here Rākṣasa tells Malayaketu of his resolution not to wear any jewellery until the young prince’s throne has been set up in Sugāṅga. It thus appears that Viśākhadatta expected his audience to understand what Sugāṅga means.

Sugāṅga is also mentioned as the name of a palace situated in Puṣpapura, as mentioned in the Kaumudīmahotsava, another drama that resembles the Mudrārākṣasa in some aspects (and may be connected to the Maukhari dynasty).—A fellow ruler sends a message to the hero, Prince Kalyāṇavarman, on the occasion of his succession to the throne of Magadha, saying, “congratulations for the Prince’s re-occupation of the Sugāṅga palace in Puṣpapura”. This appears to be a point in favour of tying the Mudrārākṣasa to the Maukharis, but the connection is far from certain. Furthermore, the name Sugāṅga appears to be representative of a pattern rather than a wholly unique name.

In the same Kaumudīmahotsava there is another name, Suyāmuna, which appears in a monologue of the hero early on in the first act. If Kauśāmbī, on the river Yamunā, had (or was believed to have had) a palace called Suyāmuna, then by the same logic Pāṭaliputra, on the Gaṅgā, may well have had (or been believed to have had) one named Sugāṅga. And this means that Viśākhadatta’s audience did not necessarily have to know the name of the royal palace in Pāṭaliputra, only to be familiar with the convention (either factual or fictional) of naming palaces by a template of the prefix su and a vṛddhi derivative of the local river’s name.

context information

Kavya (काव्य, kavya) refers to Sanskrit poetry, a popular ancient Indian tradition of literature. There have been many Sanskrit poets over the ages, hailing from ancient India and beyond. This topic includes mahakavya, or ‘epic poetry’ and natya, or ‘dramatic poetry’.

Languages of India and abroad

Sanskrit dictionary

Source: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries: Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary

Sugāṅga (सुगाङ्ग):—[=su-gāṅga] [from su > su-ga] m. or n. Name of a palace, [Mudrārākṣasa]

context information

Sanskrit, also spelled संस्कृतम् (saṃskṛtam), is an ancient language of India commonly seen as the grandmother of the Indo-European language family (even English!). Closely allied with Prakrit and Pali, Sanskrit is more exhaustive in both grammar and terms and has the most extensive collection of literature in the world, greatly surpassing its sister-languages Greek and Latin.

See also (Relevant definitions)

Partial matches: Ganga, Cu, Shu.

Starts with: Cukankattu.

Full-text: Suyamuna.

Relevant text

Search found 1 books and stories containing Suganga, Sugāṅga, Su-ganga, Su-gāṅga; (plurals include: Sugangas, Sugāṅgas, gangas, gāṅgas). You can also click to the full overview containing English textual excerpts. Below are direct links for the most relevant articles:

Mudrarakshasa (literary study) (by Antara Chakravarty)

2. About the Drama < [Chapter 1 - Introduction]

6.4. The character of Rākṣasa < [Chapter 6 - Other Literary Estimates of Mudrārākṣasa]

Chapter 7 - Conclusion

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