Abstract: V. Raghavan's modern Sanskrit drama, Vimukti , written in 1931 and published in the 1960s, is a farcical comedy and a philosophical allegory set in a modern context. While it comically portrays a Brahmin's household struggles, allegorically he is the puruṣa (soul) seeking liberation from modern prakṛti (materiality). Elements within the play indicate that the author maps this classic philosophical concept onto a civilizational opposition between the West, indexed as materialistic, and the East, indexed as philosophical. It mocks materialism while finding liberation in comedy and Indian thought. This modern Sanskrit drama offers an example of philosophical nationalism, read in light of India's independence and postcolonial identity construction on a global stage. Sanskrit itself stars in Raghavan's play and in his politics as a lively modern language and as the source of India's philosophical superiority.
Charles S. Preston (Thu,) studied this question.