The Bhasa Problem

Summary

The Bhasa Problem centers on the controversial attribution of the Sanskrit drama *Svapna-Vasavadatta* to the pre-Kalidasa dramatist Bhasa. The discovery and publication of the text under this name in the Trivandrum Sanskrit Series led to widespread acceptance of Bhasa's authorship, primarily due to a verse by Rajasekhara in *Samaya Matrika*. However, a closer examination reveals flaws in this attribution. Rajasekhara's verse, which mentions a "washerman Bhasa" honored by King Harsha, refers to a later figure, not the ancient Bhasa, and incorrectly assigns authorship of other plays like *Priyadarsika* and *Ratnavallika* to him. This undermines the reliability of his testimony for Bhasa's authorship of *Svapna-Vasavadatta*. Further, references to *Svapna-Vasavadatta* in ancient texts like Sarvananda's *Ameratikasarvasva*, Abhinavagupta's *Locana*, and others consistently describe a play centered on the love-marriage of Vasavadatta, contrasting sharply with the political marriage narrative in the published Trivandrum text. The editor's transposition of terms in Sarvananda's citation and the absence of access to Kerala's restricted manuscripts—guarded by temple actors—raised doubts about the text's authenticity. Scholars outside Kerala, unable to verify the materials, largely accepted the Bhasa theory uncritically. The author concludes that the evidence for Bhasa's authorship and the genuineness of the published text is weak, resting on misinterpreted traditions and inaccessible sources.