Little Clay Cart (Ryder 1905)

For other English-language translations of this work, see Mṛcchakaṭikā.

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The Little Clay Cart, [ Mṛcchakaṭika ] (1905)
by Śūdraka, translated by Arthur William Ryder

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Mṛcchakaṭikā (Sanskrit: मृच्छकटिका) is unusual among Sanskrit drama for presenting mundane events and everyday people, rather than a mythical story with noble characters.

This translation was published as Vol. 9 of the Harvard Oriental Series.

Śūdraka2489477The Little Clay Cart, [ Mṛcchakaṭika ]1905Arthur William Ryder

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THE LITTLE CLAY CART
[ MṚCCHAKAṬIKA ]
A Hindu Drama
ATTRIBUTED TO KING SHŪDRAKA

TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL SANSKRIT AND PRĀKRITS
INTO ENGLISH PROSE AND VERSE
BY

ARTHUR WILLIAM RYDER, Ph.D.
INSTRUCTOR IN SANSKRIT IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
Published by Harvard University
1905

TO MY FATHER

WILLIAM HENRY RYDER

CONTENTS

NOTE BY THE EDITOR OF THE SERIES			ix
PREFACE BY THE TRANSLATOR			xi
INTRODUCTION
	THE AUTHOR AND THE PLAY		xv
	THE TRANSLATION		xxiii
	AN OUTLINE OF THE PLOT		xxvi
	DRAMATIS PERSONAE		xxx
TRANSLATION OF THE LITTLE CLAY CART
	PROLOGUE		1
	ACT I.	THE GEMS ARE LEFT BEHIND	6
	ACT II.	THE SHAMPOOER WHO GAMBLED	27
	ACT III.	THE HOLE IN THE WALL	43
	ACT IV.	MADANIKĀ AND SHARVILAKA	57
	ACT V.	THE STORM	75
	ACT VI.	THE SWAPPING OF THE BULLOCK-CARTS	93
	ACT VII.	ARYAKA'S ESCAPE	105
	ACT VIII.	THE STRANGLING OF VASANTASENĀ	109
	ACT IX.	THE TRIAL	132
	ACT X.	THE END	153
	EPILOGUE		176
DEPARTURES OF THE TRANSLATION FROM PARAB'S TEXT			177

HARVARD ORIENTAL SERIES

EDITED
WITH THE COÖPERATION OF VARIOUS SCHOLARS

BY
CHARLES ROCKWELL LANMAN
WALES PROFESSOR OF SANSKRIT IN HARVARD UNIVERSITY

Volume Nine

CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
Published by Harvard University
1905

Cambridge, Mass., U. S. A.	Publication Agent of Harvard University
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COPYRIGHT, 1905, BY HARVARD UNIVERSITY

PRINTED BY D. B. UPDIKE AT THE MERRYMOUNT PRESS
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

This work is a translation and has a separate copyright status to the applicable copyright protections of the original content.

Original:

This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse

Translation:

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it was published before January 1, 1929.

The longest-living author of this work died in 1938, so this work is in the public domain in countries and areas where the copyright term is the author's life plus 85 years or less. This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

Public domainPublic domainfalsefalse