Of around 155 extant Sanskrit plays, at least 46 distinct plays by at least 24 authors have been translated into English. William Jones published the first English translation of any Sanskrit play (Shakuntala) in 1789. About 3 decades later, H. H. Wilson published the first major English survey of Sanskrit drama, including 6 full translations (Mṛcchakatika, Vikramōrvaśīyam, Uttararamacarita, Malatimadhava, Mudrarakshasa, and Ratnavali). These 7 plays — plus Nagananda, Mālavikāgnimitram, and Svapnavasavadattam (the text of which was not discovered until almost a century after Wilson's volumes) — remain the most-translated plays.

The period of Sanskrit dramas in India begins roughly with the composition of the Natya Shastra (c. 200 BCE – 200 CE) — though this treatise evidences a mature theatrical practice already in existence. Literarily, the period dwindles around the composition of the Natya Shatra's influential abridgment: Dasharupakam (late 10th century CE) — though derivative works continued to be written. "Sanskrit drama" typically contains a mix of Sanskrit and Prakrit though, for example, Bhāsa's Dūtavākya contains no Prakrit, and Rajashekhara's Karpuramanjari is written entirely in Prakrit.

List of translations Key

Published as — The titles of the English translations, with links to their full bibliographic entries. Year — The year of the translation's first publication. However, revised editions are frequently cited in the bibliography.

Fragmentary passages are not considered here, nor are modern dramas written in Sanskrit.

Table

Author Sanskrit Title Acts Published as Translator YearKālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 William Jones 1789Krsna Misra Prabodhacandrodaya 6 J. Taylor 1812Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Nabin Chandra Vidyaratna 1822Shudraka Mṛcchakatika 10 H. H. Wilson 1827Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 H. H. Wilson 1827Bhavabhūti Uttararamacarita 7 H. H. Wilson 1827Bhavabhūti Malatimadhava 10 H. H. Wilson 1827Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 H. H. Wilson 1827Harsha Ratnavali 4 H. H. Wilson 1827Subhata Mahanataka 9 Maharaja Kalikrishna Bahadur 1840Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 E. B. Cowell 1851Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Monier Monier-Williams 1855Bhavabhūti Mahaviracharita 7 John Pickford 1871Bhavabhūti Uttararamacarita 7 Charles Henry Tawney 1871Harsha Nagananda 5 Palmer Boyd 1872Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 Charles Henry Tawney 1875Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 Gopal Raghunatha Nandargikar 1879Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa Veni Samhara 6 Sourindra Mohun Tagore 1880Rajashekhara Viddhasalabhanjika 4 Kesava Ravaji Godabole 1886Harsha Nagananda 5 Anonymous 1887Bhavabhūti Uttararamacarita 7 Krishna Kamal Bhattacharya 1891Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 August Hjalmar Edgren 1894Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 S. Seshadri Ayyar 1896Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 V. S. Apte 1897Bāṇabhaṭṭa Parvati Parinaya 5 G. R. Ratnam Aiyar 1898Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 M. R. Kāle 1898Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 M. R. Kāle 1898Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 Kesava Balakrishna Paranjpe 1898Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 K. H. Dhruva 1900Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 M. R. Kāle 1900Rajashekhara Karpuramanjari 4 Charles Rockwell Lanman 1901Harsha Ratnavali 4 Srīsachandra Chakravartī 1902Harsha Ratnavali 4 Bidhubhusan Goswami? 1902Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 J. G. Jennings 1902Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Paraṣurāma Nārāyana Patankar 1902Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 R. Vasudeva Row 1903Harihara Bhartrharinirveda 5 Louis H. Gray 1904Shudraka Mṛcchakatika 10 Arthur W. Ryder 1905Rajashekhara Viddhasalabhanjika 4 Louis H. Gray 1906Bhavabhūti Malatimadhava 10 M. R. Kāle 1908Harsha Priyadarśikā 4 T. V. Srinivasachariar 1908Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 S. Ray & K. Ray 1908Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa Veni Samhara 6 M. R. Kāle 1910Bhavabhūti Uttararamacarita 7 M. R. Kāle 1911Harsha Nagananda 5 B. Hale Worthham 1911Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 Aurobindo Ghosh 1911Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Arthur W. Ryder 1912Subhata Dūtāṅgada 1 Louis H. Gray 1912Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 Śrî Ānanda Āchārya 1914Bhavabhūti Uttararamacarita 7 Shripad Krishna Belvalkar 1915Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 Arthur W. Ryder 1915Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Roby Datta 1915Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 Shastri & Abhyanker 1916Vedanta Desika Sankalpa-suryodayam 10 Narayanacharya & Iyengar 1917Umāpati Upādhyāya Parijataharana 1 George Grierson 1917Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 Shirreff & Lall 1918Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 S. Ray & K. Ray 1918Harsha Nagananda 5 M. R. Kāle 1919Harsha Nagananda 5 R. D. Karmarkar 1919Harsha Nagananda 5 Nerurkar & Joshi 1919Harsha Ratnavali 4 S. Ray & K. Ray 1919Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 S. C. Chakravarti 1919Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 Jain & Shastri 1920Bhāsa Pancaratram 3 Waman Gopal Urdhwareshe 1920Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Laurence Binyon 1920Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 A. B. Gajendragadkar 1920Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 R. D. Karmarkar 1920Bhāsa Madhyamavyayoga 1 Ernest Paxton Janvier 1921Harsha Ratnavali 4 M. R. Kāle 1921Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa Veni Samhara 6 K. N. Dravid 1922Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa Veni Samhara 6 A. B. Gajendragadkar 1922Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 V. S. Sukthankar 1923Harsha Priyadarśikā 4 Nariman, Jackson & Ogden 1923Bhāsa Avimaraka 6 , , K. Rama Pisharoti 1924Bhāsa Duta-Ghatotkacam 1 K. Rama Pisharoti 1924Bhavabhūti Uttararamacarita 7 S. Ray & K. Ray 1924Shudraka Mṛcchakatika 10 M. R. Kāle 1924Umāpati Upādhyāya Traivikramam 1 K. Rama Pisharoti 1924Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 Lakshman Sarup 1925Bhāsa Dutuvakyam 1 Dharmasila Jayaswal 1925Harsha Ratnavali 4 C. R. Devadhar 1925Vararuchi Ubhayābhisārika 1 Sukumar Sen 1926Bhāsa Pratima-natakam 7 C. R. Devadhar 1927Bhāsa Pratima-natakam 7 Shivaram Mahadeo Pranjape 1927Bhāsa Pratima-natakam 7 Kangle & Trivedi 1927Sakthibhadran Āścaryacūḍāmaṇi 7 C. Sankarama Sastri 1927Harsha Priyadarśikā 4 M. R. Kāle 1928Harsha Priyadarśikā 4 N.G. Suru 1928Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 M. R. Kāle 1929Bhavabhūti Uttararamacarita 7 C. N. Joshi 1929Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 Charu Deva Shastri 1929Bhāsa Abhisheka-natakam 6 V. Venkatarama Shastri 1930Bhāsa Pratima-natakam 7 M. R. Kāle 1930Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 A. S. Krishna Rao 1930Mahendravarman Mattavilasa Prahasana 1 L. D. Barnett 1930Bhāsa Pratijnayaugandharayana 4 Woolner & Sarup 1930Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 Woolner & Sarup 1930Bhāsa Daridra-Carudattam 4 Woolner & Sarup 1930Bhāsa Pancaratram 3 Woolner & Sarup 1930Bhāsa Madhyamavyayoga 1 Woolner & Sarup 1930Bhāsa Pratima-natakam 7 Woolner & Sarup 1930Bhāsa Dutuvakyam 1 Woolner & Sarup 1931Bhāsa Duta-Ghatotkacam 1 Woolner & Sarup 1931Bhāsa Karnabharam 1 Woolner & Sarup 1931Bhāsa Urubhanga 1 Woolner & Sarup 1931Bhāsa Avimaraka 6 Woolner & Sarup 1931Bhāsa Bala-caritam 5 Woolner & Sarup 1931Bhāsa Abhisheka-natakam 6 Woolner & Sarup 1931Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Ramendra Mohan Bose 1931Harsha Nagananda 5 Śaṅkararāma Śāstrī 1932Diṇnāga Kundamālā 6 Bhanot & Vyas 1932Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 M. R. Kāle 1933Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 R. D. Karmarakar 1933Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 Shastri & Shastri 1933Harsha Nagananda 5 P. V. Ramanujaswami 1934Bhāsa Abhisheka-natakam 6 , K. Rama Pisharoti 1935Bhavabhūti Malatimadhava 10 R. D. Karmarkar 1935Bhavabhūti Malatimadhava 10 Devadhar & Suru 1935Harsha Ratnavali 4 Śaṅkararāma Śāstrī 1935Diṇnāga Kundamālā 6 A. C. Woolner 1935Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 S. K. Mitra 1936Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 Satyendra Nath Sen 1937Bhāsa Urubhanga 1 Kailash Nath Bhatnagar 1937Shudraka Mṛcchakatika 10 R. D. Karmarakar 1937Shudraka Mṛcchakatika 10 Vasudeva Gopala Paranjpe 1937Shudraka Mṛcchakatika 10 Revilo P. Oliver 1938Bhāsa Pratijnayaugandharayana 4 C. R. Devadhar 1939Bhāsa Daridra-Carudattam 4 C. R. Devadhar 1939Harsha Ratnavali 4 Bhattacharya & Das 1939Shudraka Mṛcchakatika 10 Satyendra Kumar Basu 1939Bhāsa Pratijnayaugandharayana 4 S. N. Simha 1940Bhāsa Urubhanga 1 C. R. Devadhar 1940Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 R. D. Karmarakar 1940Bhāsa Pratijnayaugandharayana 4 A. S. P. Ayyar 1941Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 A. S. P. Ayyar 1941Bhāsa Karnabharam 1 B. V. Hariyappa 1941Bhāsa Pratima-natakam 7 S. Ray & K. Ray 1942Bhāsa Pancaratram 3 Anonymous 1943Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa Veni Samhara 6 R. S. Venkatarama Sastri 1943Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa Veni Samhara 6 Śaṅkararāma Śāstrī 1943Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 Gore & Mehendale 1944Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 Ranjit Sitaram Pandit 1944Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Bela Bose 1945Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 Bela Bose 1945Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 Bela Bose 1945Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 C. R. Devadhar 1946Harsha Nagananda 5 Bela Bose 1948Harsha Priyadarśikā 4 Bela Bose 1948Harsha Ratnavali 4 Bela Bose 1948Harsha Priyadarśikā 4 P. V. Ramanujaswami 1948Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 Athalye & Bhawe 1948Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 Devadhar & Bedekar 1948Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 S. Ray & K. Ray 1949Bhāsa Pratima-natakam 7 Anonymous 1950Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 Gaidhani, Mangrulkar & Parikh 1950Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 Sane, Godbole & Uresekar 1950Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Śatāvadhāna Śrīnivāsācārya 1950Anonymous Kaumudi-Mahotsava 5 S. R. Shastri 1952Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa Veni Samhara 6 R. R. Deshpande 1953Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa Veni Samhara 6 G. V. Devasthali 1953Harsha Nagananda 5 M. A. Karandikar 1953Harsha Nagananda 5 Toraskar & Deshpande 1953Harsha Ratnavali 4 Joshi & Watwe 1953Bhavabhūti Uttararamacarita 7 R. D. Karmarkar 1954Harsha Ratnavali 4 R. N. Gaidhani 1955Shudraka Padmaprabhritaka 1 J. R. A. Loman 1956Bhāsa Karnabharam 1 C. R. Devadhar 1957Bhāsa Madhyamavyayoga 1 C. R. Devadhar 1957Bhāsa Duta-Ghatotkacam 1 C. R. Devadhar 1957Bhāsa Dutuvakyam 1 C. R. Devadhar 1957Bhāsa Pancaratram 3 C. R. Devadhar 1957Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 C. R. Devadhar 1958Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 C. R. Devadhar 1958Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 C. R. Devadhar 1958Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 M. B. Emeneau 1962Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 P. Lal 1964Shudraka Mṛcchakatika 10 P. Lal 1964Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 P. Lal 1964Bhāsa Svapnavasavadattam 6 P. Lal 1964Bhavabhūti Uttararamacarita 7 P. Lal 1964Harsha Ratnavali 4 P. Lal 1964Shudraka Mṛcchakatika 10 J. A. B. van Buitenen 1968Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 J. A. B. van Buitenen 1968Baudhāyana Bhagavadajjukam 1 J. A. B. van Buitenen 1971Śyāmilaka Pādatāḍitaka 1 Schokker & Worseley 1976Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Michael Coulson 1981Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 Michael Coulson 1981Bhavabhūti Malatimadhava 10 Michael Coulson 1981Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Barbara Stoler Miller 1984Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 David Gitomer 1984Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 Edwin Gerow 1984Bhāsa Madhyamavyayoga 1 A. N. D. Haksar 1993Bhāsa Pancaratram 3 A. N. D. Haksar 1993Bhāsa Dutuvakyam 1 A. N. D. Haksar 1993Bhāsa Duta-Ghatotkacam 1 A. N. D. Haksar 1993Bhāsa Karnabharam 1 A. N. D. Haksar 1993Bhāsa Urubhanga 1 A. N. D. Haksar 1993Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 Chandra Rajan 2002Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 Chandra Rajan 2002Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Chandra Rajan 2002Jayanta Bhatta Āgamaḍambara 4 Csaba Dezső 2005Vishakhadatta Mudrarakshasa 7 Michael Coulson 2005Harsha Ratnavali 4 Wendy Doniger 2006Harsha Priyadarśikā 4 Wendy Doniger 2006Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 Somadeva Vasudeva 2006Murāri Anargharāghava ? Judit Törzsök 2006Bhavabhūti Uttararamacarita 7 Sheldon I. Pollock 2007Kālidāsa Abhijñāna Śākuntalam 7 W. J. Johnson 2008Harsha Nagananda 5 Andrew Skilton 2009Bhāsa Urubhanga 1 Andrew Skilton 2009Kālidāsa Mālavikāgnimitram 5 Balogh & Somogyi 2009Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 Rao & Shulman 2009Shudraka Mṛcchakatika 10 Diwakar Acharya 2009Krsna Misra Prabodhacandrodaya 6 Matthew Kapstein 2009Śyāmilaka Pādatāḍitaka 1 Dezső & Vasudeva 2009Vararuchi Ubhayābhisārika 1 Dezső & Vasudeva 2009Shudraka Padmaprabhritaka 1 Dezső & Vasudeva 2009Īśvaradatta Dhūrtavitasaṃvāda 1 Dezső & Vasudeva 2009Shudraka Mṛcchakatika 10 Padmini Rajappa 2018Kālidāsa Vikramōrvaśīyam 5 A. N. D. Haksar 2021

Notes and references Notes

References

Bibliography