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ध्रुवस्वामिनी
ध्रुवस्वामिनी प्रसाद जी का अन्तिम नाटक है और उनके पूरे नाटक-साहित्य में एकदम अलग भी। इसमें न तो पहले नाटकों जैसी काव्यजनोचित भावुकता है और न ही संवादों की वैसी जटिलता। यह नाटक इस बात का प्रमाण है कि प्रसाद जी अपने अन्तिम समय में यथार्थवादी नाटक लेखन की तरफ मुड़ रहे थे। अपने जीवन्त संवादों और कसी हुई कथावस्तु के कारण यह नाटक अत्यन्त प्रभावशाली और मंचोपयोगी हो गया है। लेकिन इसकी सबसे बड़ी शक्ति प्रसादजी के उस क्रान्तिकारी दृष्टिकोण में निहित है जो ध्रुवस्वामिनी के माध्यम से प्रकट हुआ है। नारी केवल नर की अनुगता नहीं है। पुरुष यदि नपुंसक, व्यभिचारी और कायर है तो नारी उसके विरुद्ध विद्रोह भी कर सकती है, यह बात भारतीय समाज के लिए, कम-से-कम उस समय जब यह नाटक लिखा गया था, कल्पना से परे थी। लेकिन प्रसादजी ने ध्रुवस्वामिनी के रूप में उसी विद्रोहिणी नारी को चित्रित किया है जो साहस के साथ अपने स्वतंत्र अस्तित्व की घोषणा करती है। वस्तुत: ध्रुवस्वामिनी के चरित्र का यह पहलू ही इस नाटक की सबसे बड़ी उपलब्धि है।
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About the author
जयशंकर प्रसाद
35 books82 followersJaishankar Prasad, a most celebrated personality related to the modern Hindi literature and Hindi theatre, was born at 30th January in the year 1889 and died at 14th January in the year 1937. He was a great Indian poet, novelist and dramatist, born in the simple madheshiya Teli Vaisya family of the Varanasi, UP, India. His father (named Babu Devki Prasad, also called as the Sunghani Sahu) has his own business related to the tobacco dealing.
Jaishankar Prasad had to face some financial problems in his family as he has lost his father in his young age. Because of such financial problems, he could not study further than 8th class. However, he was so keen to know many languages, past histories and Hindi literature, that’s why he continued his study at home. As he continued his study, he was influenced much from the Vedas which imitated him in the deep philosophical rival.
He has started writing poetry from his very early age. He was also fond of playing chess and doing gardening work at his home. He was interested in the Vedas to a great extent which influenced him extremely for writing his own poetry, plays, stories and novels. He has written his first book of poem collections known as the Chitraadhar in the Braj vernacular of Hindi which was widely used in Uttar Pradesh state at that time. His poems were liked too much by the people as they were heart touching, soft, simple language and emotional.
He had paid much attention towards the language of poems as well as the philosophic content. That’s why he is known as a world-class Hindi litterateur, philosopher and great writer. He wrote his poetry in a range of varieties from the romantic to the patriotic. His most prominent patriotic poem of his career is known as the ‘Himadri Tung Shring Se’ which he had written before the independence of country from the British.
He spent his middle career of his life by writing the novels, plays and poetries. He got himself exceedingly influenced by the Sanskrit and other languages related to the Sanskrit. He had written his some of the dramas in the Persian and Bengali languages.
Career
He has written his first poetry (known as the Chitradhar collection) into Braj language but soon after he has changed writing language to the Khadi and Sanskrit. He has started writing dramas into the Sanskrit language but later he has started writing dramas into the Bengali as well as Persian languages. Some of the famous dramas written by him are Chandragupta, Skandagupta and Dhruvaswamini.
He is the famous personality in the field of Hindi literature and Hindi theatre. He was the one who make the world romantic with his great and heart touching writings. He had mixed up the art and philosophy in his writings. He has chosen the title of his writings of different names which ranges from the romantic to the nationalistic. Through his great writings, he had described the essence of the classical Hindi poetry. ‘Himadri Tung Shring Se’ is the nationalistic poem written by him, became famous in the market which lead him to won so many awards in the period of Indian independence movement. Kamayani is another written poem by him which was also the best creation of him.
He has shown the life history of many great personalities and stories of the ancient India through his Dramas and other writings. His written dramas were proved to be the most pioneering ones in the Hindi. Around 1960s, his plays were selected by the ancient Indian Drama’s Professor, Shanta Gandhi for the modern Indian theatre. He has written the Skandagupta, his most important writing in the year 1928.
He also has written the many interesting short stories, titles of which are ranges from the historical to the mythological related to both contemporary and social. One of his short stories named, Mamta described the motherly love and the story of the Mughal Badshah. Another short story is the Chhota jadugar tells the life history of the child who has learned to earn the money
Jaishankar Prasad had to face some financial problems in his family as he has lost his father in his young age. Because of such financial problems, he could not study further than 8th class. However, he was so keen to know many languages, past histories and Hindi literature, that’s why he continued his study at home. As he continued his study, he was influenced much from the Vedas which imitated him in the deep philosophical rival.
He has started writing poetry from his very early age. He was also fond of playing chess and doing gardening work at his home. He was interested in the Vedas to a great extent which influenced him extremely for writing his own poetry, plays, stories and novels. He has written his first book of poem collections known as the Chitraadhar in the Braj vernacular of Hindi which was widely used in Uttar Pradesh state at that time. His poems were liked too much by the people as they were heart touching, soft, simple language and emotional.
He had paid much attention towards the language of poems as well as the philosophic content. That’s why he is known as a world-class Hindi litterateur, philosopher and great writer. He wrote his poetry in a range of varieties from the romantic to the patriotic. His most prominent patriotic poem of his career is known as the ‘Himadri Tung Shring Se’ which he had written before the independence of country from the British.
He spent his middle career of his life by writing the novels, plays and poetries. He got himself exceedingly influenced by the Sanskrit and other languages related to the Sanskrit. He had written his some of the dramas in the Persian and Bengali languages.
Career
He has written his first poetry (known as the Chitradhar collection) into Braj language but soon after he has changed writing language to the Khadi and Sanskrit. He has started writing dramas into the Sanskrit language but later he has started writing dramas into the Bengali as well as Persian languages. Some of the famous dramas written by him are Chandragupta, Skandagupta and Dhruvaswamini.
He is the famous personality in the field of Hindi literature and Hindi theatre. He was the one who make the world romantic with his great and heart touching writings. He had mixed up the art and philosophy in his writings. He has chosen the title of his writings of different names which ranges from the romantic to the nationalistic. Through his great writings, he had described the essence of the classical Hindi poetry. ‘Himadri Tung Shring Se’ is the nationalistic poem written by him, became famous in the market which lead him to won so many awards in the period of Indian independence movement. Kamayani is another written poem by him which was also the best creation of him.
He has shown the life history of many great personalities and stories of the ancient India through his Dramas and other writings. His written dramas were proved to be the most pioneering ones in the Hindi. Around 1960s, his plays were selected by the ancient Indian Drama’s Professor, Shanta Gandhi for the modern Indian theatre. He has written the Skandagupta, his most important writing in the year 1928.
He also has written the many interesting short stories, titles of which are ranges from the historical to the mythological related to both contemporary and social. One of his short stories named, Mamta described the motherly love and the story of the Mughal Badshah. Another short story is the Chhota jadugar tells the life history of the child who has learned to earn the money
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 30, 2021
Dhruvswamini (1934) is a major literary artefact, since it is a play written by Jai Shankar Prasad (1889-1937), a giant of Hindi literature. Prasad is most famous for his epic poem, Kamayani but his works spanned fiction, poetry, and drama.
What stands out most about this work for me is its near-invisibility in the English world. A search on Google produces links to (e)bookshop sales links, where the reviews largely state that this is a great work. On Google Scholar, there are negligible results (as of March 2021) and they mostly do not lead to full text. The exception is Chandrashekhara (2019), in which the author explores the possibility that Prasad wrote from a radical feminist point of view a few (three) decades ahead of his times.
Dhruvswamini is a queen in the Gupta era in ancient India (~CE 400). Her husband, Ramgupta, agrees to surrender her to the enemy Shakas. What follows is history, as the saying goes (), but it is also contains discussions on women's rights and -- I understand this was quite revolutionary for that time -- remarriage.
While reading the play, I did find some parts a bit melodramatic. I also did have doubts about whether at some points the viewpoint, while espousing rights for women, was a bit patriarchal. But that might just be my ignorance of the broader context, e.g. of the times when the play was written. In any case, especially given the horrific state of gender equality in India these days, one has to bow before a writer who took up the cause back in the 1930s.
It is worth mentioning that the cover picture on the edition here probably has the period architecture wrong by a thousand years or so. The one that I read (also in Hindi), had... Jai Shankar Prasad's portrait on the cover.
What stands out most about this work for me is its near-invisibility in the English world. A search on Google produces links to (e)bookshop sales links, where the reviews largely state that this is a great work. On Google Scholar, there are negligible results (as of March 2021) and they mostly do not lead to full text. The exception is Chandrashekhara (2019), in which the author explores the possibility that Prasad wrote from a radical feminist point of view a few (three) decades ahead of his times.
Dhruvswamini is a queen in the Gupta era in ancient India (~CE 400). Her husband, Ramgupta, agrees to surrender her to the enemy Shakas. What follows is history, as the saying goes (), but it is also contains discussions on women's rights and -- I understand this was quite revolutionary for that time -- remarriage.
While reading the play, I did find some parts a bit melodramatic. I also did have doubts about whether at some points the viewpoint, while espousing rights for women, was a bit patriarchal. But that might just be my ignorance of the broader context, e.g. of the times when the play was written. In any case, especially given the horrific state of gender equality in India these days, one has to bow before a writer who took up the cause back in the 1930s.
It is worth mentioning that the cover picture on the edition here probably has the period architecture wrong by a thousand years or so. The one that I read (also in Hindi), had... Jai Shankar Prasad's portrait on the cover.
May 20, 2021
ध्रुवस्वामिनी प्रसाद जी का लघु नाटक है। इसमें स्त्री-पुरुष एवम पति-पत्नी के संबंध को आचार और धर्मशास्त्र की कसौटी पर परखा गया है।
शकों से घिर जाने पर सम्राट रामगुप्त युद्ध से बचने के लिए पत्नी ध्रुवस्वामिनी को शकराज के शर्तों के अनुसार उसे सौंप देने के लिए तैयार हो जाता है। ध्रुवस्वामिनी इसका प्रतिकार करती है और इसे आर्यों के आचरण और गौरव के विपरीत कायरतापूर्ण व्यवहार बतलाकर स्वाभिमान की भीख मांगती है। परंतु रामगुप्त शासन का हवाला देकर उसे भेजने के निर्णय पर अटल रहता है। ऐसे में रामगुप्त का बंदी भाई चंद्रगुप्त भी स्त्री वेश धारण कर ध्रुवस्वामिनी के साथ जाता है और युद्ध में शकराज का वध करता है। विजय के बाद पुरोहित, रामगुप्त के नीच आचरण के कारण, रामगुप्त से ध्रुवस्वामिनी के विवाह को निरस्त करार देता है। परिषद भी यह निर्णय करती है कि अनार्य, पतित और क्लीब रामगुप्त, गुप्त-साम्राज्य के पवित्र राज-सिंहासन पर बैठने के योग्य नहीं। उसे निष्कासित किया जाता है और चंद्रगुप्त और ध्रुवस्वामिनी क्रमशः राजाधिराज और महादेवी बनाए जाते हैं।
इस नाटक में यह दर्शाया गया है कि किस प्रकार और किन परिस्थितियों में पत्नी से अनादरपूर्ण व्यवहार पर उसे विवाह के बंधन से मुक्त किया जा सकता है। धर्म भी इसे शास्त्र-सम्मत बतलाता है। इस तरह प्रसाद जी का यह नाटक प्राचीन भारत में सामाजिक सुधार की परंपरा के विद्यमान होने और स्त्रियों के गौरव को महत्व देने वाली संस्कृति का गुणगान है। वर्तमान परिप्रेक्ष्य में भी यह नाटक इसीलिए प्रासंगिक है।
शकों से घिर जाने पर सम्राट रामगुप्त युद्ध से बचने के लिए पत्नी ध्रुवस्वामिनी को शकराज के शर्तों के अनुसार उसे सौंप देने के लिए तैयार हो जाता है। ध्रुवस्वामिनी इसका प्रतिकार करती है और इसे आर्यों के आचरण और गौरव के विपरीत कायरतापूर्ण व्यवहार बतलाकर स्वाभिमान की भीख मांगती है। परंतु रामगुप्त शासन का हवाला देकर उसे भेजने के निर्णय पर अटल रहता है। ऐसे में रामगुप्त का बंदी भाई चंद्रगुप्त भी स्त्री वेश धारण कर ध्रुवस्वामिनी के साथ जाता है और युद्ध में शकराज का वध करता है। विजय के बाद पुरोहित, रामगुप्त के नीच आचरण के कारण, रामगुप्त से ध्रुवस्वामिनी के विवाह को निरस्त करार देता है। परिषद भी यह निर्णय करती है कि अनार्य, पतित और क्लीब रामगुप्त, गुप्त-साम्राज्य के पवित्र राज-सिंहासन पर बैठने के योग्य नहीं। उसे निष्कासित किया जाता है और चंद्रगुप्त और ध्रुवस्वामिनी क्रमशः राजाधिराज और महादेवी बनाए जाते हैं।
इस नाटक में यह दर्शाया गया है कि किस प्रकार और किन परिस्थितियों में पत्नी से अनादरपूर्ण व्यवहार पर उसे विवाह के बंधन से मुक्त किया जा सकता है। धर्म भी इसे शास्त्र-सम्मत बतलाता है। इस तरह प्रसाद जी का यह नाटक प्राचीन भारत में सामाजिक सुधार की परंपरा के विद्यमान होने और स्त्रियों के गौरव को महत्व देने वाली संस्कृति का गुणगान है। वर्तमान परिप्रेक्ष्य में भी यह नाटक इसीलिए प्रासंगिक है।
August 27, 2023
जयशंकर प्रसाद जी की पुस्तक की समीक्षा करने का सामर्थ्य नहीं है। कुछ विचारणीय बिंदु अवश्य हैं। यदि पति दुराचरण करे तो पत्नी का क्या कर्तव्य है? क्या धर्म ऐसे व्यक्ति से संबंध तोड़ने की अनुमति देता है जो स्वयं अपनी पत्नी के सतीत्व को मलीन करे?
जयशंकर प्रसाद जहां ध्रुवस्वामिनी के पक्ष में लिखते हैं वहीं वर्तमान के लिए भी मार्ग प्रशस्त करते हैं।
क्लीव, मोक्ष ( divorce) जैसे शब्द चर्चा योग्य हैं।
मात्रा 64 पृष्ठों का नाटक एक घंटे में पढ़ा जा सकता है।
जयशंकर प्रसाद जहां ध्रुवस्वामिनी के पक्ष में लिखते हैं वहीं वर्तमान के लिए भी मार्ग प्रशस्त करते हैं।
क्लीव, मोक्ष ( divorce) जैसे शब्द चर्चा योग्य हैं।
मात्रा 64 पृष्ठों का नाटक एक घंटे में पढ़ा जा सकता है।
June 11, 2020
पढ़ने योग्य इतिहास सम्मत ऐतिहासिक नाटक| विवाह मोक्ष जैसे किनारे कर दिए गए विषय को प्रकाश में लाता है|
ऐतिहासिक और सामाजिक संदर्भो को समझने के लिए इसे पढ़ना चाहिए कह्स्कर जब आप पुरुषवाद या महिलावाद या स्त्रीपुरुष संबंधों पर कुछ अच्छा पढ़ना चाहते हों|
ऐतिहासिक और सामाजिक संदर्भो को समझने के लिए इसे पढ़ना चाहिए कह्स्कर जब आप पुरुषवाद या महिलावाद या स्त्रीपुरुष संबंधों पर कुछ अच्छा पढ़ना चाहते हों|
January 20, 2019
No other 50-something page book can be so gripping, intense, thought-provoking as this one. No wonder it's a classic and genius piece of writing.
December 10, 2019
Beautifully written, touches on various topics of relevance.
July 13, 2020
I read it because it was on the syllabus of IGNOU BA. That's how I came to know about the book. I had already read Jaishankar Prasad's "Chandragupt".
The story is concise and written in drama format. Yet it manages to hold the attention of readers so much so that I completed it in one sitting.
This story too revolves around "Chandragupt" and it seems a sequel to it because the author does not introduce the characters but started straight with the plot. The ending is a bit more interesting as it comes unexpectedly.
The story is concise and written in drama format. Yet it manages to hold the attention of readers so much so that I completed it in one sitting.
This story too revolves around "Chandragupt" and it seems a sequel to it because the author does not introduce the characters but started straight with the plot. The ending is a bit more interesting as it comes unexpectedly.
March 30, 2022
It's just a play what can I say.
July 30, 2022
A good historical drama based on Gupta age
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews