The Mudrarakshasa, unlike the majority of Sanskrit plays, is purely a political drama. It has for its theme, besides elevation of Chandragupta to the throne of Magadha, winning over the Rakshasa, the hostile minister of the Nanda dynasty to the side of Chandragupta and adoption of measures to strengthen the rule by Chanakya, the renowned politician of his times. In the words of H.H. Wilson: It is a historical or political drama, and represents a curious state of public morals, in which fraud and assassination are the simple means by which inconvenient obligations are acquitted, and troublesome friends or open enemies removed. It is not, however, that such acts are not held in themselves as crimes, or that their perpetrators, if instigated by vulgar vice or ferocity, are not condemned as culprits; it is only when the commission of the crime proposes a political end that it is represented as venial, and is compatible with possession of great virtues, and even with an amiable character. This addition of the Mudrarakshasa is meant for students, only the important readings are given in the foot-notes. The translation attached herewith is so made as to explain the text, and the notes and the introduction have been written with a view to meet all the possible difficulties of students.
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