Udatta Raghavam of Mayuraja (A Rare Sanskrit Play Discovered & Critically Edited by Dr. V. Raghavan)

A long cherished dream project of Dr. V. Raghavan has been finally completed with great enthusiasm by our Centre, through the publication of Udattaraghava, an old, unique Rama play in six Acts, written by Mgyuraja.

This publication was earmarked for the Centenary Celebration of Dr. V. Raghavan which was observed in a befitting manner in Chennai in 2008; a press copy of the work was released on that occasion. Dr. V. Raghavan who identified this old Lost Rama play and discovered a manuscript of it in 1961, as part of his manuscript-searches and surveys, had collected further transcripts of the Mss of the play. With the ample material that he had collected, Dr. Raghavan completed the critical edition of the work in full, except for some gaps in the Prakrit portions that he retained for further analysis and conclusion.

Assembling the materials gathered by the Scholar-Savant, preserving them intact, and working on the final draft to high standards of execution has been a laborious task for me personally and emotionally, particularly for this publication as it is a work close to Dr.V. Raghavan's heart and a much -awaited publication in the scholarly circles all over the globe. At this point of time, I cannot aptly describe the eager and committed attention of my mother, Smt. Sarada Raghavan who held this work in high esteem, having been inspired by her renowned husband's involvement in it; it was she who took every care to preserve all the numerous materials relating to the work intact, including the invaluable original and the one and only available palm-leaf Manuscript of Udattaraghava which Dr. Raghavan considered a treasured possession. My mother was happy to see the release of this publication on August 22"d, 2008, at the Centenary function of her beloved husband whom she joined shortly thereafter, to bless her children from above. For my elder siblings, Sri. R. Kalidas, Dr. R. Charudattan, Smt. Priyamvada and myself , our parents were indeed an ideal Dampati, united as Vak and Artha - our illustrious father being a fountain-head of Knowledge and our mother, his inner strength.

The project was taken up for publishing under the supervision and participation of Prof. M. Narasimhachary, a worthy disciple of Dr. V. Raghavan along with some initial assistance from Dr. C.S. Sundaram, former Reader, Sanskrit Dept., Madras University and a close associate of the scholar;

Dr. M. Jayaraman, a promising young scholar and an alumni of the Sanskrit Department of the Madras University was assigned the English translation of the play. Dr. P. Ramachandrasekhar, a dedicated close associate of our centre has also been a part of this project in its initial and final stages. The publication found its completion finally in 2015 after considerable scrutiny of the mss and the entire material available at our centre on the subject.

Sri. R. Kalidas, eldest son of Dr. V. Raghavan and a Trustee of our centre has funded this publication project; his commitment and continued financial support has been major source of strength for our centre to undertake this invaluable work.

Sri. Venkatesh, Smt. Kamalanayaki, and Sri. Elumalai of Kayveekay Letter Prints have always stood by me and have shown extreme patience while executing every publication work of our centre. This work has also been attended to by them with care and concern. I thank them for bringing out the publication of Udattaraghava in befitting manner.

A true Rama Bhakta that Dr. V. Raghavan was, he attained the feet of Lord Rama on the auspicious Rama Navami day in 1979, hours after speaking at a lecture on Jatayu Moksa. Placing this publication in memory of that great soul, has been the most gratifying moment to all of us at Dr. V. Raghavan Centre For Performing Arts; fulfilling one of the noble aims of the scholar-visionary, whose innumerable writings remain a perennial source of strength for generation of researchers and scholars has sustained the strength and deep committment of our centre.

I am sure this rare lost Rama play unearthed by Dr. V. Raghavan will be an invaluable addition to the fields of Ramayapa studies and Sanskrit Drama.

May Lord Tyagega, the presiding deity of Tiruvarur, shower His bountiful blessings on every sincere effort of our centre dedicated to the fields of Sanskrit, Music, Dance and Drama.

**Contents and Sample Pages**