Which of the following statements about the play *Karpuramanjari* is correct?
- AIt was written in Sanskrit by Bhoja to please his wife.
- BIt was written by Rajashekhara in Sauraseni Prakrit to please his wife Avantisundari.
- CIt was composed during the reign of Nagabhata II.
- DIt is a famous work of Kalidasa that praises the Gupta kings.
Show answer and explanation
Correct answer: (b) It was written by Rajashekhara in Sauraseni Prakrit to please his wife Avantisundari.
Explanation
*Karpuramanjari* is a play by Rajashekhara, the court poet of the Gurjara-Pratihara kings Mahendrapala I and Mahipala I (around 900 CE). It is a sattaka, a play written entirely in Prakrit (Sauraseni), unlike most plays, which mix Sanskrit and Prakrit. Rajashekhara says that it was staged at the wish of his wife Avantisundari, a learned woman.
Rajashekhara also wrote the *Kavyamimamsa*, a work on poetics, and the plays *Balaramayana* and *Viddhasalabhanjika*.
- Bhoja, the Paramara king of Malwa, was a scholar-king of the 11th century.
- Nagabhata II was a Gurjara-Pratihara king of the early 9th century, before Rajashekhara's time.
- Kalidasa, of the Gupta age, wrote *Abhijnanashakuntalam*, *Meghaduta* and *Raghuvamsha*.