Charumitra (play)

Charumitra is a Hindi language historical play in one act by Ram Kumar Verma (b. 1905); a well known Hindi poet, playwright, critic, and historian.^[1][2] Sources give conflicting accounts to its date, with some sources giving the year as 1941 and others as 1942.^[2][1] Widely recognized as a masterpiece of modern Hindi theatre, an excerpt from the play was included in Modern Indian Literature, an Anthology: Plays and prose (1992).^{[1][2] [3]} Ram Kumar Verma adapted the work into the English language, organizing the play in three acts and publishing it in 1957.^[3][4] The English translation of the play was acquired by the Library of Congress in 1978.^[5]

The play is titled after the fictional character of Charumitra who is a maid servant to the historical figure of Tishyaraksha, the last wife of the third Mauryan emperor Ashoka (emperor of Magadha).^[1] The play takes place in the thirteenth year of Ashoka's reign in the 3rd century BCE with Charumitra acting as a foil to the historical figures at the center of the play.^[1]