BHASA (Indian, before the 1st century BCE)
Although his dates are very uncertain, the great Indian playwright Bhasa was already well-known by the 1st century BCE; at the earliest, he lived in the later days of the Mauryan Empire (322-185 BCE). Thirteen plays have been connected to him, but were all lost until manuscripts were rediscovered around 1910. Bhasa's plays are generally short compared to later Indian plays. Three of those plays are based on the Ramayana, and seven on the Mahabharata. Another is a fairy tale, and two are based on the life of a legendary king who lived at the time of the Buddha. Two of his plays are the only known tragedies written in Sanskrit in ancient India; later, the guidelines for plays considered sad endings inappropriate.
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