This play satirizes various religions in Kashmir and their place in the politics of King Shankaravarman (883902). The leading character is a young and dynamic orthodox graduate, whose career starts as a glorious campaign against the heretic Buddhists, Jains, and other antisocial sects. By the end of the play he realizes that the interests of the monarch do not encourage such inquisitional rigor.

Unique in Sanskrit literature, Jayanta Bhatta's play, Much Ado About Religion, is a curious mixture of fiction and history, of scathing satire and intriguing philosophical argumentation. The play...