Intertextuality in Nāṭya Literature: Un-wrapping the Riddle of Historical Imagery and Literary Citations in Śūdraka’s Mṛcchakaṭikam

Intertextuality is widely used in the production of various genres of literature in India. It is most widely used in smṛti literature. The present article explores intertextuality in Mṛcchakaṭikam, which is one of the important nātya literatures of the Gupta period. In this play, Intertextuality is expressed in direct and indirect ways in the adoption of plots, subplots, characters, incidents, etc. Stories, fictions, mythologies, histories, texts, authors, characters all feed on intertextuality. The author of the play knew the basic historical and literary information that he invoked in his plays as references, quotations, allusions, examples etc. to authenticate his writings.