📄 Abstract
In Performance Studies, the definition of performance has been extended beyond theatrical performance to encompass bodily actions, social interactions, identity, and politics. This paper explores the relationship between performance and politics in three of Bhāsa's plays: Pratijñā-Yaugandharāyaṇam (The Minister's Vows), Svapnavāsavadattam (The Vision of Vasavadatta), and Dūtavākyam (The Embassy). The study posits that the production of political power in Bhāsa's plays lies in performative practices. Drawing on concepts from Richard Schechner's Performance Studies, Erving Goffman's notion of performed identity, and Kayla Rush & Sonja Kleij's performance–politics relationship, the paper explores aspects such as disguise, hidden identity, diplomacy, and spectacle as political performances. In Pratijñā-Yaugandharāyaṇam, Yaugandharāyaṇa's disguises enable him to engage in political action by controlling his visibility and identity. In Svapnavāsavadattam, Vāsavadattā's political alliance depends on her death spectacle and hidden identity, which also involves self-denial. In Dūtavākyam, Kṛṣṇa's diplomatic performance transforms into a spectacular embodiment.
🏷️ Keywords
📚 How to Cite:
Sangamesh , PERFORMING POWER: THE PERFORMANCE–POLITICS NEXUS IN THE SELECT PLAYS OF BHĀSA , Volume 12 , Issue 8, August 2026, EPRA International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (IJMR) , Pages: 179 - 183 , DOI: https://doi.org/10.36713/epra28851