“Insult not him, laid low by poverty;
For none are counted poor by mighty fate:
Yet he who falls from virtue's
high estate,
Though he be rich, no man is poor as he.”
These lines – spoken by Maitreya at the beginning of the play – sum up the message (or moral) that the playwright wishes to impart by the medium of the play.
Charudatta, the main protagonist of the play, is the virtuous man to whom they refer.
Vasantsena – a courtesan – is given shelter by Charudatta when she is being pursued by Sansthanaka (brother in law to the king); and she leaves her jewels in his safekeeping. But, in so doing, he earns the enmity of Sansthanaka.
“The good man's wealth consists in kindly deeds;
All other wealth is vain and quickly flies.
The man who honors not his neighbor's needs,
Does that man know what honor signifies?” The gambling master pursues the masseur, who owes him a debt of ten gold pieces; a debt contracted while gambling. The masseur seeks refuge in Vasantsena’s house. When Vasantsena learns that the masseur had formerly been in Charudatta’s employ, she pays off his debt. The masseur decides to become a Buddhist monk – unlike gambling, a vocation in which he shall not be dishonored.
“Whose love outlasts my wealthy day;
In thee a friend through good and ill;
And truth that naught could take away:
Ah! This the poor man lacks still.”
A thief (Sharvilaka) enters Charudatta’s house at night, and steals the jewels that had been entrusted to him. Charudatta’s wife gives him her pearl necklace with which to recompense Vasantsena for her jewels. This prompts Charudatta to remark that he is – indeed - not poor, for he has a faithful wife and friend. Ironically, the thief (Sharvilaka) wishes to buy Madanika’s (Vasantsena’s maid) freedom with the stolen jewels. But he is not aware that the jewels belong to Vasantsena…
Along with Kalidasa and Bhavabhuti, Shudraka completes the troika of great Sanskrit playwrights of antiquity. Where Shudraka differs from his contemporaries is that his characters are ordinary folk; not heroes drawn from mythology. These are people who would not be out of place even in modern India. He also differs from them, in that humor is integral to his telling the tale. Unfortunately, this is his only surviving play…
Charudatta, who is the hero of the play, would be out of place anywhere but in India. He is a high-minded Brahmin, a man of unbending principle, and self-righteous. He adheres closely to the Hindu concept of the ideal human being (epitomized by Rama). And his character also reveals a fundamental difference in outlook between the Indian and Western mindsets; for one is unlikely to find men such as Charudatta animating Shakespearean dramas. Though it would be unfair to generalize, there is more space for men of philosophy in Indian theater whereas Shakespearean dramas would rather be driven by men of action (Hamlet excepted).