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Description:
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King Pradyota wanted to be considered greater than neighboring king Udayana who famous for his ability to cast a spell on elephants in the enemy army. Pradyota plants a white elephant in the forest at the common boundary of their rival kingdoms, tricking Udayana into coming to get it. Pradyota's men waiting inside the fake elephant, capture Udayana. Chided by Udayana for unbecoming conduct, Pradyota offers to free him if Udayana teaches him how to cast a spell on elephants. Udayana demands homage due to a guru for the instruction. Pradyota considers it demeaning and asks Udayana to teach a hunchback instead. The hunchback is none other than his daughter Vasavadatta who is told that the guru is diseased and so they would be separated by curtains. In the course of this instruction, a verbal tiff between teacher and taught brings them face-to-face and the inevitable happens... This old story has been narrated in Pali prose and Sanskrit verse and has provided plots for two Sanskrit plays.
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