Chitra is a one-act play written by Rabindranath Tagore, first published in English in 1913 by the India Society of London.
[1] The play adapts part of the story from the Mahabharata and centers upon the character of Chitrangada, a female warrior who tries to attract the attention of Arjuna.
They ask Chitra who she is and what is bothering her, to which she replies that she is the daughter of the king of Manipur and has been raised like a boy as her father had no male heir.
Despite knowing that he had pledged several vows including one for twelve years of celibacy, Chitra fell instantly in love with him.
Later the next day, Chitra admits to Madana and Vasanta that she had spurned Arjuna due to him falling for what she saw as a false image of herself.
The play ends with Chitra finally admitting to Arjuna that she is the princess of which he spoke of and that she begged for beauty in order to win him over.
[7] A 1914 article in The New York Times commented that Tagore touched upon modern feminism with the character of Chitra while using Hindu legends.
[8] Chitrangada: The Crowning Wish, a 2012 Bengali-language film written and directed by Rituparno Ghosh, is loosely based on Chitra.