Mṛcchakaṭika (Sanskrit: मृच्छकटिका), also spelled Mṛcchakaṭikā, Mrchchhakatika, Mricchakatika, or Mrichchhakatika (The Little Clay Cart) is a ten-act Sanskrit drama attributed to Śūdraka (Sanskrit: शूद्रक), an ancient playwright generally thought to have lived sometime between the 3rd century BC and the 5th century AD and identified by the prologue as a Kshatriya king as well as a devotee of Siva who lived for 100 years. The play is set in the ancient city of Ujjayini during the reign of the King Pālaka, near the end of the Pradyota dynasty that made up the first quarter of the fifth century BC. The central story is that of noble but impoverished young Brahmin, Chārudatta (Sanskrit: चारुदत्त), who falls in love with a wealthy courtesan or nagarvadhu, Vasantasenā (Sanskrit: वसन्तसेना). Despite their mutual affection, however, the couple's lives and love are threatened when a vulgar courtier, Samsthānaka, also known as Shakara, begins to aggressively pursue Vasantasenā.