King Udayana, the ruler of the country of Vats, was defeated in the battle and lost half of the kingdom. His wise minister Yaugandharayana understands that it is possible to recover the lost only with the help of the powerful king Magadha Darshaki. For this, Udayans need to enter into a kinship with him - to marry the sister of King Darshaki Padmavati. But Udayana loves her husband Vasavadatta so much that she will never agree to a new marriage. And then Yaugandharayana resorts to cunning: he sets fire to the female chambers of the Udayana palace, spreads a rumor about the death of Vasavadatta in a fire, and, having changed clothes, hides with her in Magadha.
There, while visiting the princess Padmavati of the hermitage’s forest monastery, Yaugandharayana introduces her to Vasavadatta under the name of Avantika as her sister, whose husband went to a foreign land, and asks Padmavati to take her for a while under his protection. When, shortly afterwards, Ujayan arrives in Rajagriha, the capital of Magadhi, as the royal guest, Vasavadatta Avantika has already become Padmavati's beloved servant and girlfriend. Conquered by the virtues of Udayana, the king of Darshak offers him Padmavati as his wife. Although Udayana is still inconsolably mourning over Vasavadatta, by the will of circumstances, he is forced to agree to this marriage.
No matter how attached Vasavadatga to Padmavati, she is tormented by a feeling of powerless jealousy. But once she and Padmavati accidentally hear in the palace park a conversation between Udayana and his friend Brahmin Vasantaka. Udayana confesses to Vasantaka that he “is completely devoted to Padmavati for her beauty, for her mind, for her tenderness but with her heart - no!” It, as before, belongs to Vasavadatta. ” For Vasavadatta, these words are a consolation and at least some kind of reward for suffering, and Padmavati, although at first bitterly hearing her, pays tribute to the nobility of Udayana and his fidelity to the memory of the deceased wife. A few days later, looking for Padmavati, Vasavadatga finds Udayana sleeping in one of the park pavilions. Having mistaken him for Padmavati in the darkness, she sits down on his bed, and suddenly Udayana speaks half-asleep with her, reaches out to her, asks to forgive him. Vasavadatga quickly leaves, and Udayana remains in ignorance if he had a dream, and then “it would be happiness not to wake up”, or dreamed in reality, and then “if such a dream lasted forever!”
In alliance with Darshaka, Udayana defeats the enemies and regains his kingdom. On the solemn celebration of victory, the envoys of the father and mother of Vasavadatta arrive. The nurse, Vasavadatta, gives the king a portrait of her in memory of her, and here, to her surprise, Padmavati recognizes his maid Avantik in this portrait. Suddenly, a disguised Yaugandharayana appears and asks Padmavati to return his sister previously left in her care. Already foreseeing who her servant would be, Padmavati herself volunteers to bring her, and when she arrives, then first the nurse, and then, not believing her eyes, Udayan will recognize in imaginary Avantika the miraculously resurrected Vasavadatta. The Yaugandharayans have to tell those present why he conceived and how he implemented his cunning plan. He asks for forgiveness from Udayana, receives it and predicts to his sovereign a long reign in love and harmony with two beautiful spouses-queens - Vasavadatta and Padmavati.
