Early Intimations of Peace and Harmony in Sanskrit Drama

May 1, 2020

Mohan R. Limaye Professor Emeritus at Boise State University

The classical Sanskrit plays of India end on a note of harmony and cosmic balance because, first of all, harmonious order in the Universe is what ancient Hindus and Buddhists held as their philosophical and doctrinal belief system (1). The second reason for the peaceful or tranquil endings of Sanskrit plays was that the dramaturgy of the time proposed the shanta rasa (the sentiment of peace and tranquility) as the supreme one among the nine rasas and as the sentiment, the feeling, to leave the audience with when the conclusion of a play was reached (2).

Quite a few scholars and critics have commented upon this characteristic of Sanskrit drama. However, they take into account only the epilogue (the concluding benedictory stanza = the Bharata-Vaakya), which is the dramatist’s prayer for the resumption of the norm and of harmonious life after the disruption and chaos caused or threatened by the undesirable characters and events in the play. However, I’d like to suggest that the fulfillment of this yearning for harmony and order is promised -- or sometimes foretold -- in one or several preceding stanza(s) of the last scene. What has gone unnoticed, though very significant, is that in all these plays events and developments occur prior to the denouement that are predictive of a coming era of stability and harmony, not just wishful thinking or prayers for peace contained in the epilogue.

The importance of this foreshadowing cannot be overstated because the demonstration or vindication of Cosmic Order through “Dharmic (ethically sound) Kingship” was the purpose of most (if not all) performing and literary arts in ancient India since they were patronized by the reigning monarchs. And my conjecture is that the sooner the intimation of ultimate Harmony in the plays, the better it was for the assurance and security it gave to the audience (1).

The concluding scenes of three Sanskrit dramas are here explored as examples: Kalidasa’s The Recognition of Shakuntala, Shudraka’s The Little Clay Cart and Bhasa’s The Breaking of the Thighs. Note, for instance, that in The Recognition of Shakuntala the “blessing” bestowed by the sage Maaricha upon the hero Dushyanta and also Indra (the king of the gods, who remains behind the “curtain”) promises Cosmic Order for eons: “May harmony and order prevail in both the worlds” -- in the world above under Indra and here in this world under King Dushyanta (“Rule you on earth, and he in heaven” – Arthur Ryder’s translation). This stanza (Act X, Stanza 34 in M. R. Kale’s edition) comes BEFORE the final benediction, not to mention that the acceptance of the lawfully wedded wife Shakuntala by her husband Dushyanta restores righteousness (Dharma) and that the imperial birthmark on Prince Bharata’s hand also foretells an orderly succession to the throne.

In The Little Clay Cart (Mruchhakatika), the hero Charudatta lists in a stanza (BEFORE the denouement or the Bharata- Vaakya) one benefit accrued, not just for himself but, for the whole world, namely, Aryaka has become the new King, getting rid of the old tyrannical and willful king and thus becoming a guarantor of order and balance (Act X, Stanza 59). I also want to emphasize that the foreshadowing of the auspicious times to come and of the restoration of order occurs in this play as early as the Prologue –the initial Benediction, the Naandee -- itself. The reference there to Gauri’s arm resting on Shiva’s neck foreshadows the happy ending – “All’s well that ends well”: A goddess {Gauri} embracing her husband-deity {Shiva} is a strong harbinger of Harmony in the Universe.

In Urubhunga (The Breaking of the Thighs), the Protagonist Duryodhana of the Kaurava family is already showing signs of reconciliation with the inevitable, the total rout of the Kauravas, and thus a truce with the new order (3). That is why he tries to dissuade Ashwatthaaman (a warrior on the Kaurava side) from further battle. However, even BEFORE the traditional (almost generic) prayer in the Epilogue for the King to “protect the Earth, his enemies appeased,” –Edwin Gerow’s translation, Ashwatthaaman “crowns” Durjaya, Duryodhana’s son, as the succeeding King, again a promise of Order and Harmony to come. In the autonomous or self-contained world of the play (regardless of how its source -- the epic Mahabharata -- concludes this episode), the hero Duryodhana dies peacefully, convinced that his son will reign after him and cosmic balance, as he sees it, will prevail. He has reached serenity. The prophetic promise of Balarama, the voice of the “Chorus”, is there to reassure him (4).

NOTES

I’ve benefited from many insightful comments and suggestions from my friends and relatives during the revision process of this abstract.

(1) Indians were not unique in their desire for Peace and Harmony. In the minds of most people in ancient times, Peace and Harmony -- universally longed for and two fundamental drivers of diverse societies -- were inextricably tied with legitimately enthroned monarchy. Hence, orderly succession of kingship was an all-important, all-consuming, concern for all. The three Indian plays explored here fit this pattern. Please also see Note 4 below.

(2) Sanskrit poetics theorized that the fine arts, chiefly poetry (which included all other genres of literature), evoked different moods or sentiments in the consumer of the arts or, as in this case, in the appreciative audience of a play (rasik). The theoreticians postulated nine major sentiments or emotions (rasas). For a fuller explanation and elaboration of the theory of rasa, the reader may consult the “Introduction” in M.R. Kale’s edition of Shakuntala (The Bibliography below gives a full citation of Kale’s work). In this context, one is reminded of Aristotle’s theory of Catharsis in his Poetics.

(3) The essence of the plot of Urubhunga (The Breaking of the Thighs) comes from the Mahabharata, one of the two major epics of ancient India. The epic narrates the vicious fratricidal war between two sets of cousins, the Kauravas and the Pandavas. The Protagonist Duryodhana of the Kaurava family – the oldest of the one hundred brothers – is the last one dying on the battlefield, which forms the main action of this one-act play.

(4) For a comparison, I’d like to draw my Western readers’ attention to Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth. In the former play, everybody dies except Horatio; however, the Norwegian prince Fortinbras takes over as the new king of Denmark (legitimately, with Hamlet’s “dying voice” in favor of his succession) and promises Balance and Order in the kingdom. In the latter play, after the usurper-king Macbeth is slain, Malcolm the lawful heir of the murdered king Duncan occupies the Scottish throne, foretelling an era of Virtue and Harmony.

Bibliography

Bhasa. Urubhunga (The Breaking of the Thighs). Translated by Edwin Gerow. Journal of South Asian Literature, vol. 20, no. 1, 1985, pp. 57-70.

Kalidasa. Abhidnyaan-Shaakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala). Translated by Arthur W. Ryder. Dover Publications, 2003.

Kalidasa. Abhidnyaan-Shaakuntalam (The Recognition of Shakuntala). Translated by M.R. Kale. (Tenth Edition) Motilal Banarsidas: Delhi (India), 1969.

Shudraka. Mruchhakatika (The Little Clay Cart: A Hindu Drama Attributed to King Shudraka). Translated by Arthur William Ryder. Harvard University, 1905.