Madhyamavyayoga
Encyclopedia
Madhyamavyayoga or Madhyama Vyāyoga (Devanagari
: मध्यमव्यायोग), (The Middle One) is a Sanskrit play
attributed to Bhāsa
. There is no real consensus regarding when the play was written, and it has been dated variously from 475 BCE to the 11th century CE. It has been pointed out that the famous Sanskrit poet Kalidasa
, who lived around 400 AD, has mentioned Bhasa in his works, and hence Bhasa is dated around 350 AD . However, many scholars disagree, and opine that Bhasa lived around the 7th to 8th centuries CE, placing the play's creation within the same time period. Madhyama Vyayoga focuses on the name confusion between the priest Keshav Das's middle son and the middle Pandava prince Bhima
. Also, the reunion of Bhima
and Ghatokach
as father and son take place. While the characters in this tale are taken from the Mahabharata
, this particular incidence is solely a product of Bhasa
. Madhyamavyayoga falls under a particular type of Sanskrit drama called Vyayoga.
Vyayoga is a type of Sanskrit plays of only one act, containing heroic overtones and lacking significant feminine roles or romantic themes.
brothers are spending their exile, and commences with a Brahmin
family of a mother, father, and their three sons being pursued by Ghatokach, son of the demoness Hidimbā
and the middle Pandava prince, Bhima
. Ghatokach
, however, is only doing his mother’s bidding, for she has asked him to find some human for her to have as a meal. Upon capturing the Brahmin family, Ghatokach states that he will release the family, as long as one individual becomes Hidimbā’s dinner. In acts of selflessness, each person in the family strives to be taken by Ghatokach in order to save the rest of the family. The priest (the father) states that he will go to preserve his family. The mother protests that her husband means everything to her and that she has served her purpose as a mother so she must go. Both the first and second son argue that it is they instead that must save the family. Upon painfully discussing who will have to give their life to spare the other members of the family, the father confesses that the first son is his favorite, and the mother admits that the youngest is hers, leaving the middle son to be taken by Hidimbā. Before facing his fate, the middle son first asks permission to first quench his thirst at a nearby lake.
After the priests's middle son has gone for some time, Ghatokach worries that his mother’s dinner time will soon pass, and he demands that the family give him the name of the middle son so that he may call him. The first son gives Ghatokach the name madhyama, which literally means, “Middle one,” which, coincidentally, is also the title of Bhima, as he is the middle of the first three Pandava brothers. As a result, Bhima believes that it is he that is being called, enters the scene, and takes charge of the situation, telling the priest that he is free to go and that he will take his place as Hidimbā’s meal if necessary.
In arguing, both Ghatokach and Bhima notice that the other is rather proud; curious, Bhima inquires the identity of Ghatokach's mother, only to find that he is indeed his son. Bhima does not, however, say this right away. Instead they wrestle and argue longer, possibly for Bhima’s own amusement. Finally, Bhima defeats Ghatokach and lets the family to leave, but in despair Ghatokach reminds Bhima of his promise that he will go in place of the priest's middle son. Bhima allows Ghatokach to call his mother, who, upon entering the scene, immediately reveals the identity of Bhima to their son. Shocked and humbled by the sudden revelation, Ghatokach repents for his ignorance. Hidimbā claims that her appetite is indeed satisfied by the return of her husband, and both families go their separate ways on good terms.
) Kala Mandir , Bellary. The same play had been staged at different parts of India (Kolkata, Kurukshetra, Madurai, Kozhikode, Varanasi and all over Karnataka state).
Madhyamavyayoga was also performed by the 2nd year students of the National School of Drama in Delhi. It was directed by Anjala Mahirishi and performed in November 2002. National School of Drama (NSD) is India's premier theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India,
In this paper, Sutherland Goldman examines the play from a psychological and sociological standpoint. As the title suggests, the majority of the paper deals with the portrayal of Hidimba, Ghatotkacha's demon mother. Hidimba is not physically present in the play until the very end, yet guides it from behind the scenes. Of particular note is the interaction between her libidinal and gustatory urges. Sutherland Goldman indicates that unlike the male rakshasa, the rakshasi's desire for human flesh can be supplanted by sexual desire. Hidimba is a realization of the Freudian Oedipal mother, or archaic mother. Sutherland Goldman goes on to compare the struggle between Bhima and Ghatotkacha to the struggle between Oedipal father and son. Upon Ghatotkacha, Hidimba, and Bhima's reunion, patriarchal order is restored and Hidimba's gustatory urges disappear.
Devanagari
Devanagari |deva]]" and "nāgarī" ), also called Nagari , is an abugida alphabet of India and Nepal...
: मध्यमव्यायोग), (The Middle One) is a Sanskrit play
Sanskrit drama
The earliest-surviving fragments of Sanskrit drama date from the 1st century CE. The Mahābhāṣya by Patañjali contains the earliest reference to what may have been the seeds of Sanskrit drama. This treatise on grammar from 140 BCE provides a feasible date for the beginnings of theatre in India.Its...
attributed to Bhāsa
Bhasa
Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
. There is no real consensus regarding when the play was written, and it has been dated variously from 475 BCE to the 11th century CE. It has been pointed out that the famous Sanskrit poet Kalidasa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
, who lived around 400 AD, has mentioned Bhasa in his works, and hence Bhasa is dated around 350 AD . However, many scholars disagree, and opine that Bhasa lived around the 7th to 8th centuries CE, placing the play's creation within the same time period. Madhyama Vyayoga focuses on the name confusion between the priest Keshav Das's middle son and the middle Pandava prince Bhima
Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
. Also, the reunion of Bhima
Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
and Ghatokach
Ghatotkacha
Ghatotkacha , is a character in the Mahabharata, the son of Bhima and the giantess Hidimbi . His maternal parentage made him half-rakshasa and gave him many magical powers that made him an important fighter in the Kurukshetra war, the climax of the epic...
as father and son take place. While the characters in this tale are taken from the Mahabharata
Mahabharata
The Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
, this particular incidence is solely a product of Bhasa
Bhasa
Bhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
. Madhyamavyayoga falls under a particular type of Sanskrit drama called Vyayoga.
Etymology
Madhyama refers to the middle one: In this case, the middle sibling.Vyayoga is a type of Sanskrit plays of only one act, containing heroic overtones and lacking significant feminine roles or romantic themes.
Synopsis
The play takes place in the same forest in which the PandavaPandava
In the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, the Pandava are the five acknowledged sons of Pandu , by his two wives Kunti and Madri. Their names are Yudhisthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva. Although, Karna is told by Lord Krishna that according to the laws and ethics he is the first son of Kunti making...
brothers are spending their exile, and commences with a Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
family of a mother, father, and their three sons being pursued by Ghatokach, son of the demoness Hidimbā
Hidimbi
Hidimbi or Hidimbā, in the Hindu epic Mahābhārata, is a Rakshasi. She met Bhima while he was travelling in the forest with his Pandava brothers and mother Kunti. After fleeing a burning palace at Varanavat, which was set up by their cousin Duryodhana to burn them alive; the Pandavas were wandering...
and the middle Pandava prince, Bhima
Bhima
In the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
. Ghatokach
Ghatotkacha
Ghatotkacha , is a character in the Mahabharata, the son of Bhima and the giantess Hidimbi . His maternal parentage made him half-rakshasa and gave him many magical powers that made him an important fighter in the Kurukshetra war, the climax of the epic...
, however, is only doing his mother’s bidding, for she has asked him to find some human for her to have as a meal. Upon capturing the Brahmin family, Ghatokach states that he will release the family, as long as one individual becomes Hidimbā’s dinner. In acts of selflessness, each person in the family strives to be taken by Ghatokach in order to save the rest of the family. The priest (the father) states that he will go to preserve his family. The mother protests that her husband means everything to her and that she has served her purpose as a mother so she must go. Both the first and second son argue that it is they instead that must save the family. Upon painfully discussing who will have to give their life to spare the other members of the family, the father confesses that the first son is his favorite, and the mother admits that the youngest is hers, leaving the middle son to be taken by Hidimbā. Before facing his fate, the middle son first asks permission to first quench his thirst at a nearby lake.
After the priests's middle son has gone for some time, Ghatokach worries that his mother’s dinner time will soon pass, and he demands that the family give him the name of the middle son so that he may call him. The first son gives Ghatokach the name madhyama, which literally means, “Middle one,” which, coincidentally, is also the title of Bhima, as he is the middle of the first three Pandava brothers. As a result, Bhima believes that it is he that is being called, enters the scene, and takes charge of the situation, telling the priest that he is free to go and that he will take his place as Hidimbā’s meal if necessary.
In arguing, both Ghatokach and Bhima notice that the other is rather proud; curious, Bhima inquires the identity of Ghatokach's mother, only to find that he is indeed his son. Bhima does not, however, say this right away. Instead they wrestle and argue longer, possibly for Bhima’s own amusement. Finally, Bhima defeats Ghatokach and lets the family to leave, but in despair Ghatokach reminds Bhima of his promise that he will go in place of the priest's middle son. Bhima allows Ghatokach to call his mother, who, upon entering the scene, immediately reveals the identity of Bhima to their son. Shocked and humbled by the sudden revelation, Ghatokach repents for his ignorance. Hidimbā claims that her appetite is indeed satisfied by the return of her husband, and both families go their separate ways on good terms.
Adaptations
Madhyamavyayoga was performed by the drama troupe of Alva's Education Foundation. It was directed by noted director Jeevan Ram Sullia. The Alva Education Foundation bagged the state level ‘Ranga Thorana’ award at the Natakotsav held at Raghavendra (sic - this should be RaghavaBellary Raghava
Bellary Raghava was a noted Indian playwright from Bellary, India.Tadpatri Raghavacharlu, populary known as 'Bellary' Raghava, was a renowned actor. He was born on 2 August 1880. He received his early education at Bellary and later graduated in law from the Madras University. His uncle Dharmavaraṃ...
) Kala Mandir , Bellary. The same play had been staged at different parts of India (Kolkata, Kurukshetra, Madurai, Kozhikode, Varanasi and all over Karnataka state).
Madhyamavyayoga was also performed by the 2nd year students of the National School of Drama in Delhi. It was directed by Anjala Mahirishi and performed in November 2002. National School of Drama (NSD) is India's premier theatre training institute situated at New Delhi, India,
Translations to English
The play has been translated into English a handful of times. The majority of the texts below include English introductions and notes.- Janvier, E. P. (1922). The Madhyama Vyayoga; a drama composed by the poet Bhasa. Mysore: Wesleyan Mission Press.
- Devadhar, C. (1957). Madhyamavyayoga; a Sanskrit drama, a one act play attributed to Bhasa. Poona: Oriental Book Agency.
- Swarup, L., & Woolner, A. C. (1991). Thirteen Plays of Bhasa. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass.
- Haskar, A. (1993). The Shattered Thigh and Other Mahabharata Plays of Bhasa. New Delhi: Penguin Books India.
- Bhattacharjee, S. (1999). Madhyama-Vyayoga: a Sanskrit one-act play attributed to Bhasa. Mumbai: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan.
- Sharma, S. K. (2005). Karṇabhāram and Madhyama-vyāyoga. Delhi: Parimal Publications.
Studies
- Salomon, Richard (2010) "Like Father, Like Son: Poetic Strategies in "The Middle Brother" (Madhyama-vyāyoga) Attributed to Bhāsa." Indo-Iranian Journal (IIJ), Volume 53, Number 1, pp. 1-22.
- Tieken, Hermann. (information pending)
- Panikkar, K. (2004, September 3). Notes on Bhasa's Play Madhyama Vyayoga.
- Sastri, T. G. (1917). The Madhyamavyayoga of Bhasa with the commentary of Pandit T. Ganapati Sastri. Trivandrum: Sridhara Printing House.
- Sutherland Goldman, S. J. The Monstrous Feminine: Raksasis and Other Others. University of California at Berkeley (unpublished)
In this paper, Sutherland Goldman examines the play from a psychological and sociological standpoint. As the title suggests, the majority of the paper deals with the portrayal of Hidimba, Ghatotkacha's demon mother. Hidimba is not physically present in the play until the very end, yet guides it from behind the scenes. Of particular note is the interaction between her libidinal and gustatory urges. Sutherland Goldman indicates that unlike the male rakshasa, the rakshasi's desire for human flesh can be supplanted by sexual desire. Hidimba is a realization of the Freudian Oedipal mother, or archaic mother. Sutherland Goldman goes on to compare the struggle between Bhima and Ghatotkacha to the struggle between Oedipal father and son. Upon Ghatotkacha, Hidimba, and Bhima's reunion, patriarchal order is restored and Hidimba's gustatory urges disappear.
Translations to Other Languages
- Rai, G. S. (1997). Madhyamavyāyogah̤ : "Gaṅgā"-Saṃskr̥ta-Hindīvyākhyopetam. Varanasi: Caukhambhā Saṃskr̥ta Saṃsthāna. (Hindi)
- Simha, H. (2003). Bhāsa ke tīna nāṭaka : Karṇabhāra, Dūtavākya aura Madhyamavyāyoga. Prayag (Allahabad): Hindī Sāhitya Sammelana. (Hindi)
- Upadhyay, C., & Upadhyay, A. K. (2001). Bhāsa ke nāṭaka : samīkṣātmaka bhūmikā, mūla tathā Hindī anuvāda ke sātha. Delhi: Naga Publishers. (Hindi)
See also
- BhasaBhasaBhāsa is one of the earliest and most celebrated Indian playwrights in Sanskrit. However, very little is known about him.Kālidāsa in the introduction to his first play Malavikagnimitram writes -...
- BhimaBhimaIn the Mahābhārata, Bhima is one of the central characters of Mahabharata and the second of the Pandava brothers...
- GhatotkachaGhatotkachaGhatotkacha , is a character in the Mahabharata, the son of Bhima and the giantess Hidimbi . His maternal parentage made him half-rakshasa and gave him many magical powers that made him an important fighter in the Kurukshetra war, the climax of the epic...
- MahabharataMahabharataThe Mahabharata is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India and Nepal, the other being the Ramayana. The epic is part of itihasa....
- Mattavilasa
- Raksasa
- Sanskrit dramaSanskrit dramaThe earliest-surviving fragments of Sanskrit drama date from the 1st century CE. The Mahābhāṣya by Patañjali contains the earliest reference to what may have been the seeds of Sanskrit drama. This treatise on grammar from 140 BCE provides a feasible date for the beginnings of theatre in India.Its...
- Sanskrit literatureSanskrit literatureLiterature in Sanskrit begins with the Vedas, and continues with the Sanskrit Epics of Iron Age India; the golden age of Classical Sanskrit literature dates to late Antiquity . Literary production saw a late bloom in the 11th century before declining after 1100 AD...
- UrubhangaUrubhangaUrubhanga or Urubhangam, , is a Sanskrit play written by Bhasa in the 2nd or 3rd century AD. Based on the well-known epic, the Mahābhārata, by Vyasa, Urubhanga focuses on the story of the character Duryodhana during and after his fight with Bhima...