Mattavilasa Prahasana
Encyclopedia
:मत्तविलासप्रहसन), (A Farce of Drunken Sport) is a short one-act Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
play. It is one of the two great one act plays written by scholar King Mahendravarman I
Mahendravarman I
Mahendravarman I was a Pallava king who ruled the Northern regions of what forms present-day Tamil Nadu in India in the early 7th century. He was the son of Simhavishnu, who defeated the Kalabhras and re-established the Pallava kingdom....
(571– 630CE) in the beginning of the seventh century.
Mattavilasa Prahasana is a satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
that pokes fun at the peculiar aspects of the Kapalika
Kapalika
In Hindu culture, Kapalika means bearer of the skull-bowl, and refers to Lord Bhairava taking the kapala vow. As penance for cutting off one of the heads of Brahma, Lord Bhairava became Bhikshatana, an outcast and a beggar...
and Pasupata Saivite sects, Buddhists and Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
. The setting of the play is Kanchipuram, the capital city of the Pallava kingdom in the seventh century. The play revolves around the drunken antics of a Kapalika mendicant
Mendicant
The term mendicant refers to begging or relying on charitable donations, and is most widely used for religious followers or ascetics who rely exclusively on charity to survive....
, Satyasoma, his woman, Devasoma, and the loss and recovery of their skull-bowl. The cast of characters consists of Kapali or Satysoma, an unorthodox Saivite mendicant, Devasoma, Satysoma’s female partner, Buddhist Monk, whose name is Nagasena, Pasupata, a member of another unorthodox Saivite order and Madman. The act
Act
Act may mean:* Act/Power is a philosophical notion defined by Aristotle and known as entelechy* Act , a British band* Act , a document recording the legality of a transaction or contract...
describes a dispute between a drunken Kapali and the Buddhist monk. The inebriated Kapali suspects the Buddhist monk of stealing his begging bowl made from a skull, but after drawn-out argument it is found to have been taken away by a dog.
Synopsis
Mattavilasa Prahasana opens with the entering of two drunken Kapalikas, Satyasoma and his woman, Devasoma. Full of drunken antics, they stumble from tavern to tavern searching for more alcohol. The Kapalikas are told be followers of a Saivite sect whose rites included drinking, wild dancing and singing, and ritual intercourse with their partners. As Satysoma asks for more alms, he realizes that he has lost his sacred skull-bowl. Devasoma suggests that he might have left it at the tavern they previously visited. To their dismay, it was not there. Satyasoma suspects that either a dog or a Buddhist monk has taken it.A Buddhist monk, Nagasena, enters the stage and the Kapalika suggests that he is the culprit-the one who has stolen the skull-bowl. Satyasoma criticizes the Buddhist monk by saying that he steals, lies, and desires liquor, meat and women even though his religion prohibits it. As for Buddhism itself, the kapali accuses it of stealing ideas 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....
and the Vedanta.. Satyasoma argues with the monk who denies the accusations and the dispute eventually leads to a physical brawl. As the fighting escalates, another mendicant, a Pasupata acquaintance of Satyasoma's, enters and mediates the situation. The drawn-out argument continues until the Buddhist monk, in despair, gives his begging bowl to a delusional Satyasoma.
A madman enters the stage and in his hand is Satyasoma's real skull-bowl. The madman recovered the bowl from a dog and the skull-bowl is finally returned to its delighted, rightful owner. There is a happy resolution and all characters leave in an amicable fashion.
Interpretations
There was a strong revivalist movement of HinduismHinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
in South India during the seventh century and King Mahendra supported this revivalism. He excavated temples in mountains, a majority of which were dedicated to Siva
Shiva
Shiva is a major Hindu deity, and is the destroyer god or transformer among the Trimurti, the Hindu Trinity of the primary aspects of the divine. God Shiva is a yogi who has notice of everything that happens in the world and is the main aspect of life. Yet one with great power lives a life of a...
. It is within this atmosphere of this enlightenment when Mahendra’s play, Mattavilasa Prahasana, had its greatest affect.
It is widely held that Mahendra’s play is a satire of the degenerate sects of his day. For example, both the Kapalika and Pasupata sects must have been considered peculiar during Mahendra’s reign, and the king satirizes them in his play. The Kapalikas embodied a serious, yet suspect, religious concept: Tantrism where religious enlightenment is attained through unorthodox rituals. Some of these notorious rituals were Madya (liquor) and Maithuna (ritual intercourse). Meanwhile, these rituals are satirically echoed by Nagasena, the Buddhist monk, who wonders why Buddhism disallows liquor and women. Jainism isn’t spared from Mahendra’s satirical pen as both Devasoma and Satyasoma describe Jains as heretics.
While the play does have a satirical plot, it also provides an interesting look into the life at Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram
Kanchipuram, or Kanchi, is a temple city and a municipality in Kanchipuram district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is a temple town and the headquarters of Kanchipuram district...
during the seventh century. There are references to the sounds of drums, young ladies and various flower shops. The King points to the festive climate within taverns and to the corrupted courts of Kanchi where officials were sometimes bribed. There is also mention of temple towers.
Satyasoma accuses the Buddha of stealing ideas from the Vedanta and Mahabharata. This remark has a bearing on the age of the Mahabharata battle and its epic story.
Adaptations
A dance theatre adaptation of Mattavilasa Prahasanam was recently produced and presented by SANGALPAM. The play opened on February 14, 2003. There was an national United Kingdom tour between 2003-2004. Directed by Stella Uppal-Subbiah, the play was edited to highlight bharatanatyam, and received great reviews.Translations
Mattavilasa Prahasana ‘The Farce of Drunken Sport’ (1981) by Michael Lockwood and A. Vishnu BhatDrunken Games (2001) by David Lorenzen, edited by David Gordon White
The Farce of Drunken Sport (2003) by Stella Uppal-Subbiah [Theatrical Adaptation]
Mattavilasa Prahasana (1936) by N.P. Unni and Narayanan Parameswaran
Mahendravikrama Varmana (1998) by Urmibhushna Gupta
Studies
1. Heras, Rev Henry. Studies in Pallava History. Madras: B.G Paul and Company, 1933.2. Chākyār, Māni Mādhava
Mani Madhava Chakyar
Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar was a celebrated master performance artist and Sanskrit scholar from Kerala, South India, considered to be the greatest Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam artist and authority of modern times...
. Mattavilāsam. Kerala, 1968
3. Chākyār, Māni Mādhava
Mani Madhava Chakyar
Guru Mani Madhava Chakyar was a celebrated master performance artist and Sanskrit scholar from Kerala, South India, considered to be the greatest Chakyar Koothu and Koodiyattam artist and authority of modern times...
. Nātyakalpadrumam
Natyakalpadrumam
Nātyakalpadrumam is a book written by Nātyāchārya Vidūshakaratnam Padma Shri Guru Māni Mādhava Chākyār about all aspects of ancient Sanskrit drama theatre tradition of Kerala- Kutiyattam...
. New Delhi
New Delhi
New Delhi is the capital city of India. It serves as the centre of the Government of India and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi. New Delhi is situated within the metropolis of Delhi. It is one of the nine districts of Delhi Union Territory. The total area of the city is...
:Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi
Sangeet Natak Akademi is the national level academy for performing arts set up by the Government of India.-History:...
, 1975
4. Unni, NP. Mattavilasa on the Kutiyattam Stage Mattavilasam. New Delhi: Nag Publishers, 1997.
5. Unni, NP.Journal of Kerala Studies. Vol I, No I. New Delhi: Trivandrum, 1973.
6. Unni, NP. "Mattavilasa prahasana of Mahendravikramavarman". Madras: College Book House, 1979.
7. Guptā, Urmibhūshṇa. "Mahendravikrama Varmana'. Nayī Dillī : Vāṇī Prakāśana, 1998.
8. Lockwood, M and AV Bhat. The Farce of Drunken Sport. Tambaram, Madras: MCC, 1981.
9. Barnett, Lionel D. Matta-vilasa, a farce by Mahendravikrama-Varman. London: 1930.
10. Zarilli, P. The Play and its Adaptation as South Asian Dance-Theatre 2003. Web. 13 July, 2009
11. Fentress, Roy Kenneth. "The rock-cut shrines of Pallava Mahendravarman I". University of California, Berkeley: University Press, 1981.
12. Varma, Mahendra. "Mattavilasaprahasana. English and Sanscrit". Dilli: Naga Prakasaka, 1998.
13. Jouveau-Dubreuil, Gabriel. "Conjeevaram inscription of Mahêndravarman I". St. Joseph's Industrial School Press, 1919.
14. Aiyangar, Sakkottai K. Early History of Vaishnavism in South India. London: Oxford University Press, 1920.
External links
- http://ideas.repec.org/e/ppm1.html
- http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/358161/Mahendravarman-I
- http://www.enotes.com/mahendravarman-salem/mahendravarman
- http://ignca.nic.in/sanskrit/matta_vilasa_prahasanam.pdf