Kalakeyavadham (The Slaying of Kalakeya) is a

Kathakali Kathakali ( ml, കഥകളി) is a major form of classical Indian dance. It is a "story play" genre of art, but one distinguished by the elaborately colourful make-up and costumes of the traditional male actor-dancers. It is native to the M ...

play ( Aattakatha) written by Kottayam Thampuran (also known as Kottayathu Thampuran) in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

.Based on the

Mahabharatha The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

, the play describes the events surrounding the

Pandava The Pandavas ( Sanskrit: पाण्डव, IAST: Pāṇḍava) refers to the five legendary brothers— Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva—who are the central characters of the Hindu epic '' Mahabharata''. They are acknowle ...

prince

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Pand ...

's visit to his father Indra's abode, paradise. The role of Arjuna is considered a challenge for any Kathakali actor. The four plays of Kottayam Thampuran, namely, Kirmeeravadham, Bakavadham, Kalyanasaugandhikam and Kalakeyavadham, are considered very important in the Kathakali repertoire and are a combination of conventional structure ('chitta') with intermittent possibilities for improvisation ('manodharma')."Touchstone of artistic expression" from ''The Hindu'', 2 February 2012
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References

{{reflist Kathakali Indian plays Malayalam-language literature