''Mattavilasa Prahasana'' (

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...

:मत्तविलासप्रहसन), () is a short one-act

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

play. It is one of the two great one act plays written by Pallava King

Mahendravarman I Mahendravarman I (600–630 CE) was a Pallava emperor who ruled over realm covering the southern portions of present-day Andhra region and northern regions of what forms present-day Tamil Nadu in India, in the early 7th century. He was a schol ...

(571– 630CE) in the beginning of the seventh century in southern India.Bhat and Lockwood, pg. 51 ''Mattavilasa Prahasana'' is a

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of exposin ...

that pokes fun at the peculiar aspects of the heretic Kapalika and Pasupata Saivite sects,

Buddhists Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE. It is the world's fourth ...

and

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

. 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 A mendicant (from , "begging") is one who practices mendicancy, relying chiefly or exclusively on alms to survive. In principle, Mendicant orders, mendicant religious orders own little property, either individually or collectively, and in many i ...

, 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, a ''Buddhist Monk'', whose name is Nagasena, ''Pasupata'', a member of another unorthodox Saivite order and a ''Madman''. The act 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 a 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 to be followers of a heretic Saivite sect whose

rites RITES Ltd, formerly known as Rail India Technical and Economic Service Limited, is an Indian public sector undertaking and engineering consultancy corporation, specializing in the field of transport infrastructure. Established in 1974 by the In ...

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 The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; , , ) is one of the two major Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epics of ancient India revered as Smriti texts in Hinduism, the other being the ''Ramayana, Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the events and aftermath of the Kuru ...

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. The 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

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

in southern India during the seventh century and King Mahendra supported this revivalism. He excavated temples in mountains, a majority of which were dedicated to Siva. It is within this atmosphere of this enlightenment when Mahendra’s play, ''Mattavilasa Prahasana'', had its greatest effect. 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 Tantra (; ) is an esoteric yogic tradition that developed on the Indian subcontinent beginning in the middle of the 1st millennium CE, first within Shaivism and later in Buddhism. The term ''tantra'', in the Indian traditions, also means ...

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 (International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: '; ), also known as Kanjeevaram, is a stand alone city corporation, satellite nodal city of Chennai in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu in the Tondaimandalam region, from ...

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 2003 dance theatre adaptation of ''Mattavilasa Prahasanam'' was produced and presented by SANGALPAM. There was a national United Kingdom tour between 2003-2004. Directed by Stella Uppal-Subbiah, the play was edited to highlight bharatanatyam, and received great reviews.Zarilli, http://www.phillipzarrilli.com/productions/drunkenmonk/index.html .

Translations

* ''Mattavilasa Prahasana'' ''The Farce of Drunken Sport'' (1981) by Michael Lockwood and A. Vishnu Bhat * ''Drunken Games'' (2001) by David Lorenzen, edited by David Gordon White * ''The Farce of Drunken Sport'' (2003) by Stella Uppal-Subbiah heatrical Adaptation* ''Mattavilasa Prahasana'' (1936) by N.P. Unni and Narayanan Parameswaran * ''Mahendravikrama Varmana'' (1998) by Urmibhushna Gupta * ''High Spirits'' (1990, 1992) by Rahul Bonner

References

{{reflist

External links

*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 Sanskrit plays Indian plays Ancient Indian literature 7th-century Sanskrit literature