Arts

Bhavabhūti has not included a vidūṣaka in any of his plays – the exclusion maybe because Bhavabhūti felt that he is not endowed with lively and sweet emotions, or probably because he felt that the plot of his plays did not demand the inclusion of such a character; he might have also felt that it was impossible to include a vidūṣaka for the communication of the philosophy he had in in mind. His plays lack hāsya even in instances where it could have been easily brought in.

Bhavabhūti appears to have been well-versed in various śāstras as well; he is likely to have read the poems and plays that were authored before his time and those that were popular in times contemporary to him. One can easily see the influence of Bhāsa, Kālidāsa, Śūdraka, Harṣa, and others in his works. He had not only absorbed the best aspects of the literary works of the poets and scholars who lived prior to him, but also probably harboured the idea that he had surpassed them in every way.

The play Mālatīmādhava belongs to the genre of prakaraṇa; the theme and plot of a prakaraṇa is kalpita, i.e., freshly created by the poet-playwright. Thus, the storyline of the current play under discussion must also have been created by the poet. Nevertheless, we can see from the play that the poet has used quite a number of well-established and ‘stock’ ideas and images in its construction.

The Mālatī-mādhava is a prakaraṇa in ten acts like the Mṛcchakaṭika. The following is the story –

The playwright has displayed his special calibre in compressing the events of an epic into a play, just as he has done in the Mahāvīracarita; in merely a single scene[1], he has effectively condensed all aspects of the first part of the epic of Rāmāyaṇa. The story of the rest of the play is suggested through the dialogue between the naṭa and the sūtradhāra.

Uttara-kāṇḍa of the Rāmāyaṇa does not mention anything about the battle involving Lava and Kuśa; the Pātāla-khaṇḍa (adhyāyas 1-68) of the Padma-purāṇa speaks about the yajñāśva roaming around different lands. Moreover, as per the version that we come across in the purāṇa, Rāma and Sītā reunite and live happily ever after; thus, the story ends on a positive note, just like the play Uttara-rāma-carita.

We may safely say that the Uttara-rāma-carita was the final product of Bhavabhūti’s talent; however, we are discussing the play here because its story is a continuation of the Mahāvīracarita. The following is the summary of its plot –

(Sītā is in her final stages of pregnancy; the elders of the family leave her in the care of Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa and are away to attend a yajña performed by Ṛṣyaśṛṅga)

Mālyavanta is distressed that his plans are failing. (The burning of Laṅkā; Akṣakumāra is slain; Hanūmān offers Rāma’s ring as a token of recognition to Sītā); conversation between Rāvaṇa and Mandodarī. (Laṅkā is besieged by the vānara army). Aṅgada comes to Rāvaṇa as a messenger; the events of the battle between Rāma and Rāvaṇa are described by Vāsava and Citraratha. (Slaying of Rāvaṇa). [Aṅka 6]

One of the manuscripts of the Mālatī-mādhava states that the work was authored by Bhaṭta-kumārila’s student (prose at the end of Act 3); the colophon at the end of the sixth act in same manuscript says that Umbekācārya authored it; furthermore, the colophon at the end says Kumārila’s student Bhavabhūti penned the play. From this, it is reasonable to think that Bhavabhūti is no different from Kumārila’s student Umbekācārya. However, we must reflect upon the amount of importance we must associate with these colophons. None of the other manuscripts say anything similar to this.

Bhavabhūti is the author of three plays, namely – Mahāvīra-carita, Mālatī-mādhava, and Uttara-rāma-carita. It is quite probable Mahāvīra-carita was the first play that he penned. In the play, he narrates his biographical details as follows –