Chapter 7.4 - Study of the Bhasa’s Urubhanga

Urubhanga—Title. The smashing (bhanga) of the thighs (uru) of Duryodhana in the club-fight is described in this drama and hence the title is most appropriate. Plot. Three warriors enter the stage after the stagemanager has finished his preliminaries and between themselves give a detailed description of the battlefield on the eighteenth day of the great Kuru War. The whole battle-ground was full of corpses and of jackals and vultures gathered to eat flesh from the dead bodies. Some noise is heard behind the curtain which is identified later on as that produced by the terrible mace-fight between Bhima and Duryodhana. The warriors turn their paces to the place where the club-fight is going on in the presence of Vyasa, Vidura, Balarama and Krsna. They then describe the fight very realistically. In the opinion of 1 Bulletin of the Ramavarma Research Institute, 5. p. 8.

On 196 20 the second warrior, Bhima was physically stronger while Duryodhana was more adept in the club-fight (v. 19 samsiksito narapatirbalavamstu bhimah ). In the fight later on, Bhima gets a terrible blow his head and falls down, which plunges the Pandava supporters into anxieties, and gladdens Balarama at the victory of his disciple. Duryodhana then taunts Bhima by telling him not to be afraid, as he was not going to kill him, though his life was at his (Duryodhana's) mercy. Seeing this, Krsna makes a secret sign to Bhima by striking on his own thighs. This infuses a new spirit in Bhima and he rises up energetically quite fresh for fighting anew after a loud thundering shout. After fighting for some time, Bhima hurls his mace with both hands on the thighs of Duryodhana contrary to the established rules of club-fight in accordance with Krsna's sign. Duryodhana's thighs are broken and bleed profusely and he falls to the ground. At his fall, Vyasa sets out to fly to the heavens and Balarama becomes enraged at the unjust treatment accorded to Duryodhana; but on Vyasa's advice Bhima is led elsewhere by the Pandavas helped by Krsna. Balarama opens the next scene, shouting loudly that he is going to kill Bhima, and asking Duryodhana to hold on a little longer. Hearing this, Duryodhana crawls in with great effort as his thighs are broken, and tries to pacify Balarama by saying, "Let the offerers of funeral oblations live and let strifes and enmities vanish. " v. 31 jivantu te kurukulasya nivapameghah vairam ca vigrahakatha ca vayam ca nastah | But instead Balarama becomes more enraged and talks of killing all the Pandavas. Duryodhana, however, shows saintly resignation saying it was no use fighting in his the then circumstances (v. 33 ) and that it was not Bhima, but the great Lord Krsna who had deceived him; Krsna had entered as it were Bhima's mace and made present of his (Duryodhana's) life to the God of death (v. 35)¹ tivra bhimagadam pravisya sahasa nirvyajayuddhapriya- stenaham jagatah priyena harina mrtyoh parigrahitah || 1 Drs. Woolner and Sarup declare this verse and the three dialogues preceding it (Dgh, T.S.S. No. 22, p. 99) as later additions. Thirteen Trivandrum Plays. Volume 2, p. 52 n 1.

197 Then enter Dhrtarastra, Gandhari, the queens of Duryodhana, and his son Durjaya, all bewailing his sad lot and searching for him on the battle-field. All this pains Duryodhana to the most, more poignant than his physical injuries. The sight of his queens crying aloud, walking on foot and bare-headed, without their usual veils, strikes a serious blow to Duryodhana (p. I 01 ) : bhoh ! kastam | yanmamapi striyorudanti | purve na janami gadabhighata- rujamidanim tu samarthayami | prakasikrtamurdhajani yanme ranam pravistanyavarodhanani || 38 || More is yet to come. At the approach of his parents and at the express desire of his father to salute him, Duryodhana tries to get up to fall at the feet of his father but falls down again (p. 102 ) dhrtarastrah- ehi putra ! abhivadayasva mam | raja - ayamayamagacchami | ( utthanam rupayitva patati ) ha dhik ! ayam me dvitiyah praharah | kastam bhoh ! hrtam me bhimasenena gadapatakacagrahe | samamurudvayenadya guroh padabhivandanam ||41|| The scene between Duryodhana and Durjaya is the most pathetic, the most touching, in the whole range of Sanskrit literature and no apology is needed to quote the whole scene in extenso owing to its bringing out the inner traits of Duryodhana, and showing him in the light in which the poet wants us to see Duryodhana. The dialogues between the father and the son are most touching and heart-rending. The whole scene bears the stamp of the master who has created the garden-scene or the dreamscene in the Svapna." dhrtarastrah - ka esa bhoh ! mama vastrantamakarsat margamadesayati | durjayah- tada ! aham dujjayo | dhrtarastrah - pautra ! durjaya ! pitaramanviccha | durjayah - parissanto khu aham | dhrtarastrah - gaccha, pituranke visramayisyasi | durjayah - tada ! aham gacchami | ( upasrtya ) tada ! karhisi | raja - aye ayamadhyagatah | sarvavasthayam hrdayasannihitah putrasneho mam dahati | kutah, 1 Of. Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal, 17, p. 275..

198 duhkhanamanabhijneyo mamankasayanocitah | nirjitam durjayo drsta kintu mamabhidhasyati || 42 || durjayah- abham maharao bhumie uvaviho | raja - putra ! kimarthamagatah | durjayah -- tuvam cirayasi tti | raja - aho asyamavasthayam putrasneho hrdayam dahati | durjayah-- aham pi khu de anke uvavisami | (ankamarohati ) raja - (nivarya ) durjaya ! durjaya ! bhoh ! kastam | hrdayapritijanano yo me netrotsavah svayam | so'yam kalaviparyasanccandro vahnitvamagatah ||43|| durjayah - anke uvavesam kimnimittam tuvam varesi | raja- tyaktva paricitam putra ! yatra tatra tvayasyatam | adyaprabhrti nastidam purvabhuktam tavasanam || 44|| durjayah - karhi nu khu maharao gamissadi | raja - bhratrsatamanugacchami | durjayah -- mam pi tahim hi | raja - gaccha putra ! vrkodaram bruhi | durjayah -- ehi maharabha ! annesiasi | raja - putra ! kena ? durjayah - ayyae, ayyena, savvena antaurena a | raja-gaccha putra ! nahamagantum samarthah | durjayah - aham tuvam issam | raja - balestvamasi putra ! 1 (Urubhanga, T. S.S. No. 22, pp. 103-105) His inability to offer his lap as a resting place for his beloved son is the unkindest cut of all to Duryodhana. The sorry plight of Duryodhana reminds Dhrtarastra of the deaths of his hundred sons, and the old man falls down unconscious. to console his mother by odhana requests him telling her that her son died in the war without showing his back (p. 107 aparamukho yudhi hatah | ) and that he is dying in the same dignity in which he was born (v. 47 yenaiva manena samam prasutastenaiva manena divam prayami| ). His love for his mother is brilliantly shown by his prayer to be her son in all his future lives if there be any slight merit to his credit (v. 50 : yadi punyam maya krtam | anyasyamapi jatyam me svameva janani bhava || His message to his queens also is not to lament for him as he is meeting with the hero's death, having performed in all earnest his duties of the kingly office, and he

199 is dying heroically. His parting advice to his son also is worthy of the great hero; he preaches reconciliations ; his enmity with the Pandavas gives place to a sort of repentance and purification of the soul (pp. 109-110; also aho vairam pascattapah samvrttah | ) Asvatthaman then enters the stage, making a big sound with his bow, all wrathful at the news of the condition of Duryodhana. To his query, Duryodhana replies that his condition is due to his discontent (p. 112) but Asvatthaman declares his intention of slaying the Pandavas and Krsna, and Duryodhana tries to dissuade him saying that it is now of no use after the loss of his brothers, Karna and others, in his present condition to revive enmity. Asvatthaman however, tells him that it appears as if his dignity (mana) has been killed along with his thighs; but Duryodhana silences him by saying that mana is the life of the king and it was for mana alone that he fought. The evils wrought by the Pandavas are nothing as campared to his treatment of the Pandavas. All this fails to convince and satisfy Asvatthaman who takes a vow, with Balarama as a witness, to fight with the Pandavas and crown Durjaya as the emperor. Duryodhana feels satisfied at this and then gets a vision of his ancestors at his death. His body is covered with a piece of cloth after his death. Then Dhrtarastra in his grief declares his intention of going to the forests for penance and Asvatthaman starts to kill the Pandavas in their sleep with upraised weapon. The general praise by all for the protection of the earth by our king" after destroying his enemies brings the drama to a close. 66 Deviations: The poet has changed the whole conception of Duryodhana's character. Dhrtarastra, Gandhari, the queens of Duryodhana, and Durjaya, his son, who were miles away at Hastinapura are brought on the battle-field to enhance the pathos and for dramatic effect. Balarama was not present at the club-fight according to the epic, and Arjuna made the secret sign to Bhima and not Krsna as told in the drama. The Krsna coronation of Durjaya is also an invention of the poet. janardanah | Type of drama: It has been suggested that the 1 Mahabharata, IX. 58. 21; Uru p. 94:

200 66 play may be classified under a Vyayoga; but with Drs. Winternitz and G. Sastri, we think that it falls under an Utsrstikanka, which as suggested by Dr. Winternitz, may mean "Baspotsrstikanka, 'a one-act piece causing discharge (of tears)'.' The Kavyanusasana (p. 324) explains the term as meaning one which is characterized by women who are grieving, i. e. whose sight, life, and breath are about to flee away ( utkramanonmukha drstirjivitam prana yasam ta utsrstikah socayantah striyastabhirankita iti tathoktah | )". All the characteristics of an Utsrstikanka stated by different works on dramaturgy are found to exist in the Uru. Thus e. g., the plot is renowned, the hero is an ordinary person, the chief sentiment is Karuna, and it is full of the wailing of women. The style is satvati and arabhati. The Uru violates the rule as to the death of the hero on the stage. Sentiments etc. The main sentiment pervading the play is pathos (Karuna). Vira also is brought in when describing the fight between Duryodhana and Bhima. The descriptions of the battle-field, etc. contain many similes and metaphors. The comparison of the battle with a sacrifice is elaborately worked out (v. 6). The battle-field is similarly compared with the hermitage of the Ksatriyas (v.4); the female jackals with female relations in marriage (v. 9): and so on. Critical remarks: In a separate section it is shown earlier that the Uru is a real tragedy. Prof. Ramachandra Rao also endorses the same view but he includes the Karna and the Veni under the list.³ That the Karna cannot be called a tragedy in so far as the complete piece as we have it is concerned, is dealt earlier in this chapter. We do not adhere to the opinion that Duryodhana is the hero of the Veni; it is Bhima. Further, the differences in the conception of the characteristics of Duryodhana as stated by Bhasa and Bhatta Narayana are sufficient to prove that the Veni is not intended as a tragedy. As observed by us elsewhere, "Veni in reality is a suppressed tragedy.' We have 1 G. Sastri, Trivandrum Sanskrit Series No. 22. preface; Winternitz, Bulletin of the Ramavarma Research Institute, 5, p. 6, also n. 16. 2 Mankad, Types of Sanskrit Drama, p. 61. The definition as given in the Dasarupa (III. 70-72) has been quoted above in the Karna. See also Sahityadarpana, VI. 245 (p. 100); Natyadarpana, Gaekwad’s Oriental Series, No. 48, p. 131. 3 Paper read at the Mysore Oriental Conference. 4 Journal of the University of Bombay, 2, p. 185.

201 sufficiently brought out all the relieving factors in the character of Duryodhana as conceived by Bhasa, which show that Duryodhana was a noble emperor, an ideal son, husband, and father. The description of the actual battle by triads reminds one of the similar devices used in the Panc and the Abh; the description is very realistic presenting the picture of the actual fight before our eyes. The various similes and metaphors employed in describing the different aspects of the battle-field, the corpses, the creatures there, etc., are also true to life.