Part 14 - Conclusion

Vatsarāja, the court poet and minister of Paramardideva and Trailokyavarman is the author of the Tripuradāha. He is the only author, who has contributed some valuable and rare types of dramas to the Indian classical literature. The Tripuradāha of Vatsarāja is the best example of Ḍima type of drama.

The Śivapuraṇa (chapter. 5-7) is the source of the Tripuradāha drama. It is a fight between gods and the mighty Tripurāsura. Tripurāsura, who used to trouble the three-worlds, was killed by Maheśa in a planned attack. The story of the Tripuradāha is a little bit changed by Vatsarāja to suit the drama. It is well planned and composed by Vatsarāja.

Vatsarāja has followed almost all the rules stipulated by Bharata and Dhanañjaya. However, in some cases, he has ignored certain rules. For instance, he has not used some bhūta and piśāca like characters. Again, Bharata has prohibited that the scenes of war etc. should not be shown on the stage. However, Vatsarāja has shown war scenes in the third act, where Sarvatāpa and Kārtikeya fight with fire arms.

Bharata states that there should be sixteen well-known and exalted heroes in Ḍima; however, Dhanañjaya states that the Ḍima should have sixteen heroes, who are haughty. In the Tripuradāha, Vatsarāja has used more than sixteen heroes, who are both exalted and haughty. It must be observed here that characters like Gāndharvas, Yakṣas, Mahorogas, Bhutas and Pretas are not used in Vatsarāja’s Ḍima. Further, it should be observed that neither Bharata nor Dhanañjaya advocate the use of the female characters, because they are not useful in Ḍima. However, Vatsarāja has used the weaker characters like Pṛthivī and Śeṣa, who could be considered as the female characters that are tortured by the demons.

Vatsarāja has used all the three styles i.e. Bhāratī, Sāttvatī and Ārbhaṭī in the Tripuradāha. He has used Bhāratīvṛtti in the prologue. Since there are more gods than the demons, Sāttvatīvṛtti has dominated the drama, which indicates the heroic sentiment. Since the Tripuradāha has very few violent scenes on the stage, Ārbhaṭī can be considered to have been prevalent. Thus, Vatsarāja can be stated to have used the three styles justifiably.

Vatsarāja has also applied all the six sentiments in the Tripuradāha, i.e. furious, heroic, terrible, pathetic, odious and marvellous. However, it should be noted that since the plot is violent, furious and heroic sentiments are more prevalent. The other sentiments are used as the subordinate sentiments whenever necessary.

Vatsarāja has employed perfectly four junctures with the combination of elements and actions except the pause (vimarśa) juncture, which is prohibited in the Ḍima type of drama.

Vatsarāja has employed necessary technical aspects whenever the drama needs. However, it must be observed here that Vatsarāja has used Viṣkambhaka in the second act, in which two low types of characters are speaking in Prakrit language, which is prohibited by Bharata (Nāṭyaśāstra, XX.33).

Vatsarāja wanted to show that, as the part of the administration, peace was established in the society. It was a high cultured society, but disturbed by the regular attacks from other kings and foreign invasion. Therefore, he sent out through his drama a strong signal to the people to be united. The prime motto of Vatsarāja was that people and the king should be united to ward off foreign invasion. Further, it should be noted that the Tripuradāha reflects the fact that the society is neither good, nor bad; but it is a mixture of both.

Vatsarājas drama indicates that women were not safe in the society. They were troubled by the stronger male population. However, the society had given all types of freedom to women such as learning, working, choosing their own partners etc. Thus, as far as the women are concerned, Candel kings were moderate.

At the end, it can be stated that the Tripuradāha is based on the political reality that India was invaded by Muslims. Symbolically, the demons represent Muslims and gods represent Hindus. It is symbolic that Maheśa, at the end of fourth act, declares the names of those gods who have helped to win the war (vaikunṭhaḥ ………slāghase nārada –IV. 22). Maheśa knew that if his kings are weak, the other powerful kings would occupy the state, because the land of the weaker section of society is always invaded by the stronger section of the society (durbalān baliṣṭhaiḥ ghātayanti–Tripuradāha.I).

[Table of Comparison]