An Āyurvedic Allegory

(1) To begin with, Ānandarāya Makhin, introduces this dimension of Āyurveda in his presentation of this play in the first Nāndī verse itself. He invokes the blessings of lord Dhanvantarī, the celestial physician and Lord of Medicines.

(2) Nāyaka of the play is king Jīvarāja; his queen is Buddhi, his ministers are–Vijñāna Śarmā and Jñāna Śarmā; and their supporters are Dharaṇā, Smṛti, Śraddhā, Bhakti along with Vidūṣaka.

(3) The enemy team is headed by the king of diseases Rājayakṣmā; his wife is Viṣūcī, his son and minister is Pāṇḍu and a large team of various diseases make their team.

(4) There are seven acts in this play, out of which, the second act and the fifth act have different diseases only as characters, lead by Pāṇḍu and Yakṣmā.

(5) Other than second and fifth Acts, some of the diseases as spies and soldiers take part in the third and sixth. References are made to them in the first Act and in the final Act.

(6) How these different diseases attack Jīva and how Vijñāna, scientific knowledge, (personified as the minister of Jīva), eradicates these diseases with suitable medicinal preparations are presented in this play.

(7) The battle between the medicines and diseases is narrated in detail in the sixth and seventh Acts and the battle is won by Jīva with the help of Vijñāna.

(8) An interesting analysis of the seasonal diseases is brought out by Vijñāna in the fourth Act, where no member of the enemy team directly participates.

(9) The author presents Kāla (time) and Karma (which defines daiva, one’s fate) also in the sixth Act of the play. Their appearance on the stage itself is neatly planned as characters who witness the activities of the play.

(10) For the team of the hero, obtaining the required liquid metal Rasa and another chemical substance Gandhaka which are the basic requirements for the preparation of many powerful medicines to get rid of the entire force of the enemy (diseases), is the main aim. It will be possible only when the entire city (in the form of human body) is totally free from any ailment and becomes fully healthy. The ultimate goal of Eternal Bliss and total liberation from the cycle of birth and death would be possible only in such a condition of the human body.

Thus, the entire play is beautifully and cleverly interwoven with Ayurvedic concepts within the framework of dramatic structure.