Analysis of Rajayakṣmā (Pratināyaka)

Rājayakṣmā, a powerful disease, is the pratināyaka of the play; Viṣūcī is his wife and Pāṇḍu is his son and minister. The author has enlisted almost all major and minor diseases as the members of the army of Rājayakṣmā.

The phrase “deho rujāvarjitaḥ” in the third line of the second Nāndī verse,^[1] forcefully specifies that the human body must be totally free from diseases and then only the desired complete health would be possible (abhīpsitam ārogyam). Also the phrase, paśūnām patiḥ devaḥ vaḥ diśatu–denotes that lord Śiva, who is “paśūnām patiḥ”—the protector of all the living beings in this cosmos, should bless all.

At the end of the prelude when the stage-manager casually refers to “jīvam ābhibhavituṃ yakṣmā vāñcati iva” for which, entering the stage, the minister expresses that it would be impossible for Yakṣmā to conquer Jīva as long as he, Vijñāna Śarmā is alive. By this, the dramatist introduces the Pratināyaka as Rājayakṣmā and also his aim of bringing Jīva under his control.

From Dhāraṇā, close associate of queen Buddhi, who had been sent as a spy to the enemy camp, it is understood that Yakṣmā is sarvaroga rājā and is also powerful (balī) as it is understood from the Ayurvedic texts.^[2]

He also has a powerful army of diseases (I.26ab):

parivārā etasya rogaviśeṣā bhīmarūpāḥ bahavaḥ |

And he is invincible without Rasa and Gandhaka (I.38/39; p.46):

rasagandhakaprayogamantareṇa saparivāro'hamajayyaḥ ||

In the second Act, it is reported that Yakṣmā has come to know about the progress on the hero's side and has directed Pāṇḍu, his minister and son, to be ready for the attack on the hero (II.6):

āsmatsainyairnirodhaṃ kṛtamagaṇayatā sve pure sūpadiṣṭaṃ
  jīvo'mātyena yogaṃ sa kila niśamayan prāpadantarmukhatvam |
ityasmākaṃ niśamya prabhurativiśadaṃ cāravaktrāt kumāraṃ
  gatvā pṛccha tvayedaṃ viditamatha na vetyakulaḥ prāhiṇonmām ||^[3]

In the beginning of the fourth Act, the information that severe attacks have already been started on the capital city by Yakṣmā as soon as he heard about Jīva’s obtaining the Rasa and Gandhaka from the Universal parents, is comprehended from the Vidūṣaka in his soliloquy in Act IV. (p.179):

uktaṃ khalu dauvārikeṇa prāṇena rājṣo rasagandhakavarapradānaṃ śrutvā balavadroṣavaśaṃgatena yakṣmahatakena pāṇḍunā saha kimapi mantrayitvā saparivārasyāsmākaṃ rājṣa upari vyatikramaṃ kamapi kartumudyogaḥ kriyata |

Rājayakṣmā is seen for the first time on the stage, only in the middle of Act V, when the war between the two sides is getting serious. Now Yakṣmā enters the stage along with Matsara, who had gone into the enemy fort and had returned to his own side having been spared by Vijñāna Śarmā, to meet Pāṇḍu.

Yakṣmā’s knitted eyebrows and the throbbing of the loose lips prove that he is very angry and his face also shows that he is much disturbed (V.26):

tanvat punaḥpunarapi bhrukuṭiṃ lalāṭe nissīmaniḥśvasitamuccalitādharoṣṭham |
devasya śaṃsati mukhāmbujamantaraṅge rūḍhāṃ ruṣā ripujane sahasaiva cintām ||

Listening to Matsara’s account of his experience at Jīva’s city closely,Yakṣmā asks him many probing questions about the various types of Prānas keeping vigilance of the city and the machines that have

⁶³ This news is actually heard by Pāṇḍu, quite later (in an aside reported by Kāsa who had been sent by Yakṣmā), at the end of the second Act. The commentary explains (p.123) this in verse 6 cited by Kāsa at the beginning of Act II: pūrvasminnaṅke “āsmatsainyairnirodhaṃ kṛtamagaṇayatā” iti padye vidyamāno viṣayastādṛśaḥ kaścidaparaśca evamiveti karṇāntike kathyate |

been placed by Vijñāna Śarmā to thwart the enemy force^[4] (the medical implements used in surgery as a form of treatment are here called as machines). After hearing the entire narration of Matsara, Yakṣmā and Pāṇḍu discuss the most effective method of capturing the city and spoiling the efforts of Vijñāna Śarmā.

The power of Yakṣmā is so great that, whatever may be the devices and however many warriors there may be to oppose, all will fall before Yakṣmā’s anger like fire-flies (V.37):

santu yantrāṇyanekāni santu vā sainikāḥ pare |
tvatkopāgnau pataṅgatvaṃ bhajeranniti me matiḥ ||

Yakṣmā decides to enter the innermost part of the city and make all the śastras and yantras ineffective, just as he had once made the Moon suffer by his attacks (V.38):

rājayakṣmā—... sarvathā praviśyāntaḥ kośāgāram–
śastreṇa sarvamapi khaṇḍaśa eva kṛtvā gṛdhravrajāya nikhilaṃ balimarpayāmi |
yenaudano diviṣadāṃ vikalīkṛto'bhūt kiṃ tasya me bhayamamī kitavā vidadhyuḥ ||

The statement of Yakṣmā that he would destroy all his enemies and make them food for the vultures (VI.38ab), portrays the effect of Yakṣmaroga on the body, says the commentary (p.288):

rājayakṣmaṇā balavatābhibhūtasya prāṇidehasya tādṛśī duravastha sāmānyataḥ saṃbhavatīti bhāvaḥ |

Further, the dramatist very effectively delineates this character of Rājayakṣmā as the enemy, by making him boast that though lord Śiva had given Rasa to Jīva, He had not been able to cure the blemish in Candra caused by himself, Yakṣmā(V.39):

Also, Yakṣmā declares that he would vanquish at first Jīva on whom Vijñāna and others depend, and then as a consequence, dependants of Jīva would perish (V.41):

āśritya yaṃ satatamutpatasi smayena nirvāpayāmi tamahaṃ sahasaiva jīvam |
paścādvinaṅkṣyati bhavānapi cāśrayasya nāśānna sidhyati kimāśrayiṇo'pi nāśaḥ ||^[5]

Rājayakṣmā is seen again on stage at the end of the sixth Act, after a serious fight between the two sides which had resulted in the eradication of many of the diseases, the warriors of the side of Yakṣmā.

As he enters, he vows that the city will either be without Jīva or without diseases (VI.79):

śastrāśastri prasahyādya pravṛtte raṇavaiśase |
ājīvakamarogaṃ vā purametadbhaviṣyati ||

He moves on to the battle field and finds his own army completely vanquished. At the close of the sixth Act, Rājayakṣmā while lamenting the loss of his dear and near, also plans to avenge their death.

In the seventh Act it is seen that king Jīva and Vijñāna Śarmā expect Rājayakṣmā to attack them with renewed vigour. Hence, Jīva is advised to pray to lord Śiva for complete routing of Yakṣmā’s forces. Accordingly, by lord Śiva’s teaching, Jīva attains all the Yogic powers. Kāla from the nepathya declares that Rājayakṣmā along with his queen Viṣucī and all other remaining diseases like Gada, have also perished.

Rājayakṣmā’s features as the leader of diseases is presented by the dramatist quite interestingly through the mouth of Kāla, the eternal witness of all happenings in the universe.

On Yakṣmā’s entry into the stage in the sixth Act, Kāla describes him citing verses from the Āyurveda text Aṣṭāṅgahṛdaya (Rājayakṣmādi-nidāna, 1-3)^[6] :

(1) Rājayakṣmā is so called, because he is being followed by many diseases and himself leads many other diseases. He is also known as Kṣaya, Śoṣa and Rogarāṭ, the king of all diseases.

(2) By attacking the king of nakṣtras, namely Candra, the disease had come to be known as Rājayakṣmā.

(3) As he is the root-cause for the malfunctions of the limbs of the body, his name is Kṣaya. He dries the liquid parts of the body and hence, is known as Śoṣa. He makes other types of the diseases in the body to happily function; and hence named as the king of diseases–Rogarāṭ.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

prāgjanmīyatapaḥphalaṃ tanubhṛtā prāpyeta mānuṣyakaṃ tacca prāptavatā kimanyaducitaṃ prāptuṃ trivargaṃ vinā |
tatprāpterapi sādhanaṃ prathamato deho rujāvarjitastenārogyamabhīpsitaṃ diśatu vo devaḥ paśūnāṃ patiḥ ||

[2]:

See. Com. p.31:
“sarvarogāgrajo balī” iti prabalatvaṃ niṣpratīkāratvaṃ ca yakṣmaṇaḥ prasiddhamāyurvede |

[3]:

This news is actually heard by Pāṇḍu, quite later (in an aside reported by Kāsa who had been sent by Yakṣmā), at the end of the second Act. The commentary explains (p.123) this in verse 6 cited by Kāsa at the beginning of Act II: pūrvasminnaṅke “āsmatsainyairnirodhaṃ kṛtamagaṇayatā” iti padye vidyamāno viṣayastādṛśaḥ kaścidaparaśca evamiveti karṇāntike kathyate |

[4]:

JN. VI. 28/29; p.278:
matsara ke te prāṇādayaḥ katividhāḥkutra gatāḥ kiṃnāmadheyāśca |
kāni ca tāni yantrāṇi kīdṛśānīti ca sakalamapi saprakāramāvedaya |
āmṛtanidhirayaṃ yaḥ so'pi matpīḍitaḥ san na visṛjati madīyavyādhinādyāpi kārśyam |
nijavikaṭajaṭālīkānanasthapitasya prabhavati sa maheśo'pyasya kiṃ pūraṇāya ||

[5]:

See com. p.290: āśrayabhūtaśarīranāśe vijṣānanāśasyāpi samanantaramevāyutasiddhatvaṃ prasiddham | puruṣameṣa rogaḥ tarasākramya svayamanulomataḥ pratilomataścāvaraṇādidoṣabalāt dhātūnāṃ bahudhā kṣayamutpādya vināśayediti vaidyakamatamapyanusaṃdadhāti padyamidam ||

[6]:

JN. VI. 76-8:
ānekarogānugato bahurogapurogamaḥ |
rājayakṣmā kṣayaḥ śoṣorogarāḍiti ca smṛtaḥ ||
nakṣatrāṇāṃ dvijānāṃ ca rājābhūdyo vidhuḥ purā |
taṃ yajjagrāha yakṣmāsau rājayakṣmā tataḥ smṛtaḥ ||
deheṣu yaḥ kṣayakṛteḥ kṣayastatsaṃbhavācca saḥ |
rasādiśoṣaṇācchoṣo rogarāḍrogaraṣjanāt ||