7.6. Summary of the Bhagavadajjukam

The Bhagavadajjukam (Bhagavadajjuka) is another prahasana type of play composed by the king Mahendravarman. In the title, the word Bhagavat means a saint and Ajjuka a harlot. At first, the work was believed to be composed by a Buddhist monk Bodhāyana in the second century AD. Later on, the scholars are of the opinion that it was actually composed by the king Mahendra Varman, the author of the play Mattavilāsam (Mattavilāsa) in the seventh century AD. In this Prahasana characters do not create laughter, but the plot arouses comedy. Therefore, the play is different from other Sanskrit Prahasanas. The play is, as Winternitz says, a comedy, as contrasted with the farce and satire that in Mattavilāsa is.^[1] The play narrates the story of interchange of souls of a saint and the harlot.

In the original story, the harlot Vāsantī waits for her lover Romālika in the garden. In the meantime, a snake bites her and she dies. The saint who was present in the garden is asked by his student Śāṇḍilya to save her life. The saint applies his yogic power and enters the dead body of the harlot. Meantime, the messenger of Yama (god of death) arrives to take the departed soul and finds that he has done a mistake. He confused another harlot with Vāsantī, who died at that time. He allows the soul of the harlot to enter in the body of the saint. Then, the saint begins to speak and behave like the harlot. Finally, he exchanges the souls of the harlot and the saint in their right places.

In the play, satire is mild and not in profusion. In the play, the author satirizes the teaching of the saint, who only preaches but in practice he lacks. For example, the saint teaches the student to control his mind, because for him, a real saint should never be angry. But, the student complains that the saint himself is getting angry. The saint fails to impart spiritual knowledge, and also to teach the importance of meditation in the student, because he himself is unable to understand the same. It is clear in the conversation between the saint and the student. The saint therefore faces critical question asked by his student as to why he is asking for rest when comfort and discomfort both are same for him. The author also satirizes the saint who even does not know the right moment for philosophical discourse. He is even unaware that it is meaningless to give teaching on religious topics in an empty stomach, when one is dead and when one is in love.

In the play, satirical element is also noticed when Śāṇḍilya compares the harlot with a yogī. For him, yogīs never keep attachment with others, likewise a harlot also never loves anyone from the heart and therefore she has no attachment.

In the play, a doctor is also satirized. Vāsantī (actually the priest) raises the question to the doctor as to how many people he has killed by doing wrong diagnosis and prescribing wrong medicine. Most probably, the author depicts a doctor of his time.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

Raghavan, Dr. V., Comic Element in Sanskrit Literature, P.104