(1) Introduction

ॐ

 श्रीकृष्णमिश्रयतिप्रणीतप्रबोधचन्द्रोदयनाटकं

     BIRTH OF

‘PRABODHA-CHANDRA’

  SON OF

KING VIVEKA AND UPANISHAT DEVI

A SPIRITUAL SANSKRIT PLAY

BY

SRI KRISHNA MISHRA YATI

प्रबोधचन्द्रोदयं

INTRODUCTION

PLOT  

This is an allegorical play explaining the process of Self-realization. The main plot is the battle between the noble king Viveka and the wicked king MahaaMoha, or the battle between Discrimination and Delusion.

MahaaMoha means Great Delusion! What can be the worst case of delusion than forgetting one’s identity and acting like an idiot? This insanity can be tackled only by self-analysis and waking up to one’s true world of bliss and knowledge. 

Shankara mentions Viveka (discrimination) and Vairaagya (dispassion) as the two wings which will make the ‘Individual Self’ fly towards its liberation.

If dispassion has to rise in the mind, one has to first use ‘Discrimination’ and find out the unreal nature of the world. The power to distinguish between real and unreal, truth and falsehood is represented by the term Viveka, the discrimination. If a person can continuously be aware of his actions every moment of his life and use discrimination as his or her guide, the problems of the world will never trouble anymore.

That is why in this play Viveka occupies the highest rank of a king. Of course you need basic intelligence to deal with the insanity of delusion and so ‘Mati’ or Intellect becomes the wife of King Viveka. But just intelligence and discriminating ability are not enough to fight ‘MahaaMoha’. One has to wake up from this dream of delusion and that waking up state is represented as Prabodha+udaya- ‘Prabodhodaya’ – the Awakening. This ‘Awakening’, this little prince can be born only if King Viveka can marry Upanishat Devi.

An intelligent seeker with discriminating ability has to study Upanishads and with the understanding gained through such a study, wake up from the dream of ignorance. But before Viveka can wed Upanishat, the mind has to die along with all its vices like desires, anger, attachments etc. It is not an easy process and you need some higher power to help you. Who can be more suitable for taking care of you than Lord Naaraayana! Devotion towards him with a prayer for knowledge will make him your friend, guide and philosopher. So in this play Vishnu Bhakti or Devotion to Vishnu acts as a representative of Vishnu and guides Viveka towards the union of Upanishat Devi so that Prabodhodaya can be born.

King Viveka kills MahaaMoha and joins Upanishat Devi with the help of Vishnu Bhakti and gets the child Prabodhodaya. This is the main theme of the play.

All this of course happens within the Purusha’s mind. Purusha is the embodied Self, the seeker after realization, the Master who owns all these characters like Viveka, etc.

KRISHNA MISHRA

No one has made such an attempt in the Sanskrit world to present the process of realization in such a simple manner. Not only the realization process but the author gives a gist of all the religious schools prevalent at that time. Without fear he points out the deterioration that was happening in all religious schools like Jainism, Buddhism, and Pashupati Mata etc. Though the intention was liberation, though the Sages who started these thought trends were blameless, the followers were not as noble as their Gurus. Most of the ordinary lot became followers of these religions only to eat, sleep and make merry. They had no self-control and enjoyed all immoral pleasures, outwardly quoting the doctrines of their noble Gurus to fool the common populace. The Brahmins on the other hand had no knowledge of the Vedas but recited them like parrots to fool the rich men. They misinterpreted the Vedas and Upanishads. Other schools like Lokaayata, Nyaaya and others used the system of logic and gave their own explanation of Reality and denied even the existence of Ishvara, the Supreme God-head who controls this world. The growth of Atheism and the sad plight of the Upanishads and Vedas in the hands of the ignorant and greedy men masked as Sages and learned are presented by the author in a dramatic and exaggerated manner.

As this play is presented in front of a king Gopala who had been busy all the time in battles and wars, Sage Mishra wanted to inform him the plight of his country as to how the spiritual section of the society was deteriorating and how the ancient scriptures were mishandled by one and all. That is why he chose ‘Battle’ as the main theme of the story to make the king feel interested in the play. The whole play seems to be a request from the talented author to the king to set right the Dharma in his country. May be he was waking up the king from the world of swords and blood shed to the world of deteriorating spirituality. The play is a subtle request to the king to set right everything before Vedas and Upanishads are manhandled by the atheistic religions and die a natural death.

TIME OF THE PLAY

Most probably the time of the play could be fixed as 1092 or roughly the later half of the eleventh century. Shri Krishna Mishra Yati might have belonged to the province of Bihar as he mentions Gauda Desha and ridicules the people of Gauda as hypocrites and show-offs.

(Gaur/Gour or Lakhnauti is a ruined city, in the Malda district of West Bengal, India, on the west bank of the Ganges River, 40 kilometers downstream from Rajmahal.)

AUDIENCE FOR THE PLAY

The play is enacted in the presence of King Gopala and his friend King KeertiVarma after their victory over the enemy king Karna.

TITLE OF THE PLAY

The title of the play is ‘PRABODHA-CHANDRODAYA’ or ‘THE RISE OF THE MOON OF AWAKENING’.

What does Self-realization mean?

It is just removing the forgetfulness.

A person who dreams forgets his true identity and suffers in the dream as poor, or diseased or whatever. The moment he wakes up, he knows who he is. He did not get the knowledge of his identity but he just woke up. This waking up act is termed as Prabodha.

When an individual dreaming the dream of the world wakes up, he just wakes up as his true self.

This can happen only when the discrimination dominates the intellect.

This can happen only when one seeks the company of the knowers and understands the Upanishadic doctrines.

This can happen only when he gets rid of anger, greed, passion etc and develops sense-control, mind control etc.

This can happen only when he does not develop faith in the heretic doctrines but surrenders to Lord Vishnu and develops devotion to his lotus feet.

This can happen only when the delusion ruling his ignorant mind is completely destroyed.

Then he wakes up.

Prabodha rises.

Awakening occurs.

King Viveka marries the lovely Upanishat Devi and the child Prabodha gets born.

This awakening is compared to the moon-rise by the author and not as the sunrise.

The bliss of awakening is cooling like the moonlight not scorching like the sunlight.

A realized person bathes in the bliss of the Self which is like the nectar oozing out of the moon.

There is no heat of the world, no hustle bustle of activities. The knower rests in the cool silent nature of the Self.

Even when he engages in activities he is no more affected by the events of the world and remains in the awakening state only.

So it is but right that Shri Krishna Mishra chose to name his play as ‘Prabodha Chandrodaya’ – ‘The Moon-rise of Awakening’!

OM TAT SAT

श्रीकृष्णमिश्रयतिप्रणीतप्रबोधचन्द्रोदयनाटकं

BIRTH OF

PRABODHA-CHANDRA

  SON OF

KING VIVEKA AND UPANISHAT DEVI

पात्रपरिचयः

INTRODUCTION TO CHARACTERS

सूत्रधार - SOOTRADHAARA- Stage-Manager

नटी – ACTRESS -Stage-Manager’s assistant

पुरुष - PURUSHA – The Individual Self (the Embodied Self)(Master)

मनः - MIND

संकल्प - SAMKALPA - Conception (Friend of Manas)

विवेक - VIVEKA- Discriminating Ability - The King (Hero of the play)

प्रबोधोदय - PRABODHODAYA - ‘ Rise of Awakening’ (Son of Viveka and Upanishat)

मतिः - MATI - Intellect - Viveka’s Wife

उपनिषत् देवि – UPANISHAT DEVI -The noble lady Upanishat (Heroine of the play)

वस्तु-विचार- VASTU-VICHAARA - Analytical Thinking about Reality

श्रद्धा - SHRADDHAA- Faith

शान्तिः - SHAANTI –Peace (Daughter of Shraddhaa)

करुणा - KARUNAA - Compassion (Friend of Shaanti)

शम - SHAMAA - Mind-Control

मैत्री - MAITREE - Friendly Nature

संतोष - SANTOSHA- Happiness (contentment)

क्षमा – KSHAMAA - Forbearance

वैराग्य - VAIRAAGYA - Dispassion

निदिध्यासन - NIDIDHYAASANA - Contemplation

सरस्वती - SARASVATI - Goddess of Knowledge

विष्णुभक्ति - VISHNU BHAKTI - Devotion to Vishnu

महामोह - MAHAAMOHA- The Great Delusion - The enemy of Viveka

मिथ्या दृष्टिः - MITHYAA DRISHTI - Incorrect understanding

विभ्रमावती - VIBHRAMAAVATEE - Confusion

काम - KAAMA- Passion

रतिः - RATI -Attraction - Kaama’s wife

क्रोध - KRODHA - Anger

हिंसा - HIMSAA - Violence - Krodha’s wife

लोभ - LOBHA - Greed

तृष्णा- TRISHNAA – Thirst for sense pleasures/ Lobha’s wife

दम्भ - DAMBHA- Hypocrisy

अहंकार - AHAMKAARA -Ego

दिगम्बर - DIGAMBARA - Naked Ascetic (Jain School of Thought)   

भिक्षु -  BHIKSHU - Ascetic living on alms (Buddhist School of Thought)

कापालिक - KAAPAALIKA - (Pashupati school of Thought)

चार्वाकः - CHAARVAAKA - (Chaarvaaka School of Thought) - Lokaayata

बटुः - BATU - young lad - Assistant of Dambha

शिष्यः - SHISHYA - Disciple of Ahamkaara

Miscellaneous Characters:

Door Keeper, Charioteer, Brahmin astrologer etc

प्रथमोङ्क:

FIRST ACT

{नान्दी/BENEDICTION}

{Naandee- Benedictory verse or verses recited as a sort of prologue at the beginning of the drama}

{SELF-KNOWLEDGE}

मध्याह्नमरीचिकास्स्विव पयःपूरो यदज्ञानतः

खं वायुर्ज्वलनो जलं क्षितिरिति त्रैलोक्यमुन्मीलति

तत्तत्वं विदुषां निमीलति पुनः स्रग्भोगिभोगोपमं

सान्द्रानन्दमुपास्महे तदमलं स्वात्मावबोधं महः [1]

Like the ocean waters reflecting the rays of the noon sun,

‘THAT’ (The Principle of Brahman),

 through ignorance manifests the tri-worlds as sky, wind, fire, water and earth.

‘THAT PRINCIPLE’ withdraws itself in the knowers

like the rope-snake withdraws its coils within itself.

Let us adore that taintless ‘Knowledge of the Supreme Self’

which is the state of dense bliss.

And also-

{SALUTATION TO SHIVA}

अन्तर्नाडीनियमितमरुल्लङ्गितब्रह्मरन्ध्रं

स्वान्ते शान्तिप्रणयिनि समुन्मीलदानन्दसान्द्रं

प्रत्यग्ज्योतिर्जयति यमिनः स्पष्टलालाटनेत्र-

व्याजव्यक्तीकृतमिव जगद्व्यापि चन्द्रार्धमौलेः [2]

Controlling the ‘Breath’ through the Sushumna Naadi

and crossing over the Brahma Randhra;

expressing the dense state of bliss in the mind united with the beloved ‘Quiescence’

the ‘All-seeing third eye’ of

the (self-controlled) Yogi (Shiva) wearing the crescent moon on the head,

has made every life form manifest as it were, all over the world.  

Victory to every spark of the Lord!!

CONTEXT OF THE PLAY

{King Gopala and his friend Keertivarma were all this time busy in conquering lands and conducting warfare with the enemies. After all the hustle bustle of kingly affairs, they both now want to spend the rest of their lives in spiritual pursuits.

‘Sri Krishna Mishra Yati’ is presenting a play especially made for such a purpose and getting it enacted in the presence of the two kings Gopala and Keertivarma.}

(‘SOOTRA-DHAARA’ AT THE END OF ‘NAANDI’)

{SOOTRADHAARA is ‘The Thread-Holder’, a stage-manager, the principal actor who arranges the cast of characters and instructs them and takes a prominent part in the PRASTAAVANA or Prelude.

Here he introduces the context of the play.}

{प्रस्तावना/ INTRODUCTION}

{PRASTAAVANAA is an introductory dialogue (prologue) at the beginning of a drama between the manager and one of the actors, which after giving an account of the author and his qualifications etc., introduces the audience to the incidents of the drama)