Creation and Criticism

Emperor, the Great is a historical play, the ninth play by the eminent playwright Professor Basavaraj Naikar, which centers on Emperor Sri Krisnadevaraya of the famous Vijayanagara Empire of 16^th century Karnataka in South India. A historical drama is set in a specific past time and usually revolves around a well-known historical figure, focusing on the major events in the life of that celebrated figure. A group of characters attached to those events is also presented and they often play a major role in the construction of the play. Fictional elements are also used in a historical drama through compressing several events in one scene, maybe with the use of flashback method and other devices or through memorizing. There is enough scope of presenting dramatic conflicts in a historical drama, often through a subtle twist in characterization. Creative dialogues in such a play—one may recall in this context the funeral speech of Brutus in Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar (Act 3, Sc. 2) – may add to its dramatic appeal.

Emperor, the Great presents the important events in the life of Krisnadevaraya (1471-1529), the third king of the Tuluva dynasty and the most important ruler of the Vijayanagara Empire that dominated the southern part of India for more than 200 years. He reigned from 1509 to 1529, and died due to the disease of Amoebic dysentery. Of the four different dynasties that ruled the Vijayanagara kingdom, Tuluva Dynasty was the third one and Krisnadevaraya the third king in the Tuluva Dynasty. His empire extended from River Krisna in the north to the River Kaveri in the south. It is recorded in history that Yusuf Adil Shah, the founder of the Bijapur Sultanate, was killed and the Raichur Doab was annexed to the Empire. In the battle of Raichur in 1520 Krisnadevaraya decimated Bijapur and emerged as the most potent military power in the south. He then annexed Gulbarga, Bidar and Bijapur to Vijayanagara. These dominions were earlier core territories of the Bahamanid Sultanate. Krisnadevaraya reunited them into his own empire. In 1512 the Vijayanagara army marched to Udayagiri fort and planned an invasion of Kalinga. The Kalinga king Prataparudra eventually surrendered to him and made a marriage alliance. Krisnadevaraya returned all the captured land and accepted the Krishna River as the boundary between the Vijayanagara and the Gajapati kingdom. He is also recorded as a great scholar and composer of epic Telegu poems Amuktamalyada and Satyavadu Parinaya and a Sanskrit poem Kalyana. He is also famous for encouraging eight eminent scholars, Astadiggajas, to stay as permanent members of his court. Tenali Ramakrisna, his celebrated special adviser, and his minister Timmarasa are historical figures. A Portuguese traveler, Domingo Paes visited Vijayanagara during Krisnadevaraya’s reign. He recorded physical description of the king as well as a lot of information about his kingdom. All these historical facts are included in the play and as the playwright admits in the Preface, those incidents cannot be reduced to the limits of the traditional triple unities of time, place and action. Attempts are made yet to maintain chronological presentation and only a few incidents of antiquity are referred to in conversations.

Discarding the conventional ‘Five Act Play’, the playwright has opted for ‘Six Act Play’ to separate the events in Krisnadevaraya’s life beginning from the thrilling events prior to his coronation to the solemn scene of his death bed in six parts, rendering dramatically the emotional impact of each event. A good number of events arousing dramatic suspense are presented successfully. The play begins with one such incident evoking suspense as the audience has to wait eagerly to know if the minister obeyed the last wish of the dying king Vira-Narasimha who wanted Krisnadevaraya to be maimed or murdered in order to remove the hindrance on the way of his minor son’s receiving the throne after his death. As the minister remains silent, the suspense increases. The second scene thickens the suspense with the secret meeting of Krisnadevaraya’s mother and the saint Vysaraya Tirtha, pointing at the Indian tradition of the intervention of the saints in Palace affairs in times of crisis. The playwright shows his skill in maintaining the suspense in subsequent scenes through the conversation of the public who refer to the ‘logic of history’ and also argue with the possibilities of the minister’s attempt to occupy the throne himself. The first act ends with the end of the suspense in regard to Krisnadevaraya’s fate as the minister calls a meeting of all the courtiers, officers, vassal, commanders and ministers after the demise of king Vira-Narasimha, and declares, on behalf of everybody present in the court that Krisnadevaraya is going to be enthroned as the new emperor.

The second act introduces another theme of suspense related to the love-life of Krisnadevaraya, the-would be king. He expresses his deep love for Chinnasani, the daughter of Gangasani, a professional prostitute who, though accomplished, cannot be accepted as a queen as per the tradition. The minister’s threatening words to Chinnasani and his attempt to lure her with money so that she would forget her lover fail and the audience’s eagerness to learn about the lovers’ fate increases. In the meantime Krisnadevaraya appears to be a novice in political matters—he made the order of his brother and Narasimharaya’s son to be taken to Chandragiri public, while it should have been a secret order—and his reaction to the minister’s advice demands an eager observation of the audience. Krisnadevaraya, however, appears to be rather compliant with the safety of the kingdom. It is also found that he does not come into conflict with his elders in regard to his marriage. He accepts the sage Vyasaraya’s advice that he should marry from a royal family and make the bride his crown-queen in order to facilitate his enthronement, and after coronation he would be free to marry Chinnasani as his second wife. All these are settled off stage and the third act starts with the celebration of the enthronement. In the presence of all the courtiers and other celebrities Krisnadevaraya bows down to the throne and occupies it in a royal style. The oath-taking ceremony conducted by Rajaguru Tatacharya is rendered in detail focusing on the traditional Indian way of ruling for the benefit of the mass. It is tempting to quote from the Rajaguru’s advice to the king: “…You are the protector of the subjects of your Empire. You are not only the master, but also the father, mother and servant of your subjects. You should remember this responsibility of yours. Your duty should be to punish the evil people and reward the good ones. The subjects have the power to punish you in case you happen to be a tyrant torturer”. Perhaps no other process of ruling found in the world could exceed this one. The next two scenes display the king’s happiness in personal life as his queen herself takes initiative in his marriage with Chinnasani and the growing tension in the kingdom. The sage Vyasaraya instigates war against the neighboring Muslim rulers, particularly the Sultan of Bahamani kingdom, in order to achieve religious goals. His stimulating speech to the king “…how do you tolerate the desecration of the temple of Siveswara in Kalaburagi?...How can the Sanatana Dharma be alive, if you do not protect the honour of women and the sanctity of the sadhus and sanyasis?” is used dramatically as it is followed by the king’s clarion call to protect religion. The king has to face other troubles, though minor ones, like some rebellion among the tribes. In the succeeding scenes, mostly in the court, the king’s victory in capturing Sivanasamudra, Mudagallu, Raichuru, Kalaburagi and Bidar is announced one after another it is learnt that the king released Mohammad Shah the Second and reinstated him in his former position as the Sultan of Bahamani kingdom. But this broadmindedness is not reciprocated. It is learnt that all the Muslim kings are going to make a consolidated attack on Vijayanagara. The third act ends with the king’s vow to defeat the Muslim rulers.

The fourth act is concerned mainly with the arrival of Portuguese merchants, the Portuguese traveler Domingo Paes and of Father Louis in the Emperor’s court. The merchants’ supplies of guns, canons, swords etc, were already there and now they have come to supply horses. The role of the famous court pundits of Vijayanagara, known as asta diggaja is also discussed. Traveler Domingo Paes tells the court about Vasco-da-Gama’s discovery of India and he also introduces Europe—giving information about England’s king Henry the Eighth, about the artist Michelangelo and of Christianity—to the court. Emperor Krisnadevaraya’s broadmindedness as well as India’s religious tolerance is exposed when Father Louis is allowed to build churches in Vijayanagara and also to preach there. The fifth act deals with the Emperor’s conflict with the king of Kalinga which comes to an end with a marital bondage. Following a traditional practice the king marries Jaganmohini, the princess of Kalinga. Jaganmohini, though sketched with a few stroke, appears to be a lady with personality with strong convictions. The last part of the act opens up the rich literary culture of Vijayanagara. The sixth and last act starts with a decision to wage war against the Sultan of Bijapur and Vijayanagara’s victory is soon announced and celebrated. A different kind of suspense is created through some prophetic remarks of astrologers. The emperor is said to be in great danger and to avoid it the king would have to step down from his throne for about thirty minutes, a period that happens to be the most critical for him. According to previous arrangement, Vyasaraya Swami occupies the throne after the king steps down and the evil effect is nullified by his spiritual power. At the end of the play the king is worried about a successor to the throne as his elder son faces sudden death. Surprisingly the king becomes biased against the minister when he hears that his son was slow-poisoned and the minister’s son was the mastermind. When the minister is accused by the king, he is too surprised to utter a word. Without proper investigation the king orders the minister to be imprisoned and his eyes plucked out. This is indeed a black spot on the king and he recognizes his crime only after Vyasaraya Swami opened his eyes. The play upholds how in ancient Indian system sages had the responsibility to oversee the activities of the monarch lest there be an autocratic rule. The Swami’s words to the king deserve special attention these days: “As you were the plaintiff, you should have called a third party to enquire into the murder case objectively and verified…the charge against him. That is what our religious scriptures say….a judge should always be impartial and verify the facts and evidence repeatedly to ascertain the truth of things”. The words lead to the king’s repentance and he begs pardon of the minister who had always been his beneficiary. Timmarasa, however, accepts his fate as “the frolic play of our Destiny”. The play ends with the king’s wish that his brother Achyutaraya of Chandagiri should be enthroned after his demise.

The play has skillfully depicted the glorious life of Empire Krisnadevaraya and all his good qualities—his hard and strategic struggle to protect and revive the Sanatana Dharma, his patronage to art and artist, his success as a literary person, his sympathetic treatment of the helpless subjects, his sense of pure love—along with his defects are dramatically presented. Professor Basavaraj Naikar enables us to have a glimpse of the famous Vijayanagara Empire of 16^th century. The short scenes full of suspense are likely to be a successful presentation on the stage. As a historical play with its epic sweep, it deserves constructive studies.

Work Cited:

Naikar, Basavaraj. Emperor, the Great (A Historical Play). Emerald Publishers, 2003. Pp. 117. Rs. 200.

About the Author:

dr-santwana-haldar Dr. Santwana Haldar was awarded her Ph.D. degree from Burdwan University, West Bengal, in 1979 for her research on T. S. Eliot, and subsequently joined the Odisha Government Service. She retired from Fakir Mohan Autonomous Government College, Balasore. She has authored 15 books on English and Odia literature, published by Atlantic Publishers, New Delhi, and other reputed publishers. Additionally, she has over 80 research articles published both in India and abroad to her credit. Under her supervision, 11 students have been awarded doctoral degrees. She has also been serving as the editor of the Journal of Odisha Association for English Studies, Balasore, for the past 15 years. Dr. Haldar resides at Rani Patna, Bank Colony, Balasore – 756 001 (Odisha), and can be contacted at santwanahaldar2015@gmail.com.