On the fourth day of Rang Sopan 2, a comic play ‘Bhagavadajjukam was staged in Malayalam language at Antrang Hall, Bharat Bhavan.
Originally, written in Sanskrit language, the play is written by a renowned playwright Mahakavi Bhodayana. The play is directed by Kavalam Narayana Panicker and was brilliantly staged by the artists of Sopanam Theatre Group, Thiruvandarapuram. Bhagavadajjukam is a satirical play which depicts the misfits in the society, a theme which is relevant for all times.
The characters that play on stage include Vidooshaka (Jester) who is innocent of Prahasana (farce), the physician who is ignorant of the art of medicine, the Yamadootha who cannot identify the right person whose life he has to take away and the Yogi who finds it difficult to re-enter his body after transmigration in to the body of a harlot. To top it all, there is the hedonist Sandilya running from one religious Guru to the other for using religion as a means of satisfying his material needs.
The story is about the transmigration of souls, as practised by a Buddhist monk. This is done to substantiate the process of ‘Parakaya Pravesha’ or the process of the soul entering another’s body. The monk does this to convince Shandilya, his disciple. The monk and his disciple meet a courtesan Vasantasena and her maid Parabhritika in a garden. Shandilya’s depiction of events and the monk’s replies to his queries forms the essence of the play. Vasantasena falls unconscious after she is bitten by a snake.
The play takes a different turn from here onwards. Shandilya pleads with his master to save her. The master makes his own soul enter the body of the courtesan. She gets up and starts behaving like the holy man. The messenger of the god of death Yamdootha appears with the soul of the courtesan and slips it into the body of the holy man. The result is hilarious as Yamdhoota gets confused whose soul is to be taken away. The play was much enjoyed by the theatre lovers as they burst out laughing at the hilarious situation created on stage.