It was a delightful experience for the theatre goers witnessing the lifespan of a king who adopted Buddhism after he saw bloodshed while fighting a war as a stage performance.
King Ashoka is one of the bravest kings of Maurya Empire. But, after Kalinga War, the entire life changing incidents of his were portrayed through a Hindi play ‘Samrat Ashoka’.
The play was staged here on Monday at Bharat Bhavan Auditorium marking the second day of theatre festival ‘Rang Ekagra’. The play is written by Daya Prakash Sinha and was directed by Chittranjan Tripathi. The play was presented by the artists of Sanaskar Bharti theatre troupe Gorakhpur.
The writer of the play basically highlighted the events from Ashoka’s life that happened after the Kalinga War. The war is said to have the most bloodshed of Indian history that shattered Ashoka and he turned towards Buddhism. In the words of the famous monologue “What have I done? Is this a victory or a defeat? Is this justice or injustice? Is it valour to kill innocent children and women?”
He was disowned by the kingdom and his people. After this he was drawn to the teachings of the Buddha and soon became a devout Buddhist. The play stresses that all worldly achievements are indeed ephemeral. He donated tons of gold to various Buddhist institutions and for humanistic causes but towards the end he could donate just an apple to a Buddhist monk this is the abysmally miserable fall of an emperor.
The special music effects and light design were the capturing point of the play. The play was worthwhile watching with its serious and intense acting skills.