Characters

• Krishna
• Arjuna
• Brahmin
• Brahmin’s wife
• Vriddha

Context

This is a popular play written by Mandavappilli Ittiraricha Menon (1744-1804). This is based on an incident from Sree Maha Bhagavatham.

Synopsis

Arjuna arrives at Dwaraka one day to meet Krishna. While living there a Brahmin comes to Krishna with the dead body of his child. He wails loudly and tells his sad story of eight of his children dying immediately on birth. He prays to Krishna to save his next child but Krishna is unmoved. When the Brahmin in his grief starts to heap abuse on Krishna, Arjuna steps in to console the Brahmin. The wily Brahmin makes Arjuna promise with Krishna as witness that he will save the next child and that if Arjuna fails to do that he will jumping into fire and end his life. When the Brahmin’s wife is pregnant Arjuna is summoned. But to his chagrin even the newborn’s body was not to be seen. The Brahmin insults Arjuna who prepares to jump into a pyre. Right on cue Krishna appears and stops him. Arjuna is told that all the Brahmin’s children are with the Supreme God Vishnu. Krishna takes Arjuna to Vaikundam and they return to the Brahmin’s house with all the ten boys. Lord Vishnu tells them that he did this to see Arjuna and Krishna or Nara and Narayana in person. The Brahmin and his wife are ecstatic and they bless Krishna and Arjuna.