Karnasapatham

English

Cowardice Bhanumathi?

English

Cowardice Bhanumathi? In this Great Bharat War 

with my valour I will slay my enemies.

Don’t I have my brothers? Relatives and dependents?

Aren’t they all brave fighters?

I have my friends, my gurus, my army,

and then Karna my beloved friend.

The wicked Pandavas I will butcher now

And the Kuru chief will no doubt rule the world.

 

O fickle-eyed, why this sadness?

English

Sloka

The mighty and valiant Duryodhana, who is always desirous of victory and seeking glory, who is keen to decimate his enemies and who is unrivalled and majestic, spoke thus to comfort his grief-stricken wife.

O fickle-eyed, why this sadness?

O queen of beauties!

Why has your pretty smile faded,

my moon-faced beauty?

Where have all the beautiful traits that

radiate your lofty love gone, my beloved?

Karnasapatham (Karna's vow)

English

Context

The story centres round Karna, the tragic hero of Mahabharata. This play takes place just as the great war between the Kauravas led by Duryodhana and the Pandavas led by Yudhishtira is about to take place.

Karnaspadham, written by V Madhavan Nair or Mali as he is known popularly, is perhaps the only modern play which has become very successful in the performance space. One peculiarity of this play is that it takes place in one scene with characters moving in and out.

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