Name : Pina Gondaliya
Semester : 3
Assignment Paper No : 6 Indian English literature pre- independence
Topic : Analysis of the play 'The Curse of Karna.'
Submitted to : Department of English M.K.Bhavnager.
T . P. Kailasm
Tyagaraja Paramasiva kailasam , popularly known as T. P. Kailasam was both a great playwright and a talented actor. His plays are lively representation of themes taken mostly from ancient Indian literature. Commenting upon it S. Krishna Bhatta observs :
It appears that his knowledge of ancient Indian literature and his long stay in England urged him to contribute something concrete to this sparsely cultivalted field. In spite of
The Curse of Karna
Kailasam, in The Purpose, has beautifully concealed the conflict of the High-born and low-born behind the curtain of the struggler for supremacy in archery. However, as the play belong to pre-independent India, there can be identified certain hints and suggestions of colonial expansion and the exploitation of the have nots like Ekalavya. In this context Ekalavya seems to be representing fighters of freedom, wolves the English rulers, deer and fawns the people of India, and Arjuna symbolizes the feudal lords who obliquely helps the wolves.
Karna: The Brahmin's Curse (1946), better known as The Curse or Karna is Kailasam's "more sustained dramatic adventure."² Kailasam seems to have made up his mind to recast and reassess the characters like Ekalavya, Karna an Keechaka to whom, in his opinion, justice may not have been done in the original Mahabharata. In the Curse or Karna he, with certain dirgressions from the original epic, has exalted the character of Karna. "What attracts Kailasam to Karna is the peculiarly human predicament. Karna's divinity is not his concern. Karna is a great soul circumscribed by an irrevocable fate and driven to ruin by a relentless curse, and the very nobility of his choice haunts him. Kailasam narrows his focus on Karna to his inevitable humanity." Karna, born to Kuntee with the blessing of the Sun god invoked by her during the days of her virginity, is left drifting on the waters of the Ganga to live and die by his known fate.
He is fortunately found by Adhiratha and Radha, a couple belonging to the low - class of the charioteers, and is brought up by them as their own son. Resultantly he is called the son of a suta, and therefore, he is debarred from all princely activities. Concealing his identity as the son of a low-born suta he becomes the disciple of Parasurama by calling himself a Brahmin's son. Somehow his identity is discovered and the angry Brahmin curses that the knowledge he has gained from him will be of no use to him in the moment of need. This curse follows Karna throughout his life.
The source of this play in five acts is The Mahabharata ('Adi', 'Sabha' and 'Karna' Parvas). It appears that this was originally designed by Kailasam to be a screenplay. S. Krishna Bhatta summarizes how the theme of this play flashed in the mind of Kailasam:
It is learnt that this concept of Karna flashed in his mind on the occasion of giving a recital of The Purpose in 1927 at the West End Hotel, Bangalore. He left C.R. Reddy for a few minutes and went out, all the time mumbling questions like 'Karna? his birth..Oh yes; son of the sun; flung adrift; Radha, the mother; suta; the Guru's curse.. The swayamavra; the sabha scene; the killing! Then he rushed in and said to Reddy, 'I have it, Sir. Thus sprang the play traversing the entire gamut of Karna's life.¹
K.V. Aiyer, one of Kailasam's close associates and disciples, also tells us of his intention of writing a play on Karna. On a cold December night both Kailasam and Aiyer had gone to see a play performed by an English company. On their way back, at about two in the morning, Kailasam stopped him and said, "Venkatesh, now I will entertain you with my Karna.. I have a great idea. This Karna is to be a big drama by Kailasam."
Kailasam has great fascination for the mythological characters, however, he makes them his own. The same is the case with Karna. He prefers characters from the Mahabharata to those from the Ramayana, because in the former they are all human while in the latter they are all spiritual. Kailasam believes that the figures in The Mahabharata are all human. They have all that the other human beings have-love, hate, virtues; but at a higher level. That is why it is possible to delineate them, while the persons of The Ramayana are all spiritual and possessed of self-knowledge-Sabari, Ravana, Vali, Indrajit, Rama, Laxman, Kaikeyi-they all know themselves. He admits that he can only sketch a scene here and there about Sabari or Bharata..The Ramayana is not his business. As far as this play is concerned, The Mahabharata means to him not more than the tragedy of Karna. The fate of Karna dazzles him so much that he takes from the original only that which subserves his dramatic vision; he distorts facts boldly and even recklessly to erect a magnificent Karna."
Act 1
The play begins with Karana's completion of education at Parasurama's ashram. At the very last moment of his departure from the ashram he loses all he has earned during his stay there. Guru Parasurama is sleeping and Karna puts his head on his lap with tender concern for his teacher. Suddenly a wasp comes on to his lap and starts sucking blood from Karna's thigh, but he does not let his leg shake so as not to disturb the sleep of his Guru. But somehow the blood from his thing oozes out and the Guru wakes up. Seeing this extraordinary tolerance and patience Parasurama instantly concludes that such a youth cannot be Brahmin, as he has pretended to be; he must be no other than a Kshatriya. Guru, being a sworn destroyer of the Kshatriya, gets angry to the extent of cursing this sincere disciple thus :
.....And for thy dastard of lie,list to a brahmins curse:
THE USE OF ARMS YOU'VE LEARNT OF ME, ...THE BAREST TALK, THE MEREST THOUGHT OF THY MIND.. WILL SWELL THY HEART TO SENSE OF SHAME, WILL DULL THINE EYES AND MIND, NUMB AND PARALYSE THE LIMBS BEYOND THEIR POWER TO HELP THEE MAKE THE SLIGHTEST, SMALLEST USE OF KNOWLEDGE THAT YOU'VE LEARNT OF ME! AVAUNT! AVAUNT! ERE I INFLICT A FURTHER CURSE ON THEE !!
With Parasurama's declaration of this curse Karna's tragedy is ordained. The Guru himself feels, "Karna! My love for thee reveals to me that Fate hath wove thy life and death in the threads of tragedy."As a result of this curse, whenever, Karna tries to overpower his fate and circumstances, he is reminded of his low-caste and thus humiliated to the extent he forgets all his art and knowledge.
Act 2
In Act II, scene i, Karna is distinguished as matchless hero and Arjuna is about to lose his position of the best archer in the world, but the Brahmin's curse again appears before him in the form of Kripacharya who asks him for his credentials; and Karna has only this much to say:
... Intrinsic worth, it is, my liege, not accidental birth, That gauges human's use for Mother Earth! The Brahmin birth of these adversaries Of mine will no more guide their shafts Aright, than mine will turn away by reason of My suta-birth.
None is there to recognize Karna's merit irrespective of his birth and parentage. Without any shade of doubt he is a matchless warrior, but he repeatedly discouraged by the Pundits and the Pandavas. The magnificent hero is forced to cry thus:
It is a curse, my lord of Gandhara,That robbed mine arms and trunk of strength and life: A mighty Brahmin's potent curse that rules:Whensoever my lowly birth is flung at me, And made to cross my mind, my brain refuses thought! A Brahmin's curse!My heart refuse beat! Mine arms remain inert! Pray, pity me, lord, a helpless victim of A Brahmin's Curse.
Act 3
In Act III again the Brahmin's curse victimizes Karna, who is badly humiliated by Draupadi in her swayamvara. As soon as he rises to try his chance, she boldly declares that even if the sutui's son fulfils the condition of marriage, she will not accept him. Act IV presents the greatest moment of Karna's chivalry and nobility. With certain bold digressions Kailasam presents the episode of Drupadi's humiliation in presence of the elders of the Kuru family. In the original Mahabharata Draupadi is humiliated, dragged by hair to the assembly hall and an attempt is made to disrobe her by Dusshasana. Karna also passes certain insulting comments on Draupadi. It is only Krishna who comes on to rescue her with infinite drapery. But Kailasam's Karna, instead of passing remarks, comes forward for her rescue and defies the Kaurava princes with boldness and courage of a true warrior. He warns Dusshasana, "Move but a step and you die. " Ridiculing the passive husbands and the elders he throws a warning:
O King of Kuruland! Now list! This he That now addresses thee is not the suta king of Angaland! Nor is he thy servant or thy friend! I speak to thee and all assembled here As pupil of dread Rama who exacts his fee...
and the fee is "to extirpate Kshatriya who drunk of pow'r\And pride, do use the strength that God gave them\To harass humans. "Referring to their weaknesses and moral passivity Karna criticizes the high-born. And the challenge he throws to them becomes detrimental to Karna himself. He says:
Now watch the prowess of a pupil of The dread Bhargava even though he be A low-born suta.¹
The last words of his challenge remind Karna of his curse and paralyse his powers and prowess. He returns to his ownself and again becomes a friend of Duryodhana. The Brahmin's curse once again leaves its impact on Karna, who for his valour and virtues commands compliments from Draupadi:
Thou art, in sooth, some strary ray of Some strange, strange star that hath, by some Mishap, astrayed into this sinful world!2
Kailasam develops the character of Karna by and by through his certain dramatic innovations and digressions. It is Karna's character that receives appreciation from Draupadi who discloses her identity as under:
Ye all think I am naught but A fragile, helpless woman! why I that was A woman once, am not a woman now! I am but flame..A flame begat of hate! A flame brought forth to burn this house Of cold moon!³
Another dramatic invention of Kailasam is that the depicts Bheema springing like a panther on Karna to tear him to pieces for not using his brahmastra to finish the house of Kuru. Karna solemnly faces the situation and requests for pity in the following manner:
Bear with me, Vrikodara! What stayed my hand from slaying thee on the day Of Pariksha; what numb'd mine arm on the day Of Panchali's swayamvara; what paralyz'd Mine arm and did stop me from rescuing her From clutch of human brute was but relentless. curse Of dread Rama! Pity me, the helpless victim of a Brahmin's curse!!
Act 5
In Act V Kuntee, the virgin mother of Karna appears. before him to request him not use serpent shaft against the Pandavas. She, contrary to the original epic, does not disclose her identity² but reveals that he is not a suta's son, but a prince. This revelation may be a great relief to one who has so far been humiliated several times only for his low-birth. He before committing anything to Kuntee, is confronted with his foster mother Radha, who asks him to stick to his loyalty to the King. Duryodhana who has made him a man and ensured an honorable position for him in society. He unhesitatingly sides with Duryodhana and fights against the Pandavas who are protected by Lord Krishna. And he is engaged in a lost battle. Throughout his life Karna cannot make any use of the knowledge of arms that he has received from Parasurama because of his curse. When he is in the battlefield and fighting bravely, another Brahmin's curse starts working on him.
When a student, near the ashram he unwittingly kills a sacrificial cow belonging to a learned Brahmin who curses him that Karna's chariot wheel will be swallowed by the earth when he will be fiercely comparing on the battlefield to kill his enemy. The same happens when he is engaged in a fierce fight with his avowed enemy Arjuna.¹ Karna tries hard to take the wheel out of the earth and asks Arjuna in the name of Dharma not to attack him in this condition. But Krishna throws upon him a series of questions and asks him when he has observed Dharma: 'Now, do you remember Dharma; generally the depraved, steeper in distress, chastise their fate but never their own bad deeds. You did not remember Dharma when Draupadi was dragged to the court by you, Duryodhana, Dusshasana and Sakuni. Where did your sense of dharma go when you very well knew how Yudhisthira, ignorant of the game, was defeated by Sakuni? Where was your sense of dharma when the Kuruavas did not give back the kingdom of the Pandavas when the thirteen years of vanavasa had elapsed? When Bheemsena was tortured by poisonous shakes and fed with poisonous food where was your sense of dharma? Where was your dharma when the wax house was set on fire, with the Pandavas sleeping within? When Draupadi, even in her menstrual days, stood mastered by Dusshasana and was ridiculed in the sabha, where was your sense of dharma? When the Pandavas stood the lovely Draupadi with the statement, "your husband are gone to perpetual hell; find another husbands," and you connived at the deed of slighted her, where did your dharma go? When you greedy for a kingdom and siding with Sakuni, challenged the Pandavas, where did your dharma go? Where did your dharma go when you, alongwith several heroes, encircled and killed the boy Abhimanyu?.." These arguments of Krishna in the original Mahabharata hold the same significance that the Brahmin's curse in Kailasam's play. In both the situations Karna's head is hung in shame, depression and frustration. In the end, at the instance of Krishna, Arjuna kills Karna.
Conclusion
The Curse or Karna is a tragedy, described by the author himself as "an impression of Sophocles in five acts." In this play Karna undergoes troubles and tension like Oedipus in sophocles's Oedipus Rex. The thematic materials of this play of Kailasam are gathered from mythology. Its tragic atmosphere of and mythological materials collectively contribute to the artistic excellence of the play. In the Greek sense of the term, tragedy is a new genre in Indian dramatic writing and, therefore, the spirit of tragedy has to be carefully injected into the mythological substance.
Citation
Google. (n.d.). Indian English drama. Google Books. Retrieved September 22, 2021, from https://books.google.co.in/books?id=9j7CbYk-IMIC&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99&dq=The%2Bcurse%2Bor%2Bkarna%2Bby%2Bt.p.%2Bkailasam&source=bl&ots=XNEViBDMTN&sig=ACfU3U0dTfZpi9hYCOzcJ46wqI5B-nBMIQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjE36Pt-5LzAhUxH7cAHRaiDbkQ6AF6BAglEAI#v=onepage&q=The%20curse%20or%20karna%20by%20t.p.%20kailasam&f=false.
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