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Two plays of Ramacandra: An aesthetic study
Since the actual epic context has not been used by the dramatist, it was not necessary for bim to mention the final detail in the epic story of preserving the secret about the stay in hiding of the Pandavas. The play therefore ends appropriately with Bhima's narration of Baka-vadha and the gratitude of the man whose life has been saved.
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Ramacandra's handling of the entire episode shows that he has the imaginative inventiveness of a literary artist and the sense of freedom in shaping his dramatic story. The omission of the actual epic context of the Baka episode, which was not really necessary for dramatization, has gained for the play a completeness of a single individual episode that can be easily assumed to have occurred in the colourful and adventurous life of Bhima. The reader is not required to depend on the epic for the antecedents or for the consequent explanations to understand the dramatic story. This bestows unity on the play, which becomes a one-act as it was intended to be.
The omission of the Brahmin's story in the epic is, however, an artistic loss. Ramacandra has compensated for it partly by describing the wailings of the two women relatives of the victim and partly by working out elaborately the reactions of Draupadi who is present throughout the dramatic action. The visual detail about the victim's appearance is likely to add to the grimness of the scene in a stage representation,
But Ramacandra's greater skill lies, to my mind, in the altered picture of Bhima's confrontation with Baka. Conscious that the encounter cannot. be shown on the stage, the dramatist builds a picture of the demon's mountain fortress to which the victim was to be carried. He introduces Baka and his demon attendants on the scene. The attendants sense a new kind of smell on the grounds; they search and discover Draupadi hiding behind a mango tree. These details are interesting and dramatic. They create action and tension. The demon attendants lick Draupad, and discover to their intense delight that her flesh is tender and savoury. This again is a natural touch and produces humour of a grim kind. Such grim humour is present in their further recommendation to their Chief to eat Draupadi first, or taste her flesh in between meal, or their request that they be allowed to feast on her flesh.13 The dramatist succeeds, for a moment, in mixing bibhatsa with hasya and, at the same time, suggesting the underlying bhayanaka and karuna through the psychological reactions of Draupadi. This little scene. is quite exciting. And the excitement continues in the attempts on the part of the demon attendants to lift Bhima from the stone-slab and their failure. The frustration of the demons is very enjoyable to the audience: It is a tribute to Bhima's formidable strength, It is also apt to evoke pleasure and laughter at the sight of the discomfiture of the demon.
