Dr.ShuddhanandaBharati

Kama Thilaganand

Vanarasu

Stage drama

ASSAEditions

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Foreword

Jeevaka Chinthamani, is one of the fiveepics; the story and verses are pleasant toread. The main character Jeevagan is aheroic lover; he indulges in worldlypleasures, finally renounces everythingand becomes a saint. This epic depicts allthe realities of the world. Kama Thilagan iswritten as a poetic drama based on thestory in ‘Suramanhariyar Ilambagam’,which is a part of the epic JeevakaChinthamani. Suramanjari spends her life indance and music, distancing herself frommen. Jeevagan, under the guise of an oldman, entices her with his passionate loveand ultimately marries her in blissful hap-piness. This musical drama, written inTamil by Kavi Yogi Maharishi Sri Shud-dhananda Bharati, was enacted by All IndiaRadio Tutcorin on 19 September 1946. Thisis written in such a way that it can be readas a text as well as enacted. Let many newdramas adorn the Tamil Literary World.

Ramachandrapuram, 30 October 1946, Anbu Nilayathar

Preface

When I received an invitation from Mr.Christian Piaget to translate the two booksKamathilagan and Vanaarasu from Tamil toEnglish, I wrote that it is a divine gift for meto associate with the efforts of a person likehim, who is dedicated to develop and con-tinue the ideals of Kavi Yogi Maharishi Dr.Shuddhananda Bharati in Europe. But Ihad no idea that I would embark on a longjourney into the rich and tough literarywork of Dr. Shuddhananda Bharati. Natu-rally I was searching for a person with thesame wavelength of interest to accomplishthe task and there came my bosom friendand colleague Mr. S.Pichandi, a dedicatedand sincere person, who always yearns forperfection. With this synergy, we couldsuccessfully complete the translation of thetwo books.

Kavi Yogi Shuddhananda Bharati is a multi-faceted personality with reference to his cre-ative literary work, ranging from epics toessay writing. Kamathilagan and Vanaarasu

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are operas on entirely two different themes,Kamathilagan dealing with the passionatelove of the heroic lover Jeevagan who mar-ries the heroine Suramanjari in blissful hap-piness, whereas the book on Vanaarasu dealssardonically with the dictatorial attitude ofthe superpowers after World War II, to sub-jugate the other nations. The author hasbeen equally adept in the art of dealing withthe subject on deep love and the animosityof the superpowers and their greed to rulethe world in terror. India, with its historicnon-violence policy of the Old Man ofPeace, Gandhi, is emerging as a place onearth where “Vanarasu”, the Divine King-dom descends.

As the conversations among the variouscharacters are both in prose and verse form,we had to apply our mind deeply to copewith the requirement of conveying thetheme with exact impact in the English ver-sion. We made all out efforts to ensure thatevery minute concept or detail is repro-duced faithfully, by referring to the Bible,history and glossary. Every word and sen-tence was framed after mutual discussion

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and unanimous decision. We are sure thatwe have succeeded in our endeavour tomake the English version an original one,keeping in the natural flow.

We are deeply indebted to Mrs GowriKannan and Vasanthi Pichandi who haverendered us all support to make thistranslation work a grand success.

V. Kannan & S. Pichandi

Brief Note on Kama Thilagan

There are five important epics in Tamil lit-erature. They are:1. Silappadhigaram2. Jeevaga Sinthamani3. Manimegalai4. Valaiyapathi5. KundalakesiEach epic depicts the life of great heroesand heroines. The epic Jeevaga Sinthamani is based on thelife of the hero Jeevagan. Kama Thilagan iswritten as a poetic drama based on thestory in Suramanjariyar Ilambagam, whichis a part of the epic Jeevaga Sinthamani.In order to understand the drama Kama Thi-lagan in a better manner, one needs to knowin brief the full story of Jeevaga Sinthamani.Sachchandan, father of Jeevagan was theking of the country Eamangadham. Afterhis marriage with Princess Visayai, he gothimself absorbed in worldly pleasures,abdicating his responsibility as a king.Ultimately he handed over the wholeadministration of the country to his corrupt

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Minister Kattiyangaran, who makes aplot to murder the royal family. Realizingthe impending danger and unable toescape from there, the king Sachchandanmakes a peacock shaped flying machine,trains his wife Visayai, who was thenpregnant, in operating the machine andsends her away in a bid to save her life.Sachchandan was later murdered at thebehest of Kattiyangaran.Visayai could fly some distance and laterfell in a burial ground. She gave birth to amale baby, who was named Jeevagan. Asshe felt she could not bring up the baby,she left him, hid herself and was watching.Kandhukadan, a rich merchant who camethere, took this baby and brought him up.Jeevagan grew up as a charming hero andwas trained on all arts and as a warrior byhis guru (teacher), Achchanandi. Headvised him to wait till an appropriatetime to fight with Kattiyangaran, who hadusurped his father, and to take back thekingdom from him. Jeevagan was goingfrom place to place with his friends andcame across the following 8 beautifulwomen whom he married.

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1.Gandharvathathai: Princess of the coun-try, Vellimalai and daughter of KingKaluzhavegan. She was an expert in play-ing a musical instrument called ‘yal(yaazh)’. Jeevagan won her in the yaazhcompetition and married her.

2.Gunamalai: Gunamalai and Suraman-jari are beautiful virgins living in Rasama-puram, the capital of the country Eaman-gadham. Both were friends. During afestival in Rasamapuram, both of themprepared a fragrant powder (perfume)and a competition arose as to which pow-der was superior in quality.

Jeevagan, who was an expert in testing thematerial, adjudged with proof that thepowder prepared by Gunamalai was thesuperior one. Enraged by this decision,Suramanjari shunned the males and wentaway. She also vowed that she wouldmake Jeevagan propose to her and wouldmarry him only.

One day Gunamalai was attacked by theroyal elephant. Jeevagan saved her andsubsequently married her.

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3.Padumai: She was the Princess of Chand-hirabam. She was bitten by a snake. Jeeva-gan, an expert in saving persons from thevenom of snake bite saved and married her.

4.Kemasari: She was the daughter of a greatmerchant Subhathiran in a place calledKemamapuram. As per the astrologers’ pre-diction, she would marry the youth on see-ing whom she blushes. When Jeevagan wastaken to her house by her father, she likedhim and both were married.

5.Kanagamalai; She was the Princess ofMaththimanadu. When Jeevagan went tothis country, he met King Thadamithanand trained his 5 sons in archery. The kingwas very happy and gave his daughter inmarriage to Jeevagan.

6.Vimalai: She was the daughter of a lead-ing merchant in Rasamapuram. Jeevaganhad reached Rasamapuranm, his maternaluncle’s place as per the advice of hismother. There he met Vimalai, fell in lovewith her and married her.

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7.Suramanjari: She is the heroine in thedrama Kama Thilagan. Please refer detailsfurnished at SL No 2 above and the Pref-ace in Kama Thilagan.

8.Elakkanai: She was the beautifulprincess and daughter of King Vidhayan.Jeevagan married her after winning anArchery competition.

Govindhai: There is a reference aboutGovindhai in Kamathilagan. As per thedetails in Jeevaga Sinthamani, the huntershad taken away the cattle from Rasama-puram by defeating the defending shep-herds and the soldiers of the king. Thenthe leader of the shepherds Nandhakondeclared that he would give his daughter,Govindhai, a beautiful girl, in marriage tothe person who could retrieve the cattlefrom the hunters. Jeevagan defeated thehunters and came back with the herd ofcattle. Even though Nandhakon offeredhis daughter, Jeevagan declined to accepther as he had only done his duty in sav-ing the cattle and got Govindhai marriedto his friend Padhumugan.

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Reference.Imperum kappiyangalJeevaga Sinthamani 1 & 2 by Nachchinarkiniyar.Publisher: E. Eniyan, ElanganiPathippagam, Chennai-15Kappiya kadhaigal by Jagadha, BagampariyalPathippagam, Chennai-14.Jeevaga Sinthamani. A Review by Dr. M.Rajathi Selvakani & Ms Hema Joel, PublisherDr D. Padmanaban.Thamizh Agaradhi (Tamil to Tamil andEnglish Dictionary), Lifco Publishers,Chennai.

Editor’s Notes

Clarification to the reader: the dialogues inverse form in the original text have beenmade bold and the dialogues in text formin normal letters (not bold). As Buddhis-agaran’s dialogue here is in the form ofverse not only the word “scholar” but allthe six words in the 2 lines

An erudite scholar -Regarded by intellectuals!

have been made bold.

A warm thank you to M. V. Kannan andhis friend S. Pichandi for this beautifultranslation. They have, with their meticu-lous work, been able to express fully thethoughts of Dr. Shuddhananda Bharati. Awarm thank you to their wives, who haveprovided all the necessary support.

It is a real pleasure for me to present KamaThilagan and Varanasu to you. We have tomuch to learn from this musical play andlove story!

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Thank you, Kavi Yogi Dr. ShuddhanandaBharati for having transmitted Kama Thila-gan and Varanasu to us.

With the blessing of Aum Shuddha ShaktiAum.

Christian Piaget

Song of Unity

Unite. Unite, Unite, Oh SoulsUnite and play your rolesUnite in mind, unite in heartUnite in whole, unite in partLike words and tunes and sense in songLet East and West unite and live longTrees are many; the grove is oneBranches are many; tree is oneShores are many; sea is oneLimbs are many; body is oneBodies are many; self is oneStars are many; sky is oneFlowers are many; honey is onePages are many; book is oneThoughts are many; thinker is oneTastes are many; taster is oneActors are many; the drama is oneNations are many; the world is oneReligions are many; Truth is oneThe wise are many; Wisdom is oneBeings are many; breath is oneClasses are many; college is oneFind out this One behind the manyThen life shall enjoy peaceful harmony

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Peace Anthem

Peace for all, peace for allFor all the countries peaceJoy for all, joy for allFor all the nations joyA rosy morning peaceA smiling summer joy (Peace for all)

All for each and each for allThis is the golden ruleLife and Light and Love for allFor all that live our love (Peace for all)

Work and food and clothes for allEqual status for allHealth and home and school for allA happy world for all (Peace for all)

No idle rich, no more beggarsAll are equal workersNo more tears, no more fearsThe heart is full of cheers (Peace for all)

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No atom scare, no fat mammonNo room for war demonLike leaves in trees, like rays in the sunWe are one communion,One Divine communion (Peace for all)

The good in you is good for allYour life is life for allThe God in you is God for allYour love is love for all (Peace for all)

For he or she or it or restThis collective life is bestThis Universal Life is bestNorth or South, or East or West (Peace for all)

Peace for plants and birds and beastsFor hills and streams and woodsPeace in Home − land and air and seaDynamic peace we see

Peace for all, peace for all

Immortal Peace for All

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Presentation ofDr. Shuddhananda Bharati

11th May 1897 – 7th March 1990

The wise one to the cosmic ageAlthough more than 90 years old, in hisschool in the south of India, Kavi YogiMaharishi (great divine visionary, wisepoet), Kavi Yogi Swami Dr.ShuddhanandaBharati worked like a young man oftwenty. When he was asked his age, heanswered: “My age is Courage!”

The Yogi wrote several hundred works inEnglish, French, Tamil, Hindi, Telugu andSanskrit; five thousand songs, and fifteenhundred poems in French. The magnumopus of the man conscious of the presenceof God in him, Bharata Shakti, (in 50,000verses) described his ideal: only OneHumanity living in communion with onlyOne God in a transformed world! BharataShakti is a monumental and unique work.The Yogi depicts the essence of all the reli-gions, of all the prophets and saints, all theapproaches of Yoga and all the cultures on

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an allegorical fabric. It is a book for anyage which all spiritual researchers and allnations should read and meditate on.

His commitment is summarized in hisbook celebrating his life, Pilgrim Soul.

The two poems mentioned in the openingexpress perfectly his ideal.

His mantra, Aum Shuddha Shakti Aum,nourishes our souls and guides our stepstoward the inner joy Ananda. It means: thelight of Grace and power of the puresupreme Almighty bless us with peace,happiness and prosperity!

Let the beauty and greatness of soul ofKavi Yogi Maharishi Dr.ShuddhanandaBharati bloom and scent the entire Earthwith its divine message and spiritual andunifying benefactor!

Editions ASSA

Courage!

The night is through,The chain of slaveryIt is already broken -I am full of courage!

Peace in the morning,A golden sun rises,Like a lion superhumanTo accomplish my dream.

A hopeful smile,Docile as a childWho plays in the infiniteWith a fiery star.

My journey is over;I enjoy time;The universe is my nest,Of eternal spring.

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Kama Thilagan(Stage drama)

Yogi Shuddhananda Bharati

Chief characters of the play (drama)

1. Jeevagan - Hero lover2. Veenavani - Heroine, Jeevagan’s

wife3. Dhanasekaran - Jeevagan’s friends 4. Buddhisagaran - Jeevagan’s friends

Others Maids, friends, priests and others.

Places Rasamapuram Grove,Saramajari Harem,Kamakottam.

Kama Thilagan

Scene I(Rasamapuram Grove – Dhanasekaranand Buddhisagaran make fun of Jeevagan,who married Vimalai).

Both: My God! Buddy! Luck favoursyou to get married! Long liveVimalai’s lover!

Ragam: Bihak – Rubaka Thalam – beat

You the son of Sachchandan,blessed with Sagadayogam!

Buddhisagaran: An erudite scholar – regarded by intellectuals!

Jeevagan: Buddies! Sagadayogam has notyielded peace; I have not cap-tured this country after defeat-ing the useless minister whohas cheated my father; mymother’s vow is not fulfilled.Time has not ripened to use the

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arrows (weapons) given by myguru.

What is the use of my vastknowledge?What is the use of my inherentcourage?What is the use ofintellectuals’ praise? My conviction has not come true!

Dhanasekaran:There is a time for every-thing to succeed! Can the minis-ter escape from your arrows? Behappy now! Why do you worry?

Virgins, at their first sightAre attracted to you, Cupid!

Buddhisagaran: Oh! Unequalled – Scholar of many scriptures!

Dhanasekaran:My dear friend Jeevaga! Atpresent you have the blessingsof planet Guru (Jupiter). Yousee, how enchanting damselslike Govindai, Gunamalai,Gandharvathathai, Kemasari,Kanagamalai and even the

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heavenly beauty Rati are over-whelmed by your handsome-ness! Yesterday Vimalai wasplaying. The ball fell on yourside; when you were handingover the ball... both eyes metand love developed at firstsight... you have the magicpower to attract maidens!

Jeevagan: Vimalai conquered me with herexcellent ball game!

Dhanasekaran:No, no, your majestic andheroic looks only have won her; Itoo feel I should have been a girl;you are none other than Cupid!

Buddhisagaran: Dhanasekera,What!Vimalai is so beautiful? A mostbeautiful girl is in this place itself.Her name is Suramanjari. Shesings, dances, plays yazh (musi-cal instrument), is well read...maiden... but does not allow anymale to come near to her!

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Dhanasekaran:Ha! Ha! Ha! What a sur-prise? Is she invincible? Nomatter who the maiden is, isthere a beautiful girl in theworld who cannot but love Jee-vagan?

Buddhisagaran: Jeevagan’s beauty andmajesty can’t stand before Sura-manjari. Let us see if he canapproach and entice her!

Dhanasekaran: In case he attracts her...?

Buddhisagaran: If you call Jeevagan aKaaman [one who attracts girls]I will give him the title KamaThilagan [Leader of Kaaman]and garland him. What, Jee-vaga! Are you ready?

Jeevagan: I accept the challenge. Let themarriage garland be ready.

Buddhisagaran:Oh! Heroic and majesticgroom, Jeevaga! How will youapproach Suramanjari? Youcan’t even enter her street, youwill be banished.

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Jeevagan: Buddhisagar, tomorrow night Iwill bring her to Kamakottam.You hide and do what I say.

Buddhisagaran:Ridiculous! If you gothere as a lad, the maids willcatch and imprison you. Becareful, this is Rajamapuri. Thesoldier is ready with his sharp-ened sword to behead you.

Jeevagan: Dear friend, even you can’tvisualize my guise tomorrow.

I will conquer the beauty – I willGet near and speak to herAs an old man, see the tactfulnessOf this Kamakizavan![old man]

Both: Ha! Ha! Ha! Goodbye old man!God bless you! We hope to meetyou as a pair in Kamakottam.

Exit all

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Scene II(Suramanjari’s Harem. Suramanjari sings,playing yazh (lute) – maids guarding).

Ragam: Kapi Thalam – Adhi Thalam

Shun even the name lad -Lads don’t tread here!Don’t violate the guard ofmaidsDon’t even peep thro’ thisstreet!

Suramanjari:Oh, maids, my deep love forthe arts makes lust ridiculous!

One maid:You are a rare person! We can’tbe like you. Even one day sepa-ration takes our life out! Whatis the use of beauty withoutmen? What is the use of flower-ing without a bee?

Suramanjari:My mother also chides me inthe same way. I get irritatedwhen I think of males!

One maid: Suramajari! Just as bees searchflowers for honey, youth yearn

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to enjoy your beauty. To hearyour yazh music they are wait-ing at the corner of the street.

Suramanjari:Hey, Chitraleka, what didyou say? No place to talk aboutmen... They are worst cheats,they will entice us with sweetwords - honey, beautiful deerand so on - and then trap us;beg to us; and then enslave us.Why does a bee approach theflower? To take away thehoney like a thief!

Maid: Don’t say so madam!

Are there flowers not kissedby bees -Are there groves withoutreverberatingThe song of nightingale inspring?

Another maid:Oh Friend! Men only gratify!

A verse not appreciated by aPandit is a verse?A girl who has not enjoyedher teens is a girl?

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Suramanjari: (With yazh)

Ragam: Senjurutti – Adhi Thalam

Just as the untouched holyflower -Better to be a virgin and lead avirtuous life!Tell me, dear maids, how toBelieve these tricky males?

Friend - 1:My dear Suramanjari!

Don’t utter so, my friend -gents areEcstatic dancing waves ofocean!

Friend - 2:Oh my friend, who has nottasted the pleasures!

A kiss like this willSecrete nectar on our lips

Suramajari:Go away ladies,you are all lunatic.

Ragam: Moganam – Jambai Thalam

Flowers lose their fragrance,petals wither

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After the bees taste the flower(honey)Birds leave the fruit-bearingtreesAfter tasting the fruits.

Friend - 1:What is the use of an untastedmango?What is the use of a flute lyingidle?

Friend - 2:What is the use of unworn jas-mine? What is the meaning inunmarried life?

Suramanjari:My face will lose its charm - if I befriend the playful malesThey call us sweethearts –laterThey leave us in the lurch,abuse us!Would anyone like to behold theFrenzied face of pretendingcheats?Be inspired by art, shun themale aura!

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(At this moment an old man appears at theportals of the palace and appeals).

Old man: Madam! I’m hungry, makesome alms. Madam Manjari,please show mercy.

Suramanjari:Ha! Who is there? (closingher ears) How come a malevoice is heard here! Arrest himwho has disobeyed my orders.

(A maid enters)

Maid: Madam! An elderly man hascome; a grand old man. Hun-gry, it seems...

Suramanjari:Old man? What is his age?

Friend: I don’t know, sporting greybeard, mustache; shivering; ahunchback, standing with thesupport of a stick.

Suramanjari:Oh, is it! A ripened old man! Iwill feed him to satisfy hishunger. Bring him here carefully.

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