Triumph of good over evil
A. D. RANGARAJAN
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‘Sri Mahishasura Mardhini’ creatively depicted the slaying of the demon.
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Photo: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar
Noteworthy effort A scene from the play.
Hyderabad’s Navakranti Cultural Association performed the mythological play Sri Mahishasura Mardhini at Mahati auditorium in Tirupati last Sunday. It was the 63rd in the series of monthly performances by reputed theatre artis
tes and cultural troupes, conducted under the joint aegis of Sri Venkateswara Natyakala Parishat and the TTD’s Hindu Dharma Prachara Parishat.
The play was about the demonic character Mahishasura, who becomes an intolerable nuisance for the entire universe. Armed with a boon from Brahma the Creator, Mahishasura creates havoc in all the three mythological worlds. Sage Narada leads a delegation to Mount Kailash and prays to Lord Shiva and his consort Parvati to rid the world of the menace.
With Shiva’s support, Parvati takes up cudgels against the demon. Narada takes up the job of creating an alibi for slaying the demon and advises him to capture Parvati, as it would help him take control of all the worlds. War becomes inevitable when Mahishasura turns down the plea of an emissary to drop his idea. By absorbing the power of the demi-gods and other celestial beings, Parvati manifests into a superpower, strong enough to confront the demon endowed with magical powers. She kills the demon Mahishasura after a long-drawn battle and the entire world hails her as ‘Mahishasura Mardhini’.
The play ended with the creative depiction of dushta sikshana sishta rakshana, with the goddess coming to the rescue of her devotees by incinerating the evil. The play highlighted the concept of good prevailing over evil.
M. Arjuna Rao, who portrayed the role of Mahishasura, was also the director of the play, while Tandra Subrahmanyam wrote the script. Surabhi Vengamamba played the role of Parvati, with B. Anji Reddy as Shiva and N. Gabriel as Narada.
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