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Book Review: Indian Puranic Plays by P. Thulasimani

The length and the breadth of Hindu Holy scriptures including all Puranas, including Ramayana and Mahabharata, is extensive. Many of us must have read and experienced storytelling from the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata. However, there are myriad of stories and dramas that emanate from within them. Nowadays an era of mythological retellings brings forward unheard stories from different point of views such as from Kakeyi, Mandodari, Karn, Draupadi, Kansa, Viswamitra, and so on. It all indicates that Indian mythology, Puranas, Itihaas is never short of literature for life teachings and entertainment.


Based on similar scaffold, there is this book – Indian Puranic Plays by P. Thulasimani. It is a book of four dramas, taken from Tamil literature, originally written by the legendary Sambandham Mudaliar, the Doyen of Tamil Dramas. These dramas are from both: Ramayana and Mahabharata.

The book commences with Yayati – the King. In this drama, one of the focuses is social discrimination when Yayati marries two women: Sharmishtha and Devayani. The former belongs to Asura dynasty, while the later is a Brahmin. With interesting characters as the play chugs ahead, we got to know the adverse affects of astrology in the society. At large the King warns astrologers for a careful practice.

In the following drama that is about a great king Harichandra, a mountain of truth is tested on the king by Vishwamitra for his own ego clash with Vashishta. Harichandra is a famous play cum story worldwide, well many might not know that it is adopted from Ramayana.

The last play Upakosa depicts the power and intellectual prowess of a woman. It is a very nice story replete with sub stories. A woman named Upakosa is harassed by top echelons of the society that often work with the king such as priest, merchant, magistrate, etc. They urged to share bed with her when her husband is away. She finds herself in a difficult situation initially but soon she traps all culprits in a box and the real comedy of their sins is exposed to the king.

Each play possesses itself as a long story. It could be told in a novella form. However, translated it from Tamil and made a few changes to enable them readable for all ages. The plays pinpoint the moral and ethics of the people at all levels. No society can be perfect, and he shows it in proper limelight, without blaming and jeopardizing anyone.

The book also right at the beginning details out the difference between Vedic and Puranic gods… as who is capable of what in terms of influence and curse. Thus, the saints and gods of equal stature might not sound the same in the similar situations.

The book is an excellent resource on Puranic literature. It also fosters the Tamil literature and reinstates the literary stature of Sambandham Mudaliar, the Doyen of Tamil Dramas. All in all, it’s a highly recommended and engrossing book of dramas for an array of readers looking to have engaged with Puranic stories.

Buy the e-book from Amazon Kindle Store

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