Kridaniyakam

Finding the celestial beings deviating from righteousness in the Treta-yuga, Lord Brahma, the Creator, had tried to bring them back to moral life, but in vain. As a last resort, the Lord took four different elements from the four Vedas and created Kridaniyakam, that is a toy, which can be seen and heard, named ‘Natyaveda’. This story is detailed in Sage Bharata’s Natyashastra, the ancient Indian dramaturgy.

Comedy and tragedy are integral to mankind. ‘Natya’ which reflects the light and darkness of life, is a toy. But it has the prowess to guide the human society from vices to virtues. The traditional Sanskrit dramas, Bhagavadajjukam and Mattavilasam are farces impregnated with philosophical anguish. This book is an analysis of these two dramas culminating into the terrain of Kridaniyakam.

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