''Gayopakhyanam'' (

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

: గయోపాఖ్యానం) is a Telugu play written by

Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham Chilakamarti Lakshmi Narasimham (26 September 1867 – 17 June 1946) was an Indian playwright, novelist and author of short stories, who wrote in the Telugu language. He was a romantic and a social reformer in the tradition founded by Veeresal ...

in 1890. It is also called Prachanda Yadavam (The story of fierce

Yadava The Yadava (literally, descended from Yadu) were an ancient Indian people who believed to be descended from Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the Abhira, Andhaka, Vrishni, and Sat ...

King -

Sri Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one o ...

). This play is the forerunner in presenting mythical themes in the Hindu epics. The plot is based on war between Nara-Narayana, the incarnation of

Arjuna Arjuna (Sanskrit: अर्जुन, ), also known as Partha and Dhananjaya, is a character in several ancient Hindu texts, and specifically one of the major characters of the Indian epic Mahabharata. In the epic, he is the third among Panda ...

and

induced by Gaya, a Gandharva King.

Author

(1867–1946) wrote this play at the age of about 22 years. It was staged for the first time in April 1890. Famous politician Tanguturi Prakasam played the role of Chitralekha and Arjuna and his teacher Immaneni Hanumantha Rao Naidu portrayed the role of Gaya. It was staged innumerable times by many drama troupes. It was published in 1909 and broke the records of selling more than a lakh copies.

The Story

Gaya, a Gandharva king, while moving across the skies, spits the pan down his divine plane. It falls into the open palms of

, offering prayers to Sun god (

Surya Surya (; sa, सूर्य, ) is the sun as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a m ...

). Sri Krishna gets very angry and vows to kill him. Gaya is a great devotee of Krishna. Krishna could not take back his vow.

Narada Narada ( sa, नारद, ), or Narada Muni, is a sage divinity, famous in Hindu traditions as a travelling musician and storyteller, who carries news and enlightening wisdom. He is one of mind-created children of Brahma, the creator god. He ...

advises Gaya to approach

and first seek his assurance of protecting him, before revealing about the person set to take his life. As per Narada's advice, the king takes Arjuna's promise for his protection before revealing Krishna's vow to kill him. Arjuna, though surprised, sticks to his word to Gaya. Any number of dialogues between both sides makes no dent in the situation. Intervention of

Subhadra Subhadra ( sa, सुभद्रा, Subhadrā) is a Hindu goddess mentioned in ancient Hindu scriptures like the ''Mahabharata'' and the ''Bhagavata Purana''. She is described as the favourite child of Vasudeva and the younger sister of de ...

, Narada, Rukmini and others fail resulting in direct combat. When they are almost out for a head-on collision,

Lord Siva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...

appears before them and averts a possible disaster to the world. Lord Krishna explains this situation as a test for Arjuna before the impending

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

war.

Main characters

* Gaya, Gandharva King * Sri Krishna * Arjuna, One of the Pandavas * Narada * Subhadra, Sister of Sri Krishna and wife of Arjuna * Lord Siva

Famous poems

* ''Jalanidhu linkugaaka Kulashailamu lEdunu Grunkugaaka'' * ''Alluda Rammani Adarammuna Bilvabampu Maamanu batti Champagalame''

Criticism

The criticism that the poet sacrificed the sublime nature of the great characters like Krishna and Arjuna. The poet has natural tendency to dilute the expression, caring more for the common man. He is familiar with the idioms and proverbs familiar to him in the daily life. This may be main reason for the success of his play at root level of the audience.

Films

The story is adopted for films in Telugu and Tamil languages and made as ''

Sri Krishnarjuna Yudham ''Sri Krishnarjuna Yuddhamu'' () is a 1963 Indian Telugu-language Hindu mythological film, produced and directed by K. V. Reddy under the Jayanthi Pictures banner.Naati 101 Chitralu, S. V. Rama Rao, Kinnera Publications, Hyderabad, 2006, pp: 19 ...

'' in 1962/1963 and directed by

K. V. Reddy Kadiri Venkata Reddy (1 July 1912 – 15 September 1972) was an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who primarily worked in Telugu cinema. He is considered as one of the greatest directors in the history of Telugu cinema. He d ...

.https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0265799/ It is starring

N. T. Rama Rao Nandamuri Taraka Rama Rao (28 May 1923 – 18 January 1996), often referred to by his initials NTR, was an Indian actor, filmmaker and politician who served as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh for seven years over three terms. He starred ...

as Lord Krishna, Akkineni Nageswara Rao as Arjuna and

Dhulipala Dhulipala Sitarama Sastry (24 September 1921 – 13 April 2007), known mononymously by the surname Dhulipala, was an Indian actor and thespian, known for his works predominantly in Telugu cinema. He was noted for playing mythological roles, ...

as Gayudu.

References

{{reflist

External links

Gayopakhyanam video at Andhra Natakam.com

Indian plays Telugu-language literature 1890 plays Telugu-language plays