 |
Based on a Bheel legend, the play deals with man’s relationship with nature in a simple and poignant way. Dharia Bheel goes to the forest and chooses a huge banyan tree to cut down. As he strikes the first blow, sweet water starts flowing out. The second time it is milk. But the third time there is blood.
Soon there is a sea of blood, engulfing everything. Ferocious monsters breed in the sea, devouring all life forms. Dharia, realizing his folly, calls for the help of the forest goddess. The goddess pleads helplessness, and tells Dharia that the wound will not heal till he goes to Patal-lok (the nether world) to find Amar Beej, the immortal seed. Dharia tries to enter Patal-lok, but is consumed by the poisonous fumes of Vasuki, the serpent-god guarding the place. Then the goddess herself takes new birth from a lotus, and makes a garland for Vasuki. Pretending to garland him, she wants to chop off the many heads of Vasuki, but is stopped by Vasuki’s wife, Padma. Padma pleads with the goddess for the life of Vasuki, and helps her obtain the immortal seed from Shankar, the Adi-Purush, the primordial man. And, that is how Dharia comes back to life and the land is regenerated. |
 |
|
 |