Poothna Moksham - Ashwathi Thirunal(1756 to 1794)                                                                         BACK

This story is taken from Bhagavatha.

Kamsa, king of Mathura sends a demoness called Puthana to kill a boy baby growing up at the house of Nanda, a Yadava chieftain. When she reaches Gokulam, a settlement of the Yadavas, she changes herself into a beautiful damsel. Then she slowly enters Gokulam also called Ambadi.

Puthana looks at Gokulam and thinks. This is a charming place, so charming that even thousand hooded Anantha will find it difficult to describe. On one side she sees a mountain called Govardhana Giri from where streams originate and flow towards Gokulam. Beautiful wind is blowing and drunk with joy peacoks dance on the slopes where herds of cow are also grazing. Fair maidens carry milk, and some of them are busy churning the curd into butter. Beautiful smell of fresh buttermilk dazzles in the air. Some of the girls are singing and dancing and some are also playing with a ball.

 She also feels like playing with them but slowly walks forward until she sees a beautiful seven story house that was Nanda Gopa's residence. She enters the building and goes towards the room where the baby of her thoughts was sleeping. She looks at him. His legs were like lotuses. Near the eyes are found a few drops or tears indicatibg that the child was crying before it slept off. This looked like morning dew drops sticking to flowers. So captivating was the child that Puthana lifts it softly with both her hands forgetful of her real mission. But soon she remembers of her mission to kill it. She hesitsates but is again reminded that Kamsa will cut off her head if she goes back without doing the job. To kill or not to kill the baby? A few minutes of 'Demoness's Dilemma', not unlike 'Doctor's Dilemma', arises. She decides in the positive and rubs poisson on her breasts and just like a mother starts feeding the child. The child not only drinks the milk but refuses to leave the breasts and drinks her life itself through the breasts. Struggling, beating and crying, she slowly transforms to the demoness and finally dies. But as she dies she is able to see a glimpse of the Lord Supreme and so attains moksha or deliverance.

There is usually only one caharacter in the play but she takes on two shapes(veshas). One is a Kari vesha and the other is Minuku. The original story has many veshas and scenes but these scenes are hardly played.