Vada in Theory and Practice: Studies in Debates, Dialogues and Discussions in Indian Intellectual Discourses c10.s11.5

c10.s11.5

In *Vālmīki Rāmāyaṇa* Paraśurāma is a dreadful figure, viewed with awe and terror. He unleashed violence and created havoc by repeated massacres of kṣatriyas. But his sacrileges as well as barbarous killings of human beings including women and children have nowhere been decried. It is Bhavabhūti who questions these acts of Paraśurāma. Unlike their counterparts in *Rāmāyaṇa*, Daśaratha, Janaka and Śatānanda in his play are not at all terrified by the onslaught of Paraśurāma; they challenge him and go to the extent of vehemently condemning his murderous acts. The prolonged debate between Paraśurāma and these persons, which covers two acts in *Mahāvīracaritam* of Bhavabhūti raises questions on the former’s conduct.