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Comedy is evoked by scenarios of surprise, exaggeration, disproportion, shared awkward experiences, surrealism, irony, mockery, pun, or defiance. Henri Bergson says that a spectator would find contrived and mechanical movements comical. This is because they find it silly or absurd; essentially something which is considered abnormal in a society induces humour. Arthur Koestler says as humanity evolved, aggression was replaced with comedy. A comic situation arises only when the spectators don’t empathise, rather distance themselves from the characters. Comedy is also distinguished as high and low. It was commonly misconstrued that high comedy, which is witty and critical of life, is reserved for the educated. While low humour which entails bawdiness, silly visuals, drunkenness and physical humour, can be enjoyed by anyone.

Farce, a low form of humour is purely meant to induce laughter. The plot is set in an improbable situation, sometimes even incomprehensible. It is replete with absurd miscommunications and mistaken identities. The characters are stereotypical, often ignorant and belonging to lower social class[i]. Under these circumstances, a person under the influence of alcohol becomes an easy target for a protagonist.

A religious tradition which entails the practice of regular intoxication could have been an easy choice for a farce in the seventh century. Mattavilaasa Prahasana(m)/ A Farce of the Drunken Sport is a one act farcical play set in Kanchipuram. The playwright is the Pallava ruler Mahendra Varman whose epithet was Viciracittan, the man with the prowess of thinking unique. For an emperor who reveled under the idea of “thinking outside the box”, he penned two farces i.e. Mattavilasa Prahasana and Bhagavadajjuka[ii] which highly satirizes today’s heterodox traditions of South India. In Sanskrit theatre tradition, Prahasana—a farce, enlists a few characteristics—it is a one act play with predominance of low comedy. The object of laughter is improper conduct by ascetics, courtesans, rogues, etc. Unlike Hellenistic theatres, a farce in Sanskrit theatre incorporates elements of irony, satire, and mockery. It is essentially a lower form of comedy as it involves improper conduct—drunkenness in the case of Mattavilaasa Prahasana. These farcical plays could be marked as an innovation in Sanskrit theatre tradition, as there are no other renderings of farce available to the larger demographic. Satire usually comments on the hypocrisies in society or traditions. Hence, it can be assumed that the mentioned religious practices were prevalent during Mahendra Varman’s time[iii]. Mattavilaasa Prahasana gives a distorted idea of the religious tensions during the seventh century in Kanchipuram. This play, while bringing out the religious laxity and bigotry, there is an underlying tone of praise for Kanchipuram under the rule of the illustrious Pallava Empire.

The play’s characters follow three different traditions that are satirised i.e. Kapalika[iv], Buddhist, and Pasupata[v] tradition. In passing, the Jain tradition is also included. The protagonist of the play Satyasoma, follower of the Kapalika tradition, along with his wench[vi] Devasoma, enter the city of Kanchipuram visibly drunk. The beautiful city is in celebration as the two of them enter another tavern to drink more. They praise the tavern which is complete with drunken revelry, a paradise for the Kapalika. While collecting alms, the duo realise that their Kapala, the skull bowl is missing and nowhere to be found. Satyasoma concludes that it must have been either stolen by a Buddhist monk or a dog, as the bowl contained roasted meat. At this inopportune time, a degenerate Buddhist monk Nagasena, contemplating indulgence in intoxication or ritual intercourse, enters the scene and is accused of theft. After a few scathing remarks are exchanged, a drunken brawl ensues until Bhabrukalpa, a practitioner of Pasupata tradition tries to resolve the matter. Bhabrukalpa, also a degenerate, only wants to add fuel to the fire as Devasoma left him to be with Satyasoma. Bhabrukalpa praises the righteousness of the judiciary system under the rule of King Mahendra Varman. Just then a madman enters the scene carrying the skull bowl. After Satyasoma receives his bowl, he thanks Nagasena and Bhabrukalpa with respect and departs. While this play epitomises the Pallava reign, it outwardly berates religious practices, especially Buddhism.