Читать книгу The Rise of Wisdom Moon - Krishna mishra - Страница 20

introduction

Plot Summary

As the scene opens, following the required benedictions, the Stage-manager relates that he has received an order from Gopala, a lord allied with king Kirti·varman. Gopala, thanks to his valiant conduct in battle, has succeeded in restoring Kirti·varman to the throne after the latter had suffered defeat at the hands of his rival Karna, the ruler of the kingdom of Chedi. Following a period of boisterous celebration, Gopala feels that the time has come to extol the virtue of spiritual peace, and so commands that “The Rise of Wisdom Moon,” a work composed by his own guru Krishna·mishra, be performed before the king. The Stage-manager, speaking to his actress wife of Gopala’s heroism, recites a verse comparing the downfall of Karna and reinstallation of Kirti·varman to spiritual intuition’s overcoming of ignorance, and the birth of wisdom that thereby ensues. The frame of the allegory is thus introduced, together with its protagonists Intuition, Magnus Nescience, and Wisdom Moon.

At the recitation of this verse a commotion is heard backstage: Kama, or Lord Lust in our translation, is indignant that his master Magnus Nescience should be disparaged by a mere actor, and he airs his complaint to his wife, Lady Passion. She, however, senses that Intuition and his party may be more formidable than her husband believes and raises a delicate question: is it true, as she has heard, that Lust—and by implication Magnus Nescience with his entire faction—in fact share common origins with their hated enemies, Intuition and his allies? Lust confirms her suspi- cions in revealing that Nescience and Intuition are pater- _______

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