Amita

An adaptation of Yashpal's Amita. This is my synopsis of the story, and the basis for my play.

Once upon a time, long, long ago, there lived a fierce warrior-king. His army had one thousand elephants, ten thousand horsemen, fifty thousand archers, and one hundred thousand soldiers. He wanted his kingdom to stretch from where the sun rose in the East, to where it set in the West; from the foot of the mountains in the North, to the edge of the ocean in the South.

The warrior-king’s army was always at war, destroying and conquering everything in its path. But the warrior-king was never satisfied. He dreamed of greater conquests and bigger kingdoms. He did not want to stop until he ruled the world, and so his armies marched farther and farther.

One day, they came to the kingdom of Kaling.

The King of Kaling led his men into battle, fought off the warrior king’s army, and forced them to retreat. But the King of Kaling was wounded in the battle. And he died a few days later.

The Queen took over as the ruler but she was not a warrior. She was not even a ruler. All she wanted to do was follow the path of the Buddha. So the Prime Minister of Kaling began to run the kingdom in her name. He was a good man but he was no match for the warrior-king.

The warrior-king, furious at his defeat, prepared his entire army for battle. One thousand elephants, ten thousand horsemen, fifty thousand archers, and one hundred thousand soldiers started marching towards Kaling.

The Prime Minister tried to put together an army and a series of fortresses that would stand up to the warrior-king’s forces marching towards Kaling. But the Queen passed a decree that no land for fortresses could be taken from the people. She also urged everyone, including the Prime Minister, to have faith in God, who would make sure Kaling came to no harm.

The Queen’s actions upset Kaling’s warrior who were preparing to fight and die for their kingdom. At first, the Prime Minister tried to stay loyal to the Queen but eventually he saw no way out but to ask the Queen to go into exile, and make way for her young daughter to be crowned the Queen.

The Prime Minister seized the opportunity of a coronation and celebration to win back the hearts and minds of the merchants, the warriors, and the citizens. He spared no expense in the preparations. The merchants were paid as much money as they wanted. The warriors were allowed to take over all the land they needed to build forts and battlefields. The people were allowed to dance, drink, and make merry.

All of Kaling joined the celebration. For weeks, all thoughts of the army gathering around them were put aside as everyone sang, danced, and celebrated the upcoming coronation. The merchants stopped complaining. Their opposition to the war tax died down, now that they were allowed to sell food and supplies to the army for any price they thought fit. Kaling’s warriors were also happy, now that the army was getting exactly what it wanted. And the people were happy. They got to eat, drink, and feed the army as it prepared for war.

Suddenly, war did not sound so bad after all.

The coronation was a huge success. The people fell in love with the young Queen and the Prime Minister took advantage of their willingness to do anything for her. He moved farmers from their fields. He built roads, walls, and defensive ditches. He made the men work harder making bows, arrows, and spears. He made the women work longer making food and clothes for the soldiers. No one asked about the Queen. They all assumed the rumors were true: she had decided to withdraw into the ashram to pray.

Kaling’s wealthiest merchant, who was making the most money from the preparations for war, was not happy. He did not like the power the Prime Minister had acquired ever since the Queen had gone into the ashram. Had she really gone into the ashram, he wondered. His spies told him that the young Queen spent all her time playing and did not go anywhere without her favorite maid.

The merchant saw an opportunity. The maid owed him money. For years he had collected interest on the debt. Now he saw it was time to collect the debt. The maid could be squeezed to gain access to the young Queen.

The warrior-king attacked Kaling before the celebrations had died out.

For seven days it rained arrows. The shrieks of the wounded and dying filled the night. The ditches were filled with the blood and bodies of those who refused to give up. The roads were littered with broken arrows and spears crushed under the weight of the onslaught. Horses galloped across battlefields and elephants crushed anything that dared come out on the open road. Kaling’s warriors fought bravely and well until they could fight no more. All of Kaling lay in ruins; its fortresses destroyed and its army decimated.

The warrior-king prepared for the final assault on the Kaling palace. One last group of Kaling warriors came together for what would surely be their final battle, the siege of the palace.

The Prime Minister made preparations to move the exiled Queen and the young Queen to safety. He paid handsomely for their safe passage through the forests and arranged for their stay far away, at the edge of the desert. His most trusted servants carried with them the last bags of gold, which would pay for all the arrangements along the way and for a comfortable future. He then put on his best clothes, said goodbye to his family, and made his way to the palace.

Along the way he could see and hear the approaching armies of the warrior-king. They were burning and laying waste to all that lay in their path. As he entered the palace gates the Prime Minister heard the war bugle. It would not be long now. Kaling’s warriors took up their positions. No one spoke.

Suddenly, the young Queen burst out of the palace. She was running with her dog’s leash in her hand, followed closely by her favorite maid. The Prime Minister's heart sank. The young Queen had not left for the safety of the forest passage.

The palace gates burst open and the warrior-king’s chariot entered the palace grounds. Hundreds of heavily armed soldiers surrounded the Kaling warriors. Just as the final battle was about to begin, the young Queen walked up to the soldiers and commanded them to look for her dog. The soldiers did not know what to say but the young Queen was insistent. Irritated by the delay, the warrior-king stepped out of his chariot and walked towards the crowd gathered around the young Queen. Seeing someone more important-looking than the rest, the young Queen commanded him to look for her dog.

In the conversation that ensued, the warrior-king realized that he had come all this way, killed all these people, and laid waste to so much of the countryside to dethrone a young child who was happy to give up her throne for any other chair on which she could place her dolls.

Seeing the futility of his ways, the warrior-king headed back home. From that day on, he never fought a battle. He did not even raise his voice in anger. Instead of amassing armies to attack other kingdoms, he started sending out emissaries to promote his message of peace, justice, and equality.

The simple power of his message was so great that his kingdom started growing faster than it had ever grown before. Soon his kingdom extended for miles in every direction, from where the sun rose in the East, to where it set in the West; from the foot of the mountains in the North, to the edge of the ocean in the South.

After more than two thousand years, his name is still known. His chakra flies on the flag, and his lion pillars stand watch over the country. His 33 edicts on doing good deeds, respect for others, generosity, and purity remain carved in stone across the land. Nobody remembers him as the warrior-king. We all know him as King Ashok.