THE KALIVIDAMBANA OF NILAKANTHA DIKSHITA
Satire
is one of the most
potent styles of writing
that targets the knave and
the hypocrite, in the literature
of every age and every
tradition. It holds up the
human foibles and follies to
ridicule and scorn, using
irony, sarcasm, invective, wit
and humour as it's main instruments.
Of course, it must remain
impersonal if it is to
retain wide appeal..
This genre
of composition can be found
extensively in Sanskrit literature,
specially in the "Anyapadesa" and
"Prahasana" class of works.
Indeed guidelines for this
class of literature are to
be found in the "Kavyaprakasa"
of the great writer and
literary critic, Mammatacharya, where
one verse recommends the soft
approach of the woman in
correcting wrong doing of her
beloved.
The "Kalividambana"
is a remarkable piece of
satire that came from the
facile pen of Nilakantha Dikshita
who lived in the 17th.
Century Descended from the
great polymath, Appaya Dikshita who
hailed from Adiappalem village
near Arni in North Arcot
District of Tamil Nadu, Nilakantha
Dikshita was a scholar in his own
right. Poet, philosopher, and also
Chief Minister in the court
of King Tirumal Naik of Madurai,
a plethora of works of poetic
beauty, and spiritual and
devotional depth flowed from his pen. So
great was his learning and
his devotion as a Siva
Bhakta that it was said
he could converse with the
presiding Goddess of Madurai
"Kalividamana"
means Trickery of the Age
of Kali, the age that is now current,
when human nature is predicted
to descend to it's greatest depths
of degradation. It is a
satire on the fraud and
trickery to be found among
practitioners of the different
professions of that time, including
those who claimed to be
scholars, teachers spirtual leaders,
physicians, astrologers etc. The
satirical comments of Nilakantha Dikshita
seems to remain relevant
even to the professions
of the present day. Perhaps
human nature will never
change and foibles will ever
remain part of human nature through all
the ages, not in the age of Kali alone.