First of all, may I congratulate heartly Shri Sawant, on this prestigious Moortidevi Award, that has been conferred upon him this evening.

I have just only this afternoon finished reading the English translation of 'Mrityunjaya' and my mind is still overwhelmed, may be somewhat confused by the great epic events that he has........  (other side of tape).  that an English transation of the book has appeared for the benefit of people like myself.

Two years ago I had the honour of handing over this Moortidevi Award to Smt.  Pratibha Ray on a book also dealing with the Mahabharata, 'Yajnaseni'and that generates a thought in me that how 2500 or 3000 years after this great epic has been written how it is inspired not only our people but our creative writers.  It is an endlessly, fascinating epic and immortal theme with relevance to our own times.  In fact, the relevance of Draupadi or Karna and indeed, of the whole Mahabharata story, not only to the present, may be to all times is a wonderful thing to think about.  Karana's story has been told, as has been said here; Rabindranath Tagore wrote a small dramatic poem about the meeting of Karna and Kunti in the midst of Mahabharata war and in Malayalam, I recollect reading a poem written many years ago Karana's story called Karana Bhushanam by Mahakavi. 

There must have been other books in Indian languages about the Karana story.  Mahabharata and Ramayana have inspired our people for thousands and thousands years and poets, writers, dancers, painters are eternally depicting and interpreting these great stories.  Mrityunjaya is interpretative novel, epic novel about Karna, is a really fascinating story.  In fact, it is Mahabharata retold, re‑interpreted in another way through the eyes of heroic character Karna. 

The character of Karna has deeply interested all of us.  He is a tragic character and it has been said that in Indian literature there are no real tragic writings or tragic heroes, because everything has been foretold or pre‑ordained what should happen and therefore it is difficult to call it tragedy.  But what is trageic is the tragic irony in this great epic.  We know how the story of Karana will evolve itself but he does not know.  Except for Krishna and Kunti nobody else knows about it and therefore it has that special character of tragedy which is tragic irony.  Therefore, it can be truly called a tragedy, a triumphant tragedy, a tragedy which like any true tragic literature uplifts us and shakes our mind, our whole being, and finally cleanes and clarifies it. That is real tragedy.  In Mrityunjaya, particularly some aspects apart from the story itself have been emphasised by Shivaji Sawant. 

The book is full of reflections about life, about the mysteries of life, about the philosophy of life, about the uncertainties of life and about the great truths of life. This which is inherent in the epic, Shivaji Sawant has brought out clearly in his novel.  I think, in that sense, it is a deeply interpretative, retelling of the story of Mahabharata.  The most dramatic event in the whole story is the meeting of Kunti and Karana on the banks of Ganges on the eve of the final battle more or less.  Kunti herself is a tragic character.  I do not think that a creative book as such has been written on Kunti's story.  But like Karana, Draupadi Kunti's also could be an individual tragedy of its own. 

In Mrityuanjaya, there are number of meaningful, interesting reflections of women; their position in society and their condition which is very, I think, Shivaji Sawant pays special attention to that.  Kunti somewhere says that what is a women but a cow, tethered in the cowshed of society.  There are very pregnant reflections like this in this book.  The theme of the Karana itself, his story lends you very deeply reflecting bindings.  I was struck by the attention Shivaji Sawant has given to the secret of Karana's feeling of humiliation in life because he has a critical moment in his life whether it is a competition in the military academy of Duryodhana's court or whether it is swayamvara of Draupadi. 

In all critical occasions he has distinguished himself, excelled himself and showed to entire public that he is most celebrated and expert archer and warrior.  But nobody concedes the credit to him.  Nor his own guru encourages him a little knowing so well about this remarkable feat, what a glorious student of the art of warfare he has been. These have been simmering in his mind. 

His main tragedy is that his feelings, the humiliation that he received because he was treated not as a Kshatriya but as a lower caste.  He says somewhere, what is my fault I was not born in a royal family.  Was there anyone who got the birth he desired.  What decides high and low birth.  What makes a man great.  It is merit surely, he says?  He convinces that it is merit but he never experiences the recognition of this merit in his entire life.  This is the personal as well as the social tragedy of Karana.  He asked somewhere what is so special about Kshatriya.  At one place in Mrityuanjaya he says very piognantly, I want to go to some place where a human, where a man was not even mistakingly judged by his birth but assessed only by his merit.  This piognant cry that I would like to go some place where one is judged on merit that is Karana's cry, but it is a cry of many Indians also.  It is of eternal, immortal validity in our society. 

I was very happy to see how effectively Mrityuanjaya has brought this out throughout.  But even Karana, though he protests against this discrimination, he is still not beyond the society in which he lives.  For example when Shri Krishna comes and tells him about his real origin, that he was a son of Surya, that he was a Kshatriya, the son of Kunti, then he burst out in exaltation. He could not, for a moment, contain his joy to know that he was after all a Kshatriya.  But later he comes back to his protesting theme.  But this is also very fascinating because this is also a reflection of our society. 

There are so many gradations, that one set of people who are being discriminated or whose merits have not been recognised, protest, complaints but there are other layers, below that, who experiences the same and even while he is protesting he says that what would they think I am.  They think that I am worse than a Chandala.  Therefore, Mrityuanjaya is a very profoundly relevant social epic also and I want to congratulate Shivaji Sawant for giving this interpretative relevance to this epic story to our own times.  The most dramatic period which is the meeting of Kunti and Karana, Tagore had very nicely said in his poem about this and in Mrityuanjaya also brings out very powerfully.  Karana asked why did youcome at this time to me?  You choose this time to tell me this truth. 

In fact it puzzles me even now.  Kunti new this all the time.  But she chose the last moment when the war was ending to reveal the story, reveal the origin of Karana.  It is very clear why she did so at that time.  Because the request she made to Karana is, he asked finally, what exactly do you want. She says that tomorrow do not kill five Pandavas in the battle.  That is the request of Kunti.  Therefore her emotions were mixed and the reasons were very complex in coming and telling that she is a mother of Karana at this particular time.  Karana only for one moment yields to this emotion as a son and calls her embraces her as mother and otherwise he is rebellious throughout.  And I would like to quote in English from Tagore's poem "There comes in to my mind from the eternal sky, the music of endeavour that must fail, the energy of motion that has no hope, I can see with calm detachment, the emptiness of the final result; I shall remain among those who fail, those whose life was fruitless." So this futility and sense of failure was deep in Karana.  It is really in every sense a dramatic tragic moment.

I would like to end by saying that this book has brought about the ultimate meaning of Mahabharata.  Shri Krishna is quoted here as telling, about war.  He lit the fire of war and he says that he has no other alternative but to light the fire of war.  But he adds that I knew the war would never be the final solution.  War does not resolve conflicts.  War does not solve problems.  In fact war generate a terrible fear that mankind may lose all sense of humanity, the danger is that society may collapse altogether. 

This is from Mrityunjaya itself.  Another interesting thing is what Parshurama tells Karana while giving him this Brahmastra.  Now this reminds me, this whole story Mahatma Gandhi has interpreted in his Gita Bodh that whole Mahabharata story is not a violent conflict at all.  It is a moral conflict in the minds of persons and he interpreted it as a non‑violent conflict.  There is something to it.  The whole fighting is full of missiles, incredible missiles which scientists have not invented even today; the Brahmastra, the Varunastra, the Agniastra and all that the innumerable. Therefore, one could think that it was a war of ideas.  One cannot think that these terrible weapons, missiles were invented at all at that time.  Mr. Abdul Kalam is inventing some of the small things now today. 

 But it shows that the entire war of Mahabharata was probably a war of ideas.  The weapons with which people were destroyed and there is much too terrible the human being has not invented this yet.  I would like to quote Parshurama told Karana while giving the Mantras regarding this Brahmastra.  He says never release this weapon on a weak and unarmed adversary.  If you do so it will redond on you.  The purpose of being strong is to protect the weak.  So it drives home the essence, the core of the philosohpy of Indian thinking.  Even while they were playing with all these destructive weapons, the intention of it was not to use it against an unarmed and innocent people. 

Therefore I find the story as all of you I am sure, as one of the most uplifting, morally uplifting, emotionally uplifting stories of the world and it has in it the essence of Indian philosophy, Indian thinking, which has through chaos, through violence and through darkness, upheld the light of morality and hope for humanity. Reading this great book, Mrityunjaya, has been an inspiring experience on me and it would be for everyone.  It is getting acquainted with Mahabharata again in modern time in a different light and at the same time and with its pristine from with all its freshness and all its current relevance.  I want to congratulate, I want to express our thanks to Shivaji Sawant for giving us this splendid, precious, creative rendering of Mahabharata. 

Thank you