given to the stage directors. The
Ramnagar Ram Lila is the longest, most
elaborate, and arguably the oldest of
these dramas. In the Ramnagar Ram
Lila, one vyas is responsible for the
svarups, the brahmin boys who are
playing the parts of the divinities, and
who are considered manifestations of
the deitieswhen they are “in character.”
The other vyas is responsible for the rest
of the cast. Between them they shift
the action between chorus and cast, give
the actors minute directions for their
acting, and prompt them when they
forget their lines. As such, they are visi-
ble agents themselves and an important
part of the Ram Lila.
Vyasa
In Hindu mythology, a sage who is tradi-
tionally considered to be the author of
the Mahabharata, the later of the two
great Sanskritepics. Vyasa is the sonof
the sage Parasharaas a result of his dal-
liance with the ferrywoman Satyavati.
Later in life Satyavati marries King
Shantanubut only after extracting the
promise that their children will rule,
instead of Shantanu’s eldest son,
Bhishma. Satyavati’s first son dies in
childhood, and the second dies after his
marriage but before having any chil-
dren. In her desperation to preserve
Shantanu’s line, Satyavati calls on Vyasa
to sleep with her younger son’s wives,
Ambikaand Ambalika. According to
tradition Vyasa is very ugly, and both of
the womeninvoluntarily react when
Vyasa appears in her bed. Ambalika
turns pale, causing her son, Pandu, to be
born with an unnaturally pale complex-
ion, and Ambika covers her eyes, caus-
ing her son, Dhrtarashtra, to be born
blind. Vyasa also has sexual relations
with Ambika’s maidservant, who gives
herself to him willingly, and from her is
born Vidura. The descendants of Pandu
and Dhrtarashtra are the Pandavasand
Kauravas, respectively, who are the two
warring factions whose enmity drives
the Mahabharata. Thus Vyasa is not only
the author of the Mahabharata, but also
the source of the two families whose
struggle is described in it.Vyasa