Arya Satyam

Arya Satyam starts with the five Brahmin puritan ascetics going to the Sarnath deer park to hear Buddha's first sermon being shown the way by prancing deer. Buddha preaches his four noble truths; suffering, its cause, its removal and the eightfold path (Ashtangika Marga) to achieve it. The ascetics praise him and ask him for illustrations to be able to preach it. Buddha asks them to stay with him for a few days to see them illustrated.

In the second scene, Kissa Gotami plays a ball game with her son who dies suddenly of snake bite. She takes the dead child to Buddha asking him to revive him. Buddha tells her to go get a handful of mustard seeds from some family where there has been no death. Failing in this, she realizes the universality of human misery.

In the third scene, Buddha's disciple Sariputta is asked to cure a mad youth, a sculptor. He sculpts the image of a beautiful bride and his parents go out to find one like that. They actually find one but she dies on the way. The youth goes mad, hugging the statue all the time. Sariputta explains the cause of suffering as "thrushna" or "desire' to him and preaches the control of desire.

In the fourth scene, two philosophers are quarrelling in the street in front of Sujata's house. The Ajivika recommends total abstinence and the Charvaka total dedication to pleasure. Sujata comes out and silences them and explains how peace of mind can be achieved by the middle path of self discipline or Ashtangika Marga.

The drama concludes with a tillana in praise of Buddha.