English · Chapter 25
Study notes aligned to the official NEB syllabus.
Bhimnidhi Tiwari (1911 to 1973) was a Nepali poet, playwright and story writer who is remembered above all for his one-act plays. He wrote in a plain, lively Nepali and used comedy and satire to expose the faults of society and of those in power. The Bull is one of his best known short plays. It is set in 1854 BS, in the reign of King Ranabahadur Shah, and is built on a single absurd situation: the death of the king's favourite bull, Male, and the desperate efforts of two cowherds to survive the king's grief. Beneath the laughter, the play is a sharp satire on feudal rule, on rulers who value animals above people, and on the servility that such rule breeds in ordinary men.
King Ranabahadur Shah is the ruler of Nepal in the play. He is devoted to his bull Male and treats the animal almost as a member of his household. His grief at the bull's death, and his indifference to the fear of his servants, make him the chief target of the satire.
Laxminarayan Dahal is the bull doctor, a courtier responsible for the king's cattle. Clever and worldly, he knows how the palace works and coaches the cowherds in what to say and how to behave before the king so that all three of them can escape punishment.
Gore is one of the two cowherds who look after Male at Thulo Gauchar. Simple and terrified, he expects to lose his life for the bull's death and follows Laxminarayan's instructions with anxious obedience.
Jitman is the second cowherd and Gore's companion. He shares Gore's fear and joins in the performance of grief before the king, speaking of the bull as though it were a respected person.
Male is the king's bull. He never appears alive on stage, but his death drives the whole action and his elevated status reveals the absurdity of the court.