CHAPTER I

MYTH AND RELIGION: NAGA-MANDALA AND HAYAVADANA

NAGA-MANDALA

Naga-Mandala with Myth and Religious Belief:

Generally the word „myth‟ refers to a false story which involves supernatural beings

or at any rate supra-human beings. Myth is such a story which defines a rudimentary

narrative sequence and it is anonymous. Its culture ratifies social customs and it

accounts for the origins of natural phenomena. Another definition of myth is a

superior intuitive mode of cosmic understanding. Myth is such a fictional story which

reveals the fundamental matters of life, death, divinity and existence. Myth may be

defined by some words like retelling, adaptation, allusion and transmission. It always

juxtaposes creation and explains how anything has come into existence. Myth

embodies some characters like Promethean figure or Herculean figure or the reference

of Diana, Goddess of wild animals, or Cupid, God of love, or the story of Orpheus

and Eurydice. There are so many myths or quasi-myths which give the primitive

explanations of both natural orders and cosmic forces. Myth tends to signify a fiction

which conveys a psychological truth. E.g., Odysseus tells us false stories about

himself and uses the term „muthologenevein‟ to signify “telling a story”. In Karnad‟s

play Naga-Mandala and Hayavadana, both myth and religion are intermingled

together.

Naga-Mandala (1990), based on oral tales, is full of religious [Link] is

based on the south Indian religious belief of King [Link] myth of Ichchadhari

Naga is also prominent here. In this play, the playwright has very beautifully and

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effectively used the myth of [Link] we go through the Prologue section of the play,

we can see that the setting of the play is an inner sanctum of a ruined temple though

the presiding deity of the temple cannot be identified. Naga-Mandala: A Play with a

Cobra is based upon the folk-belief and myth. It is full of religious beliefs because at

the very beginning of the play, we find the presence of a dilapidated temple where it

is difficult to identify the broken idol of the presiding deity. The time is late night

when moonlight is creeping in through the crevices on the walls and the roof. Here a

human being is presented in a limbo-like situation suspended between life and death

and the audience is compelled to enter into a make-believe world where reality and

fantasy – both are mingled together. Here audience‟s situation is just like the wedding

guest of Coleridge‟s The Rime of the Ancient Mariner where the Mariner exists in a

situation between life and death just like the Man in the Prologue section of Naga-

Mandala. In the Prologue section, Sutradhara is a man who addresses the audience

and narrates them about his own predicament. The Sutradhara is cursed because he is

a playwright and a story-teller. Here the Man, who is telling the story in the form of

drama, is cursed to keep the story alive just like the Ancient Mariner. The wedding-

guest in the Rime of the Ancient Mariner is spell bound by the eye of the old seafaring

man and he is constrained to hear his tale. The reference of the skinny hand of the

Ancient Mariner creates an aura of supernaturalism:

He holds him with his glittering eye –

The Wedding-Guest stood still,
And listen like a three years‟ child:
The Mariner hath his will. (Coleridge 13-6)

A mendicant or a beggar told him: “You must keep awake at least one whole night

this month. If you can do that, you‟ll live. If not, you will die on the last night of the

month” (Karnad 1).The setting of the play is night and the day is the last day of the

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month and the Flames‟ dancing creates a kind of supernatural atmosphere in Naga-

Mandala and the audience is hypnotized by the dance of the Flames, just like the

wedding guest hypnotized by the look of the Ancient Mariner.

Surrealistic Setting:

Cobra‟s story is ensconced within the story of Rani who makes up the tales to fill the

void in her life. Her predicament and her destiny show us how a woman can live her

whole life by the mingling of fact and fancy, reality and imagination, half-truth and

half-fantasy. It is a play in which so many elements like magic, folk-belief, romance

and specially religious myth are mingled in a surrealistic setting. The surrealists have

attempted to express in art and literature the workings of the unconscious mind and

they synthesize it with the conscious mind. In Rani‟s life, so many incidents happen

but it is not possible for Rani to accept all these incidents from conscious mind so she

accepts all these from unconscious mind and then synthesize it with the conscious

mind. First manifesto of „surrealism‟ was issued by Andre Breton and it was

developed in France under the leadership in the year 1924. „Surrealism‟ emphasizes

on the expression of the imagination which is realized in dreams and it is presented

without any conscious control. It is such a type of imagination which is out of control.

It is a literary movement but in Modern art it is followed by so many painters like –

Salvador Dali, Miro, Picasso, Chirico, Duchamp and Max Ernst. „Surrealism‟ is a

development of „Dadaism‟ and it was emerged in 1916 out of disgust with the

brutality and destructiveness of the 1st world war and it engenders a negative art and

literature that would destroy the false values of modern bourgeois society. Artists and

poets who were the exponents of „Dadaism‟ were Tristan Tzara, Marcel Duchamp,

Man Ray and Max Ernst. „Surrealism‟ is a type of revolutionary movement in

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painting, sculpture and in other parts of arts and also in literature with one or another

revolutionary movement. „Surrealism‟ has affected the whole world including poetry,

novel, theatre, movie, painting and sculpture. Surrealists‟ experimentation is with the

stream of consciousness technique. In the countries like England and America,

surrealists‟ effects are in the writings of the poetry of Dylan Thomas and black

humour in the novels of Henry Miller, William Burroughs and Thomas Pynchon. In

„Surrealism‟, the unconscious part of mind is doomed to indirectness, but it is

compensated by a surplus of poetry or metaphors. If we look at Salvador Dali‟s

painting – The Persistence of Memory, this painting is crafted with the precision and

dedication of the Dutch and it still lives to which the artists pay homage. „Surrealism‟

is a straightforward development which is the simplification of a complex and

constantly shifting situation:

The long-term influence of surrealism all over the world has been enormous.
Apart from poetry, it has affected the novel, the cinema, the theatre, painting
and sculpture. A great many writers have continued to explore the territories
of the conscious and semi-conscious mind, delving into and exposing the
private chaos, the individual hell. In doing so, they have often experimented
with stream of consciousness techniques. (Cuddon and Habib 697)

T.S. Eliot, W. H. Auden, Stephen Spender and Edith Sitwell were the chief poets of

the “surrealist movement”. Eliot first uses the word „surrealism‟ in his poetry The

Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock. It was this manifesto which defined the movement in

the philosophical and psychological terms. Moreover, in „surrealism‟, Eliot presents

indifference, incomprehension and at times hostility towards „surrealism‟. Eliot and

other Surrealists owe much to Charles Baudelaire and they can explain any similarity

which is strangely evocative explorations of the symbolic suggestions of objects and

images. Its unusual startling juxtapositions often characterize „surrealism‟, by which it

probably overcomes logic and habitual thinking and it reveals the deeper levels of

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meaning and unconscious associations. Scholars classify Eliot as a Surrealist and they

define surrealist landscape as an attempt to express the workings of the subconscious

mind by images without order. In The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, Prufrock

presents a symbolic landscape where the meaning of subconscious mind is emerged

from the mutual interaction of the images and that meaning is enlarged by echoes and

often heroic of other writers.

In the play, the heroine Rani‟s life is really mysterious as her life goes on the

religious belief of King Cobra and Rani probably gives emphasis on her unconscious

mind which is a feature of „surrealism‟. Generally a snake‟s changing into a normal

human being is a very common or familiar thing in the ancient myth. But here Karnad

has presented this familiar thing in a defamiliarized way, so this is an example of

„defamiliarization‟. „Defamiliarization‟ is a term introduced by Victor Shklovsky, a

member of Russian School of „Formalism‟. „Defamiliarization‟ is a translation of the

Russian ostranenie meaning making strange. To defamiliarize means to make a

familiar thing with a new and fresh perspective or in a defamiliarized [Link] is a

matter of literary technique. Here „Naga‟s transformation into a human being is a very

common matter but through the whole drama Karnad has presented this trivial matter

in a defamiliarized way. „Naga‟ in the shape of Appanna revolves round the whole

drama. Rani being a normal human being accepts to lead a life that enters into the

border of another life of dream-land. If we go through Telegu country, we see that

grandma‟s stories go to „Kanchi‟ which means that they cross borders to be born into

another life and it suggests the continuity of the oral tradition over all ages and its

accretion. From the Ancient age, it is seen that old women in the family usually

narrate various kinds of folktales, either when the children are being fed in the

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evenings or when they are put to bed for sleeping in the night. These stories are

narrated to the children for their enjoyment and pleasure and these stories live forever

from ages to ages as a media of communication from the elders to the children of our

home.

In the play, one story is woven into another story and story of Rani, the

protagonist of Naga-Mandala is presented in Act one of the play. A lady had a story

and a song inside her mouth, which she did not want to reveal. One day, while she

was snoring in sleeping, the story and the song jumped out of her mouth. This story

became a lady and the song took the form of a sari. When the woman woke up, she

saw a young lady coming outside her husband‟s room and seeing the old woman, the

young woman disappeared. The old woman became doubtful about her husband but

her husband gave no response and so a huge altercation happened between them. This

was the first story. This story ended here. After that the story and the song (they are

out from the mouth of the old woman) tell a new story. The new story is totally based

on the religious belief of a „Naga‟ i.e., a King Cobra. In the folk-narratives of south

India, the folk-lore of „Naga‟ is present. In the play Naga-Mandala, all kinds of

beliefs and reasons are combined and confined with religiosity: “In our Hindu

mythology, the Naga represents several images. In south India, many houses have

their own shrine which is often a grove reserved for snakes, consisting of tree

festooned with creepers, situated in a corner of the garden” (Kumar 134).

In the southern part of India, folk-lore is often misinterpreted as fake-lore and

fake-lore is taken as an authentic folk-lore. Lore is a belief that is closely associated

with Nature and it is beyond the conception of highly educated and aristocratic people

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of Modern society. Lore is mainly associated for rustic people who are close to nature

and natural elements. According to the folk-lore of south-Indian villages, there is a

practice among women to pour milk on an ant hill occupied by Cobras ritualistically

on a certain day in a year; i.e., „Nagulachaviti‟ or „Naga-Panchami‟ (the fourth or fifth

day of the waxing period of the moon to get good husbands). Unmarried women do

this to get good husband, married women do this for wishing long-life for their

husbands and barren women to become mothers. In those time people had complete

faith in religion, so all myths and rituals were prominent in the contemporary society.

Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory and Rani:

The protagonist Rani in Girish Karnad‟s play Naga-Mandala may be picturized

through Freudian lens. Freud‟s idea of psychoanalysis is based on the notion of

unconsciousness which is the part of the mind beyond consciousness but which

nevertheless has a strong influence upon our actions. Freud thinks that every human

being has to undergo the state of „repression‟ of the “pleasure principle” by the

“reality principle”. „Repression‟ is the forgetting or ignoring of unresolved conflicts,

it is not confessed desires and traumatic past events which are forced out of conscious

awareness into the realm of unconsciousness. Primal desires are suppressed due to the

rigours of socialization and so base instincts are repressed. For Freud, literature is just

like dreams and slips of the tongue which is indicative of a return of the repressed. By

the process of „sublimation‟, the repressed material is promoted into something

grandiose or disguised as something noble. Freud suggests a tripartite model of the

psyche – Id, Super Ego and Ego.

Freud divides it into the Id or Unconscious which incorporates libidinal or

other desires. The Super Ego or Conscience which internalizes social
standards of morality and the Ego or Consciousness which tries to resolve the

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 conflict between the insatiable demand of the Id, the impossibly stringent
requirements of the Super Ego and the limited possibilities of gratification
offered by the world of reality. (Abrahams 250)

So a conflict arises in Rani‟s tripartite model of [Link] can realize that in Rani‟s

character, Id or Unconsciousness is dominating for which she can accept „Naga‟ as

Appanna. Probably in her Id or Consciousness, she can understand that the person by

whom she is well-treated at night cannot be real Appanna. But Rani gives importance

on the thinking of Unconsciousness or Id. The Id follows “pleasure principle” which

is the psychic force that motivates the tendency to seek possibilities of gratification of

any impulse which avoids pain or unpleasure (not „displeasure‟) aroused by increasing

instinctual tension. Rani‟s mind is completely guided by the Id. By Freud

Id contains everything that is inherited, that is present at birth, is laid down in

the constitution – above all, therefore, the instincts, which originate from the
somatic organization, and which find a first psychical expression here in forms
unknown to us. (Freud 13)

The Ego separates out what is real.

The Ego is that part of the Id which has been modified by direct influence of
the external world. ... The Ego represents what may be called reason and
common sense, in contrast to the Id, which contains the passions…in its
relation to the Id it is like a person on horseback, who has to hold in check the
superior strength of the horse; with this difference, that the rider tries to do so
with their own strength, while the Ego uses borrowed forces. (Freud 25)

So Ego is the component of personality which is responsible for dealing with reality.

According to Freud, Id is the source of all psychic energy which makes the primary

components of personality. According to Freud, Ego develops from the Id and it

ensures that the impulses of the Id can be expressed in a manner acceptable in the real

world. The Ego functions in the conscious, preconscious and unconscious mind.

Super Ego reflects the internalization of cultural rules, mainly taught by

parents applying their guidance and influence. Freud developed his concept of
the Super Ego from an earlier combination of the Ego ideal and the special
psychical agency which performs the task of seeing that narcissistic

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 satisfaction from the Ego ideal is ensured… what we call our conscience. The
Super-Ego works in contradiction to the Id. The Super Ego strives to act in a
socially appropriate manner, whereas the Id just wants instant self-
gratification. The Super-Ego controls our sense of right and wrong and guilt. It
helps us fit into society by getting us to act in socially acceptable ways. (Freud
24)

“The Super Ego‟s demands often oppose the Id‟s demands, so the Ego sometimes has

a hard time in reconciling the two” (Freud 27). The Super Ego is the aspect of such

personality which holds all of our internalized moral standards and ideals that acquire

from both parents and society – our sense of right and wrong. The Super Ego provides

guidelines for making judgments. According to Sigmund Freud, the Super Ego begins

to emerge at around age five. The two parts of Super Ego are:

1) The Ego Ideal – it includes the rules and standards for good behaviour.

2) The Conscience – it includes information about things that are viewed as bad

by parents and society. These behaviours are often forbidden and lead to bad

consequences, punishments or feelings of guilt and remorse.

Id is the most basic part of the personality and Id wants instant gratification for

our wants and needs. If these needs or wants are not met, a person becomes anxious.

The Id has the power to precede the Ego, i.e., the psychic apparatus begins as an

undifferentiated Id from the time of birth and part of which takes the form of a

structured Ego. Ego deals with reality and it tries to meet the desires of the Id in a way

which is socially acceptable in the world. Ego recognizes that people have needs and

wants and selfish is not always good for us. Super Ego is based on morals and

judgments about right and wrong. Though Super Ego and Ego may reach the same

decision about something, the Super Ego‟s reason for the decision is based on moral

values and the Ego‟s decision is based on what others will think or what the

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consequences of an action could be. Rani‟s character totally gives emphasis on Id or

Unconsciousness because reality is very painful for Rani so she cannot accept reality

through her conscious mind. She wants to neglect Ego because Ego or Consciousness

will fulfill Rani‟s life with tear.

Feminist Point of View:

In Hinduism, a King Cobra is not identified as a trifle serpent but a holy entity which

represents a force of life. According to the popular lore, it is „Naga‟ who has the

power to bestow the boons of earthly happiness – abundance of crops and cattle,

prosperity, offspring, health and long life. Story explains a story i.e., centred round

the character of Rani. Story promises that this story (that will be explained by him)

will be so interesting and attractive that if anyone continues to listen this, s/he must

not doze off during the tale. The story begins its story with a young girl Rani‟s story

of life. Rani is too much loved by her parents. But after marriage her destiny leads her

to a pathetic condition. Her husband Appanna is very cruel towards her and he does

not even want anyone to talk to his wife and he keeps his wife locked up in a house

just like a caged bird. Appanna is indifferent towards her. Appanna does not like to

spend time with Rani as he is enchanted by some other woman i.e., a harlot for which

he cannot tolerate Rani. Appanna is totally enamoured of that bazar woman who may

have cast a spell on him. It is not only the destiny of Rani but also the destiny of so

many women who after marriage are tortured by their husbands. Here Karnad

sarcastically shows a harsh irony of male domination over women. Rani is so innocent

and religious by heart for which she accepts all tortures from her husband. Rani is a

real portrayal of the oppression of the women in our society. Through her marathon

struggle, Rani wants to create a sense of identity in a society which is bounded by

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male dominated conservative social space. A woman in our society faces ups and

downs, ifs and buts. A woman is totally entrapped by the hands of others. It reminds

us of the story of Arundhati Roy‟s Booker prize winning novel The God of Small

Things. If we go through the story of the novel, here we find that Ammu, a woman, is

the protagonist of the novel who has a strong yearning for happiness and so she

demands a life free of shackles or [Link] narrator gives a vivid description of

a girl‟s growing up from childhood to adolescence, her experience of married life and

her challenging activity against hypocritical patriarchal society. The novel primarily

takes place in a town named Ayemenem in Kerala. In her childhood, Ammu had been

tortured by her father, Pappachi. She and her mother had been even beaten by him.

Ammu Ipe was successful in escaping her cruel father and she spent a summer with

her distant aunt in Calcutta. There was a wedding reception in which she met a person

who assisted in managing a tea estate in Assam. Ammu was in a hurry to marry him

but her married life finds no success. In the last chapter of the novel, Ammu‟s

divorced and lonely life is presented that was totally destroyed. When “Ammu left her

husband and returned, unwelcome, to her parents in Ayemenem. To everything that

she had fled from only a few years ago except that she had two young children. And

no more dreams” (Roy 42).

The God of Small Things is a feminist novel which evokes the condition of

woman in a particular cultural milieu. It is a novel where the facts of the author‟s life

have been distilled into a verbal artifact and so on. This writing can be justified from

feminist perspective just like Karnad‟s play Naga-Mandala.

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Here french feminist Lucy Irigary‟s remark is important:

… the relationships of women to their mothers and to other women – thus

toward themselves – are rare subject to total narrower “black out”; these
relationships are completely devalued indeed. I have never come across a
woman who does not suffer from the problem of not being able to resolve in
harmony, in the present system, her relationship with her mother and with
other women. Psychoanalysis has totally mythologized and censored the
positive value of these relationships. (Irigary 75)

But Fate further betrayed her and Ammu realized her poor condition. She had jumped

out of the frying fan into the fire. She understood that her husband was not a generous

person but an alcoholic who even went on attempting to use her wife to satisfy the

sexual desire of his boss Mr. Hollick to save his job. She gained nothing but only

hatred from her husband and she hit her husband with a heavy book and left her

husband‟s house with her twins Estha and Rahel. Being neglected and rejected by her

husband, Ammu found no way to go, so she returns to Ayemenem with her pulled-out

cheeks and there too she found her parents cool and indifferent to her and her

children. Being an affectionate mother she could not tolerate the miserable condition

of her children. She imagined the twins “like a pair of small bewildered frogs

engrossed in each other‟s company lolloping in arm down a highway full of hurting

traffic” (Roy 43).

Arundhati Roy actually wants to show how a woman always has been a subject

of great mystery and controversy in our society and in our history, tradition, myth and

legends. In the whole story of Naga-Mandala, we see the similar pathetic condition of

the woman Rani and her tragic life is an example of poor and helpless situation of

woman in our society. „Naga‟s changing into Appanna and comes to meet Rani

provides her a kind of relief from her tormented life. So through the religious myth,

„Naga‟s changing into human being presents a kind of religiosity in this play and by

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Karnad‟s representation of Rani, we can discuss the character of Rani from the

feminist point of view. Feminism means equal rights and opportunities of women in

the political, social and economic field and at the same time gaining sexual autonomy

and self-determination. Feminist movement stemmed from the recognition of the

subordination of women and from the existence of discrimination based on sex.

Feminist movement involves some rebellious issues such as women‟s liberation,

freedom, radical feminism, social emancipation and many more. Feminist belief has

existed throughout history but feminism as a movement did not appear in Europe and

other countries until the mid -1800‟s. At that time women used to confine at home and

they had no right to give vote and all the institutions of higher studies and

professional careers were beyond the reach of women. Feminist movement brought a

radical change to the history of discrimination and exploitation.

Love, care, emotion and mental support – all these are necessary for a woman

who has left her parental home. But it is always seen that a man through the social

system tries to dominate and control over the body and virtue of woman and woman‟s

virtue is always ridiculed by male society. Through the play Karnad exposes male

chauvinism and at the same time, he paints the picture of a typical Indian woman who

is always under control of male hegemony.

In this play, the protagonist Rani is a newly wedded bride who comes at

Appanna‟s house to create her new home but she is entrapped with so many problems

and difficulties. A woman should get respect in society after marrying a man because

after marrying she becomes a housewife, daughter-in-law and obviously a mother.

Motherhood gives woman a special kind of respect in our society and this motherhood

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is achieved through her husband. But as a husband, Appanna does not give any

importance to Rani and he treats her like a non-entity. It is reminiscent of Shobha

De‟s novel Socialite Evenings. If we go through Shobha De‟s Socialite Evenings we

will see that this work epitomizes the rage of the exploited female against the male

domination. In the Western society, the women‟s issue is mainly for job equality and

sexual roles. In the field of work, they are considered as weaker than male. But in the

Eastern society, a woman being a mother, a wife and a daughter and amidst all tries to

show her womanly power.

In the epic Ramayana, Sita resisted the demoniac aggressiveness of Ravana.

Shakuntala depicted her strength bravely by accepting the challenge of Dushyanta. In

Mahabharata Draupadi showed her ferocity by washing her hair in the blood of

Dushasana who had attempted to disrobe her in the court of the Kauravas.

In 1893, New Zealand first got the right of women‟s suffragette and it was

followed by Australia, USA and some other European Countries. In India women had

always the right of voting. The first book of feminist movement is Mary

Wollstonecraft‟s A Vindication of the Rights of Women which depicted the position of

women in our society. It pleaded for better educational opportunities for women. The

French Feminist Helene Cixous, in her influential essay “The Laugh of Medussa”

introduces the concept of Ecriture feminine which is a unique feminine style of

writing, characterized by disruption, gaps, silences, puns, rhythms, eccentricities,

orderlessness, incomprehensibility and inconsistency within the text. It disrupts the

notion of linear, logical, orderly and realistic writing of male tradition. Feminist

argues that if such Ecriture feminine is difficult to read, it is because the feminine

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voice has been repressed for so long that it is unfamiliar when it is heard. Cixous

connects feminine writing with Lacan‟s pre-oedipal “imaginary phase” which

symbolizes abolition of all [Link] thinks that there are certain absolute

feelings which can be experienced by only women. Hence she calls out women to put

their „bodies‟ and physical experience into their writings in order to recover their

goods, their organs and their immense bodily territory which have been kept under

[Link] leads a life full of illusion and reality. Rani‟s words are: “I shall do what

you tell me. Scowls in the day. Embraces at night. The face in the morning unrelated

to the touch at night. But day or night, one motto does not change: Don‟t ask

questions. Do as I tell you” (Karnad 32). “I was a stupid, ignorant girl when you

brought me here” (Karnad 32). After leading a life full of fact and illusion on day and

night respectively, Rani leads a life which is divided into two parts and it is crossed

by a demarcation line. She is not a parrot, nor a cat or a sparrow. She questions to her

husband Appanna: “Why don‟t you take it on trust that I have a mind and explain this

charade to me? Why do you play these games? Why do you change like a chameleon

from day to night? Even if I understood a little, a tiny bit – I could bear it. But now–

sometimes I feel my head is going to burst!” (Karnad 32).

In this play, Karnad creates a kind of supernatural atmosphere – the lights

grow crimson, redolent flames dance in the background and the smell of incense

hangs heavy on the stage and Rani, the protagonist of Naga-Mandala depicts her

helpless situation in this drama. There is another interpretation of Rani‟s acquiring of

fact and fancy at day and night respectively. Rani meets a person at day who doesn‟t

like to talk to her but at night she meets a person who makes love to her. She

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unconsciously accepts these two views of life at day and night and she becomes

habituated with this.

The play is about a man-woman relation-ship. This play is actually a symptom

of a joint family set-up in India where the woman cannot see the face of her husband

at day and husband barely looks at his wife at night. At the physical level, the need is

here, but at the level of communication, there is no such need. The play of Karnad is

actually full of wish fulfillment. Moments of happiness, moments of sorrow and

understandings are merged in this drama. There is a doubt if Rani can be imagined as

a prototype of traditional “pativrata Bharatiya nari” or not? It is Appanna who does

not want Rani to come into contact to any other people of the society. Naturally, in

her isolated world which is full of melancholy, she weaves a world of stories around

herself. She herself is locked up at home just like a princess is locked up in a cage by

a demon. Rani: “… So the demon locks her up in his castle. Then it rains for seven

days and seven nights. It pours. The sea floods the city. The waters break down the

door of the castle” (14 -5). Then a big whale comes to Rani and says: “Come, Rani,

let us go…” (Karnad15). Rani‟s confinement is actually a “solitary confinement of

Rani in the house which symbolizes the chastity belt of the middle ages, the reduction

of women‟s talents to housework and the exclusion of women from enlightenment

and enjoyment” (Babu 239). But in spite of all these sufferings, by heart she always

tries to be a “pativrata Bharatiya nari” who even agrees to give „Agni-Pariksha‟ to

prove her chastity and virginity. But when she is forced to give „Agni-Pariksha‟, it is

really a matter of shame for our whole society because why always women are

compelled for taking ordeal and why not men?

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 It is a question that how far Appanna is chaste, why there is no necessity of

taking „Agni-Pariksha‟ in case of man like Appanna? Why always women have to

suffer at the hands of the patriarchal society? When Rani gives „Agni-Pariksha‟, the

snake transforms itself into a garland of flowers. Probably God comes onto the stage

to help Rani out of difficulties though God remains hidden from the normal human

beings. It is a kind of deus ex machina that means “God out of the machine”. In Greek

drama, God came on the stage by a machine so that He could get the hero out of

difficulties or untangle the plot. In the play The Threepenny Opera, Bertolt Brecht has

parodied the abuse of the device. In the play Naga-Mandala, the attitude of the

patriarchal society is really a matter of criticism for which God has to help Rani to

prove her chastity. But after passing „Agni-Pariksha‟, she can realize the actual truth

of her life. She understands what has happened to her earlier and this is the reason for

which Rani has to lead a life bearing with half-truth and half-fantasy and she becomes

accustomed to lead a life in full of fantasy simply because the truth will hurt her.

Though it is very difficult for Rani to accept the whole truth, but she has to accept the

truth because one cannot lead her whole life with a non-human creature i.e., a snake.

Patriarchal society is criticized by English romantic poet [Link].

Shelley‟s The Cenci written in blank verse shows the oppression of the patriarchal

society. Here the cruel father Francesco rapes her daughter Beatrice Cenci as he wants

to prevent Cenci from marrying to avoid paying dowry. Cruelty of patriarchal society

is depicted in the Romantic Period. Even in the Modern Period, the patriarchal society

is criticized by American poet Sylvia Plath (1932-1963). If we go through Sylvia

Plath‟s poem “Daddy” we come to know that how Plath is entrapped by a cruel

patriarchal society. She very keenly weaves together the patriarchal figures – a father,

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a Nazis, a vampire, a husband and she shows the horror of her life. Even the vampire

is discussed in order to show its tyrannical sway over a village. In this interpretation,

she tries to kill the father figure in order to break the limitations in which she is

compelled to stay. She tries to control her father but she fears that she will be

destroyed unless she totally assassinates her antagonist i.e., her father. There is a

question that the poem is a confessional poem and the autobiographical content is also

worthy to be mentioned. After “Daddy” she further writes about the domination of the

patriarchal society after knowing that her husband Ted Hughes has left her for another

woman. After that her attempt of suicide links the poem to her life.

Naga-Mandala is written in 1987-1988. In the play Rani is totally suppressed

by the patriarchal society. When Rani goes to ask any question,„Naga‟replies: “I am

afraid that is how it is going to be. Like that during the day. Like this at night. Don‟t

ask me why” (Karnad 23). Rani accepts the oppression as she says: “I won‟t” (Karnad

23). Rani really tolerates the domination of the patriarchal society. Though she is

confused at the inconsistencies between her husband‟s day time cruel attitude and

night time loving behaviour, she is compelled to accept this. But if we go through the

drama, at the end of the drama, we can conclude that Rani became victorious after

defeating the male society. It is „Naga‟ who very politely explains to Rani about the

eternal sexual energies of the natural world. „Naga‟:

…Frogs croaking in pelting rain, tortoises singing soundlessly in the dark,

foxes, crabs, ants, rattlers, sharks, swallows – even the geese! The female
begins to smell like the wet earth. And stung by her smell,the King Cobra
starts searching for his Queen. The tiger bellows for his mate. When the flame
of forest blossoms into a fountain of red and the earth cracks open at the touch
of the aerial roots of the banyan, it moves in the hollow of the cottonwood, in
the flow of the estuary, the dark limestone caves from the womb of the
heavens to the dark netherworlds, within everything that sprouts, grows,

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 stretches, creaks and blooms – everywhere, those who come together, cling,
fall apart lazily! It is there and there and there, everywhere. (Karnad 25)

So, here Karnad‟s representation of stage is simple. Everything like locks, doors,

windows, boiling pots, barking dogs, glasses of milk and even a puppet of cobra seem

as real at the time of performance. But „Naga‟ and Rani‟s love-relationship reaches to

a climax and Appanna accuses his wife as she is pregnant. Appanna thinks that she

has committed crime like adultery. For this crime, Rani is forced to take an ordeal.

After passing the ordeal, Rani understands the whole matter, why did Appanna

change like a chameleon from day to night? Rani cannot bear the horrendous truth.

After that Rani raises her mute voice to the heavens, she probably wants to show the

anguish of the typical Indian woman who after marriage is chained within the

confines of a comfortless and incompatible family.

Excessive Fantasy, Imagination and Shamanism with Religion:

The whole play is based on religion i.e., the south Indian religious myth of King

Cobra but the shifting of a „Naga‟ into a human being is really a matter of surprise.

This type of fantasy provides the play a new outlook and a new perspective. The play

is not just a physical play but also an imaginative play. Creation by imagination is

prominent in children‟s activity. Anyone who has noticed children‟s growing, s/he

must be impressed by children‟s inventing little games, their speaking with imaginary

friends, their dreaming of fairies of the fairy land, terrifying with monsters, giants,

ghosts, imitating their elders‟ activities, talking to plants, trees, insects, mammals,

animals and primates. Children who are imaginative cannot be ignorant and cannot be

treated with diseases like autism or schizophrenia. Children who have the power of

imagination and creation, they may be the owner of highly advanced and developed

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brain in future and may be turned into such personality like Shakespeare or

Rabindranath. Shakespeare‟s Macbeth in which the representation of three witches

i.e., three inanimate objects of nature and in Hamlet, the representation of Hamlet‟s

father‟s ghost – both are the fruitfulness of Shakespeare‟s imaginative creativity.

Rani, the protagonist of the play Naga-Mandala receives two different kinds of

behaviour at day and night from the same person. In her conscious mind, Rani

probably understands that the person whom she faces at night is not real Appanna

whom she faces at day. But in her unconsciousness, she probably tries to believe the

unreality of life because it gives her pleasure. So Rani tries to create a world based on

fantasy. Sometimes fantasy provides us much pleasure than reality. It is true that

reality is too hard. Most of the people don‟t try to accept reality because it is pungent

and it gives us too much pain. When we want something but we cannot obtain it, we

try to gain it by weaving a fantasy. Rani goes through psychological stress and alone

in the house, she creates a make-believe world in which she escapes. She is always

locked in a house just like a bird locked in a cage. In the world of fantasy, eagle takes

her to a new world where her parents wait for her and they caress her. Rani: “Where

are you taking me?” (Karnad 7) and the Eagle answers: “Beyond the seven seas and

the seven isles. On the seventh island is a magic garden. And in that garden stands the

tree of emeralds. Under that tree, your parents wait for you” (Karnad 7). Rani

answers: “Do they? Then please, please take me to them – immediately. Here I come”

(Karnad 7).

Escapism is a feature of Rani‟s character. By escapism, Rani probably wants

to escape from her monotonous and boredom life to the life of fantasy and dream

world. Escapism was a feature of the Romantic and theVictorian poets. Romantic

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poets like Keats and Coleridge always want to escape from their own age to

somewhere else. In The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Coleridge escapes to the world

of supernaturalism, in Christabel and in La Belle Dame Sans Merci, he escapes to the

world of middle ages, in Kubla Khan, wants to escape to the world of dream vision, in

Ode to a Nightingale escapes to the dreamland of romance and beauty. The Victorian

poets also want to escape from the land of Queen Victoria to the Renaissance Italy. In

Fra Lippo Lippi, Andrea Del Sarto and in My Last Duchess, Browning escapes to the

world of Renaissance Italy. Similarly, here Rani wants to escape from her caged

world to somewhere else by accepting the love of a non-human creature. She lives in

a world of fantasy.

This kind of fantasy reminds us of Charles Lamb‟s essay The Dream

Children: A Reverie. This essay shows us that in his life Lamb wanted love from

Alice Winterton and wanted to enjoy a married life with two beautiful children. But

alas! Alice Winterton rejected him and married another rich person named Bartrum

and the essay Dream Children: A Reverie shows us how Lamb has created a life full

of fantasy by a touch of healing balm from two children – John and Alice. But at the

end of the essay, John and Alice together called:

We are not of Alice, nor of thee, not are we children at all. The children of
Alice call Bartrum father. We are nothing, less than nothing, and dreams. We
are only what might have been, and must wait upon the tedious shores of
Lethe millions of ages before we have existence, and a name… but John L.
(James Elia) was gone forever. (Lamb 18)

– After listening all these words, Lamb awakes from fantasy and finds him

seated in his bachelor armchair.

Similarly, after Rani‟s „Agni-Pariksha‟, Rani awakes from her fantasy

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and at the end of the play when Rani‟s true husband climbs into bed with her at night,

she realizes that it is not the earlier person with whom she was acquainted. Similarly

at the end, when God „Naga‟ in the shape of King Cobra slides up Rani‟s shoulder

and spreads its hood like an umbrella over her head, Rani becomes able to pass her

„Agni-Pariksha‟ and she understands something else than earlier. She understands

everything that has happened to her earlier.

Shamanism is also prominent in Karnad‟s play Naga-Mandala. A shaman is a

kind of witchery/witchcraft or religious leader who takes human being in a world of

trance in order to communicate with Gods, ancestors or spirits. In the play Naga-

Mandala, Rani is taken in a trance-world where she is speaking with a „Naga‟ in the

shape of a human being though this „Naga‟ is a representative of God. Going in

trance, travelling to the other world and speaking to supernatural things are very

common in case of shamanism. Shamans are identified with or magically transformed

into jaguars. Jaguars are South America‟s largest and most powerful predators and

respected of all. „Shamanism‟ is one of the central ingredients of theatre, as said by

writer like Cole in 1975 and it is more important than instinctual tendencies. The

essence of true drama is not only the representation of mundane social reality but it is

a representation of different order like supernatural, surreal or „marvellous‟.

Shamanism is a kind of trance like state and disruption. Naga-Mandala is full of

Shamanism as Rani is in a trance like state as she becomes confused that at day she is

ill-treated by a person but at night she is loved by the same person. So, she remains in

a situation where she is hypnotized in a bordering line between reality and fantasy.

Emotional expression is also prominent in Karnad‟s play. At night „Naga‟s love and

care for Rani provides emotional satisfaction for Rani. „Naga‟ wants to enjoy the

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loveliness of Rani with heartiest core as Rani is too beautiful. She is described as:

“Ears like [Link] like young mango leaves. Lips like rolls of silk” (Karnad11).

„Naga‟ really loves her and this love is pure and divine than physical love as it bonds

a human being and God („Naga‟) into one soul. So „Naga‟ (in human form), rises to

an intense climax followed by vigorous activity which is another kind of emotional

expression.

The play Naga-Mandala is actually a play of metaphoric thinking that is the

result of fruitfulness of Karnad‟s advanced brain. The human brain has an advanced

facility for cross-modal sensory association which is the basis of our metaphoric

thinking. This thinking is a flexible ability which is necessary for appreciation of art

and it is considered as a function of the right hemisphere of brain as the right cerebral

hemisphere is non-dominant. It is only the right cerebral hemisphere that has the

capacity of seeking exceptional quality in case of dance, music, painting and art

making and this striking excessive lateralization of the human brain is related to other

primates and it is one of the key elements of phenomenal creativity. Such kind of

phenomenal creativity urges Girish Karnad to create such a fantastic play like Naga-

Mandala. This play is framed with a breadth of fine intellect and the playwright‟s

creative genius turns this play into unfathomable recess which explores the hidden

depth of human psyche – a psyche which is nurtured on dream, it is riddled with

desire and it shies away from reality and thrives of illusion.

Shape-Shifting and Post-Colonial Hybridity:

In the play Naga-Mandala, shape-shifting is not only a structural strategy but it is

also a means of reviving the ancient and the sacred religious function of drama as

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[Link] snake‟s changing into Appanna and flame‟s changing into human shape –

these types of shape-shiftings provide a new structure in Karnad‟s play. Besides in the

play Naga-Mandala, we find a typical post-colonial hybridity which dramatizes the

inter-cultural encounter between Karnataka folk-tales. Representation of folk-tale i.e.,

the myth of „Naga‟ through shape-shifting also helps to create religious fanaticism in

this play. So, through the help of shape-shiftings and post-colonial hybridity, this play

is entangled with religious [Link]-colonial drama has some features:

1) Post-colonial drama embraces myth and ritual and it is always associated with

the power of music and song, the forces by which cultural emancipation and

empowerment may be achieved.

2) Another feature is that Post-colonial drama relies heavily on non-dialogic

communicative devices: on dance, music, song, iconography, indigenous

languages and it helps for the development of the Brechtian artifice of epic

theatre.

Two main keys of epic theatre are – 1) „theatricalism‟ and 2) the concept of

the „distancing‟ or “alienation effect”. „Theatricalism‟ is defined by J.A. Cuddon and

M.A.R. Habib:

Theatricalism is a concept and theory of dramatic presentation which was

developed in Russia and Germany in the early years of the 20th c. It was
strongly opposed to naturalism and was in favour of the principle that theatre
is theatre and is a representation of life – and is not life itself. (Cuddon &
Habib 721)

Brecht thinks that such kind of circumstances should be created on the stage

that will create a real life like situation. First stage should be simple and at the same

time showing lighting instruments and presenting dance, music and song, it will create

a production which would allow an audience to maintain an emotional objectivity

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which is necessary to learn the truth about their society – all these situations are

present in the play Naga-Mandala. The main action of the play is framed from the

very beginning to the end and the writer participates in the process of creativity. Here

Karnad‟s endeavour is to draw the attention of the audience to the evolutionary nature

and the self-conscious theatricality of the journey in which all the participants find

themselves.

The second key to epic theatre is the „distancing‟ or “alienation effect”.

Brecht‟s dramatic theory of epic theatre dictates that “both the audience and the actors

ought to maintain a critical detachment from the play rather than submitting to the

staged illusion or easy emotional identification with character and situation.” (Cuddon

& Habib 20). Besides, the “purpose of such distancing or estrangement is to resist

passive escapism and instead to compel reflection on the characters as participants in

broader historical, social and political processes” (Cuddon & Habib 20-1).

Karnad first takes the south-Indian folk-tales in this play Naga-Mandala and

then attempts at instilling an “alienation effect” by deriving the material of the play

from folk-tales and he uses the non-naturalistic techniques of the traditional Indian

Theatre. Music performs an important role in case of post-colonial drama. Whenever

a drama is going to be performed, at the very beginning of the drama, music and song

are produced and music and song help to make the characters and audience to their

cultural roots. In some cases, music is produced to convey an idea or emotion. In

theatre, music helps to create the mise-en-scene – i.e., the arrangement of scenery and

stage setting of the properties of a play or the setting of an event and music also helps

to develop a mood or effect on atmosphere. In case of post-colonial drama, we find a

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song of solidarity, resistance or identity which helps to strengthen the reaction of both

the performers and the audience. In the very beginning of the play Naga-Mandala, the

music, the dance and the song of the flames create a hybridized form which recalls a

kind of communication and it helps to dismantle conventional western representation.

Music helps to unify the community against apartheid regime. If we go through

African drama, we understand that music has the capacity to provide such kind of

expression that words cannot replace. Music, dance, theatre and literature have an

eclecticism produced by a heterogeneous and subordinated social category and it

helps to define its world and communicate with global communities. Postcolonial

African playwrights like J. P. Clarke, Ola Rotimi, Femi Osifisan and Bode Sowande –

all borrow the art of music profusely from the traditional form in their use of music,

dance, songs and [Link] art of music is also represented by Karnad in his

plays. The use of this device becomes an integral part of the whole drama and Karnad

fuses artistically a dialectical relationship between the tradition and the modernity.

But the most dominating issue which is prominent in the play is a religious

myth. The whole play is based on the south Indian religious myth of King Cobra.

According to the religious belief, on the day of „Naga-Panchami‟, the unmarried

women used to pour water on the head of King Cobra to get good husband and barren

women to get child. „Naga‟ or the snake is associated with Lord Shiva and in Indian

Mythology „Naga‟ is worshipped so that „Naga‟ grants prayers. In the play Naga-

Mandala, Rani has totally devoted herself to „Naga‟ who is a representative of God

and God gives her a lot than her wanting. Rani is granted everything by „Naga‟: “I

have given her everything. Her husband. Her child. Her home. Even her maid”

(Karnad 42).

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 In the introduction portion of my thesis I have defined Tagore‟s religion of

Gitanjali. In Gitanjali, Tagore defines that religion is free from pedantic dogma and if

we devote ourselves totally to God, God will provide us a lot than our wanting. In the

play Naga-Mandala, this definition of Gitanjali‟s religion is juxtaposed. It proves an

Indian belief that „Naga‟ is a representative of God and Rani surrenders herself to

„Naga‟ and „Naga‟ provides Rani everything than her wishing. Karnad in this play

exposes how religion and religious belief control the wish of human beings.

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 HAYAVADANA

Religious View:

Religion means belief on myth or belief on God. Religion helps to shape the distinct

identity of an individual. Sometimes, religion becomes integral to the dramatic

representation on the context of a [Link] of myth and the presence of God – these

two are parts of religion and these are prominent in the play Hayavadana (1975). This

play is based on the Ancient Indian Myth fromThomas Mann‟s translation of the

Sanskrit Vetal Panchavimshati and the plot of Hayavadana comes from Somadeva

Suri‟s Kathasaritsagara. An important aspect of myth is pleasurable because here

virtue, trials and tribulations meet with satisfying experiences. The unhistorical-ness

of myth finds a kind of affinity with the mind of [Link] has borrowed this myth

which helps to point out man‟s eternal quest for self-realization. This theme reveals

the Upanishad‟s principle which presents that human body is a symbol of organic

relation of the parts to the whole. Karnad transforms religious myth and this religious

myth is a reflection of the Ancient myth. The play Hayavadana begins with the

invocation of Lord Ganesha who is the remover of all obstacles of our life and who is

to be worshipped first among the Gods. At the beginning of the play, when drama is

going to be performed, at that time the invocation of Ganesha is arranged so the mask

of Ganesha is brought on the stage and kept on the [Link] Bhagavata sings various

types of verses like “Vakratunda-Mahakaya” with the crooked-face and the distorted

body. By these verses, he wants to praise Ganesha. Lord Ganesha is an elephant-

headed God who is an embodiment of imperfection and of incompleteness. Ganesha

is the Lord as well as the Master of success and perfection. This play is based on the

theme of the embodiment of imperfection and of incompleteness.

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 Moutushi Chakravartee in the article, “Myth and Reality in Hayavadana and

Naga-Mandala”, says that Karnad in an interview has explained to her that he was

incapable of inventing stories so he drew the plots from history, folklore, myths and

legends. Like Shakespeare he transforms the raw materials into a unique drama of

human emotions and feelings. P. Dhanavel in his article “Hayavadana: A Study in

Condensation” says:

Though the image of Ganesha is usually placed upon the stage and worshipped
before the commencement of any traditional form of theatre, in this play
Karnad presses into use the connotative richness of the figure with the human
body and elephant head that is emphasized through the prose and poetic
renderings of the Bhagavata‟s prayer. (N. P.)

Besides, Bhagavata mentions the Goddess of Kali of Mount Chitrakoot. The Goddess

is famous for being ever-awake to the call of the devotees and thousands of people

used to flock to her temple. Devadatta also mentions the names of Mother Kali and

Lord Rudra together. Devadatta‟s words: “Lord Rudra, I meant what I said. If I get

her, my head will be a gift to you. Mother Kali, I‟ll sacrifice my arms to you. I

swear…” (Karnad 16) – all these words of Devadatta prove that Goddess is prominent

from the beginning of the play Hayavadana. Devadatta has complete belief on God so

he says: “… if I ever get her as my wife, I‟ll sacrifice my two arms to the goddess

Kali, I‟ll sacrifice my head to Lord Rudra…” (Karnad14).

When Devadatta marries Padmini, he pleads to Goddess Kali to help him get

married to Padmini but forgets to offer his prayers of gratitude that he promises to the

Goddess. Later he goes to the temple of Lord Rudra where he sacrifices Padmini to

Kapila and wishes them to live happily together. He prostrates himself before the

Goddess. With respect he takes so many names of Goddess Kali: “Bhavani, Bhairavi,

Kali, Durga, Mahamaya, Mother of all Nature. I had forgotten my promise to you.

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Forgive me, Mother. You fulfilled the deepest craving of my life” (Karnad 29).

Padmini: “…I forgot my word. Forgive me, for I‟m here now to carry out my

promise” (Karnad 29). “Here, Mother Kali, here‟s another. My [Link] it, Mother,

accept this little offering of my head” (Karnad 29).Finally he cuts off his head and

provides it as an offering to the God.

So, the divine intervention unfolds the central theme of the play. From the

beginning to the end, reference of God and religious places are mentioned in this play

– all these are examples of religiosity which provides the play a religious aspect.

Presence of God and Religion:

The setting of the play is the city of „Dharmapura‟ which is ruled by King

Dharmasheela. The name of the city „Dharmapura‟ itself indicates that „dharma‟ or

religion is present there. At that time, Dharmasheela‟s fame and empire have already

reached the ends of the eight directions. Two youths – Devadatta and Kapila dwell in

this city. Devadatta is intelligent, his complexion is fair and he is the only son of the

Revered Brahmin, Vidyasagar. The other youth is Kapila whose complexion is dark

and he is the only son of ironsmith Lohita. Devadatta and Kapila – two were friends

and their friendship was just like the friendship of Lava and Kusha, Rama and

Lakshmana, Krishna and Balarama. They have just like one mind and one heart.

Characters like Lord Ganesha, Hayavadana, Devadatta and Kapila – all are

represented through the help of masks. Dolls play important roles in many rituals and

religious practices. Here dolls reveal the psychological workings of the characters

which give an insight to their mind. Hayavadana displays man‟s sensual yearning for

completeness and perfection in terms of physical and mental sense and also highlights

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the important desire of man that is of knowledge and power. The whole play indicates

the endeavour of true knowledge that is the enlightened state of true „Brahmana‟.

Karnad asks the spectators to see Ganesha in four different ways. Simultaneously on

stage Ganesha is a mythological figure who is the subject of some wonderful stories

that provide an interesting comment on the central story of the play. Presence of

Goddess Kali seems to us just like a living entity when she says to Padmini: “The

devotees used to make a deafening racket with drums and conch-shells and cymbals.

So I used to be wide awake around now. I‟ve lost the habit. (Yawns.) Right. What do

you want? Tell me. I‟m pleased with you” (Karnad 32).

The play Hayavadana was performed on a proscenium (which divides the

space into active doers and passive watchers) and the puja reminded the spectators of

the active participation which is required in a ritual and invited them to engage with

the play in that same active manner. So, in this play mentioning of God, religion and

puja prove that it is a religious play.

Karnad like his contemporary writers such as Dharamvir Bharati, Utpal Dutt,

Vijay Tendulkar, Mohon Rakesh and Habib Tanvir approach the writing of play as a

serious literary activity. This drama is woven into a complex verbal art and it is

potentially connected to the theatrical practice. This play is an example of a

meaningful text and it is weaved with the theme of religion and at the same time, it is

detached equally from the genres of commercialized entertainment and topical political

performance.

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 Isssues of Religion and Alienation:

Hayavadana is a play which demystifies issues like religion and alienation.

Hayavadana is a combination of half-man and half-horse. Actually Hayavadana‟s

mother is responsible for this. Her mother was the princess of Karnataka. Princes of

every kingdom from China, from Persia and from Africa were invited for her marriage

but she cannot choose her husband. When the Prince of Araby comes, she becomes

fainted after watching his great white stallion. She marries the white stallion and the

white stallion‟s life has a history. Actually God Kubera curses this stallion to become a

stallion from a celestial being for some act of misbehavior and after fifteen years of

human love, this stallion goes back to its original self i.e., a beautiful Celestial Being, a

gandharva. Hayavadana‟s mother lives with the white stallion for fifteen years and one

morning she wakes up – and no horse! She watches that in its place, stood a beautiful

Celestial Being, a gandharva. After releasing, the Celestial Being tells his wife to

accompany him to his Heavenly Abode. But she wouldn‟t. She wanted her former

form of a stallion again because she loves the stallion too much. So he cursed his wife

(Hayavadana‟s mother) to become a horse and she “became a horse and ran away

prancing happily”. But the Celestial Being went back to his heavenly abode and

Hayavadana –the child of their marriage – was left behind. Hayavadana wants to get

rid of from his forehead and Bhagavata suggests to go him religious places like

Banaras and make a vow in front of the God but Hayavadana goes to so many religious

places like Banaras, Rameshwaram, Gokarn, Haridwar, Gaya and Kedarnath and even

the Dargah of Khwaja Yusuf Baba, the Grotto of Our Virgin Mary and he goes to the

feet of magicians, mendicants, maharshis, fakirs, saints and sadhus – “sadhus with

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short hair, sadhus with beards – sadhus in saffron, sadhus in the altogether – hanging,

singing, rotating, gyrating – on the spikes, in the air, under water, under the ground”

(Karnad 9-10) – but no one can give him relief from his forehead. So he gets no

solution. After that Bhagavata suggests him to go to pray to the temple of Kali of

Mount Chitrakoot. But he seeks no way of escaping from his incompleteness. So he

suffers from a kind of alienation: “Alienation is a specific historical condition in which

man experiences separation from nature, from other human beings and alienation from

the products of his labour. So alienation implies an alienation of man from himself ”

(Cuddon & Habib 20). N.P. Ashley in his article “Effacing Hayavadana: On the Masks

of the Text” rightly says:

Karnad being a dramatist fully controls the emotion which is released through
the play deftly through the alienation technique, masks and puppetry, while
the sharpness of interaction of the characters enables him to shift the
transcendental and metaphysical preoccupations of Mann on to the
sociological and the physical plane. (Ashley N.P.)

Devadatta is a Brahmin who is the only son of the revered Brahmin

Vidyasagar and he is very intelligent. Kapila is the only son of an ironsmith Lohita.

Kapila is a Kshatriya who is physically very strong and two friends Devadatta and

Kapila dream of Padmini. Karnad, in this play, gives emphasis to show how caste is

confined to “caste-occupations”. This text poses a story which gets adapted on to the

stage with the help of the dramatic devices. Devadatta and Kapila – two friend‟s

friendship is narrated by Bhagavata. Bhagavata: “The world wonders at their

friendship. The world sees these two young men wandering down the streets of

Dharmapura, hand in hand, and remembers Lava and Kusha, Rama and Lakshmana,

Krishna and Balarama” (Karnad 2). Devadatta falls in love with a sixteen year girl

and he tells his close friend Kapila about the girl‟s beauty. The beauty of the girl is

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narrated by Devadatta. Devadatta: “Don‟t! Please. I know this girl is beyond my

wildest dreams. But still--- I can‟t help wanting her--- I can‟t help it. I swear, Kapila,

with you as my witness I swear, if I ever get her as my wife, I‟ll sacrifice my two

arms to the goddess Kali, I‟ll sacrifice my head to Lord Rudra…” (Karnad14).

Devadatta:

I mean it! What‟s the use of these hands and this head if I‟m not to have her?
My poetry won‟t live without her. The Shakuntalam will never be excelled.
But how can I explain this to her? I have no cloud for a messenger. No bee to
show the way. Now the only future I have is to stand and do penance in
Pavana Veethi… (Karnad15).

Though Kapila is attracted to Padmini, he arranges the marriage between Devadatta

and Padmini. The plot is changed when Padmini starts to fall for Kapila only for

physical strength that she finds lacking in her husband Devadatta. The existential

crisis occurs in the play when Devadatta and Kapila‟s heads are transposed to each

other‟s body. According to Mann, human body always wants the completion of

human destiny and transposition of heads does not liberate the protagonists from the

psychological limits imposed by nature. The characters of both Kapila and Devadatta

are the manifestations of the images of different castes in our society. Thus Karnad‟s

play creates a kind of different problem of human identity in a world of tangled

relationship.

In this play Hayavadana is a protagonist who has horse‟s head and he laments

for his fate. In this story, the protagonist is a combination of half-horse and half-man

who dictates the supremacy of head over body which turns entirely into a horse. It is

Hayavadana who becomes a victim of the predicament. It reminds us of the story of

the Death and the King‟s Horseman. Death and the King‟s Horseman is a play

composed by Wole Soyinko which is based on a real incident which took place in the

83
country Nigeria during the time of British Colonial rule. After the death of Yoruba

King, the horseman of a Yoruba King was prevented from committing ritual suicide

by the colonial authorities. Soyinko calls the horsemen‟s own conviction towards

suicide into question because it poses a problem that throws off the community‟s

balance. Similarly Hayavadana‟s identity crisis creates a question within him.

In the play the two protagonists are – Devadatta and Kapila. Devadatta has an

intellectual brain and Kapila has a robust physique – both suffer from deformity and

incompleteness. It is Kapila who has heart-rending affect and it creates dissatisfaction

in human life. He questions: “Why should one tolerate this mad dance of

incompleteness?” (Karnad 57).This crisis causes a kind of identity conflict because

Kapila retreats to the forest and he is unable to confront the problem logically and the

identity crisis of Kapila is posited in the play. The question of identity is a burden in

this play. Padmini symbolizes an erotic principle or the life force. Padmini‟s dilemma

of choice between Kapila and Devadatta is shown in this play. Karnad creates a kind

of distance between the audience and the characters so that the audience will be able

to reach to such an intellectual level of understanding. In the play Hayavadana, man‟s

eternal yearning for completeness is given an expression through the character of

Padmini. She feels a kind of incompleteness in her married life with Devadatta that

draws her close to his friend Kapila. The play begins with a kind of divine invocation

to Lord Ganesha. According to the religious belief, each and every ceremony begins

with the worship of Lord Ganesha and Ganesha is the symbol of incompleteness

which is a representation of natural yearning of the characters which leads them to a

quest for perfection. Bhagavata in his hymn sings: “An elephant‟s head on a human

84
body, a broken tusk and a cracked belly – whichever way you look at him he seems

the embodiment of imperfection, of incompleteness” (Karnad 1).

Religion plays a vital role in the psyche of our nation. Each religious aspect is

entwined within a web of religious rituals and traditions. Religious belief i.e., the

invocation of divinity and the worship of Gods and Goddesses for divine intervention

are the parts of Indian life. Life force is natural in human being and the repressed life

force or „prakriti‟ thrives very strongly with potentiality in each and every character.

Padmini has strong yearning and completeness in the form of body and mind which

leads the whole story to its [Link] to the Hindu Philosophy, Karnad,

through his play Hayavadana, provides us a kind of expression to Indian philosophy

of „buddhi‟ (intellect) over physical senses and the „jivatman‟ intellect. Karnad

reveals a kind of hypocrisy behind all rituals and „Jivatman‟ (soul) over intellect.

Karnad shows hypocrisy behind all rituals and sacrifice through the words of

Goddess. The importance for which one places body over the mind is explicitly

expressed by Devadatta, who has now Kapila‟s body: “I‟d always thought one had to

use one‟s brains while wrestling or fencing or swimming. But this body just doesn‟t

wait for thoughts –it acts!” (Karnad 43). We see that Padmini desires for the

physicality of the body. Eventually, she finds herself in an intense euphoria when she

combines the head of Devadatta and the body of Kapila in a high degree of sexual

freedom. Devadatta is very popular for his writing and he is famous for intellectuality.

Hayavadana is a text which is adapted on the stage with the help of dramatic devices.

In this play, a dramatist shows emotions through explorative descriptions. Nikhila

85
Haritsa points out in a paper named “Forays into the Folk”:

Womanhood in the Kannada drama of 60s and 70s is cast in sexual terms. The
dramas abound with dialogues, characters, images and symbols, interaction
and relations that are explicitly and consistently sexual. It is almost as if
unable to isolate sexuality as before with the „lower‟ caste, drama ends up
seeing sexuality everywhere, and in all women and in all man-woman
relations. (Haritsa 8-9)

Superstition:

Superstition is a characteristic of traditional and orthodox religion. From the very

beginning of civilization, superstition always remains as an inevitable part of religion.

Supernatural atmosphere is presented in this play and religion is incorporated with

supernatural atmosphere into the theme of the play. Karnad‟s play focuses on the

cultural and psychological interpretations of Goddess Kali who is a representative of a

deity as well as a destroyer and a preserver. Religion is an entity which is dominating

as an inseperable part in the play. Karnad gives a kind of comic touch to his play by

creating supernatural atmosphere where a Goddess like Kali is speaking just like a

normal human being. Karnad brings human and non human world in one tune and this

play is full of complex supernatural elements. Anantha Murthy in an article “A Note

on Karnad‟s Hayavadana” says: “The whole play actually deals with serious theme

but the treatment of nature of the play is comical. The story of Padmini, Devadatta

and Kapila is tragic and the story of Hayavadana is full of elements of pathos. But the

pervading tone of the play is ironical enough which touches upon the satire at times”

(Murthy 37).

The first frame consists of the Bhagavata, the female chorus, and the two male

actors who are not only the characters in a folk performance but they are the

performers in a provincial troupe and they are preparing to enact the story of Padmini

86
and her two husbands for the audience. Bhagavata advises Hayavadana to go to a

religious place and he will be recovered. Bhagavata blesses Hayavadana. Bhagavata:

“May you become successful in your search for completeness” (Karnad 11) and he

turns to the main story, he starts singing: Bhagavata (sings): “Two friends there were

– one mind, one heart. They saw a girl and forgot themselves. But they could not

understand the song she sang” (Karnad 11). Female Chorus (sings): “Why should love

stick to the sap of a single body? When the stem is drunk with the thick yearning of

the many-petalled, many-flowered lantana, why should it be tied down to the relation

of a single flower?” (Karnad11). Bhagavata (sings): “They forgot themselves and took

off their bodies. And she took the laughing heads, and held them high so the pouring

blood bathed her, coloured her red. Then she danced around and sang” (Karnad 11).

In this play we see that Devadatta and Kapila – two persons from two religions

deny living with one woman and they realize the futility of arrangement between

three persons and both die. Padmini also wants to die performing the role of a sati

though she does not know that she has to perform the role of sati for whom. Even in

her death Padmini has a desire for completion of her child who will possess physical

perfection while he grows up as Kapila‟s son and the intellectual perfection as

Devadatta‟s son. It is her request to Bhagavata to take him to the hunters and “tell

them it‟s Kapila‟s son” (Karnad 62).When he‟s five, Padmini requests to take him to

the Revered Brahmin Vidyasagara of Dharmapura and tell him “it‟s Devadatta‟s son”

(Karnad 62). By her request, we understand that she wants such a son who will

achieve all the features of both Kapila and Devadatta.

87
 After that Padimini wants to be a sati. “Satidaha Pratha” is a superstitious

belief of Hindu religion because according to Hindu religion after husband‟s death, a

woman has to be burnt in the funeral pyre of her husband to become a sati. Hindu

religion‟s belief is that if a woman becomes a sati in the funeral pyre of her husband,

she will be able to reach Heaven. Padmini is so religious that she wants to be a sati by

heart but her condition is different from other woman. She does not know that she is

going to be a sati for whom Kapila or Devadatta? So she mourns before Goddess:

“Kali, Mother of all Nature, you must have your joke even now. Other women can die

praying that they should get the same husband in all the lives to come. You haven‟t

left me even that little consolation” (Karnad 63).

Our country India is based on the teachings of morals, scripture and religion in

all aspects. But life force survives as a natural instinct and this basic instinct is

unconscious of all living beings. The codes which are imposed by our society are

present in the conscience to restrain it. In our Indian society, there is the

predominance of caste over character. So Karnad‟s play focuses on the existing

circumstances in our society. Our society is divided into two sections – high caste and

low caste. The Brahmins are regarded as the persons of knowledge and wisdom while

the non-Brahmincal classes and Tribals are ignored and neglected. They are not given

any chance to prove their wisdom and knowledge. The quintessential teaching of

Bhagavad-Gita comes when our mind is pondering over the characters like Padmini,

Kapila, Devadatta and Hayavadana. Human being‟s problems are because of his

ignorance about the real nature of self. In Bhagavad-Gita, it is stated that there is no

cause for grief. The reason of each problem is arised from the fundamental human

problem of the inadequate self. Lord Krishna in Bhagavad-Gita reveals that every

88
human being is a complete adequate self and the sense of inadequacy arises from

ignorance of the real nature of the self. If one understands his or her self knowledge,

this understanding of self knowledge will eliminate the sense of inadequacy.

Karnad is a person of religious fundamentalism and Hindutva in India.

Karnad‟s Hayavadana begins with Ganesha pooja i.e., a sacred offering to Ganesha.

According to Indian ritual, Ganesha is worshipped on the stage by performers and

spectators. By opening this play with Ganesha murthi puja, Karnad locates this play

within the tradition of the Hindu performance. At the end, Bhagavata rightly says:

“Unfathomable indeed is the mercy of the elephant-headed Ganesha. He fulfils the

desires of all – a grandson to a grandfather, a smile to a child, a neigh to a horse. How

indeed can one describe His glory in our poor, disabled words?”(Karnad 71).Besides,

the presence of Goddeess Kali and mentioning of so many religious places prove that

it is really a religious play. Karnad actually projects the reality that how Indians belief

on Gods and Goddesses in a superstitious and inoffensive way. So, in the introduction

portion of my thesis, I have said that religion means belief on superstition and this

superstitious aspect of religion is present here.

89
Karnad’s View of Religion in Naga-Mandala:

Karnad‟s acceptence of religion in the play Naga-Mandala starts from south Indian

religious belief. The main thread of Karnad‟s play Naga-Mandala is totally based on

the south Indian religious myth of King Cobra and the whole drama is situated on the

basis of this myth. In this play a story is born within a story but each story has an

independent existence and distinctive characters. In this play a story within a story is

narrated by story to a playwright who is condemned to die. But the story which is

narrated is the story totally based on the religious myth. Karnad probably accepts

religion as the main thread of this play. To build the plot construction of the drama,

Karnad has used religious mythology as the main source of the play. In this play, the

protagonist Rani completely surrenders her to „Naga‟ who is a representative of God

and at the end of the play„Naga‟ provides her everything – her husband, her child, her

home and even her maid.

So, I think Karnad‟s presentation of religion is really true in this play. In the

introduction portion of my thesis, I have said religion means belief on myth and in the

introduction portion I have also mentioned Tagore‟s religion of Gitanjali. The play is

totally based on south Indian religious myth of King Cobra, so belief on myth is

presented in this play. According to Gitanjali‟s religion, if one completely surrenders

himself or herself to God, God will provide him or her, a lot than his or her wanting.

Similarly, after Rani‟s surrendering to „Naga‟, „Naga‟ or God provides Rani a lot than

her wanting. So, Karnad‟s presentation of religion is perfect in this play. .

90
Karnad’s View of Religion in Hayavadana:

Karnad presents demystification of religious belief and practices in his play

Hayavadana. His presentation of Goddess Kali is actually a presentation of „Lila‟

which is prominent in the “Vaishnava poetry”. “Krishna Lila” is appeared in the form

of „Kalilika‟ in Hayavadana. First the shape of incomplete and imperfect Lord

Ganesha is exposed and Hayavadana exhibits his authentic experiences of wasteful

pilgrimage to holy places, holy people, Gods and Goddesses. Karnad‟s reference of

Tirupati is mentioned for special skepticism due to its celebrated hair offerings – so it

is an example of supernatural belief. Karnad‟s painting of Goddess Kali with black

colour indicates the sufferings of human beings in a hostile world. In the play

Hayavadana, Karnad has presented and questioned all kinds of supernatural beliefs

and practices, especially “Satidaha Pratha” and speaking of Goddess Kail like a

normal human being – all these are really superstitious.

In the introduction portion of my thesis, I have said that religion means belief

on superstition and belief on Gods or Goddesses. So, this aspect of religion is proved

in this play in a justified way.

91
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