Hayavadana By Girish Karnad | Hayavadana Themes & Analysis

Table of Contents

Introduction

“Hayavadana” is a play by Indian writer Grish Karnad. It was first published in 1971. The play was originally written in Kannada and Karnad translated it into English himself. Karnad writes ‘Hayavadana’ inspired by Thomas Mann’s – The Transposed Heads and Thomas Mann was inspired by an 11th-century Sanskrit text ‘Kathasaritsagaro’. It is the story of two best friends ‘Devadatta and Kapila’ or their love Padmini. It is also the story of a man with the face of a horse, who is seeking to become human.

‘Hayavadana’ is based on the idea that humans are imperfect and thus have several limitations. The play also deals with women’s emancipation. It is divided into two parts.

Some Important Characters

Devadatta – One of the play’s two main protagonists. Son of Brahmin and he is a poet and political observer. He is a close friend of Kapila but end of the play feels jealous when he sees there is a mutual attraction between Kapila and Padmini

Kapila – One of the play’s two protagonists. Son of Ironsmith and a muscular and dark man. When Padmini chooses to remain with Devadatta’s head on Kapila’s body, Kapila goes into the forest and withdraws from society. He and Devadatta kill themselves in Solidarity by the end of the play.

Padmini – She is a beautiful young woman who is the object of desire of both Devadatta and Kapila. She chooses Devadatta because she is attracted by his intelligence. She is also very attracted to the physicality of Kapil.

Bhagavata – Narrator of the play.

Hayavandana – He is a man with the head of a horse born from a woman who married a horse and bore his son.

About Grish Karnad

Girish Karnad is an outstanding Indian English and Kannada Playwright. He is one of India’s brightest shining stars and earned international acclaim as a playwright, poet, actor, and translator. Karnad is the recipient of ‘The Sahitya Academy’, ‘Padmashri’, ‘Padmabhusan’, and ‘Janpith Award’. Among his best-known plays include – ‘Yayati, ‘Tughlaq’, ‘Naga-Mandala’, ‘Tale-Danda’, ‘The Dream of Tipu Sultan’, and many more.

About the Title Of Hayavadana

The title of the Hayavadana has a significant meaning, ‘Haya’ means horse, and ‘Vadana’ means head. The central character of the play is a man with the head of the horse. The title gives an idea of the story.

Theme of Incompleteness depicted in the play Hayavadana (Conflict between Body and Mind/ Theme of Identity Crises)

The play Hayavadana presents the theme of incompleteness. There is the conflict between body and mind portrayed. There are also tangled relationship that reveals the unclear nature of human personality. In this play, there are two intimate friends, Devadatta, the man of intellect and Kapila, the man of physique. Devadatta married Pamini but Kapila falls in love with Padmini. In a comical scene, Padmini changes their heads, giving Devadatta’s. Hence the result of confusion of identities.

At the beginning of the play, a mask of Ganesha is brought onto the stage and kept on a chair. Worship is done and Bhagavata signs verses in praise of Ganesha, accompanied by the musicians. So from the very beginning of the play, we find the use of the word ‘Incomplete ess. Ganesha is considered the destroyer of obstacles and the lord of perfection and success.

Bhagavata, the narrator finds in Lord Ganesha the picture of incompleteness because he has an elephant head and a human body. The theme of incompleteness is presented at three levels – Divine Level, Human Level, and Animal Level.

A scream of horror is heard off the stage by Bhagavata. An actor comes running in trembling with fear. He tells Bhagavata that he has seen a man with a horse head. It’s Hayavadana, a man with the head of a horse. ‘Haya’ means horse and Vodana means head. He is the son of the princess of Karnataka. She was a very beautiful girl who fell in love with a white horse. Hayavadana felt incomplete with this horse head and wanted to rid of it.

In the city of Dharmpura, there were two best friends called as the only son of revered Brahmin, Vidyasagar. He is attractive in appearance, fair in colour and unrivalled in intelligence. The other one is Kapila. He is the son of iron-smith, Lohita. He is dark and plain to look at and he has immense strength and Physical Skills. Bhagvata describes their friendship as Lava and Kusha, Ram and Lakshmana and Krishna and Balarama.

Bhagavata Calls them “One mind one heart”. Devadatta falls in love with Padmini, she is the beautiful daughter of a merchant in Dharmpur. Devadatta falls in love fifteen times and he fails to get married to any one of the girls. His 16th Love also seems to be a failure. He swore that he would sacrifice his two arms to the goddess Kali and head to Lord Rudra if Padmini became his wife.

Devadatta and Pamini get married Kapila frequently goes to Devadatta’s house. Padmini is attracted towards Kapila. One day threesome planned a trip to Ujjain. Padmini and Kapila go out to the temple of Rudra and Devadatta walks to the temple of Kali. He offers his head to the Goddess.

When Kapila and Padmini returned to the cart, Devadatta was not there. Kapila goes to the Kali temple and finds Devadatta dead. Now Kapila also cuts off his head, thinking people will say he has murdered Devadatta for Padmini. It is darker when Pamini reach the temple and She stumbles over the bodies.

Finding both of them dead, Padmini lifts the sword to sacrifice her too. But goddess Kali appears and interrupts her. Padmini falls at her feet and begs for their life. Goddess Kali grants her request. Eagerly, Padmini puts the head back. But in her excitement, she mixes them up so that Devadatta’s head goes to Kapila’s body and vice versa. After their exchange of bodies, they are excited and happy. But the problem ensues when Kapila’s head claims Padmini as his wife.

Kapila broken hearted goes to the forest. Now, when Devadatta has Kapila’s body, Padmini gets complete satisfaction. Padmini again starts craving for Kapila’s body. Padmini sends Devadatta to Ujjain fair to bring dolls for the boy. She herself goes out in the forest where Kapila lives. Padmini wanted to join Kapila but he refused.

Thus, in the play ‘Hayavadana’ Girish Karnad presented the theme of incompleteness at three levels – divine, animal, and human. Fundamentally human beings are incomplete and imperfect.

How different is Padmini’s Attraction to Kapila and Devadatta?

Pamini is responsible for the rivalry between Devadatta and Kapila. She marries Devadatta because she loves his mind. Even while she is pregnant with Devadatta’s child, she begins to long for Kapila’s muscular body. It is her split desire which causes Devadatta to kill himself followed quickly by Kapila.

Padmini changes the man’s head accidentally. She appears to get the best of both when Devadatta’s head is attached to Kapila’s body. As the men’s bodies slowly return to their farmer states, she begins to yearn again for a different life. When the two men kill each other at the end of the play, she laments that they have once again left her alone. She tells the Bhagavata to take care of her son and performs Sati, throwing herself on the funeral pyre.

Panini is the central female character in the play ‘Hayavadana’. She is unconventional. She is beautiful and is also a strong woman who is able to demand what she wants. When Devadatta, the intellectual who marries Pamini, describes her to his friend Kapila, he says that her face is like a white lotus. Her beauty is like the magic lake. Her arms are like the lotus creepers.

Kapila offers marriage on behalf of Devadatta to Padmini, and she immediately accepts. After marrying, she is unhappy with Devadatta, who is an intellectual. Kapila says to his friend Devdatta that Pamini is as fast as lightning and sharp. She is not for the likes of Devadatta what she needs is a man of steel. Panini is too sharp and demanding for her husband, and she yearns for the muscularity of Kapila. She says of Kapila that he has an unearthly shape. Such a broad back – like an ocean with strong muscles.

Padmini demands a husband who is not only smart but physically appealing and when the two men kill each other in a fight, she appeals to the goddess Kali to help her. It is then that Padmini carelessly reattaches Devadatta’s head to Kapila’s body. Thereby creating what she thinks will be the perfect husband. While events do no turn out the way she expected.

Padmini is unusual because she connects Kapila’s head to Devadatta’s body and does the same with Devadatta’s head by fixing it on Kapila’s body. She was doing this in an attempt to create the perfect man. It should be noted that Kapila and Devadatta were very close friends, they were also quite different, especially with regard to the argument that the head is superior to the body.

Kapila supports the idea, that the body is more superior to the head since he is a wrestler. Devadatta holds the opposite since he is a learned poet. Padmini and Kapila fall in Love and make the situation complex because Padmini is Devadatta’s wife. It is after the death of both Devadatta and Kapila that she changes their head and their bodies. The situation after exchange brings about confusion in the bodies and eventually, Kapila’s and Devadatta’s heads return to their initial personalities. Changes end up in failure for Padmini who attempts to create the perfect man, both physically fit and intellectually superior.

Conclusion

Thus the whole story of “Hayavadana” moves around Pamini’s dreams of perfection. Actually, it is a foolish idea of her for a perfect man in mind and body together. Padmini suffers behind the Patriarchy bars. So the play is ‘Rebellion’ against tradition and Patriarchy. It also shows human dissatisfaction with life and physical and sexual desire which blinds the eyes of truth.