Pushpan 1

Introduction
Comparative literature is the main tool for the study of more than one literature. It is the

study of national literatures in relation to one another. It is the study of literature using

comparison as the main instrument. One can recognize qualities of a literary work by comparing

it to the works in other languages. One is naturally inclined to assume a measure of influence a

similarity in technical or thematic handling is perceived in two works of art belonging to two

different literary traditions, or to same literary tradition though the imponderables are in fact

greater than the factors justifying such influences.

There are many retellings of the Mahabharata epic. The aim of a retelling is to revive

myths, legends and historical events which may be in danger of being forgotten. The aim, the

socio-cultural context , writer’s perception of it and of the needs and level of the audience

determine what is to be retold, how much of it is to be retold and how, in what form. Basically,

these retellings flow from the awareness that the past has much that is culturally valuable to offer

to the present.

The aim of this paper is to compare the retellings of the myth of Yayati from the

Mahabharata as it is recreated in the novel by V S Khandekar and the play by Girish Karnad and

to found out how the authors created a new image of Yayati from the original myth.

Yayati, the novel by V.S Khandekar and the play of the same title by Girish Karnad are

examples of such retellings. The novel by Khandekar written in Marathi was published in 1959.

It won many awards including the Jnanapith award. It was translated into English by Y.P

Kulkarni. Yayati, the play by Karnad was written in Kannada. It was published in 1961. It was

the first play written by Karnad.

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Yayati is a mythological king whose story finds mention in the Mahabharata – Adiparva

and also in Bhagvata Purana. Mahabharata is one among the ancient Indian epic, written in

Sanskrit by Ved Vyas. The Adiparva or the book of beginnings is first of the eighteen books of

the Mahabharata. Adiparva has 19 sub books and 236 chapters. The major part of the epic

covers the birth and early life of the princes of ‘Kuru vamsha’. Though it is a story of Kauravas

and Pandavas, there are many secondary characters and stories woven into this to make this epic

a complex literary construction. Yayati is such a secondary character, who is the ancestor of

Pandavas. The story of Yayati appears in the nineteenth chapter of book nine of the Bhagvata

Purana.

Yayati is the son of the powerful king Nahusha of the lunar race. He had five brothers.

His elder brother Yati refused to become the king and instead became an ascetic. Thus Yayati

became an emperor. He was the world emperor (chakravartin samrat). He had two wives,

Devayani and Sharmishta. Shukracharya was the preceptor of the Asuras. The Asura king

Vrishaparva respected him as he knew the spell ‘sanjeevani’ which will revive the dead.

Devayani was Shukracharya’s only daughter. The Asuras and Devas were rivals. Kacha, son of

Brihaspati, the sage of gods, came to Shukracharya to learn sanjeevani. And he gladly accepted

Kacha as his disciple.

Devayani became closer to Kacha. When the Asuras learned about his real identity, they

killed him and fed him to the wolves. Devayani pleaded with her father to bring him back.

Shukracharya made him alive. The Asuras killed him again. They burnt him, grounded the ashes

and mixed it in the wine, and made Shukracharya drink it unknowingly. Learning that Kacha is
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inside him Shukracharya taught him sanjeevani and revived him. Kacha used it to revive

Shukracharya. Before Kacha was leaving, Devayani confessed her feelings to him. But he

rejected her calling her as his sister.

Sharmishta is the daughter of king Vrishaparva. She grew up with Devayani. One day

they reached the lake to take a bath. They left their clothes on the bank of the river. But a wind

scattered their clothes. When princess Sharmishta clad herself in Devayani’s clothes by mistake,

argument broke out between the two. And Sharmishta threw Devayani into an abandoned well in

anger. King Yayati who was hunting in the forest saved Devayani from the well. Devayani

introduced herself and yayati bid farewell.

When Shukracharya learned about this incident from his daughter he became enraged.

Vrishaparva begged for forgiveness for his daughter. Devayani demanded that Sharmishta should

be her handmaiden for the rest of her life. Sharmishta agreed to this for the sake of her father. It

was only then Devayani was pacified.

After some time Devayani met Yayati in a forest while she was hanging out with her

handmaids including Sharmishta. She asked Yayati to marry her. But he wasn’t ready for the

marriage as she was a Brahmin. She then took him to her father and he gave his consent for their

marriage. Shukracharya asked Yayati to treat Sharmishta with respect but warned him to never

bed her. They soon got married.

Sharmishta continued to stay as Devayani’s handmaid. Yayati made a palace for

Sharmishta at the request of Devayani. One day Sharmishta secretly met Yayati and begged him

to marry her. Yayati was reluctant to do so, but Sharmishta persuaded him to marriage. They had
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three sons. When Devayani inquired about their father, Sharmishta lied that they were blessings

of a sage.

One day Devayani met the three sons of Sharmishta. She asked them about their father

and they pointed at Yayati. She felt betrayed and ran to her father. Shukracharya was enraged

when he heard about the infidelity of Yayati and cursed him with premature old age. Yayati

begged for forgiveness. Then Shukracharya said, “I cannot take back my curse, but if any of your

son is ready to exchange his youth for your old age, you will be young again as long as you

wish.”

Yayati, now an old man began to ask youth of his sons from them. But everyone turned

down his request except for Puroo, the youngest of all. He agreed and immediately turned old.

Yayati rushed out as a young man to enjoy his life. After thousand years spent in vain effort to

quench his desires by indulgence Yayati finally came into his senses and understood that desires

can never be eliminated. He asked Puroo to take back his youth and rule the kingdom. Then he

returned to the forest and performed penance. In due course he attained heaven.

In general, this project attempts to do a comparative study of Yayati, the novel and the

play. This project is divided into three chapters. The first chapter is an analysis of Yayati, the

novel by V S Khandekar. The second chapter deals with the analysis of Yayati, the play by

Girish Karnad. The third chapter focuses on the comparative study of the two texts.

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CHAPTER 1

An analysis of Yayati by V S Khandekar

Vishnu Sakharam Khandekar is one of the prominent writers in Marathi literature. Yayati

remains his most popular and critically acclaimed work. It won him the Sahitya Academy award

in 1960 and the prestigious Jnanipith award in 1974.

This novel narrates the story of Yayati, a mythological character from the epic of

Mahabharata. Yayati is a secondary character in Mahabharata. Yayati’s tale appears in the

nineteenth chapter of book nine of Bhagvata Purana. In the novel, there are three narrators-

Yayati, Devayani and Sharmishta. The novel take us through every moment in Yayati’s life, who

is the central character in the novel, through the narrations of each, beginning from his childhood

to his retirement to forest as a hermit.

As the novel has multiple narrators, there are multiple perspectives from which

Khandekar can delve into the inner psyche of characters and bring out the complexity and

interplay of their minds. The disparity between indulgence and self denial is explored by

Khandekar in this novel. Hence, the novel has a slender plot with few incidents but rich character

analysis.
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Yayati is the youngest son of Nahusha, the king of Hastinapur. As a child, Yayati was

very innocent and kind hearted. While narrating the story Yayati acquires an air of passiveness as

he lays down his life. He remarks in the beginning of the novel, “A passing pleasant thought says

that my story may serve to show up some the pitfalls of life and warn them in time.” (31).

From this remark itself we can learn that Yayati is not just the retelling of a myth. It is a

saga which explores the complexities of human life in general. Meenu Bhola in V.S Khandekar’s

Yayati: A study in myth remarks, “Khandekar tries to give meaning to the myth in a modern

context. A fertile imagination blended with intuitive vision give rise to a beautifully crafted

work.”(42). Thus Yayati is the representative of an ordinary man, specifically a modern man

who is trapped in a conflict between his inner self and the society. According to Pradip

Bhattacharya,

…Here is a man with whom we can easily identify. A man overawed and virtually

forced into marriage by the imperious Devayani; a man who gladly responds to

the submissive Sharmishta’s plea to beget children on her (three to Devayani’s

two); a man hungry for sensual gratification, untrammeled by domineering wives

and the bonds of marriage, desperately engaged in an existential search to glut the

body’s desires; a man who achieves peace finally and rises to heaven by realizing

that lust is insatiable and yet falls from there because of the universal human

frailty: Pride. V.S. Khandekar’s famous Marathi novel and Girish Karnad’s

engrossing play on Yayati show the perpetual appeal of this tragic story.(Lust and

the quest for immortality,374)

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Through his craft Khandekar had made the myth of Yayati into a tale which conveys a

universal message, relevant to all time periods. He deliberately used the myth to convey the

dilemma of a modern man. In the Introduction he writes,

I do not know if I would have written this novel, if in the decade 1942-51 I had

not been witness to the happenings in the world and in our country – the strange

spectacle of physical advancement and moral degeneration going hand in hand. If

I had written it before 1942 it would have been a very different story. I would

then have confined myself to Sharmishta’s love affair. (20)

Hence Yayati is not only a story of a king who chased pleasures, but a tale which explores the

importance of morals and values in one’s life. By the manifestation of the intense emotions of

Yayati, Khandekar is able to link the modern man with the ancient man, proving that human

emotions had been similar through the ages. Yayati has a strained married life. He married

Devayani, the daughter of the Asura sage Shukracharya, under her pressure. But their marriage

life wasn’t successful. He feels that Devayani lives only for herself. His dissatisfaction is evident

when he thinks,

Devayani did give me some bodily pleasure. But even in its giving, she never

overflowed with life. Quite often she pretended to be asleep in bed. I would tip-

toe up to her and place my lips on hers. But the kiss chilled me. During my

sojourn with the victory horse, I had kissed the stone image of the goddess of

love. I was unconsciously reminded of it. The kiss did not make my blood surge

like lightning. My loneliness, my imperfection, my incompleteness remained to

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torment me. If we were near each other in body, we were poles apart in mind.

(357-358)

Due to his imperfect chemistry with Devayani, Yayati easily falls in love with

Sharmishta. Puroo is born out of this relationship. Infidelity has been a deep rooted problem

since the ancient times and it is growing strong every day. In an emergency situation, Yayati is

forced to send Sharmishta and his child away. He becomes distressed after abandoning them.

Few days later his best friend Madhavan dies catching a fever. On that day Yayati took liquor

and went to Devayani. But an angry Devayani made him promise that he will never touch her

again. A disillusioned Yayati left the palace and went to a sage (Mandharan). The sage advised

him that remedies for unhappiness in life are wine and women. His words completely won over a

disheartened Yayati. It was the beginning of his downfall. He recollects, “But all the time I could

not help feeling that I was falling of a mountain peak, hurtling down an endless dark precipice,

which light had never penetrated.”(566)

For years Yayati indulged himself in wine and women. He remains unsatisfied despite

enjoying all material pleasures. He fails to fulfill his duty as a king and as a father. Even

Devayani is disheartened by the impassiveness of Yayati. She thinks, “Steeped in wine and

women, has he forgotten even his duty as a father?”(628). Yayati’s moral degradation is so

worse that even news of his son’s capture by the enemies doesn’t move him. He is only focused

in finding new ways to satisfy his lust. He thinks,

How many years? Eighteen? No, I have been in heaven for something like

eighteen hundred years. I am forever drinking nectar from the lips of beautiful

maidens. Under the tree which grants every wish in my bed. I loll in bed night and
 Pushpan 9

day, on a mattress of delicate white flowers. Now, I am going to take Indrani in

my arms. (659)

Khandekar is successful in the portrayal of a man who is fully engrossed in worldly pleasures.

The obsession with the golden hair of his first love Alaka leads him to attempt to a have sex with

many maidens, even his friend’s sister and son’s lover.

Shukracharya cursed Yayati with old age. Puroo gave his youth to Yayati which he took

with no rethinking. He selfishly uses his son for satisfying his needs. But seeing Sharmishta

changes everything for Yayati. He realizes the depth of his mistake.

I had trampled underfoot my duty as a father. I had spurned parental sentiment

and forgotten humanity. For momentary selfish pleasure, I had sacrificed

offspring of my flesh and blood. For eighteen years I had been raising a temple to

the demon of desire. What a terrible dome I had set it on today. (747)

In V.S Khandekar’s Yayati: A study in myth Meenu Bhola remarks,

Yayati finally realizes peace can be achieved through giving up desires. The man

should strive to rise above the carnal desires. When Yayati finally decides to

return Puroo’s youth, Sharmishta’s selfless love becomes his support. Through

Sharmishta, Yayati understands the real meaning of love and sacrifice. (43)

Thus the love of Sharmishta becomes alight which guides Yayati from degradation. He realizes

the importance of sacrifice and he thinks,” The joy of dying for someone else is a hundred times

greater than the joy of living for oneself. What a great and noble truth this is! But for the first
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time today it was revealed to me.” (746). In many ways, Yayati’s spiritual transformation is

complete when he says these words,

In happiness and misery, remember one thing. Sex and wealth are the great

symbols of man hood. They are inspiring symbols. They sustain life. But they are

unbridled. There is no knowing when they will run amuck. Their reins must at all

time be in the hands of duty. Oh man, desire is never satisfied by indulgence. Like

sacrificial fire, it ever grows with offering. (769)

Yayati’s difficulty in giving up worldly desires suggests conflict between the Brahmanical and

ascetic values. M Winternitz in his Some problems of Indian literatures interprets the myth of

Yayati as a conflict between Brahmanical and aesthetic values, and looks up to Yayati’s final

realization, which is Buddhist in its implications.

Speaking of other characters, mainly Devayani and Sharmishta, we can see that both

female protagonists are totally different from each other. Though Devayani was eager to get

married to Yayati, she never really loved him. Her heart belonged to Kacha, a former disciple of

Shukracharya, even after the marriage. She is an arrogant woman who gloats over her

extraordinary beauty. She is not reluctant to turn her childhood friend into her maid. Referring to

Devayani Khandekar writes, “I have accordingly portrayed Devayani in this novel on the pattern

of behaviour of a woman who is egoistic, ambitious, spiteful and disappointed in love.”(17)

When she becomes the queen of Hastinapur, lust for power began to guide her thoughts

and actions. She thinks, “To forget the pangs of unrequited love, I needed the intoxication of

splendor, the arrogance of power and a husband who would dance to my tune. A lusting husband

who would stay in my control” (402). But motherhood invokes tender feelings in Devayani. Her
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thoughts become so softer like, “My thoughts toyed with the idea of the coming baby, wondering

what it would look like. Seeing it, will it remind people of me? Whose eyes and nose it will

have? Would it have thick hair?”. (405) Towards the end of the novel, the novelist brings a

change of attitude to not only Yayati, but also to Devayani.

In contrast, Sharmishta, the Asura princess is portrayed as an ideal woman in the novel.

Khandekar says that Sharmishta is more than the romantic interest of the king. She is always

guided by devotion and symbolizes sacrifice. Her spirit of sacrifice is portrayed through her

decision of being a maid to Devayani. Like an ideal female character, she cherishes love even in

the face of danger. Accordingly, “Sharmishta will always worship his majesty with all her heart.

Even in face of death, she will always bow to his command and wherever Puroo may be, the

blessing of his majesty should always be with him.”(522)

It is her spirit for sacrifice which is reflected in her son Puroo too. He willingly takes up

Yayati’s old age. Thus he becomes another son in the Mahabharata epic who is ready to make

sacrifices for their father. He says, “Father, I am the son of a princess who agreed to be a maid

for the sake of her people. I am willing to take on your old age.”(737)

Another main character in Khandekar’s Yayati is Kacha who also acquires saintliness

through his spiritual attitude and willingness to do sacrifices for the world. He becomes the

moral support for all the main characters in the times of their need. In the novel, he becomes the

real hero, the center of all moral values. His entry at the climax scene where Yayati returns

Puroo’s youth is a crucial turning point in the novel. About Kacha, Khandekar writes, “Kacha is

the spiritual guide whose actions more than his speech serve to set the philosophical tone of the

novel that personal relationships have at times to be subordinate to duty.”(23) Santhosh Gupta in
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V.S Khandekar’s Yayati: the myth and its interpretation remarks, “It is Kacha who provides a

point of synthesis and a deep moral wisdom to all these character and is responsible for their

moral regeneration. He comes in contact with different character on different occasions and gives

them his views on their roles and duties in life.”(154)

Yati, the elder brother of Yayati though he is the right heir to the throne, he eloped from

his home at a young age and chose the life of an ascetic. He hated women. Khandekar uses

Yati’s character to portray the patriarchical society. Yati turns insane with his desire to change

all women into men. It is the love of his mother and care of Kacha which bring him back to

normality. The other minor characters such as Alaka, Mukulika, and Tharaka etc can be counted

as victims of patriarchy in the novel.

The words of Santhosh Gupta in V.S Khandekar’s Yayati: the myth and its interpretation

meaningfully capture the gist of the novel. He says, “Khandekar’s novel Yayati, a complex

literary reconstruction of the myth also suggests in a forceful manner the predicament of man in

the nihilistic modern world devoid of any clearly defined moral values. The prevailing moral

confusion and man’s difficulty in accepting given values is presented through the character of

Yayati.”(151)
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CHAPTER 2

An analysis of Girish Karnad’s Yayati

Girish Karnad is a prominent figure in Indian theatre scenario. He is hailed as one of the

greatest dramatists of India. His plays are written in Kannada and then have been translated into

many languages. He translated his own plays into English.

Yayati which is published in 1961 is the first play of Karnad. He wrote this play at a

young age of twenty-two. The plot is taken from the epic Mahabharata. Yayati is a mythological

king who desires for mortality and eternal youth even at the cost of the youth and vitality of his

son. Karnad’s Yayati is an attempt to remould this myth in a modern context. According to critic

L Rani in Theme of responsibility in Girish Karnad’s Yayati,

In the dramas of Karnad, myth is not merely a ritual or structural device. It is a

means of exploring the modern outcome of a traditional situation. Karnad tries to

establish a ‘dialectical relationship between tradition and modernity’ which is a

central theme in contemporary Indian society. Karnad does not employ the myths

in their entirety. He picks up threads of legends and folk tales that he finds useful.

He uses his imagination to construct the plot to suit these tales. (Rani 224)

In Yayati, Karnad has given the myth a new meaning and high relevance in the contemporary

times. Yayati’s attachment to life and physical pleasures and his final renunciation in the myth

are the symbolic themes which are being retold in the play.

The Sutradhar in the play introduces the theme and purpose of the play to the audience.

He acts as the ‘holder of string’. The technique of presenting the summary of the play in the
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beginning through Sutradhara is a part of the tradition of Sanskrit drama. Karnad follows this

tradition and gives the character of Sutradhar a great importance. In the words of the Sutradhar,

Good evening. I am the Sutradhara, which literally means ‘the holder of the

strings’. It has been argued by some scholars that this title establishes my lineage

back to puppeteer, the manipulator of marionettes. But others equally eminent

have said the string, being an instrument of measurement, actually points to my

descent from the carpenter, the prop-maker or the architect. In effect, I am the

person who had who has conceived structures here, whether of brick and mortar

or of words. I have designed and consecrated the stage. I am responsible for the

choice of the text. And here I am now, to introduce the performance and to ensure

that it takes place without any hindrance. (5)

Sutradhar possess a high vision about the play and keenly tells the audience that Yayati isn’t a

mythological play. He says,

Our play this evening deals with an ancient myth. But, let me rush to explain, it is

not a ‘mythological’. Heaven forbid! A Mythological aims to plunge us into the

sentiment of devotion. It sets out to prove that the sole reason for our suffering in

this world is that we have forsaken our gods. The mythological is fiercely

convinced that all suffering is merely a calculated test, devised by the gods, to

check out our willingness to submit their will. If we crush our egos and give

ourselves up in surrender, divine grace will descend upon us and redeem us.

There are no deaths in mythological, for no matter how hard you try, death cannot
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give meaning to anything that has gone before. It merely empties life of

meaning.”(6)

Karnad expresses his exquisite vision of art through the words of the Sutradhar, “Our play has no

gods. And it deals with death. A key element in the plot is the Sanjeevani Vidya-the art of

reviving the dead, which promises realize from the limitations of fleeting life this self is trapped

in”(6). Sutradhar gives the audience the hint that even though the events in the play are part of an

ancient myth, they have relevance in the contemporary times. The play is set in the backdrop of

lust, jealousy and racial tension. It is planned in four acts. Along with the characters of the myth

Yayati, Devayani, Sharmishta and Puroo, Karnad has introduced other characters such as

Chitralekha, bride of Puroo and Swarnalata, a royal maid.

The play happens in an inner chamber in king Yayati’s palace. Puroo, son of Yayati, is

returning to the palace after many years of absence with his young bride, Chitralekha, the

princess of Anga. The chamber is being decorated as it is Puroo’s favourite place in the palace.

The play starts with Swarnalata’s complaint to Devayani about Sharmishta. There is an ongoing

conflict between Devayani and her princess turned slave Sharmishta. Devayani often had

arguments with Sharmishta, who teased her by saying that the king married Devayani because of

Shukracharya’s ‘Sanjeevani Vidya’. Even Swarnalata is terrified of Sharmishta, “Swarnalata:

She is satanic; she can barge into poisonous fumes and watch me choke while she remains

untouched. She can creep into hidden corners of my mind, claw those shadows out and set them

dancing. I am terrified of her.”(8)

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Sharmishta is not afraid to pour curse even on the king. Yayati confronts Sharmishta

about taunting Devayani and informs her that he is willing to send her home. But she refuses.

Being a slave is frustrating to Sharmishta and she takes it out on everyone. She says,

I snarl because I want to retain a particle of my original self. I abuse and rave to

retrieve an iota out of it. It’s all useless of course. Scream as I may, I know there

is no escape from degradation. The louder I scream, the more I declare myself as

a slave. That is the point. I have decided to turn myself into a performing

freak.(18)

Sharmishta tells Yayati about her story by the end of the first act. In the end she attempts to kill

herself by drinking poison. But Yayati stops her. It leads to the union of the two.

According to U R Ananthamurthy in Introduction to Tughlaq, “Yayati is a self conscious

existentialist play on the theme of responsibility.” The theme of responsibility has been brought

out by the Sutradhar in the beginning itself. Yayati neglects his duties and responsibilities as king

and as a father in the beginning. He indulges himself in sensual pleasures of life. He realizes his

mistake only after the death of Chitralekha. Then he took the responsibility of all the problems

in his shoulders and retired to the forest as a hermit.

Sutradhara says that neither a scholar nor an ordinary man can escape the burden of

responsibility. In an interview with Meenakshi Raykar, Karnad says,

Every character in the play tries to seek escapes from the consequences of his

action. Even Puroo does that. Yayati, Devayani and Puroo – all of them try to

avoid facing the consequences. Sharmishta is the only character who accepts the

consequences of her actions.”(An interview with Girish Karnad, 340)

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Pandey points out in his Yayati: Themes and techniques that almost every character except

Sharmishta is irresponsible. Yayati who is cursed for his adultery, transfers the burden most

irresponsibly to his son Puroo, who is married to Chitralekha and owes a dharmic responsibility

to ensure her happiness, equally irresponsible who vitiates her marital bliss by exchanging his

youth with his father, for the sake of preserving latter’s happiness. He is caught between the

devil and the deep sea, filial loyalty and conjugal felicity and whichever he chooses. He would

still be caught in the web of irresponsibility. (55)

Devayani acts impetuously, brings acurse upon her husband king Yayati, and runs away

irresponsibly when he is visited by the ugly consequences of the curse. Chitralekha, unable to

bear the consequences of her husband Puroo’s exchange of youth with his father, commits

suicide instead of fighting to restore her rights. The only character who is willing to accept the

responsibility for the consequences of what she does is Sharmishta. In the end only Sharmishta is

there to accompany him (Yayati) while going to forest.” (Pandey, 54)

Existential philosophy had a direct impact on Karnad’s plays. For Poonam Pandey, Girish

Karnad is a master dramatist of existential philosophy, which concentrates on man, the centre of

the universe. (69) Sartre, Camus, and Jen Anouilh inspired Karnad to write plays rich with

existentialism. In an interview, he explains about how he is influenced by existentialism,

I was excited by the story of Yayati, this exchange of ages between father and the

son, which seemed to me terribly powerful and terribly modern. At the same time,

I was reading a lot of Sartre and existentialists. This consistent harping of

responsibility which the existentialists indulge in suddenly seemed to linkup with

the story of Yayati.”(Enact 54)

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When Yayati is cursed by Shukracharya with ‘early decrepitude’ Puroo exchanges his

youth with Yayati. The play stuns the audience when Chitralekha, who is desperate to bear a

child of Bharata dynasty, offers herself to Yayati, for his youth. In frustration and disgust, she

commits suicide. Puroo’s exchange of his youth with his father leaves Chitralekha deserted. Her

death is an eye-opener for Yayati. Puroo who lost his youth got it back when finally realization

comes to Yayati. These characters experience a fractured life. There is always a quest for

completeness in Yayati, Puroo, and Chitralekha. Their lives are full of existential situations and

frustrations. According to Bisma Khursheed, Chitralekha’s suicide makes Yayati alienated and

isolated and consciously he realizes the responsibility of his actions. Yayati says, “Take back

your youth Puroo. Rule well. Let me go face my destiny in the wilds.”(69) Hence making

responsibility the essence of his existence. Survival in this world is impossible without an

‘authentic existence’. The decision of choosing exchange of ages with his father leads not only

Puroo but also Chitralekha to an endless suffering and agony, as a result of which they became a

split-personality and a divided self. They are cut from their society and the world at large due to

a sort of self and social alienation.”(Khursheed, 181)

According to Dr.JYoti Gupta and Sushama Sharma, Karnad’s Yayati reveals the afflicted

consciousness of a broken man like Yayati who tries to find a meaning in existence. Out of

sorrow and humiliation Yayati is unable to understand the meaning of life till he is rid of old age.

But contrary to his expectation Chitralekha’s suicide leads him to expiate his desire. He projects

the image of an existential character and shows that no man has the courage to choose whole

heartedly either right or wrong. He is himself an amalgamation of self evasion and vanity, self

condemnation and humility. Thus, there is an eternal quest for meaning and value, freedom and

truth that can sustain us in this chaotic and apparently meaningless world. (36)
 Pushpan 19

Caste difference is another dominant theme in the play. All the major characters belong

to different castes. Yayati belongs to Kshatriya race, Devayani is an Aryan – Brahmin, and

Sharmishta is a Rakshasi. Puroo is a product of Kshatriya and Rakshasa race. This caste

difference creates major conflicts in the play.

Devayani and Sharmishta were best friends in the past. But their respective castes created

a rift between them and pull them apart. Devayani is highly conscious of about her Aryan birth.

Even after being a queen to a Kshatriya king, her sense of being a Brahmin is not diminished.

She is not ready to accept Sharmishta as her fellow queen, because of her caste. She exclaims,

“Oh God! This slave of mine is to be a queen- No. That is not possible.”(29) She calls

Sharmishta by many derogatory names such as ‘bitch’, ‘treacherous hyena’ etc; which indicates

her sense of superiority. Even Yayati makes remarks about Sharmishta’s origin. “Rakshasas are

known for their histrionics.”(26) Again Yayati says, “Your position will not be touched. You

will remain the senior queen. You will share my throne. You will be at my side in all public

celebrations. That goes without saying. She (Sharmishta) can never be a threat to your position;

you know that, because of her race.”(29)

The play Yayati has maximum numbers of woman characters. There are a series of

woman characters like Chitralekha, Devayani, Sharmishta and Swarnalata. Chitralekha carries

the sthayibhav krodha (wrath), Swarnalata the sthayibhav of shoka (sorrow), Sharmishta the

sthayibhav of ghrina (disgust) and Devayani the sthayibhav of vatsalya (parental love). All the

female characters in Yayati yearn to relate to the male characters in the play. The dramatist

portrays the selfless nature and plight of the women, which is a characteristic feature of Indian

society even today.

 Pushpan 20

Chitralekha is the most rebellious character in the play. Though Sharmishta is very bold,

her revolt is only against Devayani, her former best friend who had made her a slave. But unlike

Sharmishta, Chitralekha tries to find a place for herself in the male-dominated society. She is a

modern woman who questions the injustice done to her.

When Swarnalata gives her the news that Puroo has accepted his father’s old age, she is

stunned but accept it gracefully,

Chitralekha: Cry? Why should I cry? I should laugh. I should cheer…except that I

have been so unfair to him. So cruelly unjust. I thought he was an ordinary man.

What a fool I have been! How utterly blind! I am the chosen one and I…which

other woman has been so blessed? Why should I shed tears? (55-56)

But when she sees Puroo’s face in the light of ‘arati’, she becomes terrified and screams at him

to go away. Yayati tries to console Chitralekha. He is trying to exert his masculine power over

her when he asks her to behave in a way that suits the daughter –in-laws of Bharata dynasty. He

asks her to accept Puroo as he is in the name of duty, but he doesn’t think about his duty as a

father. But Chitralekha rebels against Yayati by holding him responsible for the turmoil in their

lives. Karnad notes, Chitralekha (flaring up): I did not push him into the edge of the pyre sir, you

did. You hold forth on my wifely duties .What about your duty to your son? Did you think twice

before foisting your troubles on a pliant son?”(62)

She breaks the social and moral barriers around her when she puts a proposal before

Yayati so that she can bear a child of Bharata dynasty. “Chitralekha says: I did not know prince

Puroo when I married him. I married him for his youth. For his potential to plant the seed of the

Bharatas in my womb. He has lost that potency now. He doesn’t possess any of the qualities for
 Pushpan 21

which I married him. But you do.” (65-66). Chitralekha seems to be in a search for a man who

would define her and provide her an identity in the male dominated society. She challenges the

social and moral obligations.

The play depicts Yayati as the champion of patriarchy and he feels that women should

not violate the norms established by patriarchy. Devayani, Sharmishta, Swarnalata and

Chitralekha represent the sub-alternity of women in a patriarchal society. Sharmishta explains

the plight of women as, “a woman dead (Chitralekha), another gone mad (Devayani), and a third

in danger of life (Sharmishta). But Chitralekha emerges as a new woman who challenges the

decision of Puroo and false rhetoric of Yayati. She refuses the prosperous kingdom offered by

Yayati and want freedom for herself. She prefers to die rather than yield before patriarchy. Her

death by drinking by poison before Yayati’s eyes endorses the quest for emancipation from the

clutches of patriarchy. The character of Swarnalata, a creation of Karnad, also suffers at the hand

of masculinity. Her husband deserts her doubting her chastity. She tells her story to Chitralekha

to pacify her,

Swarnalata: At least I decided to help him out. I still shudder when I think of it. One night

as he was moaning in his sleep, I woke him up and admitted that my teacher had seduced

me.”(59)

Swarnalata lied to her husband to save her marriage. But he left her. She is the

representative of the women who is willing to do anything for the sake of family. Karnad

doesn’t glorify the ‘self sacrifice’ of Puroo in this play. Puroo doesn’t accept old age of his father

out of love. He took it for escaping the responsibilities bestowed upon him. He carries an

inferiority feeling that he is misfit for the Bharata dynasty tradition. He says,
 Pushpan 22

Puroo: I did. I agreed with them. I had not the slightest inclination to follow in the

steps of my illustrious forefathers. I found their deeds pompous. I was bored by

the hermitage, unembarassedly. I wanted to run away from all that it represented;

that history, those triumphs, those glorious ideals. (35)

Chitralekha’s death breaks the shell of reclusiveness of Puroo. He owns up to his responsibilities

and becomes the king. The play ends with Sutradhar’s note.

Karnad brilliantly portrays the vague concerns of the modern post colonial age. He uses

western philosophies like existentialism along with indigenous narrative techniques. Yayati is a

significant literary work since it is rich in the portrayal of the conflicts in human relationships,

tradition and existential perspectives.

 Pushpan 23

CHAPTER 3

A Comparative Analysis of Karnad’s Yayati and Khandekar’s Yayati

Mahabharata, one of the ancient Indian epics, narrates the story of struggle conflict

between two groups of cousins, leading to the great Kurushetra war. It speaks about the

Kauravas and Pandavas, the relatives turned enemies and their succession. It is written in

Sanskrit by Vyasa, and is considered as a Hindu Ithihasa along with Ramayana. It is divided into

eighteen parts or ‘parvas’, written in the form of couplets of two lakh lines of verse. Vyasa has

put together many tales in Mahabharata which had inspired many authors. Many tales which are

not directly related to the Pandavas or Kauravas has also attracted a lot of writers with their

diverse themes.

There are many retellings of Mahabharata. Some of the retellings have their focus not on

the main stream characters but on the secondary characters. V S Khandekar’s Yayati and Girish

Karnad’s Yayati are examples for such retellings.

Yayati, the ancestor of Kuru vamsha, founds mention in the Adiparva of the

Mahabharata. His story has inspired many writers to create literary works which would convey a

universal message. Khandekar and Karnad used the myth of Yayati to tell us about the

complexity of human nature.

The symbolic theme of the ancient myth of Yayati is human attachment to pleasures and

the final renunciation. The works based on Yayati tries to retell these symbolic themes in such a

way that it is relevant in the contemporary times. Though the source of the literary works is the

Mahabharata epic, both Karnad’s and Khandekar’s retellings differ in their form and content.
 Pushpan 24

Karnad’s Yayati is a drama which helps to interpret the myth in terms of the conflicts of

characters and situations rather than as narratives. Khandekar’s Yayati is a novel, which suits a

perspective retelling. That is, narrated from the point of view of a person. This novel is narrated

from the point of view of three characters- Yayati, Devayani, and Sharmishta.

Karnad’s Yayati takes the essence of the myth but there are some different conflicts

introduced by the dramatist in the play. The purpose and theme of the play is brought to us by

Sutradhara. Karnad follows the tradition of Sanskrit dramas by the introduction of the character

of Sutradhara. The play has Yayati, Devayani, Sharmishta and Puroo along with Chitralekha and

Swarnalata, creations of Karnad. In Khandekar’s Yayati, along with the narrators of the novel

Yayati, Devayani and Sharmishta, other characters in the myth like Kacha, Yati, Puroo also gets

to play important roles. The novelist has also created characters such as Alaka, Madhavan,

Tharaka, and Mukulika to make the story more humanly appealing in nature.

Both Khandekar and Karnad borrowed the root myth from Mahabharata. They were

always fascinated by the Puranas and other Hindu scriptures. They have received ideas from

sources like western literary traditions and native literary forms. There is not only reception but

also influence has played a crucial role in the formulation of ideas and selection of characters,

styles and themes.

Muktimala trend in Marathi literature is inspired by the formal structures of the works of

English novelists. This trend avoided action and focused on the non- real. V S Khandekar is a

writer who followed this trend. The very idea of love is sacred to them. According to G.N Devy

in his Indian literary criticism, “It is rooted in literary convention rather than in life. Owing to
 Pushpan 25

the inactive, affected, entertaining mode which novel in this trend adopt, they seek fictitious or

with the help of the real, and is present in a formalistic manner.”(195)

Karnad’s plays are heavy with the elements of existentialism. He was deeply influenced

by the philosophy of Camus and Sartre. Puroo, Yayati and Chitralekha often found themselves in

existential situations in the play.

Both authors have the common trait of deep understanding of human nature and keen

observation of the complexities in life. They presented the dilemmas of modern man very

touchingly and tried to suggest remedies for the problems. By modernizing the ancient myth,

they served to make mythology more relatable to the contemporary readers. Both tried to spin

out the implicit point of view of different characters from the original narrative. Both authors

display a determined ability to evaluate the complicated nature of humanity. Even though both

literary works has their titular hero at the central focus, they are treated differently by the

authors. Hence, both works when read alongside each other speaks to the reader in different

ways.

In both works, the central character Yayati is obsessed with pleasures. It indicates the

modern man’s chase after pleasures. In Khandekar’s work, Yayati craves for all kinds of

pleasures. Beautiful things can seduce Yayati easily. He forgets his responsibilities by indulging

himself in pleasures. In the novel, Yayati grows from childhood to old age. The story is told by

Yayati at the evening of his life. Through the stream of consciousness and monologues about the

past, he seems to be a person disappointed by the failures in his life. He narrates his internal

conflicts and miserable life in the novel. Even though he is in an existential search for pleasures,

Khandekar attributes a good deal of gentleness to Yayati. Even though Yayati is selfish and
 Pushpan 26

lustrous, Khandekar presents Yayati in such a way that he gains sympathy from the readers.

Through the dramatic depiction of events and the inner turmoil of Yayati Khandekar is

successful in making the character of Yayati strikes a chord with the common man in his chase

after pleasures and its consequences.

Karnad doesn’t make any attempt to offer gentleness to Yayati’s character. Karnad’s

Yayati is a disgusting character with his lust for women and selfishness. Karnad introduced the

character of Chitralekha as the wife of Puroo to bring out more conflicts in the drama. Yayati is

the champion of patriarchy when he demands to Chitralekha to meekly accept the decrepit

Puroo. Karnad’s Yayati is a representative of an alienated modern man. He is selfish enough to

have his son’s youth and keep it for years. But Chitralekha’s death makes him realize his

mistake.

Karnad’s Yayati explores the complexities in life which happens when responsibilities

and expectations of people clashes. In the drama, every character except Sharmishta is

irresponsible. Yayati forgets his responsibility as a father; Devayani forgets her duty as a wife.

Chitralekha and Puroo try to run away from their respective duties as a wife and a king

respectively. But in the novel, Yayati is the only irresponsible character. Every other character

including Sharmishta, Puroo and Kacha lives up to their duties. Even though Devayani failed to

do her duties as a wife, she took her responsibilities as a queen and as a mother sincerely.

Khandekar’s Yayati is essentially mythological to its core elements. Though Khandekar

has made attempts to make the story suits to the contemporary times, it can’t leave behind the

support of the mythology. Khandekar has glorified the sacrifice and renunciation in his novel.
 Pushpan 27

Though the characters acquire more humane nature in them, their behavioural patterns are same

as in the myth. The events too are similar and happen in accordance to the order in the myth.

But Karnad’s Yayati clearly refuse the idea of being a mythological play from the

beginning. It is evident in the words of Sutradhara.

“Sutradhara: Our play this evening deals with an ancient myth. But let me rush to

explain. It is not a ‘mythological’. Heaven forbid! A mythological aims to plunge us into

the sentiment of devotion.”(6)

In Khandekar’s novel, sacrifice is an essential trait in major characters like Sharmishta,

Puroo and Kacha. Sharmishta is ready to make sacrifices for her love. Puroo, inspired by her

sacrificial trait, willingly offers his youth to Yayati. Yayati after realizing the depth of his

mistake is ready to return the youth to Puroo even at the cost of his life. Kacha preaches the

importance of sacrifice and selflessness to all the other characters. Khandekar is trying to

establish the importance of selflessness and sacrifice.

Unlike Khandekar, Karnad rejects the traditional glorification of sacrifice. In the original

myth, Puroo does the ultimate sacrifice for his father by exchanging his youth. In Indian culture,

parents expect sacrifices from their children as a token of love. Puroo does the same too. In the

play, Puroo is portrayed differently from the myth. He considers himself inferior. He accepts his

father’s old age so that he can escape from the responsibility of being the heir to the kingdom.

He blurts out at a point in the play that he hates his father. So accepting the curse from his father

suggests that there is no love lost between the son and the father, but a tendency to escape from

the realities of one’s life.

 Pushpan 28

Khandekar’s Puroo is brave and proud, loves his father despite the fact that he had

abandoned them. As a dutiful son, he goes to his father when his father needs him. He accepts

the curse of his father and transfers his youth. In this way Puroo is very similar to the Puroo in

the original myth. But Karnad’s Puroo, has existential traits. He doubts himself. He thinks he is

misfit to carry the glorious tradition of Bharata dynasty. That’s why he accepts old age. It is not

an action of sacrifice or love. He is distant from his father or the royal life. Karnad has

complicated the character of Puroo to bring more life into the play.

In both works authors have highlighted the patriarchal mindset of the Indian society.

Indian society is highly patriarchal and dominating to the women. Both Khandekar and Karnad

project the plight of women who becomes the victims of the aggression of patriarchy.

The female characters in Khandekar’s novel suit the concept of ideal women formed by

the patriarchal Indian society. Sharmishta is portrayed as the epitome of love and sacrifice in the

novel. She blindly loves Yayati as expected of any ancient female character. Even though

Devayani is rebellious, she craves only for power and splendor, which gives her the shades of a

negative character. Khandekar has brought a change to Devayani’s character towards the end of

the novel, turning her into an ideal wife. The other female characters such as Alaka, Tharaka,

Mukulika, Yayati’s mother etc are victims of patriarchy. Alaka faces domestic violence and she

is murdered by Yayati’s mother for being close to Yayati. Tharaka and Mukulika are victims of

Yayati’s lust. Yayati’s mother also suffers at the hands of her husband, king Nahusha who

chased all beautiful women. Yayati reaches the peak of patriarchy when he uses each girl every

day to satisfy his lust. Women became toys in his hand. But Khandekar makes no attempt to

question this anarchy.

 Pushpan 29

Karnad has tried to give voice to the protest of women against patriarchy. Chitralekha is

the most daring character in the play. When Puroo accepted the old age, she gladly supported

him. But the sight his decrepit face turned her world upside down. When Yayati demanded her to

accept Puroo, Chitralekha stormed against him, stormed against patriarchy. She is not afraid to

point her accusatory finger at him. Karnad shocks the audience with Chitralekha’s attitude which

challenges the traditional moral values of Indian society, when she asks Yayati to give her a

child. She is bold enough to confess that she married Puroo for his youth. Chitralekha breaks the

social and moral barriers around her in a single stroke.

The portrayal of major female characters is different in both works. Sharmishta is meek

and romantic in the novel, sacrificing her life for the sake of Yayati. But in the play Sharmishta

is rebellious, again, only against her friend turned foe Devayani. She tactfully takes revenge

upon Devayani by sleeping with Yayati. But she never leaves him and accompanies him to the

forest.

Devayani is an egoistic and arrogant character in both the play and the novel. In the

novel, the lust for power drives her. She never loves Yayati as she is in love with Kacha. She

does everything in her power to hurt Sharmishta. But in the play, she is tolerant to the nasty

comments of Sharmishta in the beginning, but loses her cool when Yayati desires Sharmishta.

Here, she is driven by the superiority of her race. But both characters are victims of patriarchy.

Even minor female characters in both works suggest the assault of male-dominated

society on women. The characters of Swarnalata in Karnad’s Yayati tell us about the plight of

Indian women. Her husband left her as he doubted her chastity. She is similar to Sharmishta in

the novel, who is willing to make sacrifices for the sake of family.
 Pushpan 30

Thus though the plays have taken root from the same source of origin, they are diverse in their

subjective manifestations.
 Pushpan 31

Conclusion
Comparative literature is an academic field dealing with the study of literature and

cultural expression across linguistic, national and disciplinary boundaries. The characteristically

intercultural and transnational field of comparative literature concerns itself with the relation

between literature and other spheres of human activity including history, politics, philosophy, art

and science.

Basic theme of comparative literature is comparison. Comparison may be used in this

kind of literary study to indicate affinity, tradition or influence. Affinity consists in resemblances

in style, structure, mood or idea between two works. The term ‘comparative’ properly refers to

criticism that jumps the boundary lines between regional and national literature. Here the

literature is not studied in isolation but comparison.

In different languages or different times, natural human phenomena been the subject of

literary works in spite of common parsonages or situations, each work can be independent work

of art. Genre, movements and periods are also of equally important place in studies of

comparative literature.

Influence study is of crucial importance in comparative literature. This type of study is

the touchstone of the French school of comparative literature. According to French comparatists,

influences can exist between two different writers, without having ant direct contact between

them because of the language barrier, but through intermediaries and translations (indirect

influence). The study of influence implies the study of the analogy and the tradition. Analogy

can be defined as resemblance in the style, mood, structure or idea between works which have no

other connection.
 Pushpan 32

A comparative literary study considers the impact of translations. Thus comparative

literature and translation humanize the relationship between people and nations. It is an

intermediary between languages, thoughts and cultures, they contribute to respect of difference

and alterability. With the help of translation a text become able to get a wider range of readers.

So translation occupies a special place in comparative literature. The use of translation is

valuable in the comparative Indian literature since it has a multi-lingual and multi-racial context.

When writings of regional literatures get translated into English or other regional languages, it

gets wider audience. Khandekar’s Yayati is originally written in Marathi, translated into English

by Y.P Kulkarni. Girish karnad himself had translated all his plays, including Yayati.

Certain characters and heroes are attributed to the ancient myths are often used frequently

in literature. Such portrayals of characters in two different languages and the reasons behind the

consistency with or deviation from the original models have been an interesting field of study in

comparative literature. Also, the treatise on ‘image’ in comparative literature focuses on a certain

type of common character or of an object in more than one literature.

Karnad and Khandekar have used the myth of Yayati in such a way that it conveys a

universal message. Comparing the three texts, the epic Mahabharata, the novel and the drama

we get to see different reconstructions of myth. The character of Yayati has three different

images in these three texts. Yayati of Mahabharata is pious. He is the true ambassador of the

‘Satyam vad’. As portrayed in the epic by Ved Vyas, Yayati grew lustier as he indulged himself

in pleasures. It’s only after a long term of indulgence he realized the futility of it all. Then he

understood the philosophy of life which leads him to renounce everything and perform penance.

Later he attained heaven.

 Pushpan 33

In the novel, Yayati grows from childhood to old age. He symbolizes a broken man

whose life is a tale of struggles, both external and internal. He is the representative of the modern

man who runs after pleasures. He is not bothered about the consequences of his actions. Later in

the evening of his life, he unravels the tale of his pathetic life. The author had made significant

deviations from the original myth in the novel.

A major deviation happens in the delineation of Yayati’s relations with Devayani and

Sharmishta. In Mahabharata Sharmishta pleads with Yayati to marry her. He expresses his

unwillingness to marry her but is finally won over by Sharmishta. But in the novel, they fall in

love with each other due to a prank played by Devayani on Sharmishta. Besides, their

relationship grew stronger because of Devayani’s frequent rejection of Yayati’s emotions. Yayati

found his ideal partner in Sharmishta. But he kept the relationship clandestine.

Also, the character of Kacha assumes much more importance in the novel. Kacha’s role

is limited up to acquiring the ‘sanjeevani’ in Mahabharata. But in the novel, he is present

throughout and becomes the moral centre of the novel. The climax of the novel is also deviated

from the Mahabharata. Yayati realizes his mistake as soon as he accepts the youth and

immediately returns it where as in the original epic Yayati relishes the youth for thousand years.

Yayati of Karnad represents the modern alienated man. Influenced by the existential

philosophy, Yayati explores the complexities of responsibilities and expectations within Indian

family. In Mahabharata, Yayati realizes the futility of his actions, but never had to face any

consequence. But in the drama, karnad makes him face the consequence of his actions, by the

death of Chitralekha.
 Pushpan 34

A major deviation in the drama from the original myth is the portrayal of Puroo. In the

epic, Ved Vyas preaches Puroo’s sacrifice. But in the drama, he doesn’t have any heroic

attributes. He is not the son of Sharmishta, but son of a Rakshasi, whom the author doesn’t give a

name. He is an alienated character haunted by his own inner demons. Through other characters

karnad highlights the issues of castes and gender tied in a knot with the web of desire.

Khandekar glorifies Puroo’s sacrifice where as karnad doesn’t. Khandekar’s version

stands closer to the original myth where as Karnad’s version is more suitable in the modern age.

By adding symbols and imagery to the original myth using different genres, i.e., drama and

novel, both Khandekar and Karnad have created different images of an ancient mythological

character, along with specific differences in personality traits of every other character involved in

the myth. The authors have recreated the ancient myth to meet their artistic purpose.
 Pushpan 35

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