The Pursuit of Completeness in Girish Karnad’s Hayavadana

Abstract

Evolution, whether zoological or spiritual, is the basic requisite for making our existence more and more meaningful. The yearning for attaining perfection with a Sense of Completeness has always provided the needed impetus for this process. However, there are immense delusions regarding the notion of becoming a ‘Complete Man.’ Girish Karnad's play Hayavadana offers a distinct perspective regarding this. Search for identity, characteristics of true love, and the idea of a perfect man are only some of the issues addressed in the drama. The main plot of the play is based on the story "The Transposed Heads," which originated as a Folk Tale in ancient India and was later elaborated by Thomas Mann in his novella of the same name. Devadatta and Kapila, the two closest friends, both fall in love with Padmini. However, Padmini is torn between the two, as Devadatta possesses a brilliant mind but is physically unattractive, while Kapila is physically strong but not as intelligent as Devadatta. The complexity in the play heightens when accidentally the heads of the two friends get transposed and they are given back life by the divine intervention of Goddess Kali. The current study focuses on one of the central themes of the efforts of the protagonists to attain perfection or completeness. The play teaches us that true completeness can only be achieved by overcoming our feelings of imperfection, embracing our unique qualities, and attempting to attain a bigger purpose in life by rising above our mundane realities. Then only we can truly attain ‘Better Worldliness.’