Yayati: A Play

by Girish Karnad

Yayati, Girish Karnard's first play, was written in 1960 and won the Mysore State Award in 1962. It is based on an episode in the Mahabharata, where Yayati, one of the ancestors of the Pandavas, is given the curse of premature old age by his father-in-law, Shukracharya, who is incensed by
Yayati's infidelity. Yayati could redeem this curse only if someone was willing to exchange his youth with him. It is his son, Pooru, who finally offers to do this for his father. The play examines the moment of crisis that Pooru's decision sparks, and the dilemma it presents for Yayati, Pooru, and
Pooru's young wife.

Genres: Plays, Indian Literature, Mythology, India, Fiction, Literature

84 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2008

About the author

Girish Raghunath Karnad (Konkani : गिरीश रघुनाथ कार्नाड, Kannada : ಗಿರೀಶ್ ರಘುನಾಥ್ ಕಾರ್ನಾಡ್) (born 19 May 1938) is a contemporary writer, playwright, screenwriter, actor and movie director in Kannada language. His rise as a prominent playwright in 1960s, marked the coming of age of Modern Indian playwriting in Kannada, just as Badal Sarkar did it in Bengali, Vijay Tendulkar in Marathi, and Mohan Rakesh in Hindi. He is a recipient of the 1998 Jnanpith Award for Kannada, the highest literary honour conferred in India.
For four decades Karnad has been composing plays, often using history and mythology to tackle contemporary issues. He has translated his major plays into English, and has received critical acclaim across India. His plays have been translated into several Indian languages and directed by eminent directors like Ebrahim Alkazi, B. V. Karanth, Alyque Padamsee, Prasanna, Arvind Gaur, Satyadev Dubey, Vijaya Mehta, Shyamanand Jalan and Amal Allana. He is also active in the world of Indian cinema working as an actor, director, and screenwriter, both in Hindi and Kannada cinema, earning numerous awards along the way. He was conferred Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan by the Government of India.

Reviews

[mesal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indian plays of the 20th century are so much more appealing than their Western counterparts.

[RustyJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Girish Karnad's Yayati is one of the best reads in the past year.

A play written in Kannada, Yayati was Karnad's first play and the best I have read so far. The volume reviewed here is the english translation by the author himself. A small play in four acts, it uses the mythological theme of King Yayati that appears in the Mahabharata as a construct. Based on this construct, the playwright dissects and lays bare the psyche and inner recesses of the human mind. The impact is overwhelming.

The narrative centers around King Yayati of the Bharata clan, his wife Devayani who is also the daughter of the Shukracharya, the preceptor of the asuras, Sharmishta, the daughter of the asura king in whose service Shukracharya is, Swarnalata, Devayani's maid, Pooru (Pururava) - Yayati's son and Chitralekha, Pooru's bride. The play happens on the night of Pooru bringing his bride home. In a series of conversations between Devayani and Swarnalata, Devayani and Sharmishta and Devayani and Yayati, we are informed that before her marriage Devayani and Sharmishta were close friends. A mis-understanding leads to a quarrel and Sharmishta pushes Devayani into a well. Yayati rescues and marries her. A reason cited for the marriage is that Yayati held Devayani by her right hand as her pulls her out and hence, he has no choice but to marry her. As a wedding gift, Devayani demands that Sharmishta be sent with her as her maid/servant and the asura king, eager to please Shukracharya, obliges. At Yayati's palace, Sharmishta torments Devayani with her remarks and barbs and waits for an opportunity to exact revenge. Upset by Devayani's torment, Yayati decides to reprimand Sharmishta, who pulls out a vial of poison to kill herself, after narrating why it is she is hell bent on tormenting Devayani. Yayati rushes to stop her only to realise that in doing so, he has held her by the right hand! Unable to resist, he beds her and wants to marry her, making her the second queen. Devayani is distraught on realising this. All this happens while they are waiting for Pooru to arrive with his bride. In the play, Pooru is Yayati's son from an earlier wife who is long since dead. The distraught Devayani complains to her father and Shukracharya curses Yayati with premature old age and decripitude. Pooru who is disinterested in the affairs of state and disillusioned with his own existence, agrees to take on the curse in place of his father. The young bride Chitralekha demonstrates to Yayati his shortcomings and he realises his foibles. But it is too late, for Chitralekha has killed herself. Realising the futility of it all, Yayati takes back the curse on himself, restoring Pooru to youth and goes away to the forest with Sharmishta.

There are several changes compared to the narrative in the Mahabharata, but that is not relevant for this review. In each of the conversations: Devayani-Swarnalata, Devayani-Sharmishta, Sharmishta-Yayati, Chitralekha-Swarnalata and Chitralekha-Yayati, we are given a peek into the recesses of each of their psyches. And it is revealing. Chilling. In a manner that I have never experienced before. For example, when Sharmishta tells Devayani that Yayati is not lusting for his wife, but for the secret of immortality that Shukracharya has. Or when Sharmishta tells Yayati, 'To be a good slave is to have all your vileness extracted from you. I snarl because I want to retain a particle of my original self. Or when she says, 'I do have tears in my eyes. But the world only cares for the embers there.' How revealing of a woman's anguish!

The masterfulness of the play and the playwright are actually in three instances in the last act: Swarnalata's monologue to Chitralekha, describing her own story; Chitralekha defying, challenging and revealing the hollowness of Yayati's logic (this is masterful) and in Yayati's final statement: I thought there are two options - life and death. No, it is living and dying we have to choose between. These, have to be read, to be experienced.

Overall, a masterful piece of writing that lays bare the inner recesses of the human mind for public consumption (as Karnad says in a different context). It may seem obscene, violent. But then, that is why this play is a masterpiece.

[Ishi Bhanot · Rating 5 out of 5]

In all my time I've spent reading, I can't remember anything making me this awestruck as the lines that follow:

I thought there were two options—life and death. No, it is living and dying we have to choose between. And you have shown me that dying can go on for all eternity. Suddenly, I see myself, my animal body frozen in youth, decaying, deliquescing, turning rancid. You are lying on your pyre, child, burning for life, while I sink slowly in this quagmire, my body wrinkleless and grasping, but unable to grasp anything.

Maybe it seems like nothing special, it's probably just the combination of a good book and a good day, but this was, in one word, amazing.

This play isn't lengthy, just four acts, but the story is told well through it. The translation is easy enough. The characters and the story have been modified and told in a different manner than in the original epic. It gives the story a new spin and made me wonder how the overarching story of Mahabharata would've proceeded if this one instance was different.

[Amrendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

मैंने इस पुस्तक की हिंदी प्रति का अध्ययन किया।

राजा ययाति की यौवन-लिप्सा, देवयानी और चित्रलेखा की प्रेमकांक्षा, असुरकन्या शर्मिष्ठा का आत्मपीड़न और दमित इच्छाएं और पुरु का सत्ता और शक्ति-विरोधी अकिंचन भाव - ये सब मिलकर जीवन की ही तरह इस नाटक को बनाते हैं, जो जीवन की ही तरह हमें अपनी अकुंठ प्रवाहमयता से छूता है।

अपने अन्य नाटकों की तरह गिरीश कारनाड इस नाटक में भी पौराणिक कथाभूमि के माध्यम से जीवन की शाश्वत छटपटाहट को संकेतित करते हुए अपने सिद्ध शिल्प में एक अविस्मरणीय नात्यानुभव की रचना करते हैं।

[Fawad Khan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a single play I've ready by Girish Karnad that has not left a mark on me. He is a master craftsman and knows how to get to the heart of both the problem and the audience.

[Riddhiman · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Yayati' is Girish Karnad's very first play. Originally written in Kannada, it was translated into English by the author himself, several decades later. It is a fresh look on the myth of Yayaji and Pooru from the Mahabharata. This would naturally remind one of the plays and dance dramas of Tagore that were reinterpretations of stories from the two Indian epics; however the salient feature of Karnad's text is the aspect of laying bare the inner recesses of the human psyche (in the author's own words). Pooru is transformed from a dutiful and self-sacrificing son to an individual confronted with the absurd, facing an existential crisis whereby the grandeur of a princely life and the prospects of becoming a future ruler seem to hold no meaning for him. He accepts his father's curse in the hope that it would give meaning to his life and would make him feel less of an outsider. Yayati on the other hand is presented as a self obsessed king who can justify his every act, even his moral transgressions as a monarchical privilege. Karnad deviates from the original myth towards the end thereby portraying an interesting dilemma and a brilliant climax as a result of which Yayati finally realizes the fallacy of his reasoning and takes back the curse from Pooru as an attempt at redemption. This play showed enough promise of the author's calibre, something that would eventually establish him as one of the leading playwrights in the country. Would love to see a stage production of it sometime.

[Heramb · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an excellent play!!

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Karnad invests new meaning and significance for contemporary life and reality by exploring the king’s motivations. In the Mahabharata, Yayati understands the nature of desire itself and realizes that fulfillment neither diminishes nor eliminates desire.

In the drama, Karnad makes Yayati confront the horrifying consequences of not being able to relinquish desire; and through other characters, highlights the issues of caste/ class and gender coiled within a web of desire.

Yayati plays upon the theme of responsibility. This theme directly seems to link up with the philosophy of existentialism. Every character in the play, and more prominently Puru, evades responsibility.”

This is incidentally the first play of Karnad, published in 1961. The plot interprets an ancient myth from the Mahabharata in the modern context.

The story centres round the character of Yayati, “a king who in the prime of his life is cursed to old age and he goes around asking people, ‘Will you take my old age? Will you take my old age?’

No one accepts, except his own son, Puru. Ultimately the son becomes old and the father becomes young.”

Karnad finds the case of Yayati his own case in a different context. He says, “I think looking back at that point, perhaps it seemed to me very significant that this was what was happening to me, my parents demanding that I should be in a particular way, even when my future seemed to be opening up in another. So you see, it was the play, where the myth in some ways gave exact expression to what I was trying to say but the form is entirely borrowed from the West.”

Yayati was written and produced in Kannada and it was a great success on the stage.

The presentation of the myth no doubt irritated the orthodox viewers but the more enlightened critics appreciated the new approach of the play.

What impressed the modern readers and spectators of the play was the reinterpretation of the ancient myth in the light of the current context.

[Avinash Jain · Rating 4 out of 5]

"ये कहानी अपने मूल-स्वाभाव में एक विषाक्त पितृसत्तात्मक व्यवस्था पर कठिन सवाल है। "


ययाति की कहानी यहाँ-वहाँ सुनी-पढ़ी बहुत थी। कैसे एक पिता की यौवन-लालसा में एक नवविवाहित पुत्र स्वयं के यौवन का त्याग कर वृद्धावस्था स्वीकार करता है। गिरीश कर्नाड जी का 'ययाति' पढ़ने और कुछ विचार करने पर  इस नाटक का धीरे-धीरे आविर्भाव होता चला गया। मैंने पाया हम कितना एक-आयामी सोचते हैं। यह कोई साधारण उपदेशात्मक कथा नहीं है जिसके अंत में "हमें इस कहानी क्या शिक्षा मिलती है" जैसी सतही बात लिखी कही जाये या अप्रत्यक्षत: ही इंगित हो जाये। यह हमें कुछ प्रश्नों और मौन के मध्य छोड़ देती है, बस!


ये कथा यौवन लोलुपता और वासना के दायरों से कहीं ऊँची, कहीं गहरी बात करती है।  

ये कहानी पुरुष होने के बारे में है, स्त्री होने के बारे में है,  और स्त्री-पुरुष की सामाजिक परिभाषाओं के इतर स्त्री-पुरुष होने के बारे में है। 

चरित्रों के अंतर्विरोधों में सना ये नाट��, कई अंतर्मनों में छिपा हुआ है। 

बहु-आयामों में विचरण करतीं शब्द-रेखाएं जिनके सिरे आपस में मिलकर कहीं एक ही जगह केंद्रित हो रहे हैं।


ये कहानी अपने मूल-स्वाभाव में एक विषाक्त पितृसत्तात्मक व्यवस्था पर कठिन सवाल है। 

अक्सर हम जब पितृसत्ता की बात करते हैं तो पुरूष बनाम स्त्री के ध्रुवों में बंट जाते हैं। वास्तविकता तो यह है कि एक अंधी पितृसत्तात्मक व्यवस्था एक सौजन्यपूर्ण पुरूष का भी उत्पीड़न उसी तरह करती है जैसा एक स्त्री का। 

कुल की महानता का बोझ, मर्यादाओं की अपेक्षाऐं और एक विषपूर्ण निस्वार्थता की बदबूदार जिरह। 

ययाति का बेटा पुरु वो कभी होना नहीं चाहता जो उससे अपेक्षित है पर चंद्रवंश का युवराज होना भी तो कोई चीज़ है!

कथानक की बात करना यहां जरूरी नहीं। ये कहानी सैकड़ों बार सुनी-सुनाई जा चुकी है। बात होनी चाहिए दृष्टिकोणों की। 

मेरे विचार में यह ययाति की कहानी से कहीं अधिक इस कहानी में विचरते दूसरे चरित्रों की है। ययाति तो निमित्त मात्र है। 

अक्सर ययाति की समीक्षाओं में पुरु और ययाति की बात होती है। नाटक में बात उन्होंने ज्यादा की भी है किंतु मेरी समझ ये कहानी स्त्रियों की भी उतनी ही है। 
ठीक वैसे ही जैसे सिद्धार्थ की कहानी, यशोधरा की भी उतनी ही है जितनी सिद्धार्थ की। या उर्मिला-लक्ष्मण की कहानी उतनी ही उर्मिला की है जितनी लक्ष्मण की।

पढ़िए। कुछ छटपटाहट सी महसूस होगी। 

[Vivek Vikram Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily one of the best pieces of Indian writing I have read. Can’t imagine how a 22 year old Girish Karnad wrote something with so much depth and knowing; so much pain, resolved and unresolved; so much yearning and naked raw lust for life; so much ambition and the unimaginable price of the carelessness of the powerful.

This short play has character definitions that seemed carved into stone like centuries old statues. What I also loved was how the women characters are the driving forces of the narrative, resplendent in their agency and free will in an age of supreme patriarchal values. The characters of Sharmistha (the racially discriminated and enslaved Rakshasha who remains unbowed in front of kings and queens and wreaks her revenge); Pooru (the unwilling philosopher prince who sees sacrifice as a way to escape the crushing weight of Bharata dynasty lineage expectations); and Yayati (the all powerful, all consuming force of nature that fills and almost overflows the mantle of a God-king directly descended from the Sun, and yet wavers and dithers and lusts and doubts and fears like only a much too human man could) are all such wonderfully written characters in such brief and elegant prose. This hastily written review can not do an iota of justice to this amazing piece of literature. You have to read it for yourself.

[Shashank · Rating 5 out of 5]

A superb short play that dwells on the lust of king Yayati and it's effect on the lives of his near ones.
Karnad's dramatization of Yayati's curse is rich in drama, imagery and raises a lot of questions about the human psyche

Yayati is seduced by Sharmistha and without a second thought, decides to make her his second queen while describing her beauty to Devyani in the same way during their conquest. While he speaks about caring for his subjects and their well-being, he parallely ignores hearing his own wife and son out on what they feel and want, putting his need to feel powerful over everything else

This one event sets off a domino effect of events, fueled by the king's unwillingness to face the consequences of his actions that lead to puru's sacrifice, chitralekha's suicide and ultimately the king being brought to his knees. Now humbled, he accepts the fate he has brought upon himself and retreats with his new consort to live as a decrepit for the rest of his life

On a lighter note - As i progressed through the play, I felt like shouting a reference from the TV show , The office which goes something like - "Yayati, you ignorat S**t"

[Pradeep · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is a brilliantly written play that captivates the reader with its gripping dialogues and emotional depth. Despite not being familiar with the original myth or its characters, I found myself thoroughly engaged throughout the book. Karnad’s narrative makes complex themes accessible and thought-provoking.

The play format adds a unique flavor, making it a quick yet powerful read. It’s not just an enjoyable piece of literature but also serves as a great reference for aspiring playwrights. Highly recommended for anyone interested in Indian mythology, theatre, or meaningful storytelling.

[Anjana Balakrishnan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the women in this play. Sharmishta, Devayani and Chitralekha were all fiesty, making their voices heard. I particularly enjoyed Sharmishta's role when she owns up to her identity of being a Rakshasi princess. Karnad's young age, idealism and aggression are all palpable between the lines. If you are a Karnad fan, must-read this play.

[Ranga B · Rating 4 out of 5]

ಅದ್ಬುತವಾಗಿ ಬರೆದ ಅಥವಾ ಮೂಡಿದ ನಾಟಕ. ಗಿರೀಶರ ಮೊದಲ ನಾಟಕ ಎಂದು ನಂಬುವುದು ಕಷ್ಟ. ನಾಟಕ ಸ್ವಲ್ಪ ವೇಗ ವಾಗಿ ಹೋಗುತ್ತಿದೆ ಅಂದೆನಿಸಿದರೂ, ಗಿರೀಶರೇ ಹೇಳಿದಂತೆ “ನಾಟಕ ೨ ರಿಂದ ೩ ಗಂಟೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಮುಗಿಯಬೇಕು”. ಇವರ ತುಘಲಕ್ ನಾಟಕ ಓದಿದ ಮೇಲೆ ಯಯಾತಿ ಓದಿದೆ. ಚೆನ್ನಾಗಿ ಬರೆದಿರುವ ನಾಟಕ ಹಾಗು ಇದರ ಹಿಂದೆ ಅವರ ರಿಸರ್ಚ್ ಅವರು ನಡೆಸಿದ್ದರೆಂಬುದು ಕಾಣಿಸುತ್ತದೆ. ಕೆಲವು ಪಾತ್ರ ಗಳು, ಚಿತ್ರಲೇಖಾ ಸೇರಿಸಿ ಹೊಸ ಕಲ್ಪನೆ ಯಾದರೂ - ಸರಿಯಾಗಿ ಬೆರೆತಿದೆ.
ಕನ್ನಡವನ್ನು ಓದಿ - ಕನ್ನಡ ಬೆಳೆಸಿ.

[Amarnath · Rating 5 out of 5]

JUST GREAT!!!!!!

[Sambit Samal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read its Hindi translation. Story is interesting, but the dialogues in translation felt flat.

[Libra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yayati was so good to be first play... It is an incredible contemporized form of Mahabharata's Yayati with few changes that adds to the feministic side of play, and alters the whole picture making it much more realistic in modern context.

The drama is rich with identity and existentialist concerns which are very typical of Karnad. Also, he has portrayed a very childish, and irresponsible side of Indian patriarchy that stays ignorant of its own misdeeds and blames women for everything.

[Ami 乁⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠o⁠ ⁠˘⁠ ⁠ㄏ (written by Jane Austen) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this for college and safe to say, I gleaned way less than this play had intended. It was still enjoyable, though, and one that I would like to come back to again.

[Ayush Kothifora · Rating 4 out of 5]

'तुगलक' के बाद यह गिरीश कर्नाड का मेरा पढ़ा दूसरा नाटक था। भले ही यह कथा तुगलक से कई सौ साल पुरानी हो, यह भी 'तुगलक' की तरह इंसान की सोच, उसके व्यवहार और लालसा की निरर्थकता पर कसा गया तंज है।

[Rashmi Duggal · Rating 3 out of 5]

A play from Mahabharat, written in a very poignant style.

[Santhosh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This man has been finest example of allrounder; Director, Actor, Theater artist, Playwright and Writer.. Awards includes Jnana pita, National Award, Padmashri , Padmabhushana , Sahitya Academy. In a young age (23) he wrote this Drama Yayati. After completing this book, now I am asking myself what was I doing at the age of 23. Studied MA in Oxford University, whose mother tongue is Konkani, but wrote his work in Kannada. The way he has linked the character, the way he has changed the mythological character to suit the current situation makes this novel one of the must read play in Kannada. I read his play Tughalak when I was in highschool. I don't know what I understood that time. But Yayati is marvelous play.

[Marcy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little play of Karnad's--his first--is just brilliant. I saw it on stage at Ranga Shankara in Bengaluru a year or so ago and it was mesmerising. But now reading it on the page, I'm finding it even more so. I love the way he reworks the story of Yayati from Mahabharata, the way a simple story reveals so much about human nature, the way each of the characters enacts or experiences various forms of psychological violence at the hands of those closest to them. It remains such a resonant and powerful play.

[Neetha Philip · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Yayati. Girish Karnad skillfully weaves the myth of yayati, creating realistic, believable characters. Sharmistra's fiery spirit combined with Deviyani's pride bring out the complex nature of female character that was completely lost in the mythical version. Poru's selfish, yet seemingly sacrificial personality combined with Yayati's lack of "noble" personality traits speaks of ordinary people and their faults. Girish Karnad's Yayati was an exciting, thrilling read!.

[Gopal MS · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Kannada audio version on Storytel is mind blowing. Do listen.

[Indra Vijay Singh · Rating 3 out of 5]

नागमण्डल