Sacrifice In Mandala By Karnad

In the novelty and strength of the play, Karnad elaborates his mature philosophical exploration of love, jealousy, desire, betrayal and violence between men and women. It presents ties of blood and marriage, intimate personal acts and seriousness of the characters in their religious belief and practice and the promise of motherhood beyond boundaries of marriage as a motivating force.

Queen’s refusal to sacrifice the dough cock stems not so much from her non-violence as from the fact that she did not consider sex with the Mahout as harmful or sinful. It is not so much a matter of sacrifice to her; she would have declined any rite or ritual for her act. For her, no ideology or concept should intrude to put down these moments. As she says unyieldingly—“I’m sorry. If this rite is going to blot the moment out, that would be the real betrayal. I’ll do anything else.”35 C.N. Ramachandran makes the point more explicit in his article and says that—“The batter-cock in the play is also a symbol of the queen’s dark yearnings and sexual pleasures. Hence, she forbids him to sacrifice it.”36

While Rani in Naga-Mandala and Padmini in Hayavadana indulge in an extra-marital relationship, they do not express their desires openly. By supernatural aid, both these women satiate their desires but

Though Kapila realizes that Padmini needs a man of steel, their marriage takes place. And their married life of Padmini does not seem to be full of contentment and pleasure. So she nurtures a secret desire for Kapila and awaits his arrival. She becomes restless if he does not visit the house. In the words of Devadatta, she “…drools over Kapila all day.”40 Padmiini’s infatuations with Kapila annoy Devadatta and strengthen his conviction that she loves him. He also expresses his jealous at his wife’s anxious waiting for Kapila as she “…hops around him twittering ‘Kapila! Kapila!’ every