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Unit 25: Girish Karnad: Nagmandla—Detailed Study of the Text

2000:28). However, the role and symbolism of the Cobra in his relationship with Rani can be Notes
interpreted as going further, confirming that Karnad has defied the orthodoxy of Indian epic
stories.
In the Indian cultural context, specifically in Kundalini-Yoga, the snake is the image of vital
energy of the cosmos. Ajit Mookerjee says: “The Sanskrit word Kundalini means ‘coiled up’. The
coiled Kundalini is the female energy existing in latent form, not only in every human being but
in every atom of the universe” (2001:9). Thus, the process of development in human beings consists
in moving up this energy, coiled at the base of the spine, so that the seven centres of energy and
consciousness (chakras) can be progressively opened. The initial state of this energy is described
in this way in the Yoga Kundalini Upanishad 1.82: “The divine power, /Kundalini, shines/like the
stem of a young lotus; /like a snake, coiled round upon herself/she holds her tail in her mouth/
and lies resting half asleep/at the base of the body” (Mookerjee 2001:10). 12
In the case of Rani the spectator or reader can believe that, after her sexual awakening, her vital
energy moves up. Her satisfactory emotional relationship with the Cobra culminates with the
awakening of her consciousness (when the sixth chakra, the ajña or third eye of Shiva is opened).
This moment when the individual is capable of discovering his or her true essence is symbolically
13
represented by her placing and keeping the Cobra in her hair. Rani, by taking this step and
declaring “Live in there happily, for ever” (Nâga:64), explicitly accepts not only the existence but
14
also the significance of her relationship with the Cobra. Thus, from the philosophical and
mythological point of view, there is reason to say that the Cobra causes Rani’s integration at
different levels, the physical, the emotional, the spiritual, and the intellectual, and that he has
given her the chance to choose and achieve liberation.
As has been mentioned above, in the Natya Shastra it is specified that drama has a role of integration
of the three worlds. Likewise, throughout his play Girish Karnad manifests a unifying purpose.
The setting, scheme, structure, and symbols of the play, all contribute to the author’s aim. The
setting is a temple, the Hindu temple being a mandala, a representation of the whole universe, of
the cosmos. The four stories of Nâgmandla are interconnected and the plot of the main one moves
towards the liberation and fulfilment of Rani, the new Indian woman, through her relationship
with the Cobra. The complete circles and the complementary intertwined triangles, which in this
case are part of the mandala, are symbols that in themselves represent unity. Here all of them help
the layered structure of the drama to give graphic from to the essential universal pattern of the
mandala.
Self -Assessment
1. Choose the correct option:
(i) Appana which means ............... .
(a) own (b) any woman (c) any man (d) None of these
(ii) Rani is locked inside the house by ............... .
(a) King cobra (b) Kappana (c) Appana (d) None of these

12 As Mookerjee explains, “The human body is divided into zones which involve the sacral plexus, the solar
plexus, the cardiac plexus, the laryngeal plexus, the region of the pineal gland and the cerebral cortex”
(2001:73).
13 In The Child and the Serpent, we read that according to the Visnu Purana (1.5. 26-48), “the hairs of Brahma’s
head became serpents. These were called serpents because they glided (sarpana), and snakes (ahi) because
they departed (hina).... But hair has deeper unconscious connections. It seems to represent life and vitality
itself” (Sahi 1980:161).
14 For more information on the awakening of consciousness see Chapter 4, “Transformation of Energy”
(Mookerjee 2001: 59-70).

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