Page 215 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Unit 26: Girish Karnad: Nagmandla—Plot Construction and Characterisation

26.1 Nagmandla by Girish Karnad Notes

The play Nagmandla revolves around the character Rani. Rani is a young bride who is neglected
by her indifferent and unfaithful husband, Appanna. Appanna spends most of his time with his
concubine and comes home only for lunch. Rani is one of those typical wives who want to win her
husband's affection at any cost. In an attempt to do so, she decides to drug her husband with a
love root, which she mixes in the curry. That curry is spilled on the nearby anthill and Naga, the
King Cobra drinks it.

Naga, who can take the form of a human being, is enchanted with her and begins to visit her every
night in the form of her husband. This changes Rani's life completely as she starts to experience
the good things in life though she never knows that the person with her is not her husband but the
Naga.
One of these days, she gets pregnant and breaks the news to Appanna. He immediately accuses
her for adultery and says that he has not fathered the child. The issue is referred to the village
Panchayat. She is then asked to prove her fidelity by putting her hand in the snake burrow and
taking a vow that she has not committed adultery. It is a popular belief that if any person lies
holding the snake in their hand, they will be instantly killed by the snake God.
She does place her hand in the snake burrow and vows that she has never touched any male other
than her husband and the Naga in the burrow. She is declared chaste by the village Panchayat.
Later, Appanna accepts Rani and starts a new life together. Karnad gives a binary ending i.e. one
were the snake is been killed by the villagers and another ending is of Rani after realizing everything
helps the snake to live in her hair thereafter. This sort of a happy and a sad ending to the play is
been given by Karnad which is been kept open for the readers to select and interpret.

26.2 Cultural Code of Naga in Nagmandla

Cultural code works on the principle of shared world view. It exploits information that persists it
one culture and uses it to the best of its ability. By using appropriate cultural codes a lot of
decoding is made easier for the readers.
It throws light on the beliefs and superstitions that exist in that particular culture. For example, in
that culture the snake is regarded as a sacred species. It is also feared by many and there is a
saying that if one talks of the snake, the snake tends to appear immediately. The Snake primarily
represents rebirth, death and mortality, due to its casting of its skin and being symbolically
"reborn".
The best use of cultural code would be the snake ordeal that Rani performs in order to prove
herself not guilty. Traditionally in that culture it is believed that to prove oneself not guilty one
would either have to hold red hot bars of iron in the hand and plead innocence or perform the
snake ordeal. Here Rani takes ordeal where she has to put her hand into the termite hill and pull
out the snake. After which she has to prove her statement by promising in the snake's name. It is
a belief in that society that if that person has said the truth then the snake would bless that person,
if not, it would bite the person which eventually led to the death of the person.
In Rani's case the snake blesses her. Immediately the society divinizes her for her supreme powers
and capacity and expresses guilt in putting her through the ordeal.
The play has made use of the snake effectively to bring out many massages. Unless and until the
snake was personified, given a human form, the play would not have been able to get the message

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