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In Hinduism a Bhagavata is a worshipper or devotee. In this play, the Bhagavata serves as the narrator. He presents and interprets the action of the play’s main storyline, the story of Devadatta, Kapila, and Padmini. Although the Bhagavata is the play’s narrator, it is revealed over the course of the play that he is not in control of the story. First, Hayavadana interrupts the Bhagavata’s story. The Bhagavata is surprised to encounter this creature, and attempts to council Hayavadana on how to rid himself of his horse’s head before resuming his narration. In the second act of the play, after Devadatta and Kapila’s heads have switched and time has passed, the Bhagavata starts to speak directly to the characters. He is surprised to find Kapila living in the jungle and startled when Devadatta arrives at Kapila’s home to find Padmini. When Padmini decides to perform sati, the Bhagavata speaks to her directly and tries to dissuade her. Thus the Bhagavata’s arc reflects how the play’s plot developments become unexpected even to its narrator, and that the play itself demonstrates the chaos and unpredictability of life.
The Bhagavata Quotes in Hayavadana
The Hayavadana quotes below are all either spoken by The Bhagavata or refer to The Bhagavata. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Act 1 Quotes
O single-tusked destroyer of incompleteness, we pay homage to you and start our play.
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At the very beginning of the play, the Bhagavata prays to Ganesha (the “single-tusked destroyer of incompleteness,” who has the body of a boy and the head of an elephant) to ensure the success of the play. In this way, the play sets up its unique structure, beginning with a scene that falls somewhere between theater and religious ritual, and calls attention to the fact that the audience is watching a play. It also establishes the pattern of using masks to represent hybrid creatures, as the Bhagavata prays to the mask of an elephant onstage. Finally, the opening scene situates Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at
Could it be that this Image of purity and Holiness, this Mangala-moorty, intends to signify by his very appearance that the completeness of God is something no poor mortal can comprehend?
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In this quote, the Bhagavata introduces one of the larger themes of the play: the theme of incompleteness and human striving for a sense of self. As he is offering his prayers to the holy Ganesha, the Bhagavata sets up a distinction between the completeness of a god and the incompleteness of humans—a distinction with which many of the characters within the play will struggle. Although Ganesha is a hybrid creature, the Bhagavata argues that his completeness is simply beyond what any mortal may understand. The hybrid nature of characters like Hayavadana, Devadatta, and Kapila, by contrast, leads to their Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. A
BHAGAVATA: Hayavadana, what's written on our foreheads cannot be altered.
HAYAVADANA: [slapping himself on the forehead] But what a forehead! What a forehead! If it was a forehead like yours, I would have accepted anything. But this! I have tried to accept my fate. My personal life has naturally been blameless. So I took interest in the social life of the Nation—Civics, Politics, Patriotism, Nationalism, Indianization, the Socialist Pattern of Society. . . I have tried everything! But where's my society? Where? You must help me to become a complete man, Bhagavata Sir. But how? What can I do?
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As Hayavadana explains the methods he has used to try to rid himself of his horse head, the Bhagavata comments that it is difficult to alter “what’s written on [one’s] forehead.” Figuratively, he seems to mean that one cannot escape one’s fate, but in a more literal sense in this play, the head is a force that is hard to reckon with. Many of the characters, including Devadatta and Padmini, echo these sentiments later when they argue that the head rules the body. In the case of Kapila and Devadatta, their heads even transform their bodies, such as when Devadatta Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provid
Two friends there were—one mind, one heart. They saw a girl and forgot themselves. But they could not understand the song she sang.
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After Hayavadana goes off to try to get rid of his horse’s head, the Bhagavata launches into the story he had been meaning to tell. He introduces the two main characters and summarizes their conflict. His repetition of the phrase “one mind, one heart,” which he had also used before Hayavadana’s interruption, is thematically important, and has two meanings. The two friends initially share a very close friendship, and thus they are said to be of one mind and one heart. They know each other’s mind and care for each other. But in their rivalry, one of them (Devadatta) comes Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor
Why do you tremble, heart? Why do you cringe like a touch-me-not bush through which a snake has passed?
The sun rests his head on the Fortunate Lady’s flower.
And the head is bidding good-bye to the heart.
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When Padmini changes her mind again and decides to travel to the fair so as not to disappoint Kapila, both men are confused and Devadatta is especially hurt. In the transition between packing the cart and setting off for the fair, the Bhagavata recites these poetic lines in the style of traditional Sanskrit verse. The Bhagavata hints at what’s to come through his reference to the Fortunate Lady’s flower, which represents Padmini’s thoughts of infidelity and her unhappiness in her own marriage. The fact that the “sun rests his head” on this flower implies this shift in Padmini’s affections from Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam conseq
Act 2 Quotes
What’s there in a song, Hayavadana? The real beauty lies in the child’s laughter—in the innocent joy of that laughter. No tragedy can touch it.
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When Hayavadana returns as a talking horse, Padmini’s child, who is also onstage at the time and has been thought not to be able to smile or speak, begins to laugh at Hayavadana, and the two sing together. Eventually the child’s laughter causes Hayavadana to lose his human voice as his own laughter transforms into a horse’s neigh. Through this crossing of storylines, the two are able to find their own sense of completeness. The laughter found through this theatrical storytelling, both by the characters within it and also for the audience, is shown to be a powerful means of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non
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The Bhagavata Character Timeline in Hayavadana
The timeline below shows where the character The Bhagavata appears in Hayavadana. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
The Bhagavata asks that Ganesha, who is the “destroyer of obstacles,” bless the performance and give it...
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The Bhagavata then sets up the action of the play. He first introduces the setting, the kingdom...
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At that moment, an actor screams in terror, running onstage. The Bhagavata tries to calm him, saying that there’s nothing to be afraid of on the stage....
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The Bhagavata does not believe the actor and tells him to get into costume and makeup. The...
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The Bhagavata once again tries to return to his story, but the actor rushes back on, crying...
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The Bhagavata remains in disbelief and chides Hayavadana for trying to scare people with a mask. He...
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The Bhagavata asks Hayavadana who he is, and what brought him to this place. Hayavadana answers that...
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Hayavadana asks the Bhagavata how he can get rid of his head, but the Bhagavata replies that “what’s written...
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The Bhagavata suggests that Hayavadana go to various temples and try to make a vow to a...
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The Bhagavata returns to the story he had been trying to tell, providing a short summary of...
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The Bhagavata explains that a match between Padmini and Devadatta had no obstacles because both families were...
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...Kapila taunts Padmini by saying that she only wants his body and Devadatta’s mind. The Bhagavata interjects, wondering what the solution is to this problem, and the curtain falls on the...
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Act 2
Act two opens with the Bhagavata repeating his question about the solution to the problem of the mixed-up heads. He describes...
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Time passes and Devadatta and Padmini’s baby is born. Devadatta addresses the Bhagavata directly for the first time, inviting him to the feast they are having. The Bhagavata...
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In another part of the forest, Kapila enters, and the Bhagavata is surprised to see him living in the jungle. The Bhagavata tells Kapila that Padmini...
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Devadatta, who has returned with new dolls, searches for Padmini and runs into the Bhagavata. The Bhagavata is surprised to see him, and reluctantly reveals that Padmini has now spent...
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...to fight to the death. Their fight is stylized, almost like a dance, as the Bhagavata sings. Kapila wounds Devadatta, who falls to his knees and stabs Kapila. They continue to...
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...She decides to perform sati and burn herself on their funeral pyre. She tells the Bhagavata to take her son to the hunters who live in the forest, and then once...
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As the story seemingly concludes, the Bhagavata is interrupted once again, this time by a second actor who screams that he has...
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...laugh, or talk. He only reacts violently when someone tries to touch his dolls. The Bhagavata realizes that it is Padmini’s son.
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The young boy starts laughing at Hayavadana, startling the Bhagavata and the actors. Hayavadana remarks that he was trying to sing the national anthem because...
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The Bhagavata remarks how beautiful the child’s laughter is, though Hayavadana is skeptical of that kind of...
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The Bhagavata concludes the story by praying once again to Ganesha, and all the other characters and...
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