Hayavadana

by

Girish Karnad

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Hayavadana makes teaching easy.
A puja is a prayer ritual performed by Hindus to one or more deities. It honors or celebrates the presence of special guests. Hayavadana opens with a puja to Ganesha, a god with the head of an elephant and the body of a boy. He is the god of wisdom and learning, as well as the remover of obstacles. In the play, the Bhagavata asks him to ensure that the play is completed successfully, and the play ends with another prayer to Ganesha.

Puja Quotes in Hayavadana

The Hayavadana quotes below are all either spoken by Puja or refer to Puja. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Identity, Hybridity, and Incompleteness Theme Icon
).
Act 1 Quotes

O single-tusked destroyer of incompleteness, we pay homage to you and start our play.

Related Characters: The Bhagavata (speaker)
Related Symbols: Masks
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:

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?

Related Characters: The Bhagavata (speaker)
Page Number: 1
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Hayavadana LitChart as a printable PDF.
Hayavadana PDF

Puja Term Timeline in Hayavadana

The timeline below shows where the term Puja appears in Hayavadana. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Act 1
Metatheatre and Storytelling Theme Icon
Indian Culture and Nationalism Theme Icon
...is brought onstage and placed onto a chair in front of the audience, and a puja is done. (full context)