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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:
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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
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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
...is brought onstage and placed onto a chair in front of the audience, and a puja is done.
(full context)
