Team Members:

Rajamouli Rohan George

Rishika Gandhi
Valiveti Manoj

Rithika Chhetri Riya D

YAYATI -
Girish karnad
 About the author
•Khandekar was born on 11 January 1898 in Sangli, Maharashtra.

•In his early life, he was interested in acting in movies and staged various dramas during school days

•Khandekar's writing career began in 1919 when Shrimat Kalipuranam, his first work, was published, and continued to
1974 when his novel Yayati was published

•In his lifetime, he wrote sixteen novels, six plays, around 250 short stories, 50 allegorical stories, 100 essays, and over
200 critiques

•In 1941, Khandekar was elected as the president of the annual Marathi Sahitya Sammelan (Marathi Literary
Conference) in Solapur. In 1968, the Government of India honoured him with a Padma Bhushan award in recognition
of his literary accomplishments.[7] Two years later, he was also honoured with the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship of the
Indian Sahitya Akademi. in 1974, he was awarded Jnanpith Award, country's highest literary recognition, for his
novel Yayati. Shivaji University at Kolhapur, Maharashtra conferred on him an honorary degree of D.Litt. In 1998, the
Government of India issued a commemorative postage stamp in his honour.
Characters

The novel's main characters are: Yayati – King of Hastinapur; married

Devayani, daughter of Shukracharya, and her maid Sharmishtha. Nahusha –
King of Hastinapur; father of Yati and Yayati. Yati – Elder brother of Yayati,
who became an ascetic.
 Introduction
• Yayati is a 1959 Marathi-language mythological novel by Indian writer V. S. Khandekar. One of
Khandekar's best-known works.

• It retells the story of the mythical Hindu king, Yayati, from the Hindu epic the Mahabharata.

• The novel has multiple narrators, and poses several questions on the nature of morality. Scholars
have analysed its hero, Yayati, as a representation of modern man. Accepted as classic of Marathi
literature.

• Yayati has won several awards, including the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1960 and the Jnanapith
Award in 1974.
Act 1
• The play starts in an inner chamber in King Yayati’s palace. Where Devyani is sitting on an ornately carved
bed in the chamber. Swaranalata is sitting on the floor leaning against it, evidently upset.

• The play starts with Devyani and Swarnalata discussing about Sharamishta and how she is cunning and
dangerous. Devyani is warned by Swarnalata anout Sharamishta and how she can be most deviant.

• After Swarna leaves Sharamishta enters and almost scares Devyani who was deep in thought. After they have a
somewhat bitter exchange and Devyani is just about to slap Sharamista The king Yayati enters and enquires
about what is going on and why the chamber is still not ready.
Act 1
• After Sharamishta leaves Yayati asks Devyani what the problem is. To which Devyani replies
about how Yayati only cares about revelries and celebrations.

• She also asks him why she married him to which he replies whether the time she has chosen
was right for that kind of question as they had been married for 2 years.

• They then talk about how they met and what would have happened if they finally never
married.

• Then Devyani talks about what people in the palace have told her and once Yayati understands
and guesses the person who is talking in the manner they are. He then gets annoyed and once
Swarnalata enters he asks her to send Sharamishta.
Act 1
• The act goes on with Yayati talking to Sharamsihta
and he questions her about why she is like the way
she is and then a conversation between Devyani
and Sharamishta and then the florists arrive and
Devyani says that no one is to be admitted until
she says so.
 Act 2
• Sharmishtha told Yayati that he should have let her drink the poison.

• Sharmishtha then tells the king that he is a good man but naïve, which is extremely
dangerous for a powerful man to be.

• Pleased with the effect he had on her, he decides to make her his queen.

• Listening to this devayani sends the florists away. The majesty calls devayani while she
finds sharmishtha hiding behind the curtain and demands to her being sent back home which
sharmisthta denies.
 Act 2
• Being devayanis slave, she had to accept and was ready to leave the palace, but the King was
not okay with it.

• The King demanded to allow sharmishtha to go anywhere in the kingdom and kept in strict
surveillance.

• The King scared to lose such an intelligent women like sharmishtha, tells devayani that
sharmishtha will be his Queen while keeping Devayanis position unaffected.

• Devayani breaks down and breaks the marriage thread denying to welcome the prince and
leaving the palace while Swarnalatha explains to her to think about the little bride marrying
Pooru.
Act 2
• Pooru explains this marriage experience to his father and he also learns about his mother
from Yayati while waiting for Devayani to arrive.

• Suddenly Sharmishtha enters and informs pooru and yayati about the curse by
Shukracharya to the king – to lose his youth and become a decrepit by nightfall – and
begs the Majesty to stop Devayani and her father to leave.

• Swarnalatha informs the King that the prince seemed very angry and is in the courtyard in
consultation with the Chief Minister.
Act 3
• Scene opens with entry of Pooru.

• Pooru inform Yayati that Shukracharya has given the way to lift the curse only because Yayati once saved
Devayani from starving to death in well.

• Pooru says that the curse will have no effect on Yayati only if a young man agrees to take the curse upon himself.

• Yayati was very much confident that someone or the other from his kingdom will agree to take the curse and help
their king.

• Sharmistha however when disagree with Yayti’s statement. He got furious, scolded her and demanded her to get
out of his sight.
 Act 3
• Sharmistha left the scene when Pooru insisted.

• Pooru further informed Yayati that actually no one is willing to take the curse.

• Even when he offered everything that Yayati said like royalty, riches, glory, fame etc. They denied to
help their king by pointing out that they saw Yayati enjoying the glory that he earned & they had paid
taxes and tributes for his services.

• Pooru made a very strong statement “I suppose it would have been easier if I were offering them death,
rather than decrepitude”
Act 3
• Finally after a long conversation and after seeing his father’s desperatness to
get rid of the curse, Pooru declares that he is ready to take the curse by
making statement “A worm, aspiring to outdo the eagles”.

• Yayati after hearing Pooru’s statement got angry and said “Shut up, fool, I…I
refuse to talk to you.” and rushed out.

• Sharmistha comes in and after she and Pooru talked for a while, Pooru
finally told her that he will be taking the curse.

• Sharmistha refused to accept his decision and tried to change his mind but
finally act ended when Pooru collapses and Sharmistha rushes to help him
and Pooru laughed and made a statement “ The curse, Mother. The spasms
of imminent birth”.
 Act 4
•  Karnad invents the character of Chitralekha as a wife of
Pooru.

•  Her function is to questions the moral authority of Yayati in

taking her husband’s youth for his sensuous pleasure. She
suggests Yayati to take over the role of husband.

• Chitralekha makes Yayati realize his mistake and her suicide

forces him to return Pooru’s youth.
 Act 4
• Swarnalata’s character like that of Chitralekha is invented and runs parallel to the disenchantment experienced
by the latter. 

• She has also lost her husband and thinks that death brings peace, ‘the deliverance from uncertainty’.

• However, she repents her proposition when she finds Chitralekha, taking cue from her speech, commits
suicide.

• Just as Swarnalata’s husband deserted her when he learned about her relationship with her teacher, Devayani
too deserts Yayati after he makes love to Sharmishtha. Swarnalata’s married life is Karnad’s addition to the
original tale.