Myth, History, and Social Reality: A Critical Study of Social Structures in the Selected Plays of Girish Karnad

Abstract

Girish Karnad occupies a significant position in modern Indian drama through his innovative reinterpretation of mythology, folklore, and history as instruments of social and political criticism. His plays move beyond the simple retelling of inherited narratives to interrogate the social structures that shape human relationships, individual identity, political authority, and cultural values. This article examines the representation of social reality in four selected plays: Nagamandala, Tughlaq, Hayavadana, and The Fire and the Rain. Using qualitative textual analysis and a comparative approach, the study investigates how Karnad transforms traditional narratives into critical reflections on contemporary social concerns. The analysis focuses on patriarchal authority and female agency in Nagamandala, political idealism and the contradictions of governance in Tughlaq, the instability of identity and the relationship between bodily and intellectual selfhood in Hayavadana, and ritual authority, social hierarchy, and human desire in The Fire and the Rain. The article draws on perspectives from feminist criticism, historical interpretation, and cultural studies to examine the relationship between inherited traditions and social power. It argues that Karnad's dramatic method reveals how apparently stable social institutions are sustained by cultural narratives, ideological assumptions, and unequal power relations. By bringing mythological and historical materials into dialogue with social experience, Karnad creates a dramatic space in which tradition becomes available for questioning and reinterpretation. The study contributes to an understanding of modern Indian drama as a form of social criticism that negotiates the complex relationship between cultural inheritance and social transformation.