Coalescing Myth And Reality:

A Reading of Girish Karnad’s Naga-Mandala

Abstract

The word ‘myth’ is derived from the Greek word ‘mythos’ meaning fable, story-telling, or fiction. Hayden White defines myth as “a mode of discourse” (149). The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines myth as “a story from ancient times, especially one that was told to explain natural events or to describe the early history of the people”. It has a fabricated or a primitive story, commonly relating supernatural individuals emphasizing some popular impression or historical phenomena.

Myth means a story with an inherent meaning. According to Kovalam Narayan Panikkar, “a very private event in the life of a person can sometimes transcend its limit and create social repercussions and when it gets transferred into collective memory, it assumes mythical dimensions” (24-25). The evolution of a human experience to a myth results in interpreting it to the posterity and unfolding the veiled meaning to mankind. Myth manifests itself through a religious act and it has its basic roots in an individual’s mind. From time immemorial, religious beliefs and practices remain a prime concern of a community and not of the individual.