1.

The play Fire and the Rain revolves around the clash of egos, revenge, misuse of knowledge and
fragility of human nature. Discuss.
The play The Fire and The Rain is based on the myth of Yavakrita extracted from the chapters
135- 138 of the Vana Parva (the forest canto) of the Mahabharata. It took thirty seven years for
Karnad to accomplish this work. According to the myth, Yavakri a sage who had attained
universal knowledge from Indra has a burning desire to revenge on his uncle Raibhya's family.
Yavakri's father Bharadwaja and Raibhya were brothers, they were equally learned, but Raibhya
was getting more recognition among the two. This was the cause for the anger getting hoarded
inside Yavakri. The genius playwright has added the flavor of rage to it and beautified the plot
further. The play The Fire and The Rain opens with a prologue wherein, preparation for a Yajna
to invoke the rain god is going on. The ritual is in the final stage and the chief priest for the seven
year long yajna is Paravasu, the elder son on Raibhya. Meanwhile an actor manager of a drama
troupe comes asking for permission to enact a play, he says it would further satisfy lord Indra
and bring rains to the land which has been suffering drought for about ten years. On hearing that
Aravasu is one of the artists in the play, Paravasu gives them permission to perform. Aravasu is
the younger brother of Paravasu. The Play within the play begins with the scene of Aravasu
talking to his lady love. Nittilai, a tribal girl. Aravasu is a Brahmin by birth but he is fond of acting.
Dancing and acting are considered as low-caste activities and Brahmins are forbidden from doing
them. Their conversation is about Aravasu being ready to give up his high birth for the sake of his
art and love. According to the tribal custom of Nittilai's village, Aravasu had to proclaim in front
for her village heads that he is man enough to satisfy a girl. They had arranged for a counsel and
Aravasu was supposed to meet the village heads before sunset that evening. During their
conversation encounter Andhaka the blind sudra sage who guards the hermitage of Bharadwaja.
Through him they come to know that Yavakri, the son of Bharadwaja is back in town after
attaining universal knowledge through a rigorous penance of ten years. Nittilai being a witty girl
asks many questions about Yavakri, like whether knows the time of his death, can he bring rains
and so on. By the noon time Aravasu remembers that Yavakri had asked him meet him when the
sun is above the head. Meanwhile, near Raibhya's hermitage, Yavakni encounters Vishaka who is
returning home after fetching water. She had been his lady love whom he had abandoned ten
years ago. Vishaka is now married to Paravasu. Yavakri tries to rekindle their love. Vishaka
initially resists but later gives in. The reason for Vishaka to do so is that she was unwillingly
married to Paravasu, their married life was good for about a year, but after that Paravasu totally
shunned her and started concentrating on gaining spiritual wisdom. Later Paravasu got an
invitation to be the chief priest of the Yajna for which he left home and had not returned for
seven years. After they quench their thirst for words, Vishaka and Yavakri further move into the
bushes to quench their physical thirst. Aravasu and Nittilai reach the place exactly at this time
and see the two of them physically involved. Vishaka runs homewards, while Aravasu carries the
pot of water and follows her, to their surprise Raibhaya is back home. On knowing about the
incident, Raibhya through his meditation invokes a kritya and sends a Bhrama Rakshasa to kill
Yavakri The only way for Yavakri to safeguard himself is by staying inside his father's hermitage.
Vishaka and Aravasu run in two different directions to save the life of Yavakri. Vishaka finds
Yavakri near the banyan tree and pleads him to run away into the hermitage. It is then that
Yavakr reveals to her that all these were planned events. He wanted to revenge on Raibhya's
family for grabbing away all the honours due to his father. It was for this reason that he had
 taken up the rigorous penance and now he is already with consecrated water in his kamandalu
by which he can burn the Bhrama Rakshasa in to ashes Yavakri even reveals to Vishaka that he
was the one who made Aravasu to come exactly at that time, everything happened in favour of
him so far. On hearing that Yayakri had used her true love as an instrument to revenge Raibhya,
Vishaka pours out the consecrated water and the Rakshasa is almost near. Yavakri now runs
towards the hermitage but the blind Andhaka does not recognise his footsteps. While he catches
him on at the gate, the Rakshasa kills Yavakri. At Nittilai's village Aravasu is late and her marriage
is arranged with a boy of her community. Disappointed he returns home and to their surprise
Paravasu comes home after seven years. The news of Vishaka going astray was the reason for his
return. Paravasu shoots his arrow and kills his own father. He instructs Aravasu to do the last
rites for their father and then come to the palace where the pooja was almost in the final stage.
When Aravasu goes to the yajna. Paravasu cunningly puts the blame of their father's murder on
Aravasu. The villagers hit Aravasu badly and he faints. On gaining consciousness he learns that
the actor manager and their troupe saved his life and Nittilai had left her husband and come to
take care of Aravasu. The actor manager gives Aravasu arole in the play. They chose the story of
lord Indra betraying his brothers Vishwarupa and Vritra. Aravasu takes the character of Vritra.
During the fire sacrifice, Indra kills Vishwaroopa. On seeing this scene being enacted, Paravasu
gets a self- realisation of the fatal sin which he has committed. Paravasu at the peak of his
realisation calmly walk into the fire without revealing the truth to the mass. Meanwhile Nittilai's
brother and hushand find her and kill her. Aravasu who is in total defeat now walks into the fire
carrying Nittilai's corpse. The fire extinguishers and Lord Indra appears in front of them. He
grants Aravasu a wish of whatever he asks for. Aravasu asks for the life of Nittilai. Aravasu finally
asks for the liberation of the Brahma Rakshasa which would have been Nittilai's wish too. Indra
grants his wish and this act of humanity brings rain to the kingdom. With this the play ends.
2. What is the significance of fire sacrifice arranged in the play? The titles of the plays of Girish
Karnad are relevant and reveal the main theme. The title of "The Fire and the Rain' is apt and
brings to light the main theme which is the performance of the fire sacrifice to propitiate Indra,
the god of rain, for bringing rain to the drought hit land. The play is based on the myth of Yavakri
and Parvasu from the Mahabharath'. The theme of the play centres round the fire sacrifice for
bringing rain to the land. The land has been severely hit by drought for the last ten years. So the
King organises the performance of a seven year long fire sacrifice or Yajna to invoke Indra, the
god of rains in the play the Yajna is performed inside a sacrificial enclosure. Paravasu is assigned
the task of performing the duties and responsibilities of the Chief Priest. He is the eldest son of
saint Raibhya. Yavakri feels small. He thinks that Paravasu has become the Chief Priest by
manipulation. His father deserved to be the Chief Priest. He says to Vishaka: "I cried at the
humiliations filed on my father. He was one of the most learned men in the land. Probably the
most brilliant mind, but he was scorned while this brother of his grabbed all the honors." The
King have preferred Raibhya to be the Chief Priest. Since it was a seven year rite he thought "a
younger man safer" So the King appointed Paravasu the Chief Priest Raibhya feels humiliated.
Vishaka. Paravasu's wife, suffers because her husband leaves her alone to bear the anguish of
separation from her husband during the seven year fire sacrifice. Her former lover, Yavakri, uses
her as an instrument of revenge on Raibhya and his son, Paravasu. The fire sacrifice is the root
cause of her sufferings. Paravasu expiates by sacrificing himself in the fire sacrifice for fratricide.
Arvasu fails to take revenge on him. He says "I lost Nittilai and Paravasu won. He went and sat
 there in front of the altar, unafraid and carried on with the sacrifice. I couldn't destroy him." The
'fire sacrifice has been disrupted, Rain does not fall. The fire dies out. Indra, who is pleased with
Arvasu, appears before and persuades him to ask for anything he wants. Crowds request him to
ask for rains but he wants that Nittilai be restored to life. Aravasu finally asks for the liberation of
the Brahma Rakshasa which would have been Nittilai's wish too. Indra grants his wish and this
act of humanity brings rain to the kingdom. 3. Bring out the significance of the tile of the play
The Fire and the Rain' by Girish Karnad. The play The Fire and The Rain is based on the myth of
Yavakrita, extracted from the chapters 135-138 of the Vana Parva (the forest canto) of the
Mahabharata. It took thirty seven years for Karnad to accomplish this work. According to the
myth. Yavakri a sage who had attained universal knowledge from Indra has a burning desire to
revenge on his uncle, Raibhya's family. Yavakri's father Bharadwaja and Raibhya were brothers,
they were equally learned, but Raibhya was getting more recognition among the two, this was
the cause for the anger getting hoarded nside Yavakri.
3. How he satiates himself and what are the consequences he faces contribute to be the source for
the play.
The genius playwright has added the flavour of rage to it and beautified the plot. The play is
structured around ideas and excess of strangled relationships, which unfolds with a rare
economy and intensity of emotions. Conflict is defined as a struggle between two or more
individuals over perceived incompatible differences in beliefs, values, and goals, or over
differences in desires for esteem, control, and connectedness. These differences are a constant
breeding ground for conflict. Conflict has been studied from multiple perspectives, including
inter-personal conflict and intra-personal conflict. Duality arises out of conflict. As the title of the
play The Fire and The Rain suggests the play focuses on the negative and positive human
emotions - jealousy, betrayal, deceit as well as selfless love. The play presents the celebration of
fire with Vedic rituals for the appeasement of the divine, peace and happiness of the mankind.
But just behind the screen of the art, Karnad associates the aesthetics of Brahmanism with the
mind games of egocentrism. All the lead characters in the play: Raibhya, Bharadwaja, Paravasu,
Arvasu, Yavakri and Vishakha are involved in the practice of evil and sin. There is the cycle of evil
in the play which leads to conflict among the characters of the play. Virtue wins in the play. But it
is too late. The death of virtuous low caste girl, Nittilai, makes it a tragedy. The play is the fine
analysis of human psyche in the depiction of jealousy of man against man, father against son,
brother against brother, wife against husband, and high caste against low caste. Conflict is an
inevitable part of the play The Fire and The Rain. Girish Karnad's The Fire and the Rain has
humanistic characteristics unfolded.