Redeeming the Feminine: Myth, Memory, and the Politics of Identity in Girish Karnad's Naga-Mandala.

Author(s)	Ms. Limala Longchar
Country	India
Abstract	Girish Karnad’s Naga-Mandala explores the dynamic interaction of myth, memory, and identity to highlight women’s agency within a patriarchal cultural context. The play uses the serpent myth from Kannada folklore, turning it into a powerful story where Rani, the silenced wife, gains new legitimacy and authority through mythic intervention. Here, memory works on two levels: as collective memory, kept alive through oral traditions and folk storytelling, and as personal memory, seen in Rani’s shift from submission to self-assertion. Through this dual function of memory, identity becomes a negotiated and performative construct rather than a fixed category. By reconstructing oral folklore, Karnad not only preserves cultural memory but also elevates female subjectivity from marginalization. Naga-Mandala shows how myth and memory serve as strategies of redemption, allowing a critical re-evaluation of gender identity in Indian society.
Field	Sociology > Linguistic / Literature
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 5, September-October 2025
Published On	2025-10-25
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2025.v07i05.58640

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