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International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management

A Peer-Reviewed, Open-Access International Journal Supporting Multidisciplinary Research, Digital Publishing Standards, DOI Registration, and Academic Indexing.
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ISSN: 3108-1754 (Online)
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Volume 02, Issue 6

Published on: June 2026

KNOWLEDGE, POWER, AND THE SACRED: A CRITIQUE OF BRAHMINICAL HEGEMONY AND FALSE KNOWLEDGE IN GIRISH KARNAD’S THE FIRE AND THE RAIN

Bhasake Siddharam Laxman

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DOI:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i6.401

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Abstract

This paper examines Girish Karnad’s play The Fire and the Rain (1995) as a profound critique of Brahminical hegemony, patriarchy, and the weaponization of sacred knowledge. Adapted from the Yavakrita myth in the Vana Parva of the Mahabharata, Karnad reconstructs ancient lore to mirror contemporary socio-political anxieties regarding caste hierarchy and intellectual elitism. By juxtaposing the high-caste Yagnashala (sacrificial enclosure) against the subaltern, organic spaces of the tribal world, Karnad exposes how institutionalized religious knowledge is stripped of its spiritual essence and reduced to an instrument of power, surveillance, and ego. Through a critical analysis of the characters Yavakri, Raibhya, and Paravasu, this study argues that the play deconstructs "false knowledge"—intellectual or ascetic acquisition divorced from moral accountability—and contrasts it with the fluid, compassionate, and emancipatory ethos embodied by the subaltern figures, Nittilai and Arvasu. Ultimately, the paper demonstrates how the play redefines the concept of a true sacrifice (Yajna), shifting it from mechanical ritualism to universal empathy.

Keywords: Girish Karnad, Brahminical Hegemony, False Knowledge, Subaltern Resistance, Subversion of Myth, Ritualism.

How to Cite this Paper

Laxman, B. S. (2026). Knowledge, Power, and The Sacred: A Critique of Brahminical Hegemony and False Knowledge in Girish Karnad’s The Fire and the Rain. International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management, <i>02</i>(6). https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i6.401

Laxman, Bhasake. "Knowledge, Power, and The Sacred: A Critique of Brahminical Hegemony and False Knowledge in Girish Karnad’s The Fire and the Rain." International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management, vol. 02, no. 6, 2026, pp. . doi:https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i6.401.

Laxman, Bhasake. "Knowledge, Power, and The Sacred: A Critique of Brahminical Hegemony and False Knowledge in Girish Karnad’s The Fire and the Rain." International Journal of Creative and Open Research in Engineering and Management 02, no. 6 (2026). https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.55041/ijcope.v2i6.401.

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References


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  3. Foucault, Michel. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Translated by Alan Sheridan, Vintage Books, 1977.

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  6. Karnad, Girish. The Fire and the Rain. Oxford University Press, 1998.

  7. Karnad, Girish. Three Plays: Naga-Mandala, Hayavadana, Tughlaq. Oxford University Press, 1994.

  8. Mee, Erin B. "The Fire and the Rain: From Myth to Drama." Theater Journal, vol. 54, no. 3, 2002, pp. 487-493.

  9. Radhakrishnan, Sarvepalli, editor. The Principal Upanishads. HarperCollins India, 1994.

  10. Rayan, Krishna. "The Fire and the Rain: A Textual Analysis." Journal of Indian Writing in English, vol. 28, no. 1, 2000, pp. 12-22.

  11. Vandenbroucke, Russell. "Girish Karnad’s Mythic Theater: A Study of Form and Content." Modern Drama, vol. 45, no. 2, 2002, pp. 234-245.

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  • •Published on: Jul 01 2026
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