Hayavadana
Hayavadana is, first, a horse's head on a man's body, and thus strange, terrifying, grotesque, and amusing. This image runs parallel to the evocation of Ganesha, also an animal head (elephant) and a human body (a boy). This may indicate that we humans do not necessarily understand how everything in the universe should work and what perfection and completeness actually are. It also foreshadows the transposed heads of Kapila and Padmini, and is thus an important image all around.
The "Forest Fair"
Padmini states, “my poor child, you haven’t seen the witching fair of the dark forest, have you? Let’s go and see it. How can I describe it to you? There’s so much. Long before the sun rises, the shadow of twigs draw alpanas on the floor. The stars raise arati and go. Then the day dawns and the fun begins. The circus in the tree-tops and the cock-fights in a shower of feathers. And the dances! The Tiger-dance, and the peacock dance, and the dance of the sun’s little feet with silver anklets on the river. In the heart of the forest stands the stately chariot of the shield bearer. It is made of pure gold—rows of birds pull it down the street, and rows of flames of the forest salute it with torches" (121-122). The fair is absolutely enthralling and impressive. Main participants are the animals which predominantly inhabit the forests. Each animal plays a distinct role which makes the fairs a success. Trees offer an ideal ambiance for the fair to proceed. Dancing depicts the animals' happiness which comes from having a serene environment where they can conduct their affairs far from the interference of humans; this is the world Padmini yearns for at this point in her life.
Head and Body
Throughout the latter part of the play the audience is consistently faced with images of head and body—sometimes familiar in their fusion, sometimes unfamiliar. This forces us to consider the dichotomy between head and body, consider which is more powerful, and ponder how identity is constructed.
Kali
Kali is presented first as a "terrifying figure, her arms stretched out, her mouth wide open with the tongue lolling out" (101), but Karnad swiftly inverts this image and reveals that she is actually yawning. It is a play on the traditional view of the goddess, and an amusing image of how silly and inconsequential the affairs of humans are to her. There will be divine intervention in the characters' lives, but they're really their own worst enemies—not the gods.
