Kamayani

Kamayani depicts the interplay of human emotions, thoughts, and actions by taking mythological metaphors. Kamayani has personalities like Manu, Ida and Śraddhā who are found in the Vedas. The great deluge described in the poem has its origin in Satapatha Brahmana. Explaining his metaphorical presentation of Vedic characters, the poet said:

Ida was the sister of the gods, giving consciousness to the entire mankind. For this reason, there is an Ida Karma in the Yagnas. This erudition of Ida created a rift between Shraddha and Manu. Then with the progressive intelligence searching for unbridled pleasures, the impasse was inevitable. This story is so very ancient that metaphor has wonderfully mingled with history. Therefore Manu, Shraddha, and Ida while maintaining their historical importance may also express the symbolic import. Manu represents the mind with its faculties of the head and heart and these are again symbolized as Faith (Shraddha) and Intelligence (Ida) respectively. On this data is based the story of Kamayani.

The plot is based on the Vedic story where Manu, the man surviving after the deluge (Pralaya), is emotionless (Bhavanasunya). Manu starts getting involved in various emotions, thoughts, and actions. These are sequentially portrayed with Shraddha, Ida, Kilaat, and other characters playing their part, contributing in them. The chapters are named after these emotions, thoughts, or actions. Some people consider that the sequence of chapters denotes the change of personality in a man's life with age. Following is the sequence:

• Tumul kolahal kalah me, an excerpt from the 12th canto 'Nirved' (निर्वेद) was set to tune by the music composer Jaidev and sung by Asha Bhosle. It was released by The Gramophone Company of India in 1971 under the title 'An Unforgettable Treat Asha Bhosle'.

• In 1999, the Films Division produced a short biographical film on Jaishankar Prasad. The film depicted his literary works as a novelist, story writer, poet, and essay writer. A Kathak musical of some verses from Kamayani was the highlight of the film. It was choreographed by the famous exponent of Kathak Uma Dogra, who also portrayed the role of Shraddha in it. [1]

• Doordarshan, the national broadcaster of India produced a six-part musical on Kamayani.

• Shakuntala Shukla and Vyomesh Shukla adapted Kamayani into a musical play. It was produced under the banner of Roopvani, Varanasi.[2]

Kamayani has been translated into various languages. There exists a number of English translations of the book. Other languages into which it has been translated include Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, and Tamil. [3] Some specific cantos of Kamayani have been translated into English and Russian as well.[4]

• Shatapatha Brahmana
• Chhayavad
• Flood myth

•  Hindi Wikisource has original text related to this article: कामायनी
• Kamayani at Google Books (English translation)
• Kamayani at Kavita Kosh (in Hindi)

• Kamayani of Jai Shankar Prasad - As I saw It and Understood It by Dr.Girish Bihari 1st Edition 2006, Published by Film Institute, Lucknow (U.P.) - INDIA