Was the Govinda right in banning sacrifice in Rabindranath Tagore's play 'Sacrifice"? Explain in about 200 words.
Answers
Explanation:
Gunavati, the queen in Rabindranath’s Tagore’s play Sacrifice, wonders whether she had
offended the fearsome mother goddess, because even though she was a queen and the whole
world was under her feet but still she was not fortunate enough to become a mother. Was it a
curse upon her for the sin she might have committed in the past or previous birth? Here the
fearsome mother goddess is the Hindu goddess Kali (CPPR 513). Kali worship is more popular
in Calcutta, the capital of Bengal. People were not educated and often led a very superstitious life
without any reason or scientific approach during the period of Tagore.
The spiritual Gurus like the temple priest Ragupathy took advantage of the people’s ignorance
and maintained a superior authority over the King and his subjects. His words were authority and
people must obey it blindly. Even the king was no exception to this law of the priest who was a
symbol of vanity. He advises the queen to make an offering of a beast and flowers to please the
Goddess. The queen brings the goat of the poor girl Aparna and flowers for offering to the
temple. The king Govinda questions the servant Jaising about the offerings.
The servant advises the girl that it was the mother’s (Goddess Kali) wish and Aparna need not
repent for it. Aparna argues that she was like the goat’s mother and took care of it as if it was her
own child. The king bans all the sacrifices in the temple and an announcement was made to
forbid sacrifice in the name of god to the priest and the courtiers. The king also instructed them
to spread his order to all parts of his land. The priest argues and warns that the king’s rule should
be only outside the temple and not in the matters of age old traditions and religion. The priest
condemns the king for disregarding the goddess Kali and not giving her due sacrifices. The
queen was very upset since her offering too was turned by the order of the king. The King tried
to convince her that it was mother kali’s command and he must execute it against all odds. The
priest decides to give an offering of a beast to the Goddess, but the King prevents it through his
general Nayanrai and Chandpal, the second commander with their soldiers. But the general
refuses to follow the order of the king and surrenders his royal sword to the king himself because
his faith in religion and age old beliefs was dearer than the king’s order.