The Archetypal Identity of Laxmi in Sakhārām Binder

It has long been accepted that in the imagination of man certain images occur again and again to represent the elements of existence. As an individual finds these images in the myths of his culture, he knows their symbolic meanings intuitively, although he may not be able to articulate those meanings. In literature, which is a play of two constructive principles, system and creativity, the presentation of these mythic images is very common. The images themselves serve as a semiotic system and their presentation, usually unconscious, in art is the creative principle. A study of such archetypal images contributes to the understanding of a piece of literature. In Sakhdram Binder, a Marathi play first produced in the spring of 1972,1 we see that Laxmi, one of its main characters, represents the archetypal figure of Savitri, the heroine of a mythical episode in the Hindu epic, the Mahabharata.

The author would like to thank Carol Limaye for her generous assistance in reviewing this article.