Legends, myths and folktales from ancient India have always influenced various forms of literature. Girish Karnad, the remarkable playwright of the 20th century, takes the source material for most of his plays from authentic Indian sources. He played a crucial role in the efforts to devise a distinctly Indian theatre that would stand apart from the traditions of western realism, naturalism, and expressionism. Thereby he creates a uniquely modern Indian drama. The myths he uses in his plays are taken out of their traditional connotations, and are explored in the larger perspective of the universal importance conveying specific human experience. He uses only fragments of the myths and supplements them with his imagination in order to suit the needs of modern context. The present paper seeks to study the representation and rewriting of myths in Karnad's play Yayati.