The land has been in the grip of a ravaging drought for 10 years. In order to appease the Lord of Gods Indra (Amitabh Bachchan), custodian of rain, a grand fire sacrifice is being conducted at the palace under the guidance of the Chief Priest, Paravasu (Jackie Shroff). As this sacrifice draws to its close, our story begins. Paravasu is the elder son of the great sage Raibhya (Mohan Agashe). For 7 years he has watched over the holy fire, forsaking his wife, family and every earthly pleasure. Paravasu's young brother Arvasu (Milind Soman) is in love with a tribal girl, Nittilai (Sonali Kulkarni). Arvasu prepares to marry outside his Brahmin caste - but for this, according to the tribal custom, he has to present himself before Nittilai's village elders. Paravasu's cousin and bitter rival Yavakri (Nagarjuna) has just returned triumphant after 10 years of practicing austerities in the jungle, with the gift of universal knowledge from the gods. To seek revenge, Yavakri seduces Paravasu's lonely wife Vishakha (Raveena Tandon). This sets off an irrevocable chain of events that lead to Aravasu losing his love, Paravasu desecrating the great sacrifice, the creation of a demon and the deaths of Yavakri and Raibhya. Finally, the purity of Arvasu and Nittilai's love brings salvation to the land. This film is adapted from the play The Fire and the Rain by one of India's foremost playwrights, Girish Karnad. The story is derived from the myth of Yavakri, which is a part of the great Indian epic, the Mahabharata.
