An Alternative Reading of the Other in The Mahabharata

Seema Sinha, Kumar Sankar Bhattacharya

An Alternative Reading of the Other in The Mahabharata
Format
Hardback
Publisher
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Country
United Kingdom
Published
13 March 2025
Pages
220
ISBN
9781032435190

An Alternative Reading of the Other in The Mahabharata

Seema Sinha, Kumar Sankar Bhattacharya

This book studies gender, sexuality, and representation in The Mahabharata. Drawing on Feminist theory, Queer theory and Deconstructivist theory, it revisits the epic as a saga of agency, empowerment, and subversion, and examines how it gives the gendered marginal - the women and the queer - a voice.

The authors argue that in a fluid text like The Mahabharata, there is ample scope for contradiction and conformation, as well as conflict and resolution, which gives the marginal an opportunity to document resistance. They analyse the stories of Draupadi, Kunti, Renuka, Ulupi, and Hidimba within an anti-patriarchal, non-normative, post-modern theoretical framework. They also examine liminal figures like Shikhandi, Yuvanashwa, Sudyumna and Bhangashwan, who are uniquely placed in conversation involving queer space, marginalization, and resistance.

An important addition to the study of Indian epics, this book will be indispensable for scholars and researchers of cultural studies, subaltern studies, Indian literature, English literature, gender studies, sexuality studies, queer studies, women's studies, exclusion studies, and postcolonial studies.

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