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Women, Androgynes and other mythical beasts
Author: Wendy Doniger
Publisher: Speaking Tiger
Pages: 382
Price: Rs 699
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In recent years, mythology has either been appropriated by agenda-driven politicians keen to peddle their version of the past, or attacked by rationalists intent on exposing its irrational beliefs and absurd ideas. Neither does justice to the subject and both ignore the wealth of information that layers the rich mythological world of ancient civilisations.
The Indian edition of Wendy Doniger’s 1980 publication, Women, Androgynes and Other Mythical Beasts, highlights how reductive such attitudes can be. Stripped of meaning and nuance, myths are no more than a good party trick. But set them within the circuitous wheels of analysis and reasoning, as this book does, and they can build trust and understanding around some of the most contentious issues.
Myths reflect the early ideas that shaped our understanding of the universe. They reveal the limitless capability of the human imagination and the evolution of thought and reason. A myth is, as author, Dr Doniger writes, “a palimpsest on which generation after generation has engraved its own layer of messages.”
Consider, for instance, a myth with which many in India are familiar—that of a child Krishna sucking the life out of a demoness Putana who has been tasked with his killing by the king Kamsa. Under Dr Doniger’s microscope, the myth reveals the underlying ideas that Indian, post-Vedic society was grappling with about blood, about life-giving fluids, about women and about the gender dynamics of procreation. The story is, therefore, much more than a story that signals the divinity of a child who will soon become a god.
Dr Doniger, who has spent more than five decades studying and teaching Indian mythology and has 40-plus books to her credit, writes that she is interested in unpacking the many ways in which Indian myths have looked at sexuality, about the human body and mythical beasts. The aim is to hear the many voices that reside within these myths, she writes.
For the myths about women and sexuality, for instance, it is important to not only understand the attitudes toward sexuality that were prevalent at the time, but to also consider the ideas around horses, mares and mythical beasts. It is also critical to look at myths as part of a ritualised way of life and not just as stories told around a fire.
Dr Doniger uses what she calls the “toolkit approach” where different analytical tools, across disciplines, are used to dust-off hidden meanings and uncover some new symbols and patterns. Myths must be subjected to multiple tests and theories. It is only when we do this, repeatedly and without bias, do we find its true intent and message. The devotees’ interpretations, she writes, are as valid as those of mythologists and she has kept both in sight while working through the corpus of myths for the book.
Everything matters and everyone counts when it comes to finding the patterns that myths weave. But it is important that we understand why people see what they see, or believe what they do. Such an approach allows readers to contextualise the myths and more importantly, builds transparency into the entire process.
For example, the author’s section on the myths of unilateral creation, where a god/sage/goddess can create a new life without any help from the opposite sex. In India, for instance, there are stories of Shiva creating demons by himself or Agni bearing a son, without a female partner, and Parvati creating her son with no help from the father. Dr Doniger lines them all up together before she uses the different methods at her disposal to make meaning out of these myths.
Her interpretations may not fit the pattern with which many are familiar. But her reasoning is assertive and convincing even if it does run contrary to popular notions. Importantly, by letting readers into her way of working, Dr Doniger is also perhaps seeking a more informed critique of the work, instead of the usual trolling to which she is subject.
In the section on androgynes, Dr Doniger draws attention to the multiple strands that layer the stories of sex change, sexual confusion and fluidity. She turns around the story of Bhangaswana (found in the Mahabharata), a king who is turned into a woman by Indra, as punishment for not being devotional enough, to reveal ideas of a castrating father figure (Indra), of destructive women and malevolent gods.
Myths speak in many voices and, occasionally, interpreting them turns into an art of balancing the contradictions. This book walks the tightrope with alacrity. It does not skirt the controversial bits, nor does it gloss over the unsavoury parts and it plays the devil’s advocate, which as the author states right at the very beginning is deliberate.
The book wants to present a different aspect of Hindu mythology, one with which few scholars would want to engage. Some readers may find this exhilarating or they may find it offensive. That is just the way such books work, but what they also do is hold a mirror to society to reveal some of its timeless preoccupations and biases.
