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<p>Emily Hudson suggests that dharma is the central problem of the Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata. Dharma is contested and transgressed throughout the text. Modern adaptations of the Mahabharata not only preserve the epic in the contemporary imagination but also grapple with its thematic problems in new ways. This article discusses the ways in which dharma is problematized for women in Dharmavir Bharati's Hindi play Andha Yuga (1954). In Andha Yuga, Gandhari, the mother of the Kauravas completes what Bonnie Honig calls the "arc of feminist refusal". The scourge of the Kurukshetra war turns her maternal piety to rage, leading to her rejecting dharma and cursing Lord Krishna to death. Her hostile discussions of dharma present a sharp contrast to her husband Dhritarashtra's resigned stance on the same. By showcasing the extent of her rage and refusal, Bharati's Gandhari offers a feminist critique of the Mahabharata, dharma, and nationalism.</p>

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“Do Not Call Me Mother!”: Dharma, Motherhood, and Feminist Refusal in Dharamvir Bharati’s Andha Yuga

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2026年6月26日

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  • Sucheta Kanjilal

摘要

Emily Hudson suggests that dharma is the central problem of the Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata. Dharma is contested and transgressed throughout the text. Modern adaptations of the Mahabharata not only preserve the epic in the contemporary imagination but also grapple with its thematic problems in new ways. This article discusses the ways in which dharma is problematized for women in Dharmavir Bharati's Hindi play Andha Yuga (1954). In Andha Yuga, Gandhari, the mother of the Kauravas completes what Bonnie Honig calls the "arc of feminist refusal". The scourge of the Kurukshetra war turns her maternal piety to rage, leading to her rejecting dharma and cursing Lord Krishna to death. Her hostile discussions of dharma present a sharp contrast to her husband Dhritarashtra's resigned stance on the same. By showcasing the extent of her rage and refusal, Bharati's Gandhari offers a feminist critique of the Mahabharata, dharma, and nationalism.