A Historical Mythopoeia In Women Of Ramayan: The Untold Stories By Kunal Kaushal

Abstract

A historical mythopoeia is imbibing the history to create an artificial mythology out of a mythological tale. Mythopoeia is a narrative genre in modern literature where artificial mythology is created. This meaning is given by J.R.R. Tolkein in 1930. The term mythopoeia comes from Hellenistic Greek ‘muthopoiia’ meaning “myth-making”. The definition of mythopoeia ‘creating myth’ is first recorded in 1846. Kunal Kaushal in his book Women of Ramayan: The Untold Stories created a historical mythopoeia by uncovering the layers of distant past. This study attempts to peel away the layers of mythology to draw attention to the core of the historical tale. Kunal Kaushal presents the events in the way they might have happened. He chooses a feminist perspective to create a historical mythopoeia. His female characters manage to change the course of history. Kaushal believes that mythology is simply an extension of history into the times of which we cannot be certain. He dives into 2000 years of past events that happened in the historical landmass of Jambudvip (India). This study analyzes the logical, factual and historical account of the mythological events occurred in Ramayana with the point of view of female characters. The female characters are Ahalya, Kaikeyi, Surpankha, Mandodari and Tara. Their story is told with a feminist, historical and political approach to justify their role in the history.