Histories From Below: The Condemned Ahalya, the Mortified Amba and the Oppressed Ekalavya

Abstract

Subaltern Studies focuses on the “non-elite” subordinates, in contrast to the “elite” personages on whom history always beams its shining light, to highlight how they have been systematically oppressed and disenfranchised, despite their sterling qualities. This article attempts to show how three celebrated subalterns — Ahalya (The Ramayana), Amba and Ekalavya (both from the Mahabharata) — though condemned, mortified and oppressed by the men and the establishment, deserve an equally prominent place in our histories. It’s focus, therefore, is on: the plight of Ahalya as a subaltern, maligned and misrepresented by the community; Amba as a subaltern, spurned, frustrated and driven endlessly by factors such as marriage traditions, love, war, kingdom and male hegemony, mainly due to her gender; the brave, self-learning Ekalavya who was subjected to unparalleled violence by the dominant elites in the name of Kshatriya-dharma, guru-shishya norms, caste and class. There have been extreme variations between the earliest texts and the later, medieval versions of the episode of Ahalya’s seduction; while old versions are Rama-centric, the modern and postmodern renderings project Ahalya as a wronged woman, asserting her rights and privileges from a feminist perspective. About Amba, despite all the tall claims made by scriptures, moral coda and male representational discourses, the bitter truth is that women have always been at the receiving end, a tragic end. Ekalavya is a minor character in the Mahabharata, a prince of the Nishada jungle tribe, whose extraordinary determination and courage have gone unsung amongst the din of eulogies for the elites such as Arjuna and Bhīma. Only when these subalterns speak out boldly and assert their rights and privileges, will the histories below get rewritten and form part of the grand narratives.