Embodied Otherness and the Semiotics of Disability in the Ramayana

Abstract

This study investigates how bodily difference is narratively constructed in the Ramayana and argues that physical variance functions as a symbolic device through which moral hierarchy is articulated. In epic discourse, corporeal description is rarely neutral; instead, it becomes a medium for encoding ethical meaning. Drawing upon Disability Studies and cultural theory, this paper examines the representation of Manthara and Surpanakha in the Valmiki tradition. It contends that Manthara’s spinal deformity and Surpanakha’s mutilation are configured not merely as physical traits but as narrative signs that consolidate ideological order. Through close textual engagement, the paper demonstrates how bodily asymmetry is aligned with disruption, while physical integrity is associated with dharmic legitimacy. By situating the epic within contemporary theoretical frameworks, the study challenges reductive villain-centric readings and foregrounds the cultural logic that links embodiment with moral evaluation in classical Indian literature.