Persons with Disability in Hindu Mythology

The marginalization of Persons with Disabilities in society is one of the most discussed topics in disability-related fora. We often see discussions about treating persons with disabilities as non-existent characters. But, when we turn towards the Indian (and especially Hindu) mythology we see several characters with disabilities playing a significant role in the unfolding of the stories of which they are a part. Here we present a list of persons with disabilities that are visible in the mainstream Indian mythology.

1. Ashtavakra: The Great Vedic Sage with ‘eight’ deformities

The legend says that when Ashtavakra was a developing fetus in his mother’s womb, he heard and learned the correct pronunciation of the Vedic Mantras being taught by his maternal grandfather and guru of his parents. So, one day when his father was practicing chanting those mantras he made eight mistakes in pronunciation and intonation of the mantras. The fetus from his mother’s womb asked his father to correct those mistakes. The egoist father could not bear this and cursed the unborn child with eight deformities for pointing out eight mistakes. Hence, Ashtavakra was born with eight deformities in his body.

But, this person despite being born with physical deformities went on to become a respected sage in society. Of course, he had to face some humiliation at the hands of some members of society. But, he ultimately gained the position of Brahmrishi (the highest position for a sage) with his intelligence and knowledge. He was the official Guru of king Janaka, father of goddess Sita. He has written Ashtavakra Samhita to pass on his acquired knowledge to the world.

2. Dhritrashtra: The Blind King (regent) of Kuru Dynasty

Dhritrashtra, one of the prominent characters of the epic Mahabharata, was born blind. The legend says that King Vichitrvirya died without having an heir to his throne. So, his mother Satyavati calls her other son Sage Vyasa to impregnate the wives of Vichitrvirya by the practice of Niyoga. Ambika, the first wife of King Vichitrvirya closed her eyes because she was afraid of the sage. Hence, she gave birth to a blind child who was named Dhritrashtra.

Despite his blindness, Dhritrashtra was a strong man with the power to fight 100 elephants at a time. Many people consider him to be depicted as the main villain because if he wanted he could have saved his entire clan from going into the great battle and killing each other. You can judge his character as good or bad based on your perspective but you cannot ignore Dhritrashtra in the entire episode of Mahabharata, the great epic.

3. Shakuni (Mama): Greatest villian in Indian Mythology who walked with a limp

While talking about Mahabharata, you cannot miss the great villain of all time – Shakuni Mama. He was the brother-in-law of Dhritrashtra who loved his sister Gandhari very dearly. He was so infuriated by the fact that his beautiful sister Gandhari was married off to a blind prince that he dedicated his entire life to plotting against the entire family of his brother-in-law.

This conman, who in a way plotted the entire battle of Mahabharata to take his revenge, if often shown to have a minor locomotor disability. Thus, he walking with a limp. He is also sometimes depicted with a twitching or malformed eye.

4. Kalidasa: A Great Author with Intellectual Disability

Kalidasa is well-known for his classic Sanskrit poems and dramas. He is often considered the greatest playwright and dramatist of ancient India. But, we hear no mention about his disability maybe because Intellectual Disability is a modern concept of very recent origin. Although stories that point towards his intellectual disability are quite famous.

Let us remind you the story. Once there was a highly educated princess who only wanted to marry a man who could defeat her in intellectual debate, the Shashtrartha. She not only rejected but insulted the men who came to her with a desire to marry her but could not defeat her in the debates. The insulted men thought of a plan to teach the princess a lesson for her egoistic behavior.

They went on to search for the dumbest man they can find and saw this man cutting the same branch of the tree on which he was sitting. This man was Kalidasa who got married to the princess due to the plotting of those men rejected and insulted by her. He was then thrown out by his wife (the princess) for his dumbness on the first night of the marriage itself. This insult and lots of hard work transformed him into the revered author.

5. Manthara: The Maid with a Hunchback and Probably Visual Impairment in One Eye

Who does not know Manthara, the maid who paved the path for Rama’s exile? Though Lord Rama never had any ill-thoughts about Manthra, people still see her as a cruel plotter who exiled Rama along with Lakshman and Sita for fourteen years. She was the one who convinced queen Kaiykeyi to force the king Dasaratha to give the throne to Bharata and exile Rama who was already announced as the Yuvraj, the king-to-be.

Manthara had a hunchback and held a good position among the royal staff despite her disability. She was the head-maid of queen Kaiykeyi. This suggests that persons with disabilities participated in the mainstream society of that time.

6. Shukracharya: The Guru of Asuras who was Blind in One Eye

Shukra, son of sage Bhrigu, is considered one of the greatest sages of all time. He was a highly learned man and hence considered himself the most deserving candidate to be the Guru of the Devas, the gods. But, Vrihaspati was elected as the Guru of the Devas. Shukra took this as a humiliation done by the Devas and hence he went to the Asuras, the demons, and became their Acharya to take revenge from the Devas. He taught all great Asuras including king Bali and prince Meghnad, son of Ravana.

Shukracharya was not a disabled person from birth but he acquired disability later in his life. It is said that Shukracharya recognized Lord Vishnu even in his Vamana Avtara and wanted to save his disciple king Bali from the Lord. So, he became tiny and entered the pitcher so that he can block water that was being poured for the ritualistic vow to be taken by Bali. Vamana took a twig and poked inside the pitcher thus blinding the daitya guru Shukracharya. Shukra is still worshipped at every Hindu home as a part of nav grahas (nine planets).

7. Vamana: The Incarnation of Lord Vishnu who was a Dwarf

Vamana is one of the Dashavtara taken by Lord Vishnu to kill demons and spread goodness in the world. This incarnation of the Lord was a dwarf Brahmin who went to one of the sacrifices being held by Bali, the demon king. Bali at that time had acquired the three worlds by defeating Indra who had asked Lord Vishnu for help. Lord Vishnu, in the form of Vamana, asked Bali for land equal to his three steps.

Bali readily agreed seeing the short stature of Vamana. This is when Shukracharya entered the pitcher and accidentally lost his one eye. So, Bali took the vow of donating three steps land to Vamana who then increased his height so much that he covered the entire earth and heaven in two steps. Bali offered his head for the third step and was pushed to the netherworlds by the weight of the footstep of Vamana.

8. Trivakra: The Krishna-loving Lady with the Hunchback

Trivakra is also mentioned as Kubja in many places. Not many details are known about the lady. But, she is an important part of the story of Lord Krishna. Her body was deformed at three places hence the name Trivakra. The only thing that made her special was her love for Lord Krishna.

She was a special maid in the palace of Mathura. She was taking some ubtan for the king which the young Krishna demanded. Despite knowing that she could be severely punished by the King she gave the ubtan to Krishna and the Lord cured her disability as a reward for her love towards him.

9. Surdas: The Bhakti Poet with Blindness

Surdas is one of the most revered poets and a devotee of Lord Krishna. No texts clearly mention whether Surdas was blind from birth or acquired the disability later in his life. Different scholars have different views. But, the detailed description of the beauty of Lord Krishna as a child found in his poetry is a rare feat even for those who have perfect vision. It is said that Lord Krishna made himself visible to Surdas and the devotee wanted to see nothing else. So, he remained blind for his entire life.

There are some other lesser-known stories about persons with disabilities in the Hindu Mythology. Arun/Usha, the charioteer of the Sun God is said to be born without the lower body including legs and genitals. Bop Dev who is known by several other names was like Kalidasa, a person with an intellectual disability who later gained knowledge. Then there was rishi Chyavan who was accidentally blinded by princess Sukanya who later married him as her penance.