Inside the Coconut: Reviewing Socioemotional Aspects of an Antagonist’s Adolescence (With Reference to Character of Duryodhana in Selected Retellings of the Epic Mahabharata )

Abstract

The Mahabharata, a legendary tale is considered among the most prominent epics that provides
deep insight in the philosophical ideas, morality and exposition of Dharma and Society. The reinterpreted
works of Mahabharata rather focus on the individual or self than the society or dharma. It has been a
practice to glorify the Heroes and vilified the anti Heroes and their friends in these old mythologies, judging
them on the basis of set normative values, dharma and social dogmatic religious theories. This paper aims at
looking the character of Duryodhana in the light of developmental psychology, peer victimization and his
conflict between society and self through the interpretations from Retelling of The Mahabharata in the
mythological fiction Ajaya: Roll of the Dice by Anand Neelakanthan. The unconventional queer side of him
as a very sincere and valiant prince, willing to stand for what he believed in, is made alive in the personality
of Suyodhana. This paper reviews the Socioemotional aspects of an individual in his adolescence years
leading to subtle marginalization and how the insecurities of the society improbably disconnect a person
from his essential core and create a fallacious, insincere personality around him and force him to be
recognized with it in the name of Dharma or Education, ignoring his inner self swinging between the
conflict of self and society, making Duryodhana out of Suyodhana