Beyond Binaries: A gendered reading of Devdutt Pattanaik's The Pregnant King

Abstract

This research paper explores the fluid, non-binary representation of gender in Devdutt Pattanaik’s novel The Pregnant King. With a deliberate departure from traditional gender norms, the novel brings forth a nuanced reimagining of Indian mythology to interrogate the fixed binaries of male and female, father and mother, king and queen. The central character, King Yuvanashva, a man who becomes pregnant and gives birth, serves as a powerful metaphor for the instability of gender roles in both myth and reality. This paper attempts to read the novel through the lens of gender theory, focusing on identity, performativity, and the societal structures that impose conformity. By analysing both the content and form of Pattanaik’s narrative, the paper underscores how myth can serve as a site of
resistance against patriarchal binaries.