Book review: The Pregnant King by Devdutt Pattanaik
Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0143063472
Publisher: Penguin (July 11, 2014)
Publication Date: July 11, 2014
Language: English
I am a reader, who loves being allured by a good title that compels me to dive into the real pages. The Pregnant King is one such title.
Having Devdutt Pattanaik as the author added more appeal to it. I have read Jaya and Sita, both from Pattanaik, and liked his contemporary and analytical take on Indian mythology. The placement of these stories in mythology serves readers with an added charm that only true stories have.
After having heard ample stories about Indian Gods, devas and asuras, I was not surprised by the possibility of a King giving birth; but was definitely curious to explore the different shades of such a possibility. Pattanaik has developed this story as a novel originating from a passing tale in Mahaharata.
The Prelude
The Pregnant King is about Yuvanashva, the king of Vallabhi, who could not produce a child from any of his three wives. One day, he accidentally impregnates himself by drinking a child-endowing magic potion meant for his wives. After which, his entire life becomes a predicament of what to call himself — the father, mother, or king.
The plot is woven around the events of Mahabharata. It begins with a discussion between Yuvanashva and his mother, Shilavati. Yuvanashva wants to fight for Pandavas in the battle of Kurukshetra while Shilavati dissuades him claiming that he cannot go before fulfilling his responsibility of producing a son.
In this book, Pattanaik also explores the social and political landscape of that time and how important it was for the kings and queens to abide by the dharma, the law of the land which guides individuals’ behaviors in society. These man-made rules were treated as sacred gospels, to be followed without deviation. This rigidity created a dilemma about how to express and acknowledge the truth that contradicts dharma.
Along with dharma, another intriguing aspect he has explored in the book is sexuality. He presents sex in an objective way, limiting the act of making love to bodily attractions. His characters do not use sex to express their love or emotions; for them it is more a requisite to continue their lineage.. But more than this, Pattanaik explores a rather difficult emotion connected to sexuality — a person’s discomfort in accepting gender based restrictions imposed by the society. What happens if one desires to experience life regardless of his gender? Should a capable woman be denied the throne because of her sex? Could society accept a man, who willingly converts himself into a woman? What happen to men, who emotionally feel more like women? How does society respond to such deviations from the normal? Are they accepted, acknowledged or punished?
The story
Shilavati is a princess who exhibits all characters of being an able ruler. Her parents acknowledge her potential but know that a girl could not own the throne. So they get Shilavati married to Prasenjit, the sole heir of Vallabhi who is prophesied to die in two years. As the king’s widow, Shilavati gets the authority on throne, but Vallabhi never accepts her as the queen and waits for her son Yuvanshava to claim the throne.
As Yuvanshva grows, the kingdom awaits him to produce an heir. But none of his three marriages yield him a child, making people question his virility. With the intention of proving him a man and upholder of dharma, Yuvanshva requests two siddhis to create a child endowing magic potion. While the magic potion is being prepared, a pandemonium erupts in the kingdom and amidst confusion, Yuvanashva, instead of his wives, consumes the magic potion.
Yuvanshva realizes his mistake after many months, when his body shows the signs of pregnancy. The family first tries to kill the child but then accepts it. Shilavati and three queens decide to keep his son, Mandhata, inside queens’ chambers and distance him from Yuvanashva.
After birth, Yuvanashva starts feeling a profound stirring of maternal emotions within him. His body would crave for his son’s touch and he would want to nurse him. Whenever young prince would cry, the king would sing lullaby from his chambers, loud enough for Mandhata to hear him.
Yuvanashva would try being a mother to his child in the secrecy of his palace but could never muster the courage to break this news to the people. He shares his desire for Mandhata to call him ‘mother’ with his mother and queens who urge him to curb this yearning for the sake of his reputation.
As Yuvanashva tries to suppress his motherly love, he also painfully distances himself from his child. His entire life becomes a quandary of whether he should act like the mother or father of his child. Society and dharma tells him to act like a father and king, while his heart tells him that he is the mother of his child, the birth giver. The irony of the story is that the king who tried to be the epitome of manhood and upholder of Dharma longed till his last breath to be called ‘mother’ by his son.
Pattanaik has tried to demonstrate Yuvanshava’s predicament by sharing examples of many other mythological characters, who experienced both man and womanhood in their bodies. Many of these were part of Mahabharat and other popular folklore, such as Arjun — who was cursed to become a eunuch for a year, Nar and Narayana — who produced a nymph from their thighs, Ila — Ileshwara — a God on full moon days and Goddess on new moon nights, Shikhandi — a man who was born woman and changes his gender on his wedding night, etc. All of them had experienced dual sexuality at some point of time in their lives.
This story is as much about Yuvanashva as much it is about his mother Shilavati and three wives, Simantani, Poulami and Keshni. Pattanaik subtly expresses the pain of a wife when she could not give a child to her husband. He also brings out her envy and disappointment when the husband decides to bring another wife. Yuvanashva’s wives in the story accept his failure as their collective failure. Other than Poulami, his second wife, no other wife blames or accuses him for not being able to produce a child or ridicule him to literally produce one, later.
The style
Pattanaik has woven this story on a large landscape. He has used several popular anecdotes to demonstrate the natural behavior of his characters. He has mentioned several popular symbols of those times and explained the story behind them. All this information has made the plot very credible and realistic.
The events in the book smoothly create a context. The story covers multiple aspects of the erstwhile Indian society– the division of a household’s responsibility in four different ashrams, compulsion to follow dharma, worshiping Goddesses but not respecting women of the house, the manipulations done to attain power, belief in ancestors and spirits, the populist attitude of monarchy, etc.
At the core, however, are the sentiment of his characters — their responses, behaviours, agonies and joys. The characters are deeply connected to each other, with their lives entwined and their emotions influencing one another’s life. Shilavati wanted to prove her worth as a queen, she stayed on the throne for so long that eventually Yuvanashva had to show her that she is a mere regent not the ruler. However, Yuvanashva could never forgive himself for this act. His inability to give a child to any of his wives further burdened his conscience. His guilt surfaced even though his wives did not express the same. He wanted to be a great king, but his heart was always longing to be called a mother by his son. He could never feel the same love for his second son, out of his second wife, as he felt for Mandhata. Simantini and Keshni tried convincing him to create children with them after he bore his son, but Yuvanshva could never again feel ‘right’ with himself in terms of his sexuality and duties.
The Pregnant King is an engaging piece of fiction and would hugely interest the readers of Indian mythology. However, as a reader, I would have loved to know more about the transformation of Yuvanashva after he becomes pregnant and delivers the child. I started reading this book to know about these very things.
Most of the story line is about the events happening before his impregnation. The description of society and history helped in setting the context, but the pregnant king as a character does not grow to the promise, the book’s title and cover make. The end comes too quickly after Yuvanashva gives birth. His postpartum life is about his struggle to accept himself as his son’s mother. The author covers the span of 16 years quickly, fast forwarding the king’s plight and dramatically making him renounce the world.
As a reader, I would have wanted to know Yuvanashva more. After all he was the man who did what no other man can do — giving birth to a child; and this is where I feel, an otherwise wonderful book, left me less than satisfied.
About the author
Devdutt Pattanaik is a medical doctor by education, a leadership consultant by profession, and a mythologist by passion. He has written over 600 articles and 30 books on the relevance of sacred stories, symbols and rituals in modern times. His popular books include Jaya, Sita, The Book of Ram, Myth=Mithya: A Handbook of Hindu Mythology, 7 secrets of Vishnu, 7 Secrets of Shiva, 7 Secrets of Devi, and The Book of Kali is based on his talks. He has been the chief belief officer of Future Group, one of India’s largest retailers and currently writes a column for the newspaper Mid Day.
