BEYOND THE QUEEN MOTHER: A PSYCHOSOCIAL READING OF KUNTI’S TRAGEDY IN EPIC CONTEXT

Abstract

Kunti, a central yet often underexamined figure in the Mahābhārata, embodies profound psychological and existential tensions shaped by her roles as mother, queen, and woman within a patriarchal and dharma-driven epic world. This paper explores the psychosocial dimensions of Kunti’s life, tracing how personal sacrifice, maternal anguish, social duty, and internalised guilt intertwine to form a unique tragic consciousness. Drawing on Erikson’s psychosocial theory of identity development (Erikson, 1968) and object relations theory (Klein, 1946), the analysis explores the conflicting impulses of autonomy and submission, love and abandonment, particularly as manifested in her relinquishment of Karna and subsequent decisions during the Kurukshetra war.