A Psychoanalytic Reading of M. T. Vasudevan Nair's Bhima, Lone Warrior

M. T. Vasudevan Nair's much acclaimed novel Randamoozham is a retelling of the ancient epic the Mahabharata based on the perspective of Bhima, the second Pandava. Bhima, Lone Warrior is the English translation of the work by Gita Krishnankutty. Possessed of amazing strength, fierce loyalty and great tenderness, Bhima is almost always eclipsed by his brothers Yudhishtira and Arjuna. The title wholly signifies his helplessness as a second born. This dissertation entitled Mind Mapping Bhima: A Freudian Psychoanalytic Reading of M. T. Vasudevan Nair's Bhima, Lone Warrior, aims to have a psychoanalytic reading of the protagonist Bhima with the help of Freudian concepts and theories. The key idea is conveyed through three core chapters. The first chapter, 'Journey through the Retellings of the Mahabharata' examines the genre 'epic' with special mention about the Indian epic, the Mahabharata. Moreover, an introduction about retellings and how they reshape the traditional outlook regarding epics are given. Some prominent retellings of the Mahabharata including M. T. Vasudevan Nair's Randamoozham are discussed here.