.
I don't know whether the studies mentioned by Sharon Snyder have extended
as far as South Asian histories. Rhetorical ability was not a stumbling
block but a powerful weapon in the mouth of one of India's most famous
disability archetypes, the "eight-ways-deformed" Ashtavakra.
Still unborn, this fetus was already well-versed in the Vedas, and made the
Theologically Correct (but diplomatically dubious) decision to criticise
flaws in Vedic recitation by Kahoda, his father. The latter was doing
postgraduate studies at the time and was in no mood to take tuition from
his unborn son, who therefore earned a paternal curse. One could imagine
Kahoda signing up with Peter Singer for termination of a fetus in such a
critical condition. However, Kahoda was more concerned with the student
poverty in which he and his wife lived (the academic game not being, at
that time and place, a thriving economic racket).
With his wife nearing her time, and no cash for the necessaries, Kahoda
entered an academic sudden-death competition at King Janaka's palace. He
challenged the resident champion Vandin to a debate, the stakes being
Vandin's job or Kahoda's life. Losing the debate, Kahoda submitted to being
drowned. Ashtavakra was then born with multiple deformities, according to
dad's curse. Mum and babe went to live with Grandpa Uddalaka, who had been
Kahoda's research supervisor.
The severely disabled infant grew up as a 'super-crip', and when he was ten
or eleven he learnt what happened to dad. Ashtavakra promptly took himself
over to the palace and talked his way past the palace guards, who had never
met such a sassy kid. Gaining entry to King Janaka's court, he gave the
king a sharp lecture on the problems of disabled access to the building,
and the incorrect attitude of the guards, then demanded that the tenured
academic star Vandin be produced so that he could wipe him all over the
palace floor. King Janaka listened patiently to this tirade, then asked the
boy to solve some riddles, which Ashtavakra did with ease.
Vandin was therefore summoned, and the contest was launched. The records
tell of each side alternately listing successive number sets of significant
senses, qualities, beings, objects etc, from sets of one through sets of
twelve. Vandin got as far as strating to recite sets of thirteen, then
dried up. The child completed that set, and the match was won. The academic
jury rose and awarded the palm to Ashtavakra, who called immediately for
Vandin to suffer the penalty that had been imposed on all the unsuccessful
challengers. The triumph also caused his dead father to reappear for a
curtain-call. Kahoda announced the surprising lesson that, "Weak persons
may have sons endued with strength; dunces may have intelligent sons; and
the illiterate may have sons possessed of learning". [Mahabharata, Vana
Parvan, chapters 132-134 (retold from Ganguli's English translation.)]
A different lesson could be that, while the requirement of rhetorical
skills may indeed be bad news for many disabled people, it may be a
passport for those whose tongue can charm a public unimpressed by their
physique.
m99m
________________End of message______________________
Archives and tools for the Disability-Research Discussion List
are now located at:
www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/disability-research.html
You can JOIN or LEAVE the list from this web page.
|