S International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities http://www.shanlaxjournals.in 39 Karmic Philosophy and the Model of Disability in Ancient India Neha Kumari Research Scholar, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India Abstract Disability has been the inescapable part of human society from ancient times. With the thrust of disability right movements and development in eld of disability studies, the mythical past of dis- ability is worthy to study. Classic Indian Scriptures mention differently able character in prominent positions. There is a faulty opinion about Indian mythology is that they associate disability chiey with evil characters. Hunch backed Manthara from Ramayana and limping legged Shakuni from Mahabharata are negatively stereotyped characters. This paper tries to analyze that these charac- ters were guided by their motives of revenge, loyalty and acted more as dramatic devices to bring crucial changes in plot. The deities of lord Jagannath in Puri is worshipped , without limbs, neck and eye lids which strengthens the notion that disability is an occasional but all binding phenomena in human civiliza- tion. The social model of disability brings forward the idea that the only disability is a bad attitude for the disabled as well as the society. In spite of his abilities Dhritrashtra did face discrimination because of his blindness. The presence of characters like sage Ashtavakra and Vamanavtar of Lord Vishnu indicate that by efforts, bodily limitations can be transcended. Keywords: Karma, Medical model, Social model, Ability, Gender, Charity, Rights. History of disability is as old as mankind. According to census 2011, approximately 21 million people in India who are suffering from different kind of disabilities. Disability has been the inescapable part of human society from ancient times. With the thrust of disability right movements and development in field of disability studies, the task of historicizing disability is a genuine task. There are questions, accusations that get its cue in the mythical past of disability in ancient India. There is a faulty opinion about Indian scriptures that they present disabled character in negative light. Characters like Shakuni and Manthara have been sterotyped into the synonyms of villainy in the Indian households. While judging the actions of these characters, their motives and past life are not given much thought. The objective of this paper is to challenge the notion of the negative treatment of disabled characters in the Indian mythology. The time period of this study lies in epic age of ancient India. The timeline of epic age is estimated from 1000 to 600 BC. Disability studies in India did not probe deep into the presentation of disability in our religious scriptures. The primary sources for the paper are the tales as it is present in cultural consciousness of India. To subvert the negative disability myths I have taken the help of sub narratives. To find these sub narratives I held conversation with masses, and took help from researches that support the notion of charity and karmic philosophy with respect to discussion of disability in ancient India. The evolutionary model of disability asserts the presence of disabled people in ancient societies. The earliest model of disability follows the notion of Karma or actions as the sole reason behind any kind of disability, deformity or deviance from normal behavior. This model is witnessed in almost all culture of the world. The idea of sin and karma takes disability in rubric of religion. OPEN ACCESS Volume: 7 Issue: 1 Month: July Year: 2019 ISSN: 2321-788X Received: 31.05.2019 Accepted: 25.06.2019 Published: 01.07.2019 Citation: Kumari, Neha. “Karmic Philosophy and the Model of Disability in Ancient India.” Shanlax International Journal of Arts, Science and Humanities, vol. 7, no. 1, 2019, pp. 39-43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.34293/ sijash.v7i1.531 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License