On Being a Woman: Śūrpanakhā on the Kūṭiyāṭṭam Stage

Abstract

Śūrpanakhā, the fierce and bold demoness, Rāvaṇa’s sister, is one of the significant female
characters in the plot of the Rāmāyaṇa. Already in Vālmīki’s Rāmāyaṇa, she is portrayed as a
strong independent woman, who makes bold statements about being a woman before her
mutilation by Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa. In the presented paper I explore her character as presented in
a Rāmāyaṇa play, The Wonderous crest-jewel (Āścaryacūḍāmaṇi) of Śaktibhadra (circ. 9th C.
CE), and in its performance in the traditional Sanskrit theater from Kerala, Kūṭiyāṭṭam. This play
is one of the central plays performed until this time in the Kūṭiyāṭṭam tradition. The second act of
the play is dedicated to Śūrpanakhā’s episode and named after her in the actors’ manuals
(Āṭṭaprakāram) as The Śūrpanakhā Act (Śūrpanakhāṅkam). The character of Śūrpanakhā is
unique in Kūṭiyāṭṭam. Unlike other female roles, she is presented on the stage by a male actor
colored in black, adorned with pointy large breasts, and long sharp metal nails. It is one of the
only characters on the Kūṭiyāṭṭam stage who speaks Malayalam, Kerala’s local language.
Śūrpanakhā’s speech mimics a low-caste dialect, and her appearance and attitude as revealed in
the play itself, but mostly in its performance reveals her as a unique feminine voice opposing the
modesty of Sītā.