Space and Gender-Based Violence: Analysing Female Agency and Oppression in Select Plays by Bhasa, Shudraka, and Kalidasa

Literature represents Gender-Based Violence (GBV) as an important theme, providing insights into various conceptions of gender, power, and social constraints. This study draws upon spatial criticism and intersectional feminist theory to analyse the impact of space on gender relations and GBV in select plays by Bhasa, Shudraka, and Kalidasa, three prominent Sanskrit playwrights. While scholarship has highlighted the authorial, historical, linguistic, and thematic contexts of the plays, there is limited research on the connections between space and GBV in these plays. The research aims to understand how spaces in the select plays reflect or contest social hierarchies that marginalise female characters like Tara, Sita, Vasantsena, Shakuntala, Malavika, and Urvashi. Primarily, space and spatial dynamics in these plays depict social limitations on these characters. At the same time, the existence of female agency through feminine resistance is also highlighted. The analysis positions classical Sanskrit drama within interdisciplinary GBV discourse, foregrounding how literature can reinforce or challenge frameworks of gender-based oppression. By analysing the connection between space and GBV, the study underscores the relevance of literary narratives in understanding GBV and offers a foundation to re-evaluate classical Sanskrit literature as a medium of resistance.

Keywords: GBV, space, Sanskrit drama, feminism, intersectionality