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Sukhdev Singh

Abstract

The poem ‘Brahma’, not Brahmā who is a god entrusted with the charge of creation, refers to creative element in general. A mahāvākya, or the great saying, “Aham Brahmāsmi!”, or I am Brahma, or the creative element, from the Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad, a Hindu scripture, deems, especially, the male human as the creator. The practical creative element with which males have been endowed is recognized as vīrya, or semen, throughout the Indian tradition. Since males are placed on par with the creator, who has been recognized above as god Brahmā, due to semen, the semen becomes an asset whose wasteful expenditure is prohibited except in the case of procreation, especially, of male progeny even in contemporary India. In short, the poem ‘Brahma’ is about the wasteful expenditure of the creative element. Thus, it unseats the males from the position of power as creators or quasi-gods.

Author Biography

Sukhdev Singh teaches English at National Institute of Technology Patna, India. He works in the areas of gender and sexualities studies and is an award-winning author. His recent publications are ‘Nāgaraka in the Kāmasūtra: An Introduction to Masculinity in Early India’ (2021) in Masculinities and Social Change published by Hipatia Press and ‘Teleological Trajectory of Subjection: A Critique of Marlovian Heroes’ (2020) in Litera: Journal of Language, Literature and Culture Studies published by Istanbul University. He may be contacted at dr.singhs@outlook.com

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