The Beginning — Baahubali:

Political theorists in India (e.g., S. Anand, The Caravan , 2015) read this as a critique of realpolitik and an endorsement of . Baahubali’s kingship is not delegated by dynasty or divine right but by his willingness to disobey the throne for the sake of the subaltern (the rebel chiefs). The film’s politics are anti-caste without explicitly naming caste: the hero’s best friend and general is Kattappa, a slave; his love interest Avanthika is a guerrilla fighter; his adoptive mother is a tribal woman.

Shivudu (later revealed as Mahendra Baahubali), a young man raised by tribals below a waterfall, possesses superhuman strength. He climbs the waterfall out of love for a mysterious mask (belonging to warrior Avanthika). This act establishes the “vertical geography” of the film: the lower world (nature, physical labor, tribal community) vs. the upper world (Mahishmati, stone, hierarchy, gold). Notably, the protagonist does not know his lineage – a narrative device more common to Greek myths (Oedipus, Theseus) than to Indian epics, where heroes usually know their gotra . baahubali: the beginning

| Epic Trope | Mahabharata | Baahubali: The Beginning | |------------|-------------|---------------------------| | Royal legitimacy | Birthright | Action + moral choice | | The slave/devotee | Karna (warrior) | Kattappa (killer of his beloved) | | The woman’s voice | Draupadi’s humiliation leads to war | Devasena slaps Bhallaladeva herself | | Divine intervention | Krishna guides Arjuna | No gods appear; only human will | Political theorists in India (e