Sima Abhas is primarily known as a poet. Her novel Mahāyug is an excellent example of how the intensity, rebellious consciousness, and symbolic sharpness typically found in poetry can develop into narrative form. Abhas entered the realm of short stories with her debut collection “Voices of the Island” in 2009 (2066 BS). Years later, her novel Mahāyug brought a distinct and unique flavor to the Nepali narrative tradition. Breaking away from the conventional documentary-style direct and flat narration, it cleverly merges the boundaries between reality and fantasy, history and present, the mundane and the supernatural.
Any compelling narrative does not merely depict established reality as it is; instead, it pursues the discovery and creation of new truths. Mahāyug takes precisely this path. The novel runs two different but ideologically interconnected stories in parallel. Beginning with the distorted reality of Nepali society, it explores the primordial and infinite power of female consciousness.
The first half of the novel is firmly grounded in the harsh social realities we know. It holds up a mirror that ordinary people fear to face. The primary focus here is the multidimensional violence inflicted upon women and children. It reveals not only the suffering of women but also their marginalization by the state and society, which treat them as second-class citizens and objects. Children are portrayed caught in the crisis-ridden and angry web of family disintegration, social insecurity, and loss of identity. This is not just the story of a single character but a silent, dark part of our society where thousands of ‘Neelanjana’ disappear every day.
Mahāyug also captures the pain of political transition and armed conflict. The novel’s first part clearly illustrates how politics shifted away from ideals to a power play, in which common people—especially women and marginalized groups—became the victims. Though the conflict has ended, deep wounds remain in society, and despite systemic changes, the people’s conditions remain unchanged.
Sima Abhas’s Mahāyug boldly experiments with a new artistic style in Nepali literature—magical realism and fantasy—although it exhibits some literary, structural, and ideological shortcomings. The first part evokes a profound sense of anguish and despair in readers. The reality here is extremely harsh, with little sign of justice or liberation. Once the reality built in the first half entraps the reader, there is no simple escape.
Therefore, the novel takes a miraculous turn. The narrative suddenly breaks the laws of the physical world and enters a realm of fantasy and magical realism. “Where reality shrinks and fails, fantasy expands the sky of truth.” In the latter half, time no longer flows linearly; geographic boundaries dissolve. Characters are freed from mundane bonds and enter unconscious and supernatural dimensions. This fantasy world is not an escape route but a vast expression of the suppressed female consciousness within society.
Here, women are neither powerless nor victims; they manifest as primal creative and destructive energies. This part of the novel is highly symbolic and mysterious. The silent and suffering Neelanjana from the first half transforms into the ‘Yakshini’ in the latter half. Reinterpreting this myth, the novel presents her as a symbol of female rebellion and sovereign power, challenging all social, religious, and legal norms of patriarchal society and announcing a new ‘matriarchy.’
Another significant aspect of Mahāyug is its focus on stories of women across four generations. The novel portrays the pain endured and the evolving consciousness passed down through these generations from history to the present:
- First generation: Silence and millennia of suffering
- Second generation: Restlessness and bitter resistance
- Third generation: Conscious rebellion and inquiry
- Fourth generation: Fantasy power and the proclamation of Mahāyug
This continuity shows that contemporary female rebellion or self-awakening is not merely a phenomenon of one era or individual impulse, but the cumulative result of consciousness accumulated over generations erupting from silence. The incomplete resolutions that earlier generations of women could not achieve have reached completion in the new generation, taking the form of Mahāyug. This imparts profound historical and philosophical significance to the novel.
The novel’s structure is not confined to traditional Nepali critical genres; understanding it requires a playful or creative approach. The author portrays the world as a shifting and dynamic system rather than a static truth. Particularly in the second part, female characters are elevated beyond ordinary humans, idealized as “great powers” or “goddesses.” Dreams and reality are intertwined throughout the novel, often blurring the boundaries so that readers find it difficult to distinguish between truth and fantasy. Yet this blend is precisely where the novel’s essence lies. What society labels as “truth” may be an illusion, and what it dismisses as “illusion” or “dream” may represent women’s true liberation.
In the novel, nature is not inert but alive, engaging in dialogue with female energy. Elements of the universe shift in harmony with the characters’ emotions, giving the narrative a mystical and spiritual dimension. The poetic language, philosophical dialogues, and intense emotional fluctuations are hallmarks of the novel’s linguistic style. Words are woven magically, making fantasy plausible and ideologically coherent.
Generally, Nepali prose fiction is either strictly realistic social narrative or completely fantastical. Sima Abhas achieves an excellent and balanced fusion of both in Mahāyug. The first half depicts societal distortion, awakening readers’ anger and a hunger for justice, while the second half identifies female power, attempting to quench that hunger. Mahāyug is not just a novel; it is a cry against the silence of history, a roar of the present, and a quest for a beautiful, just future.
The second half marks a distinctive turn in the work. For characters and readers weary of the harsh realities and political woes depicted in the first half, it represents a “great explosion of consciousness” and a “new sky of liberation.” This section can be interpreted as follows:
- The first half reveals the distorted chains imposed upon women and children by society, from which escape is impossible through ordinary legal or social means. Hence, the second half shatters all physical laws and ventures into a fantastical world employing the highest form of magical realism.
- The main goal of this section is the search for and establishment of a “matriarchy.” Women here abandon the victim role assigned by patriarchal society and awaken the indomitable and infinite energy within themselves. Female power is not merely a right but a sovereign force of creation and destruction, elevating it beyond social spheres to spiritual heights.
- Neelanjana of the first half—a silent and rebellious figure—undergoes a radical transformation, becoming the Yakshini in the second half. In Eastern philosophy, Yakshini is a powerful goddess of mysterious nature. Neelanjana’s metamorphosis symbolizes every woman’s self-awareness and rebirth. No longer reliant on others’ mercy, she becomes a “great power” who sets the rules of her own world.
- The second half erases distinctions between past and present; the mentalities and sufferings of women from all four generations converge here. This segment conveys that female liberation and awakening are not the efforts of a single individual or era but messages accumulated over generations.
- Nature is portrayed as a living companion moving in tandem with female energy, not inert. The elements—water, earth, sky, and forest—mystically support the rebellion and justice of female existence, enriching the narrative’s beauty and poetic character.
The second half is not a mere fantasy or magical folktale. It is a revolutionary creation that empowers women who were defeated in reality by celebrating their inner victory. The author reveals female anger and immense power through fantasy because such emotions cannot be straightforwardly expressed in plain language. While the first half awakens readers from society’s “distorted slumber,” the second half lays the foundation for a new, just, and powerful Mahāyug.
No innovative and experimental narrative is entirely without flaws. Although Mahāyug strives to introduce a new style to Nepali literature, certain weaknesses remain. The biggest challenge is its structure. The first half is rooted fully in harsh social reality and political conflict, while the latter half abruptly shifts into a fantastical realm. Transitioning from a realistic milieu to a fantastical one presents readers with a significant cultural and psychological leap, sometimes making the two parts feel like separate novels. The fusion of these two genres could have been smoother and more natural.
In the second half, the quest for female power is heavily infused with fantasy and mystery. By focusing entirely on the supernatural or fantasy world, it occasionally diverts attention away from the real problems faced by women and children. The extended philosophical explorations of “matriarchy,” “rebirth,” and “cosmic consciousness” might be confusing for average readers. Additionally, idealizing female characters as “great powers” or “goddesses” risks losing their human complexity. In literature, characters who are human—flawed and fallible—engage readers more intimately. In the second half, as characters transcend human vulnerabilities and become supernatural, their “human emotions” sometimes fade into the background.
The author’s poetic background is evident in the novel’s style. The language is highly symbolic, ornamental, and poetic. Although initially captivating, maintaining this style across 360 pages sometimes compromises narrative fluidity. Nevertheless, as an effort to break established traditions in Nepali literature, these weaknesses can be seen as part of the novel’s experimental nature.
Mahāyug is not only readable but also a commendable achievement in elevating underexplored fantasy elements to a sophisticated literary level.
