include bias against the girl child, reservation and merit, and the state of the disabled, among others. Bias against the girl child The girl child has been historically discriminated against in the Indian society, due to several cultural and economic factors. The preference for sons and discrimination against the female child continues to date, reflected in statistics like child sex ratio (skewed by female infanticide and sex-selective abortions), and lower literacy rates for women. The poet raises the issue of gender inequality in the first (1.12, 1.57–1.59) and the fifth (5.17) cantos of the epic. The following verse is from the first canto in the context of the dialogue between Uddālaka and Kahola, where Uddālaka tells Kahola about the birth of Sujātā. Says Uddālaka – Devanagari कन्या नहीं भार है शिरका यही सृष्टि का है श्रृंगार मानवता का यही मन्त्र है यही प्रकृति का है उपहार । कोख पवित्र सुता से होती पुत्री से गृह होता शुद्ध नहीं भ्रूणहत्या विधेय है श्रुतिविरुद्ध यह कृत्य अशुद्ध ॥ IAST kanyā nahīṃ bhāra hai śirakā yahī sṛṣṭi kā hai śrṛṃgāra mānavatā kā yahī mantra hai yahī prakṛti kā hai upahāra । kokha pavitra sutā se hotī putrī se gṛha hotā śuddha nahīṃ bhrūṇahatyā vidheya hai śrutiviruddha yaha kṛtya aśuddha ॥ Reservations Reservation in the educational institutes, public sector and its proposal for private sector is a controversial and much debated issue in India. Different caste and religious groups have demanded reservations in educational institutes and/or public sector in recent times, which has often led to unrest, protests, and conflicts between judiciary and legislature. In the fifth canto of the epic, while speaking to himself when comparing the learning abilities of Aṣṭāvakra (who is disabled) with those of Śvetaketu and other disciples, Uddālaka says – Devanagari प्रातिभ क्षेत्र में आरक्षण न कदापि राष्ट्रहित में समुचित । यह घोर निरादर प्रतिभा का अवनति का पथ अतिशय अनुचित ॥ IAST prātibha kṣetra meṃ ārakṣaṇa na kadāpi rāṣṭrahita meṃ samucita । yaha ghora nirādara pratibhā kā avanati kā patha atiśaya anucita ॥ Bias against the disabled The issue of prejudice and discrimination against the disabled is raised in multiple contexts. In the dialogue between Uddālaka and Kahola in the first canto, Uddālaka says that with the success of Aṣṭāvakra, the disabled will no longer be deprived of their rights by the society. They will not be pushovers any more, no more be regarded as bad omens in