I’ve always found Draupadi as one of the most interesting characters in the Mahabharata. She has a grand entry in the story through the Swayamvara where she has to be ‘won’ by a man of extreme skill and valour. And then comes the most interesting part about how she is to be “shared” amongst the five brothers at the behest of their mother, Kunti. Let me admit that this is the part which fascinates me the most with the promise of a thousand intricacies linked to the unusual arrangement.
How did it work out for them? What were her feelings, what were those of the men who were brothers to each other? What possible significance could there be of this strange act described in one of the greatest Indian epics?
Well I think Draupadi did a very smart thing in marrying the five men eventually in the name of “unifying the team” and so on. Let’s look at the members of the team…Yudhistira son of Dharma with unflinching righteousness and honesty, Bheema the son of Vayu of matchless strength and valour, Arjuna the son of Indra the embodiment of Kshatriya glory and invincible in battle, Nakula and Sahadeva the sons of Ashwin twins with their vigour and beauty. They represented the “diffusion of the royal ideal into five aspects” and the five archetypes of men needed in a woman’s life. Can you get all these characteristics in One Man??? Surely you are joking Mr FiveMen!
So there comes my point about how a woman can never be satisfied with just one man in her life and monogamy is forced on to women more than onto men. (I’m going to get beaten up for this)…
And I do have a problem with the serial monogamy prescribed for Draupadi. Apparently a rule was laid out in Narada’s presence to avoid disputes amongst the brothers. The rule was that when one of them were with Draupadi, should any of the other four see them, he must retire to the forest for twelve years and live in celibacy….tough…pretty tough, huh? So she gets to be with one brother at a time. However the brothers were free to practice polygamy. Hence Yudhishtira has Devaki and Bheema married Hidimbaa and Balandhara. Arjuna marries Ulupi, Chitrangada and Subhadra carrying out his amorous conquests in the northern, eastern and western parts of the country (clap clap clap). Even the twins Nakula and Sahadeva had Karenumati and Vijaya (and you had written them off I suppose).
So while Draupadi has to be with one husband at any given point of time her husbands were free to cohabit with any number of wives. Can someone tell me why this injustice after clearly establishing the fact that she needs at least 5 men in her life?
Well I think Draupadi did a very smart thing in marrying the five men eventually in the name of “unifying the team” and so on. Let’s look at the members of the team…Yudhistira son of Dharma with unflinching righteousness and honesty, Bheema the son of Vayu of matchless strength and valour, Arjuna the son of Indra the embodiment of Kshatriya glory and invincible in battle, Nakula and Sahadeva the sons of Ashwin twins with their vigour and beauty. They represented the “diffusion of the royal ideal into five aspects” and the five archetypes of men needed in a woman’s life. Can you get all these characteristics in One Man??? Surely you are joking Mr FiveMen!
So there comes my point about how a woman can never be satisfied with just one man in her life and monogamy is forced on to women more than onto men. (I’m going to get beaten up for this)…
And I do have a problem with the serial monogamy prescribed for Draupadi. Apparently a rule was laid out in Narada’s presence to avoid disputes amongst the brothers. The rule was that when one of them were with Draupadi, should any of the other four see them, he must retire to the forest for twelve years and live in celibacy….tough…pretty tough, huh? So she gets to be with one brother at a time. However the brothers were free to practice polygamy. Hence Yudhishtira has Devaki and Bheema married Hidimbaa and Balandhara. Arjuna marries Ulupi, Chitrangada and Subhadra carrying out his amorous conquests in the northern, eastern and western parts of the country (clap clap clap). Even the twins Nakula and Sahadeva had Karenumati and Vijaya (and you had written them off I suppose).
So while Draupadi has to be with one husband at any given point of time her husbands were free to cohabit with any number of wives. Can someone tell me why this injustice after clearly establishing the fact that she needs at least 5 men in her life?
No comments:
Post a Comment