CHAPTER 5 INDIVIDUAL WOMEN CHARACTERS IN THE MAHABHARATA 152 The Mahabharata is eight times larger than the Greek epics put together. Also the number of characters In it is so large that it is impossible to take into account all the women in the Mahabharata in one thesis. The prominent women who are related to the main thread of the story are considered here. Naturally the first woman has to be Draupadi. A) Draupadi—A Flame of Yajna : Draupadi is a heroine with very few parallels in world literature. She has a universal appeal because of beauty, dignity, forbearance and intelligence. Her character has been a challenge for aspiring writers of all times including today. She appeals to the modern woman as a woman who demanded justice and not mercy in the court of the Kauravas. She could argue with her learned husband, Yudhishthira. She looked after all the household affairs ably and succeeded in managing her extraordinary marriage. She has been portrayed and interpreted variously in novels, poems and plays in many Indian languages and has also occupied like Seeta much of the folk literature. Her birth from a yajna suggests her divine origin and her attributes resemble a flame of a yajna. But even if the supernatural aura surrounding her character is stripped, she has an appeal as an earthly and independent woman. Durga Bhagavat calls her Kamini{a woman with ample desire) in her Vvasa Parva. Vyasa describes her beauty as follows- 153 (She was born from the altar of a yajna. Her eyes were like lotus petals and her body was comely, flawless and delicate. She was high-minded and proud manasvini and a fragrance, like that of a blue lotus, was wafting gently around her.) Her complexion has been described as a fleeting shade of blue and black. Her hair is long and wavy. In the Virata Parvan her voice is described to be musical like that of a veena. This ravishing beauty must have been the main reason why Kunti shrewdly made her the wife of all her five sons. Three explanations of her polyandrous marriage have been offered. 1) Lord Shiva blessed her with five husbands because she had repeated her request for a husband five times. 2) She was Indrani and the five Pandavas were only five parts of incarnation of Indra. 3) Kunti ordered the Pandavas to divide the alms among themselves when she had not seen that they had brought Draupadi. So they had to marry her in order to obey their mother. All these explanations are unconvincing and seem to have been provided for justifying the extraordinary marriage. In fact Kunti's decision was sagacious because the desire to possess her beauty alone could have become a cause of strife among the Pandavas. She bound the five brothers together through Draupadi and created a unity and solidarity among them. Kama rightly pointed out to Duryodhana— 154 (It is impossible to create discord among the Pandavas.) Drona had insulted Drupada and Drupada wanted to take revenge upon him. He performed a yajna to create a son who could take revenge. Gods were pleased by the yaJna and blessed him. So Dhrushtadyumna was created out of the yajna for revenge and Draupadi also emerged out of it. Perhaps that is why she is very keen about revenge. She cannot be at peace until the Pandavas take revenge upon the Kauravas for her humiliation in the court. The terms and conditions of anudyuta, the game of dice, were very strange. When Shakuni defeated Yudhishthira in it, according to the conditions, all the Pandavas and Draupadi had to go for vanavasa, to stay away from the kingdom in the forest for twelve years. After that, they had to stay in ajnatavasa, incognito for one year. Had they been recognized by anyone within this year, they would have had to join a forest again for twelve years. After staying in wilderness for twelve years, they stayed in Matsyadesha of Virata for one year. Draupadi kept burning the flame of revenge and aspiration among the Pandavas when they were living in the forest or serving the royal family of Virata incognito in Matsyadesha. She could not remain patient and forgiving like Yudhishthira. Maeve Hughes comments in her essay "Epic Women", "The traditionally purifying spiritual effect of the forest experience is missing in her case. On the contrary, it seems to have fed the flames of her hatred, to have confirmed her in her determination to have vengeance at any cost." 155 Maeve Hughes has not considered here that the vanavasa of the Pandavas was not for penance which would cause 'purifying spiritual effect'. It was natural that the insults by Jayadratha in the vanavasa and by Keechaka in ajnatavasa fed her desire of vengeance. Yet she did not want to violate dharma. She was aware of and wanted to follow her duties like Seeta but she was also aware of her rights, so she strove for justice, even if at the cost of war, and could not be content with five villages sought from Duryodhana by way of conciliation. Draupadi's happiness was always short-lived. She accepted Arjuna in Svayamvara but then she had to marry all the five Pandavas. There is no trace in the poem of her reaction at that time although it is true that there neither is a trace of her complaining. The glorious life in Indraprastha came to an end before long on account of Yudhishthira's addiction to gambling. The shameful humiliation in the court of the Kauravas was followed by a twelve-year stay in the forest. This Queen had to become a maid attending Virata's Queen, Sudeshna. Even in this period she had to fend off lascivious advances from Jayadratha and Keechaka. At the glorious moment of the victory of the Pandavas, she had to suffer the cruellest blow of her life: all her sons were killed in sleep by Ashvatthama and she stood at the end, as unfortunate and stricken as Gandhari. Draupadi remained dignified throughout these vicissitudes of life. Though a princess, she slept at the feet of the Pandavas in their hut after marriage. She argued with Yudhishthira against his undue forgiveness, but she never disobeyed him. Kunti told her after the 156 marriage about every Pandava's nature, asked her to look after them, each according to his needs. Draupadi fulfilled Kunti's expectations. She looked after every one of them in a different role--a questioning pupil to Yudhishthira, a devoted beloved to Arjuna, a dominant friend to Bheema and a motherly wife to Nakuia and Sahadeva. Kunti says in praise of her dear daughter-in-law, TF^ ^^ '^^ ^a^N-cclHclfcfSTT: | " (You have behaved with all my sons as was most proper, according to the need of everyone of them.) She bore the trials and humiliations in Virata's palace with great energy and strength as in the forest in the Vana Parvan. The other wives of the Pandavas like Subhadra went to their fathers' places during this time of trial but Draupadi did not think of it. She remained a faithful companion to them and the description of an ideal wife, penned later by Kalidasa, applies to her perfectly. (She takes good care of the house, works like a secretary, is a beloved mate when in privacy, and a dear disciple of the husband in learning various fine arts.) Her jealousy after Arjuna's marriage to Subhadra is only momentary and she treats her co-wife lovingly ever after. She mentions Abhimanyu most affectionately and expresses pride at his valour. Kunti understands and appreciates the great qualities of Draupadi and also 157 trusts that she can even guide them. That is why she sends the following message to Arjuna. (O valiant Krishna, Arjuna is the greatest among armed warriors and is brave like a tiger. Tell him that he should follow Draupadi's footsteps.) She comes out in all her colours in the court of the Kauravas when she is at the nadir of misfortune. Even if she had laughed at Duryodhana's embarrassment in the Maya Sabha of the Pandavas. this was too much of tribulation and suffering as punishment for her. In the Sabha Parvan Adhyaya 42 in verses 6,7,and 9 the names of those who laughed at Duryodhana are given. They are kinkarah (servants), Bheemasena, Arjuna and the twin brothers. In verse 13, it is clearly stated that Duryodhana's mind became sinful when he saw the glory of the Pandavas. This jealousy and not the laughter of Draupadi is mentioned as the cause of his evil schemes in this Sabha Parvan of the Critical Edition. Misogyny has played a vicious part in the interpretation of the Mahabharata by concocting legends like Draupadi's laughter at Duryodhana or her love for Kama. One example of such legends is Jataka 536. M. Winternitz has mentioned in his A History of Indian Literature how this Jataka has concocted tales of Draupadi's adultery. She flares up in the court and questions the right of Yudhishthira to put her at stake when he himself had become a slave. Her argument 158 was clear and her question baffled all the old and learned courtiers like Bhishma. Duryodhana demanded an answer to her question from Yudhishthira and was ready to act according to the answer. Not Yudhishthira but Arjuna gave the answer and affirmed that Draupadi could not be dasi as Duryodhana thought. Duryodhana, true to his word, accepted the answer. When Duhshasana tried to pull her vasas or uttariya (upper garment) at the instigation of Kama, Krisna helped her out of the l.umiliation.