Imagine the scenario. A king’s court is in session. All the senior statesmen, revered teachers and erudite scholars are present. Literally the entire kingdom is watching with avid interest. A woman, that too a queen by her own rights, is dragged into the court and is being forcibly disrobed. Not a voice was raised, not a finger rose in opposition! Her modesty was saved by a miracle as she prayed fervently to God.
I find this very difficult to swallow, not with a pinch of salt or even with a spoonful of honey. What went wrong and where? Did the story-teller par excellence Vyasa miss out something or is it a collective transgression of women’s rights enacted several centuries ago? Were all the men engulfed in an exercise of self-hypnotism instigated by the promise of seeing a naked woman? Was it the perverted desire of a mass of men mesmerized by voyeurism which made them watch the unfolding drama in mute assent?
I have not read the original transcripts as written by Vyasa in Sanskrit but I have read Kamala Subramaniam’s excellent English version which she herself calls as a free translation. I have also lapped up Rajaji’s Vyasar Virundhu in Tamil, several times. Both the versions carry not a single word about the objections that should have been raised by the people in court. No record of anyone trying to stop the blatant abuse of a woman. I find this very strange and inexplicable. K.M.Munshi too is silent in his Krishnavatar. Even the fiery poet Bharatiyar, who championed the cause of women’s rights, says nothing in his Panchali Sabadam. Of course he himself has admitted that he has stuck to Vyasa’s version and that he is accountable only for the Tamil poesy.
While it is true that the Pandavas lost their wife (even that sounds yuck!) in a throw of dice to the wily Sakuni and were to be considered as slaves, can the court keep quiet when the modesty of a woman is set to be outraged? Bheeshma, the grandfather, son of the divine Ganga and one who was hailed as pithamaha, Dronacharya, Kribacharya, the revered gurus of both Pandavas and Kurus, Vidura, the scholar- all did nothing – not even raise a vocal objection. I can’t palate this. This has to be the mother of all abuses against women. Our forefathers were incredibly male chauvinistic and treated women worse than slaves.
The question Draupadi raised on entering the court was whether she was a slave or not. She was harping on the logic that can a man bet his wife after losing himself in a gambling game. The discussions were much in the nature of rabbis debating whether a particular act is 'kosher' as per the diktats of Talmud. The objections of Vidura, Vikarna and the ruling given by Bheeshma were all with respect to this aspect. The emphasis was on declaring whether or not Draupadi was a slave. This can mean only one thing. It was an accepted norm. There was no violation. A slave woman can be abused in any manner including being disrobed in public. The non-action of the whole court clearly indicates the values that were prevalent in those days. No objections were raised to the disrobing, even after the incident!!
All the ire pours out of the Pandavas after the incident, each vowing to kill one of the perpetrators but they were indeed watching impotently when their wife’s modesty was being violated. They had to be quiet because they themselves were slaves. That they enacted their revenge and fulfilled their vows does nothing to the fact a woman’s modesty was outraged and her privacy was violated in public. Was that a pre-cursor of things to come as far as India is concerned? That we have become a nation of rapists, molesters and woman abusers is there for everyone to witness but this incident must be the earliest of a dubious record.
.
Close
Draupadi resisted because she was not a slave. Being a slave yudhistir has no right to participate in a gamble against master and Slaves do not own anything.
There is dharma Sukhma behind every episode of Mahabharata. Karna admits to Krishna that he performed ADharma act of telling dussasana to strip draupadi just to make dhuryodhana happy.
Why no one has tried to stop it?:
There is a story in Ramayana. Once Rama was about to take bath in a river. He keeps his bow on the bank and pushes the arrow into the sand. After finishing his daily rituals, he comes back and finds that his arrow was actually pushed into the leg of a frog. He asks the frog “Why you were silently suffering? If you had made some noise, I would have removed the arrow". Frog says "If I have some pain I will pray to you repeating your name, but if you yourself do it whom I can pray to?"
If something happens in the society we will go and complain that to king. If it is happening just before the king and he is not reacting to it in spite of vidura's warning nothing can be done. Every one in the sabha is working under Dhrutharasta. They thought they cannot do anything without his order.
Everyone except Vidura gave preference to king not to dharma.
Everyone who hasn't resisted this act had suffered in the war. The one who raised voice against it (Vidura) was saved.
There is quite a bit of explanation in Mahabharata on why Draupadi married pandavas and why Yudhistir agreed for Gamble?
Mahabharatha is a huge Book. There are only few true translations’ available. Most of the books or serials have truncated the original version. Clear Interpretation can be done only after reading the entire Sanskrit version or its complete translation.
I wrote what I read and understood from my Guru and other elders. If you find any of the points diverging from the Original version please let me know(with the book, chapter and verses) so that I can increase my knowledge.
Reply | | Report Abuse
PK
Man u are a learned Guru.Now that u raise this topic,i too am wondering, if the pandavas were impotent or not, watching their wife being disrobed.Well well.So this has now carried on to people still betting their cars and wives in cards even to this day as we keep reading in the papers or hearing things from here and there.Sad.Regards.kamal
Reply | | Report Abuse
I don't think there is a Tamil version.
Reply | | Report Abuse
this story also reminds killings of daughters in that era becase none of the society at large condemed that shameful act?...............just think?
Reply | | Report Abuse
Here are heroes in a story who are not 100% perfect and their flaws help the script along, is what i feel, in getting to the bigger picture.
Reply | | Report Abuse
I guess that is why Bheeshma, Drona and Kripa for all their personal prowess,were clearly on the "wrong" side?
Of course, it goes without saying and I also feel that what Draupadi went through was unacceptable and terrible while so many great warriors watched. Does that paint a picture of the tyrranical hold that Duryodhana kept over them all? Again in the wrong, because any wise prince would listen to advice but he was on his path to self-destruct and so the "vipareetha budhi".
Reply | | Report Abuse
santhemant,
I did not say "unintelligent". I said "unintelligible" which means that it doesn't make sense. I am unable to follow what you are trying to say; there are too many typographical errors and no punctuation marks which makes it very difficult to read.
Reply | | Report Abuse
Unintelligent!?? very rude without even going to the links..I wanted to share the anguish you penned about draupadis insult but that was prcisely why mahabharata was fought adharma vs dharma where ven these Bhishmas were annhilitated..apart from that my comment wished you to see the great respect women has had since ages in our civilisation and their insults happen in each times suitably punished as is today pl read the links if you care about this subject as the place of women and their insults in our scriptures ...before you reply as ''unintelliegent..''
Reply | | Report Abuse
Raghuram,
Thank you Sir. You have been kind enough to add valuble inputs.
Reply | | Report Abuse
LakshmiMukundan,
Welcome to my blog space. Poetic licence may be involved in some exaggeration but to what purpose? If it is to deliver "home truths" or morals, it has failed miserably in this case, isn't it? All the other justifications like the ones offered by the elders in your family are what is known as poosi mozhugarthu in Tamil and will always be preceded by a "may be". The chagrin I expressed in this blog was because of the appalling apathy to the disrobing of D in the king's court. I just cannot stomach Bheeshma, Drona and Kriba keeping quiet.
Yesterday, when I was reading Kamala Subramaniam for the umpteenth time, I came across the place when Radheya (Karna)approaches Bheeshma who was gasping for life. Bheeshma says "I love you like I love Duryodhana". How can the pitamaha "love" two characters,one an epitome of evil and the other who was primarily responsible for the abuse suffered by D in the court on that day?Or do you think that even here present day values are different from what was obtaining in ancient times?
Thank you for the visit and for taking time for the lengthy comment. Hope to see you more.
Reply | | Report Abuse
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- Next 7»
Displaying 1 - 10 of 71 Blog Comments