Draupadi – The ‘he’ in ‘her’: A blend of the Sinister and the Gentle

Authors

  • Moumita Sarkar Assistant Professor, Dyal Singh College, University of Delhi.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56062/gtrs.2023.2.02.283

Keywords:

Heroism, masculinity, womanhood, vengeance, Draupadi.

Abstract

Draupadi, the co-wife of the Pandava brothers, is an important character in the epic. She is known to have been the quintessence of beauty and femininity. Her life has largely been a plausible canvass of determination and a majestic display of integrity. She is often regarded as the first feminist voice who had raised concerns about women’s rights, wife’s rights and husband’s authority over the wife. Yet, there has been an enigmatic aspect to her character. The more one delves deeper into her character, the more one is confounded with Draupadi’s heroism. Her strength of character and unyielding will makes her a hero, more heroic and greater than the others. And hence, the paper tries to explore the heroic nature of Draupadi’s character- to unravel the ‘he’ in ‘her’.

References

Works Cited:

Bhattacharya, A. N. Dharma-Adharma and Morality in Mahabharata. Delhi. S. S. Publishers, 1992.

Bhattacharya, Pradip. Pancha-Kanya- the five virgins of Indian epics. Calcutta. A writers workshop greybird book, 2005.

Chaitanya, Krishna. “A triad of great women” in The Mahabharata- A Literary Study. New Delhi. Clarion Books, 1985.

Chakravorty Spivak, Gayatri. “Draupadi” in In other worlds- Essays in Cultural Politics. London. Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1987.

Karve, Iravati. Yuganta. Poona. Deshmukh Prakashan, 1969.

Lal, P. “Introduction” in The Mahabharata of Vyasa, Adiparvan.

Madhavananda, S. “Main women characters in the Mahabharata” in Great women of India. Almora. Advaita Ashrama, 1953.

McGrath, Kevin. STRI- Women in Epic Mahabharata. London. Harvard University Press, 2009.

Rajan, Rajeshwari Sunder. “The story of Draupadi’s disrobing: Meanings for our times” in Signposts- Gender issues in post independence India. New Delhi. Kali for women, 1999.

Ray, Pratibha. Yajnaseni- The story of Draupadi. trans. By Pradip Bhattacharya. New Delhi. Rupa and Co., 1995. Using the fifth impression 2007.

Singh Rai, Indrani. Mahasweta Devi’s ‘Draupadi’: A discourse of dispossessed. http://www.ssmrae.com/admin/images/043757d8e99a09c8b534039890ceda03.pdf

Sundari, P. Usha. “Draupadi in Folk Imagination” in The Mahabharata in the Tribal and Folk Tradition of India. Ed. by K.S. Singh. Shimla. Indian Institute of Advance Study and Anthropological Survey of India, 1993.

Downloads

Published

2023-05-25

How to Cite

Moumita Sarkar , translator. “Draupadi – The ‘he’ in ‘her’: A Blend of the Sinister and the Gentle”. Creative Saplings, vol. 2, no. 05, May 2023, pp. 1-11, https://doi.org/10.56062/gtrs.2023.2.02.283.

Similar Articles

1-10 of 21

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.