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| Draupadi and her five husbands iereadingguides.blogspot.com |
- I am consistently intrigued by the mixed messages these epics send in regards to what the role of women was expected to be in ancient indian culture. Based on the Ramayana and the very begining of the Mahabharata, I would expect a women like Draupadi having multiple husbands to raise the same concerns with purity that Sita and Ampa faced. I'm curious if the difference lies solely in whether or not the men in question agreed to the multiple partners? Or if the Ampa was a special circumstance in the Mahabharata and that belief was only really an issue in the Ramayana.
- The idea of Shakuni getting his revenge by trying to beat Yudhishthira in a game of dice could be read as a warning not to indulge in gambling. That warning would prove wise when Yudhishthira loses everything in the first game. Yudhishthira is easily a representation of an obsessive, if unskilled gambler, whose foolishness could destroy his life and the lives of everyone he loves.
- Draupadi shows a lot of her character when Dhritarashtra offers her one wish. The fact that she wishes only for her current husband's freedom, and with a subsequent wish the freedom of her other husband clearly impacts Dhritarashtra. She not once wishes for her own freedom, even after Duryodhana attempts to humiliate her.
- Yudhishthira is, once again, an idiot. How he didn't learn from his first mistake is beyond me. I'm also intrigued by the fact that the son was able to override his mother to re-invite Yudhishtahthira. I don't think that would have happened in the Ramayana. The only time I remember a child overriding a parent was in the interest of another parent.
- I can definetely see how this story is more comparable to a narrative like Game of Thrones than the fairytale like story of the Ramayana. I have not decided which one I like more yet.
Bibliography
Narayan's Mahabharata, Link to Reading Guide B.
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