1. Ideals , Icons and Reality
Dr Neekee Chaturvedi
Lecturer in History
Govt. P. G. College,Dausa, Rajasthan
India

2.  Enormous cultural value of the Mahabharata
 Pan-Indian significance
 Perpetuation through regional variations and
modern interpretations
 Crucial to the ‘woman question’
 Implications for social history

3.  To appraise the historical record through the
women characters and their roles as viewed by
the writer of Mahabharata and also as
perceived and perpetuated by the society
 To identify the general constituents or traits of
women within the epic - strisvabhava
 To elaborate upon the norms of conduct for the
woman – stridharma
 To understand their interplay and bring out the
dichotomy between societal norms and
individual action

4.  Mahabharata is a revolutionary epic that
provides women with an alternative course
within and despite the constraints of rigid
patriarchal norms, the premise for which lies in
a belief in the harmony of personal and societal
needs.

5.  Certain ideas were formed about the ideals
 Projection of women images conforming to
these ideals
 Appeal to scriptural-historical past
 Tool for patriarchal subordination
 Religious sanction to subordination of women

6. Attempts to challenge & analyse androcentric
assumptions and gender stereotyping
 Yuganta by Irawati Karve
 Nathawati Anathawat and Katha Amrita Saman by
Shaoli Mitra
 Queens of the Mahabharata by Kavita Sharma
 The Women of Mahabharata by Badrinath Chaturvedi
 Stri – Women in Epic Mahabharata by Kevin McGrath
 The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Bannerjee Divakaruni

7. 1. Inherent thought stream in the Mahabharata is
totally subordinate to the patriarchal norms
2. The women characters have been interpreted as
strong, independent and crucial players and
therefore challenge patriarchy

8.  Religious scriptures right from the vedic
period accorded a low status to women.
 Aitereya Brahman, Maitreyi Samhita,Tattiriya
Brahmana, Shatpath Brahman, Bhagvada Gita
 Mahabharata – Anushasanaparva, Shantiparva,
Vanaparava
 Buddhist Jatakas also portray concurring
opinion

9.  Source of evil causing disasters, vices and sins
 Barriers to spiritual life
 Fickle minded, selfish and false
 Unreliable and unable to keep a secret
 Possess uncontrollable sexuality
“Women are the edge of a razor, poison, snakes and
fire, all rolled into one”

10.  Totally devoted and subservient to her
husband
 Sahdharmini – To be a pillar of srength and
support to her husband
 Such ideal woman are the standard of women
“A husband alone is woman’s god, her friend, her
support; there is neither support nor god like her
husband”

11.  Shakuntala,Uma, Damayanti, Kapoti
 Show strength and self-respect
 Yet actions and aspirations totally in
congruence with patriarchy
 The portrayal of iconic women mainly in the
upakhyana (sub stories)
Therefore, they represent contemporary norms
and not necessarily a rigid view of the epic
Can also be regarded as character-specific
property rather than prevalent societal practice

12. Many of the women characters in the
Mahabharata reflect an alternative approach
e.g.
Kunti – Unwed mother, Niyoga
Draupadi – Polyandry
Amba – Love and revenge

13. Correct perspective by marking a distinction
between dialogues and deeds
Draupadi – very assertive and independent
Yet at the normative level conforms to patriarchy
Also does not stand for collective feminism
Challenges completely the notion of external
sexual purity

14.  Kunti – Becomes an unwed mother but
abandons the child
 Copulates with other men through levirate or
niyoga to beget children
 Manipulates political forces to place her own
progeny on the throne
 Yet she is totally devoted to perpetuating the
kshatriya code without even a fleeting
reference to her personal desires

15.  Victory of women who challenged the external
norms e.g. Kunti vis–a–vis Gandhari
 Internal values were more important than
external purity
 Societal issues were prominent in place of
personal feelings
 Access to an alternative course
 The epic strives to strike a balance between
social norms and individual desires