Mahabharata Part C: Draupadi

Death of Prince Kichaka
Source: Wikipedia

Something that bothers me about the Mahabharata is how little women do and the lack of butt-kicking done by women. For example, from part A when Amba wants to kill Bhishma, but must become a man to do so in a another life.

Draupadi is taken by Jayadratha. She is saved from her abductor.

She is then attacked by Prince Kichaka and all she can do is get away.

I don't believe that she would have had such a horrible abduction experience at the hands of Jayadratha, be surrounded by warriors and weapons, and have not learned any form of self-defense.

If I was Draupadi and I was being forced to live with people I don't care about, live out in the woods in exile, and I keep getting attacked by men, I would be so angry. I think that she would be so frustrated with her situation that she wouldn't remain a meek damsel-in-distress. She would do something about it so that she could defend herself!

Bhima and Kichaka. The Indian Heroes by C. A. Kincaid (1921). 

Famous Last Words: Lightly Struggling

This semester was supposed to be so light and easy for me to stay on top of everything. That plan has failed rather miserably. This semester, all I've been able to think about is the future. After graduation, what am I going to do? Where am I going to live? It causes me so much stress not having the answer to these questions!

With all of that being said, working on assignments for this class has been a sort of escape. I enjoy writing and planning stories. I enjoy the feedback I receive from fellow students and Laura, and I enjoy being able to give feedback to others in the class. Whenever I work on Epics of India assignments, not only am I enjoying myself, but I know that the time is being used for something productive. Unlike when I watch Netflix or go out with friends, I'm not constantly worried that maybe I should be using that time for school or planning the future. When working on this class, I can just enjoy!

This weekend I am going to Philadelphia. While I am so very excited to go, I am also stressed that I should be instead studying and working on schoolwork. I am wondering if my going out of state for an entire weekend is just terribly irresponsible and I might regret it. On the other hand, I fell like 22 is the age for doing stupid stuff like flying to Philadelphia on short notice and ignoring upcoming papers and tests. Maybe it's not responsible, but now is the time to be a little imperfect and make imperfect decisions. Or maybe that is just what I am telling myself so I can go and have fun. Either way, I bought the tickets so I can't back out now.

However, I look forward to my adventures, both traveling adventures and my storytelling adventures for this class!

Me performing at Karaoke Night at The Deli
when I probably should have been studying.

Wikipedia Trail: from Swayamvara to Euphrosyne

When reviewing what happened in the Part A of the Mahabharata, I came across this word, Swayamvara. I wasn't sure what it was so I looked it up!

Swayamvara
A ceremony in which a woman chooses her husband from a list of suitors. It's interesting that a woman had the final say in her husband at this time in history!

Bride-show
This term was listed in the See Also section of the article. This ceremony is the complete opposite of the swayamvara. In this case the women are paraded around and the man chooses his bride. It made me think of the way VeggieTales portrayed the choosing of Esther as the bride for the king of Persia.

Maria of Amnia
On the article for bride-shows, it had a short list of See Also articles. Of those, I was familiar with two (Book of Esther and Beuaty Pageants), but completely unfamiliar with Maria of Amnia. I had never heard of her, but she is apparently one of the most famous examples of a bride-show woman. She was empress consort of the Byzantine Empire. Reading about her life, highlighted by the fact that she was chosen out of a bride-show, it is apparent how sadly passive she was in her life. Chosen by others, divorced by her husband, sent away, and becoming a nun. Though she was empress of one of the largest empires in history, her death date isn't recorded! This was the sad reality of women of her time. So far from the Indian culture and their swayamvaras!

Euphrosyne
In Maria of Amnia's article, it mentioned how her daughter,
Euphrosyne, was taken from the convent, against Maria's
protestations. I wondered what happened to her after she was taken from her mother and forced to be empress consort, a position her mother had held and was ejected from. She seemed somewhat more empowered than her mother, but after her husband died, returned to a convent to lead out a more quiet life. The great irony is that while her mother was chosen from a bride-show to begin a miserably passive life, Euphrosyne held a bride-show for her stepson!

Compare these two photos. One depicts a Swayamvara while the other depicts a bride-show. An empowered woman stands before her potential suitors while the sit and await her decision. A man inspects woman standing before him as they stand before him, avoiding eye contact. 

Source: Wikipedia

Source: Wikipedia

Week 6 Story: Ending Love

Satyavati. Source: Wikipedia

When Satyavati married Mohabbat, she thought she would never be that happy again. She was proven wrong month later at the birth of her son. The couple cried happy tears and prayed never ending prayers over their child. 

A few years passed and the couple only grew more in love with each other. One day they were walking through a traveling bazaar and came across a fortune tellers booth. Satyavati insisted Mohabbat hear his fortune, as she was sure it would only be filled with love and happiness. 

"Only one person may stand at the booth at one time," the fortune teller said. "Multiple people with different futures in front of me will cloud my sight." So Satyavati kissed her husband, and carried her child across the street to wait. 

The fortune teller took Mohabbet's hand and closed her eyes. "You have a strong aura. You block the future of your wife and child. They have a destiny that can only be fulfilled if you are gone. If you remain in their lives, they will never live up to their fullest potential."

"I don't understand," Mohabbat said with tears in his eyes. "With me they have love in their lives. What more could they have?"

"Without you, not only would they be loved, but they would taste power. Every need they could imagine would be provided for. They would never want for anything."

Mohabbat looked back at his wife who waited across the street. She was laughing and nuzzling her nose against her son's. His son was laughing that purest laugh only an innocent child could have. They deserved everything. 

"What must I do?"

"When you are gone, all will fall into place."

He knew if he talked with his wife, he would not be strong enough to leave. Instead, he walked past the fortune teller towards the stream. Satyavati didn't immediately notice he had left, but when she did, she followed him into the forest. He stepped into a stream, and took the knife from his waist. With one hand he held the knife to his throat. With the other, he reached up to the heavens.

"Mohabbat! What are you doing? Please stop! Come back to me!" She desperately searched for a safe place to set down her child while also keeping an eye on her husband. 

"I will now leave this life and promise myself to the gods so that my wife and child may have their best chance at a great life. My only condition is that my son protect my wife, no matter the cost. Because that is what I would do for her." And with a flash of his knife, he was gone. 

Satyavati collapsed to her knees, clutching her child to her breast, sobbing. Moments passed until she could feel her child moving. She looked to see that he was growing. Suddenly, her son was a fully grown man. 

"Mother, the gods have blessed us due to my father's sacrifice. I am now grown, strong, and able to protect you. I must go now to find a life for myself. But if you ever need me, just say my name three times and I will come to your aid."

With that he was gone. Satyavati looked to the stream, her husband's body was gone, taken by the gods. She was alone. She curled up into a ball and lay there for many nights, unable to leave the spot where she had lost everything. 

Author's Note: In the original version, when it discussing the father of Satyavati's son, it doesn't go into great detail and we don't know why she didn't stay with him. I liked the sacrifice Bhishma made so that Satyavati could be married to his father. So in my story, it is clear the sacrifices made so that Satyavati could marry the king. It all truly began with her first husband. While the original story doesn't say that she was married or why the father of her first child doesn't stick around, I imagined that they must have been in love. Because if Satyavati is really so beautiful and loved by all who see her, how could someone not have loved her before the king?

Mahabharata Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913).

Reading Notes: Mahabharata, Part A

1923 Lithograph: The presentation of Devavrata
Soure: Wikimedia

I think that Satyavati and Bhishma have the two most interesting stories here. 

• When it says that Satyavati became mother of a son, it does not discuss how she remained a virgin as he promised and still gave birth. At first I thought maybe it was another "miraculous birth", but then it mentions her having to become a virgin again?
• Who exactly was the father and why would he leave such a beautiful woman everyone is obsessed with?
• Bhishma's vow is very powerful
• He sacrifices everything, his entire future, so that the king can marry the woman he wants. 
• I am fascinated by sacrifices and vows like his so perhaps I can incorporate this into the story about Satyavati's first love/ father of her first child. 

Mahabharata Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913).

Comment Wall

Here is the link to my project portfolio:

Stories of Power

Each story is explores a different theme of power: how people
want it, attain it, lose it, and more.

Image of Indian landscape.
Source: maxipixel

Week 4 Story: Brotherly Love

Two brothers were walking in the woods when suddenly a creature ran violently through the forest. The younger brother was prepared to ignore it, but the older brother screamed, "There is a child in it clutches, we must save it!" The brothers chased the creature into a cave. When the older brother noticed the other wasn't following him, he asked him why he stopped.

"Brother, I would be no help against a creature of that ferocity. Allow me to stand guard at the mouth of the cave. This way, if the creature is victorious, I could finish off the wounded animal before he went back out into the world." The older brother shook his head in frustration, but didn't bother to waste time arguing.

From the mouth of the cave, the younger brother could hear the loud noises of an intense battle. Shaking in his boots, he awaited the outcome. "What if I cannot even finish off the animal if he comes out?" he wondered. "Perhaps I should protect the world, no matter the cost." And so the younger brother used all the nearby rocks he could to seal off the mouth of the cave, shame burning in his heart.

Years passed. The younger brother had a wife and kids, but he always regretted his decision to kill his brother. A decision he made out of cowardice. One day, a messenger came. It was from a kingdom he had never heard of. The messenger said he was summoned to appear before the king and stand trial for murder. He couldn't understand what this was about, but he appeared before the king, simply to clear his name. While he did feel the guilt of a murderer, there was no way anyone could possibly know about it.

A king on his throne. (Bible card of Jehoiakim)
Source: Wikipedia

The king was a man a little older than himself with a long beard and a cap pulled low over his eyes. "Do you know why you have been called to stand trial?" the king asked.

"I have no idea your majesty! I am innocent of this crime!"

"Let me tell you a story. There once were two brothers. The younger betrayed the eldest who always acted out of love and bravery. The cowardly young brother left him to die. However, the elder brother found a way to escape the evil plot of the younger brother. He crossed the path of a great, elderly king who took pity on the brother. The king who had no children treated the brother like a son. So that when the king died, the brother inherited the kingdom. He was a good and righteous king, beloved by all. However, he was plagued by the knowledge that his murderous younger brother was free to wreck havoc on the world."

Recognition spread across the younger brother's face. He begged for mercy, but the king had hardened his heart against his younger brother for years. His brother's tears could not move the king, and the brother was executed the following day.



Author's Note: For retelling the story of the monkey brothers, I decided to tell it from the perspective of the younger brother who was truly a coward and must suffer the consequences of his actions. While he did not act out of hatred, he wasn't good for trying to kill his brother either, even if it was to stop the creature.

Sugriva's Story. Rama and the Monkeys by Geraldine Hodgson (1903).