The Leading Ladies in the Epics

Ramayana and Mahabharata has been retold innumerous amount of time in a multitude of languages. I have recently come across the two latest takes on the epics. One is Sita(Retelling of the Ramayana) by Debdutt Pattanaik and another one the Palace of Illusions by Chitra Divakaruni Banerjee. Both of the books have been written from the viewpoint of their leading ladies.

The great Indian epics Ramayana and Mahabharata  have had women in a very crucial role as Sita and Draupadi.Two great wars have been staged to protect the dignity and protest against the injustice done to the two primary characters in the Epics.

In Pattanaik's retelling, it tells Sita's story. Pattanaik tells the tale of Sita in a lucid way and associates each story with fantastic illustrations.

The mystery behind Her birth: King Janaka had found a baby while ploughing a field. This abandoned child was adopted by the King and christened as Sita. Her growing up: She had knowledge of the scriptures and also the art of cooking. She was held with high esteem in her kingdom. Her Syayambar: It was destined that the greatest man on earth (God reincarnate) would be the perfect suitor for Sita. Ram had to string the massive bow of Parashurama to prove his worth and win Sita. Her exile: Sita decided to abandon the luxuries of a kingdom and follow her husband's path to 14 year long exile. Her days of exile with her beloved ended when she spotted the golden deer and pined for it. It led to her subsequent abduction to a faraway land. Her stay in Panchabati: She landed up in the beautiful garden of Ravana as a captive. Her days were spent saving herself from the evil intents of Ravana while awaiting the arrival of the husband. Her rescue: Finally the war is fought and God reincarnate saves her from the evil clutches. The scar on her: She is rescued from the captivity only to be tied up again by the evil clutches of norms of the society. She is asked to prove her sanctity and she comes out clean through the fire. The final freedom: But it is not the end to her days of trauma. Time and again society rejects her and Ram bound by culture asks her to prove her purity. Unable the bear the embarrassment she asks the earth to split and take her within. She attains her final freedom.


The Palace of Illusions is a book of another flavour. It is the story of Panchali, the story of her that she has to tell. Chitra Divakaruni has described Panchali's mind in such a beautiful way that we can relate to it. She is not a queen of the epic but a woman who shares her joys, sorrows and life with us. 

The Birth: Panchali springs to life from the ceremonial fire of King Drupad along with her brother Dristadummya. The growing up years: Draupadi is her father's darling and she is brought up in seclusion with great care. She too has mastery over the scriptures and the art of cooking and gains the world wisdom. Krishna the God reincarnate is her friend philosopher and guide in this journey. She is bestowed with a boon (or a curse) to bring about a great event in history. The marriage: She gets Arjuna the greatest archer as her husband through a syayambar but fate had something else for her. So on Kunti's behest she becomes a wife shared by five husbands. Her household: Panchali was married to the Pandavas when they were staying in disguise as poor brahmana. She accepted a life bereft of all finery. The relationship between Kunti and Draupadi is described by Divakaruni in a very interesting way. Later Panchali becomes the queen of the splendid kingdom of Indraprastha. The shame: She becomes a wager in a game of dice. The whole universe becomes witness to the humiliation of Panchaali in the Kaurava court. This insult to womanhood ignites the pyre of the great war. Panchaali unties her hair and vows to tie them bathed with the Kaurava blood. The win and the loss: The Pandavas win the great war, but Panchali loses her sons and the special one in her life - the one she was secretly in love with, Karna. The final journey: Panchali follows her husband and embarks on a journey to the final abode. The last walk of Draupadi is described very beautifully in this book.

These were the stories of the two leading ladies of the great indian epics from the following books.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18514068-sita-an-illustrated-retelling-of-the-ramayana
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1774836.The_Palace_of_Illusions