Mahabharat- The Epic: Sources, Variations, Discuss Here Only

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amritat

@amritat

Sparkler

Posted: 7 years ago

#131

Originally posted by: Poorabhforever

amrita link please thanks

Since you like Draupadi, and if you wish to read more about her, then you can try Cult of Draupadi by Alf Hiltebetel. It is a non-fictional, exhaustive work on the various stories on Draupadi from canon and also the myriad folklore that have formed surrounding her character, particularly in the South Indian region.

The book gives us an insight into how her laughter at Duryodhan came to be singled out and exaggerated as the "cause for war", how stories such as blood-shampoo with Dushy's blood crept into popular culture, etc.

Here is the link to Vol I:

https://archive.org/details/CultOfDraupadiMythologiesFromGingeeToKurukshetraAlfHiltebeitelVol1

Here is the link Vol II:

https://archive.org/details/CultOfDraupadiMythologiesFromGingeeToKurukshetraAlfHiltebeitelVol2

Edited by amritat - 7 years ago

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Adhya

@Agni_Jytsona

Sparkler

+ 17

Posted: 7 years ago

#132

@amrita thanks for the link 🤗

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amritat

@amritat

Sparkler

Posted: 7 years ago

#133

Originally posted by: Poorabhforever
@amrita thanks for the link 🤗

Please note, it is not the kind of work you can finish at one sitting. 😆 It is pretty exhaustive, and more the kind of book that one would "refer" to, for the sake of research.

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Adhya

@Agni_Jytsona

Sparkler

+ 17

Posted: 7 years ago

#134

Originally posted by: amritat

Please note, it is not the kind of work you can finish at one sitting. 😆 It is pretty exhaustive, and more the kind of book that one would "refer" to, for the sake of research.

dont worry i can read and everything on drau 😳😆

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SweetRogue

@SweetRogue

Explorer

Posted: 7 years ago

#135

Regarding inversion theory on Mahabharata, I agree with @Poorabhforever, if they wanted to show Pandavas as saints why retain all the bad stuff they did. And these weren't small things. Even if Bheema's bullying or Nishada murder or even Khandavprastha is ignored all that happened in the war should certainly have been altered. Why retain that these people used treachery even by citing Dharma as the reason. Why not completely alter the story to make the Pandavas win fair and square?

Anyway all of this comes under conjemcture. Even scholars who've spent their lives researching the epics still argue about these things.

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amritat

@amritat

Sparkler

Posted: 7 years ago

#136

I am in two minds regarding the Inversion Theory topic.

On one hand, I agree with Brahmaputra. The flaws of the Pandavas have been mentioned but have mostly been glossed over as "Dharma". This glossing does contribute in covering up.

On the other hand, I also believe that just like we are able to see through the gloss over, in the past thousands of years, many others must have been able to do the same as well. Like us, many people might have been able to see through the flaws of Pandavas in the past centuries. So, complete turn over of the plot seems implausible to me.

Yes, stories of curse or boon, addition of supernatural element, relegation of Krishna to Godhead, etc - these things may have been added to make the grey characters black and white.

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Brahmaputra

@Brahmaputra

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 7 years ago

#137

I have read about inversion theory. I do not subscribe to it. It states that Kauravas were the original heroes of the book, not Pandavas, and all whitewashing, blackwashing, blah blah blah. I am NOT saying that Dury did not try to poison Bhima or did not attempt burning Pandavas in Varanavarta. I also have no issues with how Pandavas killed Bheeshma etc, [with the exception of Drona.]. It was war; people killed and got killed. That's it. But as someone who tries to see the story as a whole than centered around a particular character, I am not going omit the possibilty of deep running interpolations in some occasions of Kauravas being portrayed very badly. That alone was what my comments meant.

Anyhow, I have two more issues in understanding MB.

One is Draupadi having no objections in living with Pandavas who sold her to their enemies. [What else was that? Let us not forget Bhima & Arjuna there, not just Yudhi]. She spoke against them in one or two occasions, but they could hardly be seen as objections against living as their wife. Is there a specific reason for her to choose to be with them even after what they did to her? Spare me the sentiments.

Secondly, Debroy says that Pandavas were only two, and Arjuna-Nakula-Sahadeva were added later. Any info on that?

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riti4u

@riti4u

Stunner

+ 7

Posted: 7 years ago

#138

@Jamy - even I agree with respect to draupadi, she so easily forgives pandavas but is that due to the fact that may be she needed them for her revenge with what happened to her.. since she is said to be born out of yagya for a revenge cause..

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amritat

@amritat

Sparkler

Posted: 7 years ago

#139

I too read about Debroy's theory. But would not comment without having read details of his research paper - which I believe he will never publish.

Coming to Draupadi, I think it is the ethos of the time. She bashes Yudi like anything in front of Bhima, but never really tells him to his face "You are a jerk". She even continues to take care of Yudi (nursing him when Virat throws dice at him).

As Irawati Karwe states in "Yuganta" and Indologist Abhijit Basu in his commentary "Marvels and Mysteries of Mahabharata", being husbandless was perhaps the worst thing that can happen to a woman in that era. It is something that we may not be able to visualize using our 21st Century morals.

Edited by amritat - 7 years ago

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Brahmaputra

@Brahmaputra

Sparkler

+ 2

Posted: 7 years ago

#140

In that case, it is understandable. In Victorian England, women were considered to be equal only to mentally impaired people and children. They had no power over anything; once married, they will have no money, they could earn nothing, they had no right over their children,and they were only to be dutiful wives to tolerate whatever husbands did.

Originally posted by: riti4u
@Jamy - even I agree with respect to draupadi, she so easily forgives pandavas but is that due to the fact that may be she needed them for her revenge with what happened to her.. since she is said to be born out of yagya for a revenge cause..

@ red - that is really a confusing thing, isn't it? If she believed that Yudhi had the right to stake her, what can I say? She seem to question when he did the stake, but not why he did. That is beyond my power of comprehension.

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