All discussions about Draupadi Swayamvar- here only - Page 3

Originally posted by: Rorschach

I have a question,

Who are sutas?

Sons of

1. Brahmin father-Kshatriya mother or vice-versa

2. Viashya father- Kshatriya mother or vice-versa

Second question was Karna not invited and only tagged along Duri?

Originally posted by: ...Diala...

Sons of Kshatriya father-Brahmin mother..

It says Dury Dushy and other sons of Dhris accompanied by Karna have come.. I am not sure how this has to be interpreted..

Originally posted by: JanakiRaghunath

It was always acceptable for a woman to marry a man whose caste was equal or higher than hers, but a man could only marry a woman who was equal or lower than him in caste.

That is why the union of a Brahmin man and a kshatriya woman is not condemned, since here the woman is of lower caste and not the man. It is believed that Dashrath had a daughter named Shanta whom he gave in marriage to Rishi Shringa. This marriage is an example of an acceptable marriage between members of different castes.

A suta was a child born from a kshatriya father and a brahmin mother. As I mentioned, it was not acceptable for the mother to be of higher caste so the children of such a marriage were shunned by society. They were considered lower than shudras.

Taking all this into consideration, it was not considered wrong of Draupadi to reject Karna by those standards, even though he became King. It is wrong for us in today's mind-set, but we need to understand the rules and restrictions of that society.

Originally posted by: Rorschach

@red i dont agree, if one is following and sticking to the same set of rule and regulation that a normal person do due to fear and wrath of society and if his/her every move and action is driven by ' what society will think' then sorry to say he/her is no different than any other.

Originally posted by: Rorschach

I have a question,

Who are sutas?

Sons of

1. Brahmin father-Kshatriya mother or vice-versa

2. Viashya father- Kshatriya mother or vice-versa

Second question was Karna not invited and only tagged along Duri?

Originally posted by: Rehanism

They are the lower rung of Kshatriyas. May be Kshatriya-Vaishya or Kshatriya-Shudra mix. I don't think Brahmin-Kshatriya combo would be considered a demeaning position as Brahmins were superior to Kshatriyas in social hierarchy.

Originally posted by: Rorschach

Thanks for explanation😛

I will go with your interpretation 'Dury Dushy and other sons of Dhris accompanied by Karna'😉

Originally posted by: JanakiRaghunath

Otherwise, if he did not believe in the caste system, why didn't he renounce the throne? Why was he so proud of his kshatriya status and fight with his own cousins over a kingdom that was a symbol of his caste? In fact, why did he make Karna the King of Anga? He should have given a speech about how caste meant nothing and a person should be treated by their karma alone, but instead he tried to make Karna a "kshatriya". Is that not adhering to the caste system?

Every character in the Mahabharat followed the caste system. Even Karna followed it. He never tried to eradicate the caste system, he tried to become a kshatriya because of the privileges it gave him, so basically his aim in life was to move up. The caste system itself was never questioned or condemned by anyone in that era, because it was the law and the norm.

Originally posted by: ...Diala...

I too agree that Draupadi had all the right to choose her husband and prefer not to marry a person of lower caste. But it was not a condition of the swayamvar but hers. Respect her POV. but an insult is an insult. in front of such a big gathering. we should be open to understand his humiliation, like him or not.. and insult from the opposite gender leaves a bigger impact even in today's world. when a woman insults a man it is still more greater, coz women were considered much much lesser in status than men. Now feminists dont pounce on me.. If we are ready to accept caste bias of those days, on no grounds we can overlook gender bias that was equally strong.