Patriarchy and Virginity Myth in the Mahābhārata

Abstract

Scriptures are often used to make patriarchal control sacrosanct over women’s bodies. A stereotypical monogamous woman is generally idealised by patriarchy; Polyandrous Draupadī in the Mahābhārata, however, stands sharply in contrast and the epic struggles to legitimise it by different myths to soothe the moral discomfort. Principal women characters of the epic like Draupadī, Kuntī and Satyavatī having more than one man in their life suggest that during the early stages of development of the epic, the values that governed man–women relations were not as rigid as they became later. During the growth of the epic, the lives of these women characters were transformed according to patriarchal perception, which expects that a woman should be a virgin when a man marries her. As a way out, the epic repeatedly restores the virginity of these women characters. As men are considered as owners/protectors of womens’ bodies/sexuality, the restoration seems to have restored the sense of honour and also redeemed the transgressions of men who ‘soiled’ them. Obsession with virginity also indicates the attitude of the commodification of the woman’s body. These women characters are portrayed as passive, whose lives and bodies are manipulated according to men’s perception.