The increasing heroization and the newfound sympathy for ‘Ravana’ as a highly intelligent and powerful character have recently received a lot of attention and support. For example, during the recent trailer launch of “Adipurush”, the masses were vexed by the beard of the male actor who was playing the role of Shiv-Bhakta ‘Ravana’ in the movie. While male demons like Ravana are being accepted more and more in the society, mostly due to their high intellect, questions pertaining to the female protagonist ‘Sita’ still remain exemplified by a combined grace of sacredness and feelings of sacrifice.

A predominant trend in reading and understanding mythological texts is identifying female characters in one of the two ways. Women in Hindu fables are either portrayed as overtly sexual, cunning and evil, or are read as meek and docile characters that are subject to constant shame and victimization. An interesting contrast is obvious when male characters are read or interpreted. Characters like Yudhishthir, Arjun, Dashrath, Indra, Drona, etc. are not only glorified but are subject to blanket acceptance in spite of committing serious grievances including seducing and hoodwinking women and treating them as property. Whereas there is a clear demarcation of good and evil among these men too, redemption is awarded to even the most ‘evil’ of characters like ‘Ravana’ either by highlighting his powers or by posing possibilities of Sita being Ravana’s daughter to dilute the evilness of the character through a sacred association with ‘Sita’ and ‘Shiva’. In the case of female characters, however, a general narration of disdain or shame creeps in regardless of the role played by that woman. Not only are characters like Suparnakha, Kaikeyi, and Manthra demonized through a careful portrayal of dark skin, ugly posteriors and overt sexualities, even the supposed protagonists like Sita or Draupadi are subject to acute shame and victimization. What we miss in these narrations are the shades of courage, choice, agency, power and independence of these women. In this essay, we attempt to re-envision this male gaze to re-read certain female mythological characters as strong and powerful women.

Sita

Two contrasting portrayals or rather interpretations of Sita’s character and experiences have surfaced in Indian literature. While right-wing nationalist literature has idolized this character as a symbol of purity and piousness, feminist and other readings have tended to place Sita as a victim of male and patriarchal oppression. Crucial as it has been to question and investigate the contexts of ‘agni-pariksha’ and the acute violence faced by Sita both at the hands of Ravana and then later Rama (who forced her to exile), placing her as a victim is often implied as weakness, vulnerability, and lack of agency. Turning the male gaze on its head, one can re-interpret the story as not that of a victim but a survivor of violence and patriarchal oppression who willingly chose to leave and raise her children independently. Sita refused to return home at the behest of Rama and refused to place herself as a victim. Just as valorizing her survival of acute violence does not negate the existence of that violence, re-reading her position as a woman of agency does not negate the forces that constantly attempted to rob her of the same. Re-reading Sita as the woman who deemed “Ram-Rajya” as unlivable and as one of the earliest single mothers can be an interesting way to extract feminist nuances from these fables. In this line, Mallika Sengupta’s Sitayan (2009) brilliantly posits feminist critiques within the narrative while placing Sita as the upholder of “feminist dharma” who speaks up for the women and the subalterns.

Draupadi

One of the most blatant victimisations of powerful female characters is that done to the valiant Draupadi, whose open assault not only failed to be a testament to the acute oppressiveness of toxic masculinity but instead attached a perpetual shame and embarrassment to her name. Using a re-interpretation of Draupadi’s experiences, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni in her book The Palace of Illusions (2008) has lent remarkable nuance to this vivid character that has been historically reduced to her ‘cheer-haran’. Divakaruni's Draupadi is a woman who carries the whole spectrum of human emotions from sexual desire to envy. In her journey of violence, hatred, male domination and property tussle, notions of virginity, purity and agency are explored and investigated in the story without diminishing Draupadi’s understanding and role. Her complex relationships with her husbands, her mother-in-law Kunti and the mysterious Karna help highlight the nuances of female desire, sexuality and understanding of violence. Originally written in Odiya, Pratibha Ray’s Yajnaseni: The Story of Draupadi also offers an insight into Draupadi’s understanding of the injustices of the Kshatriya code of dharma. Ray’s Draupadi is portrayed both as a conscious agent as well as an instrument in the larger war, asking the question: “Should only women be forced to be the medium for preserving dharma and annihilating evil throughout the ages?”

Other women in Hindu Mythology

The list of female characters which need a re-interpretation is not exhaustive. Hidimba, for instance, has been reduced as a link to Gatotkacha’s role in the Holy War. One of the earliest single mothers, Hidimba is an important example of female desire and agency. Her desire, however, was explained as a side-effect of being a “Rakshas'' so as to reinforce the notion of chastity for human women. Similar depictions of female desire are done in the case of Suparnkha and Urvashi. Suparnkha’s sexuality is demonized and solicits the “naak-katana” punishment- a commonly used phrase in patriarchal households to express ‘dishonor’ at the hands of a woman. Urvashi’s desire turns into rage when rejected by Arjuna. In both cases, the lesson of chastity is carefully placed in the subtext.

It is also important to remember the shrewdness and political acumen of some of these women. Characters like Satyavati, Kaikeyi, Ganga, Kunti, and Manthara have been pivotal to the storylines but have been only understood as women of chaos and not as cunning political agents. The story of Amba and her transformation or rebirth as Shikhandi is another example of agency and grit. Bhishma’s refusal to raise arms against Shikhandi in the final war was an attempt to identify femininity with weakness in the name of chivalry. What the reader seems to miss is the sheer rebellion, power and determination shown by Amba’s character who commits years of penance to avenge her honor. Representing female characters in mythology as weak and sacred can pass on the patriarchal structures of control generation after generation. It is important to reimagine history and locate the strong agency of these women to fight back and even sustain their feminist glory among future generations.

Smriti R. Sharma and Namrata Shokeen

* Smriti R. Sharma is Junior Research Assistant at Monk Prayogshala; Namrata Shokeen is Research Author at Monk Prayogshala.