Uncanny Myths

Elder Brother: I thought that I will be playing the game with you.

Younger Brother: Why brother.! Why are you afraid? My uncle is playing for me. What is the problem? We are blood. Have you lost the courage?

Elder Brother: I never step back. Let’s play the game.

Younger Brother: What do you wish to put as a wager?

Elder Brother: One lakh Horses and Elephants..!!

This was the exact conversation that happened between two cousins, Udistira from Pandavas and Duryodana from Kauravas respectively in the powerful and life enlightening mythological epic Mahabharat

The game of dice started. The Pandavas sat down while only Udistira plays. Everyone in the assembly started watching the nail-biting game. Duryodhana came and sat down, but away from the dice board. He announced that his Uncle, Sakuni will play the game on his behalf. A gasp went up in the hall as everyone knew that Sakuni was an uncanny player of dice as he carries occult charged dice. 

Every time Sakuni rolled the dice, he got what he wanted. He says, “I won.! I won..!!”. Udistira lost his wealth, treasury, gold, army and finally his brothers. He became a slave now. Everything was lost.

Bheeshma: Stop the Game. It is not the way to treat a family.

Duryonda: It's not for you to stop the game. We are playing as per Dharma. If Udistira is afraid of playing the game, he may leave the hall. Pandavas are our slaves now. They have to take off their upper garments.

Removing an upper garment is a symbol of slavery in epics. Pandavas were kings just 15 min before. Now they stood, partially disrobed as slaves.

Karna intervened and said to wager Udistira’s wife, the Queen- Draupadi. She was not allowed in the court as it was the time of the month for her. Karna says that Udistira can win back everything that he has lost as this game will be, The Queen Vs the rest. With great discomfort and guilt, Udistira wagered his wife. Sakuni used his occult charged dice with his uncanny power and rolled them. Udistira lost the game.

Kauravas' excitement raised with joy. Duryodhana roared like a lion. He yells at his brother, Dusyasana to bring Draupadi who they feel is a slave now. Dusyasana went to the Queen’s palace, broke the door open and order Draupadi to come.

Draupadi: “Dare you to walk into my palace..!! Who sent you to my place?”

Dusyasana just caught her by the hair and dragged her towards the corridor. Her clothes were stained in blood. She pleaded not to do but all her efforts were in vain. He dragged her towards the assembly where the uncanny game of dice was played.

Draupadi: “It is not Dharma. Never before in the court of the kingdom, any women are treated like this”.

Duryodhana: “ This is a law. You are now our slave. We will treat you the way we wanted”.

Draupadi sat up in rage and yells at the hall to inform that none has the power to wager her. She pleaded Bheeshma and Dronacharya to extend their support. Despite the Queen’s heavy and hearty pleading, the hall was silent and helpless.

My dear readers, What is happening from the recent past to the women around us. They were unfortunately in an isolated cage. This Indian land is a brand for great rivers with women names like Ganga, Yamuna, Godavari, Kaveri, etc., where we worship them with great divinity. On the flip side, we are treating the women around us like a material. Just on the basis of gender, that a human being is brutalized this way. We have many gender aspects of books and there are great feminist characters from mythology. Unfortunately, none speaks about them.

People are looking at women as victims of suffering. We fail to see these women who take a decision on their own. It is all about making decisions, making choices and facing consequences. Let’s observe the character, Sita from Ramayan. Every time when we listen about Sita, we feel pity for her characterization. On the other side, let’s observe the five choices that she made where none speaks about it.

She chooses to go to the forest. She chooses to cross Lakshamana Rekha. She chooses not to fly back to India with Hanuma when he requested her to come. She chooses to return to Ayodhya. She chooses to go to Earth despite bearing a heavy pain of leaving her children.

We were never told Ramayan like this by our elders. We see the characters and projects them as an agent of victimization. From Nirbhya to Ayesha Meera. From Ayesha Meera to Disha’s heartbreaking incident, the incidents valorizes women as victims.

 

Why don’t we work on improving our critical thinking through this uncanny evidence from epic mythology?