Classical Indian Literature

Short Essay-2
Review: In Defense of Kaikeyi and Draupadi:a Note

by Fritz Blackwell
Source: Indian Literature, Vol. 21, No. 3, SANSKRIT LITERATURE
NUMBER (May-June 1978), pp.138-144.

L. Thrinath Reddy 11110106,3rd Yr B-tech Indian Institute of technology Gandhinagar.

In Defence of Kaikeyi and Draupadi:Note

This author of the article In Defense of Kaikeyi and Draupadi: a Note is Fritz Blackwell. Fritz Blackwell also has published many other articles based on ancient tradition and Literature. Some of them are Krishna Motifs in the poetry of Sarojini Naidu and Kamala Das ,Four Plays of Nissim Ezekiel and so on. He has also written reviews on various articles related to Indian political Sciences, Mahabharata and Ancient Indian writings. In this article he portrays the role of women in Epics. The author in this article has chosen two very iconic roles- Kaikeyi from the Ramayana and Draupadi from the Mahabharata to depict the role of women in epics. The author discusses not so much about the way they have been portrayed in the Epics , but rather some of the general, traditional accusations that have made these epic figures themselves relatively unpopular compared to that of Sita and Savitri who have been portrayed as Ideal women. These accusations involve the vengeful, dominant nature of Draupadi and greedy, adamant nature of Kaikeyi. The author explains the position of women in these Epics. He tells that women in these epics had a very small role in decision making. Even if there is any, their choices are restricted to reaction, as it would have a great impact on the consequences. The author discusses the situations which were the results of the decisions they made, that thrust upon both of these women and the way they reacted to them. The author in a way defends both Kaikeyi and Draupadi. Draupadi is the only wife of five Pandavas which makes her more powerful and Kaikeyi on the other hand is one of the three wives of Dasaratha which limits her power. Kaikeyi is a temptress and that is the way she gets her work done with the help of Dasaratha. Whereas Draupadi has got a lot of power and independence so that she can manipulate others such as Bhima to get her work done. The author explains the fact that Kaikeyi had to do what she has done as she was left with no choice

The author accepts both these women for what they are. At a stage he even

sarcastically explains it by quoting I cant imagine Kaikeyi like Mandodhari ( Ravanas wife), lecturing yet devoted, described by one observer Majestic in her tears, she stands facing the tragic consequences of having married Ravana(Swami Nishreyananda in great women of India ;Almora: Advaita Ashrama, 1953, p.151). In the later stages of the article the author clearly defends both of them by stating that they were not solely responsible for all that happened. He states that even Dasaratha is to be blamed equally .If Kaikeyi is breaking the Grhadharma (family dharma) then Dasaratha is also breaking Swadharma (own dharma) by listening to her. He defends Draupadi by stating that she was not vengeful, rather she was powerful as she was the only wife of the Pandavas. He later talks about her humiliation in the assembly. He states that everything that happened there was a consequence of the deeds of Duryodhana, Dushasana and even Yudhisthira. The author questions how Draupadis vengeful and dominant nature was responsible for all that happened. At a stage the author defends kaikeyi by an unorthodox approach. He argues that had Kaikeyi not forced

Dasaratha for Ramas exile then the evil king Ravana would not have been demolished. The reason for Vishnus descent in the form of Rama would not have been fulfilled. The author exploited all the possible ways for the exoneration of Kaikeyi. The author tried way too hard to defend Kaikeyi. Defending Draupadi was rather easier for the author. He states that it was Manthara, her servant who feeded her all the evil suggestions. The author states all that Kaikeyi did was not out of her will but she was forced to do so. Even though Rama was requested to comeback and rule the kingdom he refused the offer. The author here takes the advantage of this point by stating that Kaikeyi is no longer responsible for the consequences as Rama himself refuses the offer and forgives her. Thus the author exploited all the possible ways to defend Kaikeyi and to prove she deserved a better description and position in the Epics.

The author fairly accepts that Kaikeyi was wrong at times. But states that she was not solely responsible for all that happened. Besides defending these women the author also appreciates their strengths. He even tries to disagree with Valmiki. The author seems to be unhappy with the way Valmiki presented Kaikeyi. He states that It may be that Kaikeyi is wrong- at least it seems that Valmiki thinks she is. Yet she is a strong and fascinating person by herself(Pg-8,3rd paragraph,1st line). The crux of the story defends both these women for all that happened. The author at times exaggerated the role of Dasaratha in Kaikeyis evil deeds which may not be completely true. The author, I think, has been very successful in convincing people of his claims through the reasons given all through the article. The main aim of the article is to show that not all history and epics we know of need not be true. At the end of the day all that matters is your perspective. There is no discrete answer for what exactly happened. Its your interpretation and belief. Nothings obsolute.

References:
1) SOME ASPECTS OF THE RMYAA OF VLMKI
Author:R.S.Chakravarthy Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 53, No. 1/4 (1972), pp. 204-211

2)

http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/m03/m03275.htm

3)

en.wikipedia.org