Draupadi,the Heroine

Author Chitra Banerjee Divkaruni’s recent book The Palace of Illusions also focuses on Draupadi and her strength of character. “I lifted up my long hair for all to see. My voice was calm now because I knew that everything I said would come to pass. ‘I will not comb it,’ I said,‘until the day I bathe it in Kaurava blood,” says Draupadi,as she takes an oath of vengeance after the Kauravas attempt to disrobe her. In fact,this is a turning point in the Mahabharata. From this moment onwards,there is only one path ahead for the Pandavas and Kauravas — war. While there are those who think of Draupadi as the catalyst for all that happens ahead in the Mahabharata,in most retellings of the epic,she rarely figures in the forefront.

Divakaruni recalls hearing and reading the stories from Mahabharata as a child,and not feeling satisfied with the portrayal of women in the tale. “It wasn’t as though the epic didn’t have powerful,complex women characters,” she says,adding,“But they remained shadowy figures,their thoughts and motives mysterious,their emotions portrayed only when they affected the lives of the male heroes.”

So Divakaruni decided that when she would write a book,she would explore the stories of these women,hidden between the lines. “And who could be better suited for this than Panchaali (Draupadi)? It is her life,her voice,her questions and her vision that The Palace of Illusions is all about,” she says. It’s not without reason that the book’s jacket reads: “Panchaali’s Mahabharat”.

Divakaruni may be among the first to try and do justice to Draupadi in literature,but in some northern districts of Tamil Nadu,Draupadi is a much beloved and worshipped goddess with temples built in her honour,says KS Rajendran,a professor at the National School of Drama (NSD). In those regions,her role is celebrated in the local street theatre called terukuttu.

While Divakaruni explores Draupadi from a more feminist point of view,in terukuttu,it is the men who would traditionally perform all roles,including that of Draupadi. “More recently though,young girls have begun learning the art form too,” adds Rajendran,who directed an NSD production of Panchali Shabatham,a terukuttu rendition of the poem by Sumbramanya Bharati. The production depicted Draupadi’s oath of vengeance,and was staged in Madurai,Chennai and Delhi.

Modi says that,to her,Draupadi is elegant and determined,quiet and strong. “These qualities inspire me. It would be nice to see the same qualities in every woman,” she says.