Women In Epics of India

Satyavati:

She was the adopted daughter of a Fisherman, rejected by her King's father. She dreamed of running the kingdom because she was born a princess and refused her rights. She was the mother to the extremely talented Krishna Daipayan, whom she rejected as he came on the path of her dreams. She mesmerised the emperor with her beauty. She made Devabrata into Bheeshma. The king died soon. Her arrogance led to the fall of her spoiled sons, and yet she desired more. She brought up her grandchildren with desires that later led to Adharma. She was Satyavati, Princess of Matsya, Queen of Hastinapur.

Draupadi

Yajnaseni:

She was born to be used as a tool of revenge; she knew it and had no say. Her Swayambhar was a flaw, as only he could win the archery contest. She was his winner's prize. He shared her with his brothers because his mother said so. She was the direct reason behind the greatest Dharma Yudh. She was disrespected for her polyandry and insulted time and again with perverted offers from her brothers-in-law and their allies. She never got to see her children grow, none of her husbands was truly hers, and she saw her own children die in war, but outside it. Her brother and father also died for her husband's throne. The husband for whom she wanted this war gambled her away, and even after her death, he blamed her for being partial towards his younger brother. She was Yagyaseni Panchali Draupadi, Queen of Hastinapur, Princess of Panchal.

Gandhari:

She was beautiful and received a boon to have a hundred children. She was her father's only daughter. She was forced to marry the blind, arrogant prince who refused to love her. He took away her only friend and made love to her, giving her a child. Her boon became her curse as all her children took the path of Adharma taught to them by her own brother. The brother who claimed to love her. She had to bear the pain of the murder of all her children. She was Gandhari, Princess of Gandhar, Queen of Hastinapura.

Kunti

Kunti:

She was the adopted daughter of her father. She got the boon of getting children from the gods. In her childish attempt at trying the boon, she made the biggest mistake of her life and the greatest of warriors was born. She had to give him up in the hopes of a good future. Her husband loved his other wife. She became the mother to his children. She found her lost child as his brother's enemy. She helplessly saw them fight, and her firstborn was killed. She saw her grandchildren die, and her mistake made her Daughter-in-law a shared wife. She was Preetha, Princess of Kuntibhoja, Mother to the Pandavas, and to Karna.

Uttara

Uttara:

She was married at a young age to a warrior prince. He died six months later, leaving her pregnant with an heir to the throne. All she wanted was a family and happiness. All she got was loneliness and anxiety. Her marriage was short-lived. He left her with an unfulfilled promise. She led a life full of duties and responsibilities. She was Uttara, Princess of Biratnagar, Matysadesh and Queen Mother of Hastinapur.

These five generations of women were the backbone of the family that led the greatest war in the history of Aryavarta. Where cousins fought and desire ruled, these women stood tall fighting with the world, regretting their mistakes and trying to be justified and Dharmi. They fulfilled their responsibilities towards the throne and people dutifully, but never got any personal happiness. They were all wrong somewhere, but so are all humans, yet these women stood united in grief when the whole of Hastinapur fell apart. The epics show women being abused, kidnapped, and humiliated time and again. They have no voice, yet they are the backbones of the system. Some say Draupadi caused the war, but why? Because the men gambled with her. Took away her dignity.

Sita (Marriage scene)

Sita:

She was won by him by breaking a bow. She was taken to his palace with promises of being the future Queen, but instead, fate led her to the forests, where she was kidnapped and taken hostage. After rescuing her, the question that haunted everyone was her Character, if she had given herself to her kidnapper. She was made to give the Agnipariksha. She stayed away from his palace in hermitage with her sons and committed suicide even when she met him after a long time and was again asked to give the Agnipariksha. She never once questioned him. She was Sita, Princess of Mithila, Wife of Rama.

The Lord says whoever insults women or however, women are humiliated he will come to their rescue, so he does in the epic. The words of the Lord are a promise. The men of Kaliyug are to learn from this. Whenever they have tried to forcefully take women or tried to humiliate them, these women had become their Yama, their Death and Destruction. He had said :

Whenever Righteous values are destroyed in Bharata,
I manifest myself in a form and return to destroy evil.

Krishna as Viswarupa

These women made the epics, and women in your life make yours. Epics are nothing but life lessons. The sooner people realise this and take the essence of these tales as moral values sooner there will be relief from this KaliYug. If we help ourselves, God may help us. Start with respecting the women in your life, your mothers, sisters, wives, daughters and friends. Maybe it will be a good start towards the prevention of a darker future. Every day, women being abused and raped are in the news media. This is Kal Yug, where women get abused every day. Our epics remain a reminder in history for those people who do this Adharma. They are filling the world with darkness, and one day, a Kalki will come to destroy all that is evil and alive, to prove again that people who do not respect women shall be cursed and killed.

YADA YADA HI DHARMASYA
GLANIRVA BHABATI BHARATA
ABYUTHANAM ADHARMASYA
TADATMANAM SRIJAMI AHAM|

The Reva Cries

Roopmati had watched the troops leave. She had stood behind the chief queen as she traditionally bid goodbye to her sons. She had waited for the Sultan to come to her. He did. He was confident that the sudden advancement of Akbar’s foster brother Adham Khan could be curbed. It was not war, just precaution. He reassured her. Malwa would never bow to the Timurids. And he would not let anything happen to her. To Her. Roopmati felt suffocated by her husband’s affectionate hug. She felt trapped in the scrutinising eyes of all the people in the palace. Angry, blaming eyes. She tried to pace herself and sing, but her voice cracked in fear. Her melody was drowned in tears. Every evening, a messenger would come to the chief queen with the news of war. Roopmati was kept in the darkness. She was not told about anything. She knew the rumours. She was a witch. A temptress who caused doom to the Sultan of Malwa. She was a spy of the enemy planted in his life to destroy him. She wondered if he came b...

Rani Padmini: The Valiant Queen

This story is a retelling of some parts of Malik Mohammad Jayasi's Padmavat, which was a historical fiction poem written in 1540, an odd 200 years after the siege of Chittorgarh by Allauddin Khilji. Historically, the Rajputs of Mewar didn't keep accounts of their queens, even by name, so the name Padmini or Padmavati was made up by Jayasi to represent the women of Chittor who chose the Jauhar. Historically speaking, Allauddin Khilji wanted the trade route to Surat for himself, which went through Mewar and Rana Ratan Singh, a patron of art, was not known for his military skills. So when Khilji surrounded the fort, the only way out was the Saka and Jauhar. Rani Padmini's Jauhar, as it is now popularly called, is also not the first Jauhar Khilji witnessed. The Jauhars of Ranthambore and Jaisalmer happened before he attacked Chittorgarh. Also, the act of Jauhar happened as early as the Greek invasions of Porus's state, when it is described as the "Mass immolation of Sa...

The Emperor's First Wife

Ruqaiya Sultana Begum was born to Babur's second surviving son, Hindal Mirza, and his wife, Sultanam Begum, in 1542 C.E., merely a few months after Hamida Banu gave birth to the heir Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar. She was well-versed in Persian, Urdu and Arabic and was attracted to poetry and music. Being a proud descendant of the Timurid clan, most of Rukaiya's childhood was spent in Kabul, near the Bagh E Babur, built by Babur himself. From early childhood, she had seen the struggle of her family to regain their lost power in Hind. In 1551 C.E., just after her father died young at a battle for Humayun, leaving her and her mother in the harem of the emperor, it was Hamida Banu who wanted the marriage of Rukaiya to her first cousin, Akbar. Theirs was the first in-house marriage of the Mughals, soon to be followed by many more in the generations to come. At the mere age of nine, she had married the crown prince, and when Humayun won back Lahore, she was fifteen. At the mere age ...

Sisodiya: Kings, Queens and Princes (1538 - 1597)

I am back with another History post, this time it is on the wives and sons of Rana Udai Singh II of Mewar, his son and heir Maharana Pratap and Rana Amar Singh. This is a continuation of the Sisodia Family History I posted some time back. The information has been taken from Annals of Mewar by James Todd, Maharana Pratap by B.N. Rana, and Maharana Pratap by Rima Hooja. Udai Singh II was the son of Ranisa Karnawati and Rana Sangram Singh. He was born on 4th August 1 522, at Chittorgarh and died on 28th February 1 572 at Gogunda . He was the Ruler of the Sisodia Dynasty. He is believed to have 56 sons and 2 5 wives, apart from the many insignificant queens in his Rani Mahal. Here is a list of his main queens and their sons. Maharani Jaivanta Bai Songara of Jalore was his chief queen and consort. Her son is Maharana Pratap. He was married to her before he went to war with Banbir, as her father, Akshayraj Rao, was a friend and ally of his father, Rana Sanga. Saj...

Charumati's Love

T his is written based on folklore. This is a representative work of fiction and does not claim any historical happening in the conversations. This is to show the spirit of the women of Rajputana. The year 1657. Shah Jahan had taken ill and was rumoured to be dying in Agra Fort. He was about eighty, and the pressure of having an empire had taken a toll on his body. The seat of power was slowly shifting from Agra to Delhi since the prominence of the Laal Quila had increased, and if the news spread was to be believed, his sons were in a battle for the throne already. It was time each king chose sides once again. Dara Sikhoh was the eldest and the righteous Heir to the throne. He was believed to be a man who held high morals and was hence respected by both enemies and allies as well. Aurangzeb was his sibling and the youngest of the brothers. Short-tempered and cunning, he was always dreaded by the court. As Shah Jahan took ill, Aurangzeb took this as a golden opportunity to wa...

Prithviraj Chauhan: A Saga

Note: This piece is a work of fiction based on folklore and the Prithviraj Raso, an epic saga by Chand Bardai, who happened to be the court poet of Prithviraj Chauhan. The dates corresponding to wars, names of people and places are, however, historically fact-checked from various sources, including the works of Todd (semi-historical), The Amir Khusrau and contemporary sources like R.C.Majumder. The incidents are fictionally woven. Rai Pithora Around the year 1140 A.D., Ajmer was ruled by Anangpal of the Tomara Dynasty. Delhi was the seat of power of the Sultanate, which was a constant power struggle for them. He managed to capture briefly most parts of west Rajputana, and present-day Haryana and Punjab were also part of his kingdom. The old king had a son and two daughters. His concern grew as his son Surya was not talented enough to rule Ajmer. His youngest daughter, Princess Karpuri Devi, was married to Someshwar Chauhan of the famous Chauhan clan. Their son, Rai Pithora, helped...

Nawab E Bengal

Background: Nawab Alivardi Khan was ruling Bengal at the peak of Nawabi rule, expanding his strong empire. He had successfully suppressed the Marathas and had given a strong message to the British East India Company’s rising influence at Calcutta. Highly aware of the British Colonial policies across the globe, Nawab Alivardi Khan was strict with his policies and stronghold over Murshidabad, the then capital of Bengal (including present-day Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Orissa, and Bangladesh). He had two daughters and no sons. Amina Begum was the elder one, followed by Ghaseti Begum. Amina had three sons with her husband and courtier, Ahmed Khan. The second son, Mirza Mohammad, fondly called Siraj-Ud-Daulah (light of the country)by his grandfather, was born in 1733C.E. He was his grandfather’s favourite because he was born while he won over the Marathas. Alivardi Khan never let the “fortune child” of the family out of his sight. Siraj grew up accompanying his g...

Teeja Saka Chittor Ra

23rd February 1568. The sun rose on the eastern horizon, not with the hope of a new day. But, with the horror of what was to follow. The first rays of the Sun God were met by the chants of “Jai Bhavani!” that echoed in the air of Chittorgarh. The Mewaris knew it was time. Four months back, when the Mughals camped at the base of the fort, a helpless Chittorgarh had watched. Rana Udai Singh had left with his closest aides to make the new city westwards, his capital. If rumours were to be believed, he had left behind a cavalry of 8000 soldiers, under Rao Jaimal of Merta and Rawat Patta of Kelwa, to look over the fort. He had also left behind some of his lesser queens and infant princes, as an assurance to the people that Chittorgarh was invincible. Their safety and hope had lived in Kunwar Pratap. Truth be said, they had already taken the Crown Prince as their King. Ever since Ranisa had left with him till he became the Senapati, he had time and again proved to be a better lea...

Bijolia: Her Home

Journey to Bijolia: Lost Kingdoms and Timeless Temples of Mewar Bijoliya translates to a stop between two cities. Nestled in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara district, Bijolia sits 55km from Bundi and 105km from Chittorgarh on the well-travelled Bundi-Chittorgarh road. Once part of Mewar, this seemingly sleepy town guards a rich and layered past: it was ruled from the 11th to the 13th century by the Punwars (or Parmar Rajputs) before falling under the Chauhan dynasty, who shifted the region’s capital to Bhilwara and constructed the imposing fort there. After a brief Chauhan rule, Bijolia was reclaimed by Rana Kumbha and became an integral part of the Mewar kingdom, with the Parmers serving as local Raos, representatives and stewards of the royal house. Despite its history and the famed Bijolia inscriptions (a treasure for historians), Bijolia has never found a seat on Rajasthan’s primary tourist circuit, especially if you’re venturing out by public transport or private car. While a handful of...

Indus Valley Civilisation: An Understanding

The River Of The Rig Veda: The mythical river Sarasvati is an unsolved mystery. Sarasvati means a river full of ponds or lakes. This indicated its course might have been through many such lakes or swamps. There are many references to this river in the Rig Vedas as the " Seventh River of the Aryavarta" and " The mother of floods", indicating it was an important river in the land, probably large and perennial and caused floods. Many excavated villages and cities along present-day parts of Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Gujarat indicate the basin of the Sarasvati River. It is described in the Yajur Vedas as the one where the five rivers meet, and in the Brahmanas, there are indications of the disappearance of its lower course and how its large flow decreases. The Mahabharata describes the ultimate drying up of the river before the ushering in of the Kali Yuga . Many Puranas describe the civilisation lying between the Ganga and the Saraswati . ...

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