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The Criterion: An International Journal in English ISSN 0976-8165

Yajnaseni: A Synonym of Indian Woman

Dr. Sanchita Choudhury

HOD
Dept. of Humanities,
Padmanava College of Engineering
&
Sagarika Dash
Lecturer
Dept. of Humanities,
Padmanava College of Engineering

यत्र नायर्:स्तु पज्

ू यन्ते रमन्ते तत्र दे वता: |

यत्र एता: तु न पूज्यन्ते सवार्स्तत्र अफला: �क्रया: ||

-मनुस्मॄ�त

(Transliteraion: Yatra naryastu pujyante ramante tatra devata/ Yatra etᾱh tu na pujyante
sarvasttra aphalᾱh krtiyᾱh i)
[Translation: Women are honored where divinity blossoms; wherever women are
dishonored, all action, no matter how noble, remain unfruitful.]

Indian tradition has been considered unique in many aspects. It is said to be different with
respect to its association of day-to-day lifestyle and professional life with philanthropy. It
has awarded highest regard to a woman considering her a mother, who is regarded as the
epitome of purity and inviolability. India has always had a special place for women in
almost every ritualistic practice in the society. A woman is free to take part in any
spiritual and social service unlike many cultures in the society. And women from time
immemorial have exhibited their dynamic energy, devout efforts and committed service
for their family, society and every other field where they received an opportunity or
platform to perform. Indian aesthetics, philosophy and tradition have expounded various
qualities of women.

The ultimate reality is one and the world of beings is its manifestations. The Upanishads
declare that “ekam sat vipraha bahuda vadanti” (There is but only one reality in this
world). Man and woman are the two manifestations of one supreme power. The
refinement of man and woman marks the essence of civilization. They appear different in
form and function, but the fact remains that they are equal in strength, power and
disposition. Yet they are different and unique in their own capacity. It is in the opposite
gender, where one finds one’s end or fulfilment. This unique relationship is manifested in

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ancient Indian philosophy as two distinct forces— Shiva and Shakti, or purusha and
prakriti. Purusha is the dynamic force or the energy while prakriti is the gross/active
matter and the epitome of ᾱdhᾱr or the ultimate base. It is in their union that the very
evolution has taken place. Philosophically the doctrine of evolution has great significance
in inter relating matter, life, mind and spirit. In Indian mythology, Shiva and Shakti are
represented as two sides of the same divinity. Hence there is a beautiful depiction of this
union as ardha nᾱrishwara —half man and half woman, which is a union of both.

However these lines in one of the ancient texts of India sound sarcastic in the present
milieu. Plight of women seems to be an integral aspect of human civilization, magnified
in Indian sub-continent. In fact, a woman, who is instrumental in bringing about not only
the process of procreation but also in many altruistic services in a family and society, has
always been among the deprived and under-represented class of the society apart from
being an accepted prey to the nonchalant injustice/deprivation enthused by her family and
society overall. A practice, which connects all the ages since centuries, is unfortunately
prevalent in India and other parts of the globe amidst worldwide dissent against gender
discrimination. In India, societal system preferably prescribes patriarchal structure where
the privileged sex, the male, gets the right to take important decisions and significant
steps to steer either the family or the society in a whole. As a result, birth of a male child
is still considered auspicious and the birth of a girl child is often held ominous in many
sections of the society. An increase in the number of male child is a much coveted
possession in a family. Almost from her inception, a girl is assigned specific roles,
responsibilities, duties and rights, since her first consciousness that governs the inner
wheel of a family. In nut shell, it should be better labeled as ‘domestic affairs’.
Depending on the age group a girl belongs to, assignment of job differs, and later her
marital status shapes her destiny. It would therefore not be unfair to conclude that plight
of a woman begins from her birth. Whatever a woman/girl does, is the fruit of the
decision taken by someone else for her. Dose of moral lessons or sense of good act or bad
act is injected in a girl’s blood, in optimum proportion which varies from place to place
and culture to culture, to condition her mind right from her babyhood days. Thus, a girl
child gets conditioned to subjugation at every level since her tender years. It would be an
incomplete observation if the conditioning process of a male child is left untouched.
Well, a small boy is also trained how to discriminate based on the gender factor.
Innocently one male child seeks extra care and attention when compared to his female
siblings in a family. For example, a boy is taught to understand right from his childhood
days that kitchen is a den for his mother, sister and later his wife, and his destination is
somewhere away from manufacturing comfort and pleasure for family members.
Although this sounds very feminist, it is a fact that Indian societal condition still broods
on issues related to kitchen and other domestic affairs. This might be one of the strong
reasons why TV soaps based on this theme reap immense popularity.

Distorted pictures of gender bias are reflected in the human-designed mythological world.
Fables, parables, allegories— all surrounded with the stories of Gods and deities, even
reflect gender discrimination. The epoch making story of temptation for the forbidden
apple between Adam and Eve is also craftily designed. Eve is deliberately portrayed as
the primary culprit having been fallen into the trap of Satan. Almost all the epoch making

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magnum opus of literary legends portray woman/women as the root of every catastrophe.
In Hinduism, the images of the Gods and Goddesses like Shree Vishnu and Lakshmi,
Brahma and Saraswati, Shiva and Parvati, are portrayed as the replica of the society.
Goddesses are sketched as delicate deities, sitting on the swan or Lotus, serving their
consorts or simply sitting beside and valourizing them for their gallantry. Women deities
are portrayed as the ideal partners of the most powerful universal forces. Indian epics like
The Ramayana and The Mahabharata are also not unscathed from portrayal of gender
discrimination. Female consorts are portrayed as an epitome of sacrifice and tolerance.
Female protagonists/characters like Sita and Yajnaseni were forced to withstand
humiliation, undue hardship and injustice in the name of dharma. In fact, under-
representation of women is not as much a matter of concern as compared to the distorted
illustration of women. Unfortunately irrespective of all round developments human
nature falls a prey to the basic instincts, i.e., control over the weaker section of the
society. Certain physical limitations of women have been molested by men for ages in
order to retain the reign of supremacy. However one must not be oblivious of the fact that
some of the awakened male reformers immensely contributed for the emancipation of
women. It was a Himalayan task for these reformers to fight against this social evil
amidst conditioned men and women guided by opportunists of the society.

This paper, which is primarily based on the novel written by Pratibha Ray, a renowned
novelist and academician of Odisha, depicts the plight of women in the society. The
paper highlights the aspects that meticulously reflect the deplorable state of women since
the time immemorial and relate with the contemporary scenario. Yajnaseni or Draupadi
still exists and survives in the heart of almost every woman in Indian sub-continent, and
is the main concern of the author of Yajnaseni. The paper highlights plight of woman in
the society that has been a universal malice for millennia, and how each woman
irrespective of her social status and age co-relates with this social subjugation, much
unattended and ignored.

Yajnaseni, one of the female protagonists of the great Indian epic, The Mahabharata,
emerged out of an altar in order to avenge her father’s insult. That she would embark
upon dharma by playing the role of a catalyst in wiping out the ruling class kshatriya-s,
was prophesised during her birth.

“This woman has taken birth to avenge your insult. She has appeared to fulfill a vow. By
her Dharma will be preserved on this earth, kshatriya-s will be destroyed. She will be the
destroyer of the Kauravas” (Ray, Yajnaseni, 8).

Yajnaseni, an epitome of prejudice and untold suffering, has been known for her intrepid
actions taken to fight against the evil. Although she was subjected to sufferings, insults
and injustices in several occasions beginning with her compulsion to enter into the world
of polyandry, she did not lose hope to start afresh. She was consoled by Lord Krishna
Himself along with other elderly persons to pacify herself in order to let the ‘greater
cause’ ensue through her. She was meant to be instrumental in accomplishing a greater
service towards humanity; that she was divinely chosen to be a catalyst to ascertain
dharma on the earth. Yajnasini, an epitome of compromise, is hitherto considered a

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polyandrous female and label as ‘Mahabhaaratii’, ‘a great wife of five descendants of

Bharata’. Everyone seems to look at her in abhorrence by the thought of a female leading
her marital life with her five husbands. But Yajnaseni remained unheard. She neither
found any congenial opportunity to express her grief/inner voice nor could she prefer to
be vocal. Yajnaseni, a novel written by Pratibha Ray, is a narration of The Mahabharata
retold from a woman’s point of view. The atrocities of Yajnaseni have not only been
reflected in this story but also carry with the real life connection between mythology and
reality. This connection has made the novel impressive and appealing.

Injustice and discrimination in the name of gender ironically are still prevalent since the
time immemorial. Discrimination in the name of gender has been an inevitable aspect of
the patriarchal society and depriving women in every aspect of life has been quite
obvious. In the 20th or 21st century, when there are discourses on women empowerment,
the chapter of exploitation remaining the same indicated the ironical state of womanhood.
Krishnaa, being an archetype of Indian women has been projected as one of the most
tormented females in The Mahabharata. However, the projection of such atrocity is not
confined only to Draupadi. Although a princess, Sita suffered atrocities throughout her
life. As a victim of social stigma in the then days, her voice remained unheard. She
discharged her duty as a wife and thus accompanied her husband to the exile for 14 long
years discarding palatial luxuries. However, her chastity got questioned by her own
husband Shree Rama. Without any retaliation she proved successful in the ‘purity’ test
not asking in return for a similar chastity test for her husband too. Like Draupadi and
Sita, voice of the women gets suppressed in the male dominated society. Draupadi and
Sita are merely not the mythological characters but vibrant characters whom one
witnesses in almost every house.

Although we live in a patriarchal society, it cannot be concluded that only male members
are solely responsible for any atrocity upon a woman. The irony is that at times a woman
also stands responsible for the agony of another woman. Draupadi was an incomparable
beauty in her brimming youth. When she was waiting for her dream lover, the thought of
Krishna, the finest man of Aryavarta was infused in her mind. While she was dreaming of
Krishna, the finest man himself shattered her dream and she was provided with an option
of choosing someone as fine, as strong and as attractive as Krishna in the form of the
third Pandava and Krishna’s cousin Arjun. After the swayamvar, when Krishnaa
accompanied with the Pandava-s, arrived before her mother in law (Kunti), she was
considered as an object and was asked to be equally shared among the five Pandava-s.
Kunti, though a woman, was more concerned to make her words true than to protect the
honor and shame of her daughter-in-law. Another illustration can also be cited where
again a woman plays a pivotal role in being the cause of agony of her daughters-in-law.
Not only the protagonist herself but two other princesses of The Mahabharata, Ambika
and Ambalika were also forced by their mother in law in the name of dharma to beget
sons from other men to preserve their dynasty. “(For) the preservation of dynasty,
Ambika and Ambalika were virtually forced to beget sons by other men. …Their mother
in law Satyavati says, “if a woman cannot have son by her husband, there are eight
methods by which she can beget a son. And this is accepted by the society. Among these,
one way is begetting a son by another man” (Ray, 97).

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Usually an Indian woman never puts forth her likes and dislikes before her husband or in-
laws. Indian tradition, as mentioned above, conditions a woman to compromise her life
based on the needs of the male counterpart. She toils hard to satisfy her husband, children
and other members of the family. Many a time she keeps her desires and inquisitions
suppressed at the cost of her bubbling desire to live life. Her goal in life becomes ensuing
and maintaining peace in the family. A woman is not empowered to ask or charge her
husband if he does anything erroneous, rather, she is answerable to everyone in the
family and society in a whole. She is considered as someone who is the epitome of co-
operation and an instrument to satisfy her consort in every respect. Indian woman is
known for her tyᾱg or perennial sacrifice. She is often subjected to brutal mental/physical
torture whenever and wherever she fails to meet people’s expectation. From the
discussion of the elderly persons like Kunti, Yudhishthir, Vyasadev and Arjun, in The
Mahabharata, it was clear that no one ever wanted to take the share of moral blame and
eventually it was Draupadi who had fallen a prey to societal malice in the name of gender
discrimination. Arjun, the real husband of her, too wanted her to be shared by all five
brothers. “(We) shall all enjoy the princess equally” (Yajnaseni, 59). Krishna, the finest
man of Aryavarta, when asked to resolve the situation, he justified the statement of
Yudhishthir by saying,

“Whoever has seen Krishnaa once – how can he rest without getting her? There is a
chance of fratricidal strife breaking out in future among the five Pandavas. …
Considering all these matters and for preserving Dharma of everyone and to establish
Dharma on earth Yudhishthir had created such a situation. … So for maintaining unity
among the five Pandavas, Yudhishthir has thought of making Krishnaa the wife of all of
them” (Ray, 61-62).

After listening to everyone, Krishnaa had nothing to say except agreeing with everyone
by accepting five husbands and take the blame forever. It is popularly believed that if
everything was left to Krishnaa, then why didn’t she protest or at least reflect her mind?
The fact is, she could have denied when she had got an opportunity to take a decision.
But she didn’t because she knew that in doing so she would further complicate her
societal status. Moreover, the discretion given was more ornamental that real. She knew
that in doing so she would end up taking blame from her husband, mother in law,
brothers in law and above all would become an instrument to break the unity among the
Pandava-s. There was also a chance that Arjun, her dream lover, who was so much
devoted towards his mother and brothers, would have discarded her. In the hope of
getting Arjun along with other Pandava-s, she agreed with all but what did she get
ultimately? Neither did she get Arjun completely nor her decision and action was
recognized by anyone.

During her lifetime, a female is supposed to wear several hats— of a daughter, sister,
wife, mother, etc, and each role is supposed to be justified to the most. A male member,
on the other hand, acts as the pillar of a house and the woman is like cement that joins
each brick for its strength. She acts as a nurse and care taker who binds everyone with the
other. But her service goes unrecognized. Perhaps for Krishnaa it was role shift in every
year to act as the wife of a different person that made her existence a painful enigma. Her

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inundated in complexity is difficult to construe even now. While playing the role of wife
of one of the five brothers, she was supposed to treat the others, the four brothers, like a
mother or a sister towards who were otherwise her husband at different point of time. All
five Pandava brothers were of five different natures and Krishnaa was the only common
string that could fasten them together. For Yudhishthir, she was a sentinel of dharma, for
Bhim she was a good cook, nay chef, for Arjun, a wise companion, for Nakul, a good
caretaker of animals and for Sahadev, she was a great poet. Arjun felt hurt and mocked at
Krishnaa for her consent to abide by his mother’s ordain, but he did not delve deep into
the heart of Krishnaa to feel what she really wanted in her life. He fell a prey to the social
stigma prevalent in those days.

The supremacy of strong over the deprived and underprivileged has been a prevalent
practice in the society nay nature in a whole. Women being the fairer sex, in other words,
‘weaker’ section of the society are persistently subjugated by males. Due to this prevalent
practice men have always tried to feel triumphant by abusing, insulting or physically
hampering a woman. Woman has been an instrument of entertainment and a machine of
procreation. A valiant person like Karna too did not let a single chance to slip when it
came to affront Krishnaa. He had been insulted in several occasions and by several
persons due to his birth and blood. But instead of replying those royal personnel, he
always insulted Krishnaa as if she is solely responsible for his suffering. His manhood
and prowess were shown in hurting and insulting a female whose fault was simply to
accept her father’s condition for the swayamvar and being silent in her brother’s mockery
towards Karna. Not only Karna but her husbands also were no less responsible for the
historical humiliation. Draupadi was the ‘heroine’ of five heroes and it was her duty to
take care of them and accompany them everywhere. The irony was, despite having five
husbands, everyone failed to read her feelings. Arjun always blamed her for accepting
five husbands; Bhim considered her as a priced possession and Yudhishthir regarded her
as someone propitious whose very presence brought them good fortune. She did not
receive honor and respect of a wife from anyone among the Pandava-s.

A society that forces a woman to enter into polyandry also goes to the extent of accusing
her as a harlot. Krishna, the finest man of Aryavarta had eight chief queens. Besides
them, he also had thousands of other concubines. During twelve years of exile, Arjun
himself was married to several princesses like Ulupi, Arya, Chitrangada, etc. with
Krishna’s darling sister Subhadra simply to have the support and help of their kingdom
during the Kurukshetra war. But no one had ever pointed fingers towards Krishna or
Arjun, instead humiliated Draupadi at every step. After accepting thousands of wife, if
Krishna was considered as a savior, then why not Krishnaa in accepting five husbands, be
considered as a guard of dharma!

In many occasions, a female is brutally treated by her husband due to some trivial reason,
which mostly is related to infringement of some instruction/restrictions posed by the
husband. In the Indian context, husbands are considered God and the wives are expected
to obey and worship them. Krishnaa could foresee the impeding danger behind the
invitation of Duryodhan for the dice game and requested Yudhishthir to turn down the
proposal. But Yudhishthir’s male ego rejected the plea of a female and the invitation was

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accepted. In the dice game, along with the property, Krishnaa was also staked by the lord
of dharma Yudhishthir and was lost. Although, a husband has all rights over his wife, still
he should have sought her consent before staking her. Moreover, she had other four
husbands too. Neither did he take their permission nor of Krishnaa. In every era Gods and
Goddesses take incarnation to establish dharma and peace on earth but Draupadi was no
Goddess. Then why did an ordinary woman become a ploy in the hands of Krishna for
this job?

Moitreyee Chatterjee says, “A woman’s physical chastity is a matter of protection and it

has to be protected by the family. So the best way to dishonor a family is to go for the
women. That is why we have found that upper class landlords raped lower caste women
who are working for them. In the police station you will find the police raping women
who are in their custody”. To show their hegemony over Pandava-s, the Kaurava-s went
for their wife. Draupadi, though going through an impure phase and in a single cloth, was
mercilessly dragged by Duhshasan to the Kuru court and was stripped before the elderly
erudite persons and courtesans. Krishna consoled her by saying,

“Krishnaa, your anger and vow are just. Those who insulted you, those who looked upon
you with lustful eyes in the open assembly, who encouraged sin – all of them will be laid
low on the battle field by the arrows of your husband, Phalguni. … The heavens may fall,
the Himalayas may sink into Patala, the sun and the moon may collapse, the earth may
split into a hundred pieces, but your vow shall be fulfilled. … Sakhi, do not grieve. What
I say always comes true” (Ray, 252).

But were these few words of comfort sufficient for a female to forget this misdemeanor?
Can a woman stay content and forget everything even if the convicts are punished? What
kind of prowess was it if a woman had to be staked in order to establish dharma? Was it
justice done by Lord Krishna and the lord of dharma, Yudhishthir? Several such
questions have remained unanswered. The words of Krishna came true and the Kuru
dynasty was destroyed. Once again Draupadi was blamed for being a reason for the war
and the annihilation of the Kaurava-s. But no one ever remembered the injustice made to
her throughout life.

Krishnaa is the most misunderstood character of The Mahabharata. Her devotion and
respect for Krishna and Karna has also been misconstrued. Dr. Pratibha Ray aptly says
that there is no such woman who can stay away from a valiant hero like Krishna.
Krishnaa, from her very birth has been exploited in several ways. Her birth itself was for
a specific purpose, i.e. the establishment of dharma. She let herself exploited every time
till the end of her life. She was scorned by Karna and others as a harlot due to her
acceptance of five husbands. But was she really responsible for it? It was true that she
had encouraged her husbands to break out a war against the Kaurava-s and laid them
down. Her vindictive pursuit led her to provoke her husbands to defeat the Kaurava-s in
the war. However, she was not the only reason of the war. From the very childhood days,
Pandava-s tolerated injustice inflicted upon them by the Kaurava-s, and their tolerance
crossed its limit with the slur of Krishnaa in the royal court before the elderly and erudite
personnel.

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Krishnaa is just not a mere woman but an embodiment of knowledge, wisdom, affection
and power. It is not that she lived only in the Dvaparayuga, she still exists quite alive in
every woman of every age. During the last moment of her life she expresses her wishes
before Krishna. One of her wishes is, “I do not want moksha or salvation. I do not want to
reach svarg in this body – not even liberation. It is rebirth that I crave” (Ray, 397). This
wish of her has been granted by Shree Krishna and in Kaliyug, Krishnaa has taken birth
in every family. Everyday she is being stripped and raped, and now no more restricted to
the royal courts only. Neither out of choice nor for any compulsion she might accept
certain conditions imposed by the society, but Duhshasan-s, in every age, has not failed
to strip off her, an embodiment of Draupadi. Draupadi asked for rebirth just to rectify her
mistakes of Dvaparayuga; but whenever she took birth on this earth, every time she
became a prey to lusty Duhshasans. She has established dharma in the Dvaparayuga but
her wish to bring peace on earth has remained unfulfilled till today.

Being a woman novelist, Dr. Ray’s stories revolve round women protagonists. She has
characterized women of every strata of the society as a ploy in the hands of men.
Somewhere they are exploited by their lovers, somewhere by husbands and at some other
places by the patriarchal society. Throughout the novel, the story revolves around female
subjugation and helplessness in a dystopian society steered by a section of powerful
privileged men.

Works Cited:

Ray, Prativa. Pradip Bhattacharya (Tr.). Yajnaseni

Chatterjee, Moitreyee. 'Taslima Nasreen's Lajjâ is nothing but a portrait of Society'.
YouTube, 8 Dec 2010. Date of access – 30 September 2013.

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