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Hinduism
Panchkanya
Women of
Substance – 25
 Chandra Rajan, another sensitive poetess of
today, catches these nuances:
“Gautama cursed his
impotence and raged…
she stood petrified
uncomprehending
in stony silence
withdrawn into the secret cave
of her inviolate inner self…
she had her shelter
sanctuary
benediction
within, perfect, inviolate
in the one-ness of spirit
with rock rain and wind
with flowing tree
and ripening fruit
and seed that falls silently
in its time
into the rich dark earth.”[[1]]
None of these maidens breaks
down in the face of personal tragedy. Each continues to live out her life
with head held high. This is another characteristic that sets the kanya
apart from other women.
There is an aspect of
exploitation that we notice about the kanya. Sugriva hides behind
Tara and uses her to calm the raging Lakshmana. Kunti is used by
Kuntibhoja to please Durvasa. Draupadi is used first by Drupada to take
revenge on Drona by securing the alliance of the Pandavas and then by
Kunti and the Pandavas to win their kingdom thrice over (first through
marriage; then in the first dice game when she wins them their freedom;
finally as their incessant goad on the path to victory).[[1]]
Unknown to her, even sakha Krishna throws her in as the ultimate
temptation in Karna’s way when seeking to win him over to the Pandavas
before the war, assuring that Draupadi will come to him in the sixth part
of the day, shashthe ca tam tatha kale draupadyupagamisyati (Udyoga
Parva, 134.16).
This is followed by Kunti urging Karna to enjoy (bhunkshva)
Yudhishthira’s Shri (another name for Draupadi) which was
acquired by Arjuna (ibid. 135.8). There is an unmistakable harking
back to her command to her sons to enjoy (bhunkteti) what they had
brought together when Bhima and Arjuna had announced their arrival with
Draupadi as alms. No wonder Draupadi laments that she has none to call her
own, when even her sakha unhesitatingly uses her as bait! We cannot
but agree with Naomi Wolf’s condemnation of masculine culture’s
efforts to “punish the slut”, the sexually independent woman who
crosses the ambiguous lakshmana-rekha separating “good” from
“bad”[[1]].
The kanya, despite
having husband and children, remains alone to the last. This is the
loneliness at the top that great leaders bear as their cross. The absence
of a mother’s nurturing, love, modelling and handing down of tradition
leaves the kanya free to experiment, unbound by shackles of taught
norms, to mould herself according to her inner light, to express and
fulfil her femininity, achieving self-actualisation on her own terms. One
is tempted to use a modern cliché to describe her: a woman of
substance.[[1]]
–
Continued
Panchkanya Pages : 1 |
2 | 3 | 4
| 5 | 6 | 7 |
8 | 9 | 10 |
11 | 12 | 13 |
14 | 15
16 | 17 | 18 |
19 | 20 | 21 |
22 | 23 | 24 |
25 | 26 | 27
Now also in Hindi at
http://www.hindinest.com/visheshank/01stri/panchkanya1.htm
Now also in French at http://www.neurom.ch/mbh/kanya.pdf
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