WOMEN’S FREEDOM AND INTER-CASTE and INTER-RACIAL MARRIAGES IN MAHABHARAT

WOMEN’S FREEDOM AND

INTER-CASTE and INTER-RACIAL MARRIAGES

IN MAHABHARAT

Have you read Mahabharat? No? Doesn’t matter. Have you at least seen this grand Epic in TV serial form?

Did you miss the TV serial too? Doesn’t matter. It is not too late. You Tube is full of Mahabharat Episodes. I urge you to see all episodes of Mahabharat forthwith. You won’t regret at all. Your life will change a lot after you have seen them. You won’t be a complete Indian until you have seen and digested Mahabharat.

Every aspect of Mahabharat is extraordinary, but, I want to draw your special attention to the freedom that the women of those days enjoyed and the diversity of their marriage systems, reproduction systems etc.

You will definitely wonder, are these the well accepted Hindu systems that we have forgotten later? When did our Hindu systems and customs become primitive and conservative? Why are we not following the liberal ways of living described in Mahabharat?

Instead of moving forward on those systems, why have we fallen backwards, become more conservative and more obscurantist? How did this happen?

Mahabharat is the grandest and biggest EPIC ever written in the world and the most complete history of its times. After Ramayan, it is also the oldest Epic in the world.

Veda Vyasa wrote his own story and of the entire Kuru dynasty from every character’s birth to their death.

Vyasa did not hide anything important, whether good or bad, that happened in the lives of his characters.

Very significantly, in this biggest epic in the world, there is not a single incident of rape of a woman. All incidents (except one) in Mahabharat show that women enjoyed a respectable and pride of place in the society.

The one single incident of humiliation of Draupadi actually led to Mahabharat war and the annihilation of crores of people and most Kshatriya dynasties.

Women had the right to choose their husbands. Svayamvar was a common protocol for especially Kshatriya women. Half of the marriages described in Mahabharat were love marriages. Rest were arranged by elders with the consent of both.

Love marriages, across castes was frequent and were well accepted by elders.

There were no divorces at all.

Child bearing methods were astonishingly diverse and accepted by people of those days.

We may or may not adopt all these ancient Hindu methods of life of Dwapar Yug. They are too liberal for our present day style of living.

But there is a great need for us to learn from those liberal systems, move forward from our rigid caste systems of today and make them much more liberal, more uniting and more suitable to our present day needs.

If we don’t become liberal and united, very soon, we may become extinct as Hindus. This is the danger. I am making it more explicit. Either unite and become more liberal or become extinct. We have only these 2 options. Many great civilizations have become extinct in the rest of the world and were replaced by external religions. This is world History.

I will present here just a few incidents from the Mahabharat which are relevant for our immediate purpose. I stress here that we may not and need not adopt all the liberal systems of Dwapar Yug as such.  They were a single religious and cultural society. There was never any danger of their culture becoming extinct.

Today, we have become a pluralistic society with many religions some of which are openly trying to eat away the Hindu society. This is not a secret. There is the obvious danger that our religion and culture will soon become extinct, like those in the other parts of the world.

So, we must adopt the liberal approach of our ancestors, move forward from them, and adopt more unifying and modern systems which are suitable for us today.

Now, with that in mind, we must look at some of the Mahabharat incidents :

Mahabharat starts with the love and marriage of Santanu a Kshatriya King of Hastinapur and Ganga, a river goddess. Their love actually travelled from the heavens to the earth across two generations. Eventually, they married and begot a great warrior son, Devavrat, who later becomes Bhishma, the protector of Kuru Kingdom. Then, Ganga left Santanu and went back to heaven.

Sathyavathi was, a beautiful fisherwoman who rows a boat across the river Ganga.  Parasar was a great Brahmin sage who once travelled in her boat. Parasar fell in love with the beautiful Sathyavathi. She too consents and they begot a great son, Veda Vyas. Parasar, after the birth of their son, went away for his Tapasya, after blessing Sathyavathi with a boon, to become a virgin again.

Vyasa, her new born son, also went away, soon after his birth, for performing Tapasya, but, he promised his mother, to come and help her whenever she needed his help and called him.

Vyasa did not hide his birth to a fisherwoman and that too, out of wedlock. He did not hide any details about the love affair of Parasar and Sathyavathi.

If the love affair between a Brahmin Sage and a Fisher woman and his own birth to a fisher woman was perfectly acceptable to Veda Vyas, and to the entire Kuru dynasty, why are we so hesitant and apologetic about such inter-caste marriages today? I think that we must loosen the restrictions we have created after Dwapar Yug and allow our children more freedom to choose their spouses across the entire Hindu society, more wisely.

After that, Santanu, the great king of Hastinapur, while travelling across the banks of river Ganga, saw Sathyavathi and fell in love with her. He wanted to marry her with the consent of her father. Sathyavathi’s father did not say No or Yes, but insisted that he would consent for their marriage only if – Santanu agreed to make the future son of Sathyavathi as the king.

Marriage of the Kshatriya King with the Fisherman’s daughter was acceptable to both sides, but the fisherman was imposing the condition that his daughter’s  would be children should be the kings of Hastinapur.

As we know, Santanu already had a great Son, Devavratha, born of Ganga. Devavratha became the willing negotiator with Sathyavathi’s father and arranged the marriage of his father, Santanu with Sathyavathi. He agreed to make the sons of the Fisherwoman as Kings of Hastinapur, and gave up his own claim to the throne.

Santanu married Sathyavathi and Sathyavathi begot 2 sons from Santanu, namely, Chitrangada and Vichitraveerya. Chitrangada died while fighting with a Gandharva of the same name. Vichitraveerya became king and married 2 wives, Ambika and Ambalika. He also died early of an illness without begetting any children. Now, the dynasty was going without a heir to the throne. Some way, some heir has to be found for the dynasty.

Sathyavathi, with the consent of Devavratha, now known as Bheeshma, summoned her first son, Vyasa (born of Sage Parasar), and asked him to bestow one son each, on her two daughters in law. Vyasa consented and through his intervention, Ambika begot Dhritarashtra, a blind man as son and Ambalika begot Pandu, one with pale skin, as her son.

In all this, a servant maid also was involved by the two princesses and she begot a son called Vidura, through the same Veda Vyasa. This process of impregnation of a childless woman through a great sage was called “Niyoga”. This was an accepted practice in those days, if there was mutual consent.

OK. You and I may not like Niyoga, and we might like some unknown man’s frozen semen from some Lab as a substitute for impregnating our women according to modern scientific advancements. Who is better, they or we? Which process is better , that or this, I cannot say. But, we cannot deny the fact that their mindsets were more liberal than ours and accepting practical methods suitable for their purpose.

For Mahabharat days,  their practice was more practicable and easier, provided, the lady in question was also agreeable for it. In this case, Ambika and Ambalika had no objection to Niyoga, but they found Vysas’s short stature and dark complexion, his beard etc not to their liking. A fair complexioned man was probably more  acceptable to them. Fair enough from their side.

Their next generation also faced the same problem of Childlessness.

Again, the same old Vyasa was summoned by Sathyavati, to extend the Kuru dynasty’s heir to the throne through any acceptable means.

Now, with the blessings of Vyasa, Dhritarashtra’s wife Gandhari begot 100 sons and a daughter through a different process.  Pandu’s 2 wives, Kunti and Madri, begot totally 5 sons through the blessings of different Gods. This was yet another acceptable process.

What is our problem in all this? Why can’t we accept these practices which were perfectly acceptable to them? In what way is our modern practice any better? Don’t you think that our mindsets are too much conservative compared to them? We must liberalize our attitudes and adopt more practical approach to life’s problems.

Now, let us see how Guru Dronacharya was born.

Bharadwaja rishi went with his disciples to the river Ganga to perform his obligatory ablutions. There he saw a beautiful apsara named Ghritachi. He was overcome with desire, let out and held his semen in a vessel called Drona, nurtured it well with so many stuff, and finally, in it was born the child Dronacharya. Drona was the only recorded human who was created without a female egg. He had a father but no mother. Unbelievable for us? Yes. I agree that it looks unbelievable. But, Rishis had one or two common man’s weaknesses and a few uncommon super powers.  They had powers of creation and destruction. Vyasa had such powers. Bharadwaja had such powers. Powers to bless and powers to curse both! Such is the power of tapasya, yoga and concentration. We must explore these powers also in great detail. I have dealt with them in my another book “ Comprehensive treatise on Patanjali Yoga sutras.”

Whether we believe all these or not is our problem, not Vyasa’s problem. They knew some things which we don’t. They practiced some things which we don’t. They gave up some things which cling to. If we believe that Christ was born in a mother’s womb without intervention of a father, why can’t we believe the powers of Great tapasvis and yogis.

I have no problem with our believing or disbelieving these stories. Drona’s story of birth was not unknown to other people in Mahabharat and they never found it incredible. Vyasa himself never found it wrong or unbelievable. I am only imploring you all to look at the moderate, liberal outlook of people of those days. Vyasa wrote all this himself about his own mother whom he respected a lot. Whatever he did were under her orders.

I am stressing the fact that different methods of human birth, love between a man and woman of 2 different castes was perfectly acceptable in those days. CASTE was not a bar for love between a Brahmin sage and a fisherwoman or between a kshatriya king and a fisherwoman. Why can’t we today accept such inter caste marriages easily and  freely – this is my question to all readers. Vyasa can accept, Lord Krishna can accept, but you and I cannot accept – how is that?

A sage practicing non-attachment and tapasya was an acceptable and preferred choice for a childless woman to beget children, if he is otherwise acceptable to the woman. When Pandu was not to touch his 2 wives because of a curse, Pandu himself advised Kunti and Madri to use a Mantra to invoke different Gods to give them Children. This was another acceptable method in dwapar Yug but we may abhor such methods – except the impregnation through the chilled semen of an unknown stranger from a Laboratory.

Mahabharat is full of such unusual child births. Lord Krishna was born inside a prison to a kshatriya couple. But on the same night, he was transported by his father and placed beside Yasoda, to grow as Yasoda and Nanda’s son. They were Yadavas. Lord Krishna, a born kshatriya, grew up as a Yadava child, drinking Yasoda’s milk and playing with Yadava children.

It was Lord Krishna’s own choice to grow as a Yadava boy. It was more the sort of an example that he taught us, that – yadavas were no less than Kshatriyas in his eyes. But, we have drawn absurd conclusions from this that Yadavas only were considered great by the Lord because Krishna grew in their house. Krishna provided us an example by growing in a Yadava home, so that we will treat all castes as equal members of Hindu society.

Later Lord Krishna married an assortment of beautiful girls from different castes. That too, we have conveniently ignored again.

Bhima married a demon girl called Hidimba, with the blessings of his mother,Kunti. Arjuna married a Naga girl called Uluchi. These were inter-racial marriages. You can see many such inter-caste and inter-racial marriages in Mahabharat. So, why are we abhorring them today? We need them more now, than at any time else! Karna was known as a Sootha putra but was made the king of Anga Kingdom by Duryodhana. A soothaputra could become a king in those days. People did not demur much.

When Lord Krishna came to Hastinapur to negotiate with Kauravas on behalf of Pandavas, all great kings and Gurus invited him to stay in their houses and have meal in their houses. But, Lord Krishna preferred the houses of Vidura and Sanjaya, the so called Sudras, for taking his meal. Whatever was the preference of Lord Krishna, should it not be our preference also today? Why have we slipped from the path shown by Lord Krishna?

Women in those days enjoyed freedom of choice in respect of marriage. Sukra’s daughter Devyani initially preferred Brihaspati’s son Kacha as husband, and when he refused to marry her, she preferred King Yayati, a Kshatriya. Sukra, the  Brahmin sage gave his consent for the marriage of the Brahmin girl, Devyani with the Kshatriya king, Yayati and in fact, persuaded Yayati into the marriage.

Sakuntala, the daughter of Vishwamitra and Menaka, was brought up by the Brahmin sage, Kanva, and she preferred to marry Dushyantha , a kshatriya king who loved her and they begot a Son, Bharatha.

Much later, Kunti, when she was still a virgin got a mantra from a sage to propitiate and please any God she liked. She wanted to test the Mantra and called the God of Sun. The Sun God came, gave her a beautiful Son and went away. Being a virgin and unmarried, she was afraid of public opinion and left the child in the Ganges. The child was picked up by a Sootha (charioteer/driver) and his wife Radha who brought him up as their son. The Kshatriya was brought up by a Sootha. So inter caste connections happen in God’s scheme of things. This was the message driven by Vyasa into us through the epic Mahabharat.

After Pandavas grew up and escaped from the burning Lakshagriha, in the forest, Bhima killed a demon called Hidimbasura. But, his sister, Hidimba, a demon herself fell in love with Bhima. Kunti permits their marriage and a son, Ghatotkacha was born to them. This was an inter-racial marriage approved by the mother.

Later, Draupadi’s marriage to all the five Pandavas happened and is well known. The notable aspect of it is, majority of common people accepted the marriage of one woman to five husbands and the agreement of proper sharing among the Pandavas with their common wife, Draupadi, in those days.

Most people, including Vyasa and Lord Krishna, considered Draupadi, as a highly chaste woman of great purity, from whom all others need to learn lessons of life. So, where are our morals today, in comparison? Just as you are all reading this, is your mind accepting it or is it feeling some revulsion. Our respect for women and for their freedom and liberty – is much lower today.

In Mahabharat, there is the story of Sage Kausika, who, after years of Tapasya, achieves some superhuman powers. When he looked at a crane on the tree angrily, it fell dead. Kausika was pleased with his powers. He went to a house seeking Bhiksha or alms. The house lady came to give him the Bhiksha, a little late after attending to her farmer husband.

Kausika looked at her angrily. She smiled at him and told that she was not a crane to be burnt by his angry looks. Kausika was surprised and pleads with her to tell how she got her great powers. She told him that her work at her home was her Tapasya and was superior to the Tapasya that Kausika performed under the tree. The woman’s work at home was thus greatly eulogized in Mahabharat at many places. Her work commanded great respect in those days.

I have limited my discussion to the famous women from Mahabharat. But, there are many other women who enjoyed great freedom, education and choice as mentioned in other ancient writings also.

We must learn to ensure greater respect, security and freedom for women, to lead their own lives and choose their husbands. Man must in fact wait to be chosen by the woman. Forcing a woman in any way to marry a particular person whom she does not prefer must be avoided at all costs.

Even for waging the war, Lord Krishna specifically seeks Draupadi’s opinion on whether or not she would prefer to wage the war.

My strong suggestion is - Women’s rights must be specifically stated in the constitution and must be taught as a topic in our schools and colleges.

Otherwise, a typical Indian man will always assume a woman to be an object or property to be used and directed by him and because of this, the woman will also always be fighting him and militating against all work at home.

The dignity, respect and freedom of the women of India is very important and ensuring it is the surest sign of all other progress in India. The life of Hindu women must become a model for all women of the world.

We may not be able to change to the Mahabharat style of living today. Not needed also. But, we can move ahead in ways more suitable to our current needs. Our caste system has already broken down with the way  we are choosing our jobs, trades, professions, businesses etc. All people are choosing all professions. In any profession, there are people of all castes. Most old professions have become obsolete and extinct. Many new professions have cropped up and have changed the entire structure of Hindu society.

There is therefore need to go beyond the already broken down caste systems in choosing our social connections, our marriages and our friends. There is need to re-write and re-invent our social structures and integrate all of us into a more united, more harmonious and more joyful society.

I repeat the two options available to Hinduism : Reform or Perish