‘দ্রৌপদী’ : তিন কালের তিনস্বর / 'Draupadi': Three Tones of Three Tenses

Abstract

Draupadi of the Mahabharata was a unique protesting character. Unfortunately, she had to endure insults and torture at every step. Draupadi became the originator of the position of women in the middle age. From her own swayamvar assembly to every step of her life she was insulted. Her story of sufferings is known to all. The character of Draupadi through the changes of the era has been presented in different forms through the pens of different writers. The twentieth century story tellers Mahashweta Devi and Joya Mitra brought the changed form of Draupadi's immense physical torture to the fore at the time of Dussashan’s attempt to disrobe Draupadi in the assembly and her eager prayer to krishna is heard. In the hands of Mahashweta Devi Draupadi has been portrayed as a santhal woman or the representative of the tribal sect. Despite her affliction, she herself protested against the injustice. Distinguished story teller Joya Mitra again tried to portray the mental helplessness and family politics of the Mahabharata's Draupadi in her story. She has highlighted how women are suppressed due to complexity of family structure and society even now. Our topic of discussion is "Women in society behind Draupadi”, in the context of three eras. We will go through the fundamental shift of the nature of torture and how the social position of Draupadi is emerged through the pens of the writers; Mahashweta Devi and Joya Mitra have changed significantly; we will focus on that aspect.