The epic Mahabharatha has several fascinating characters with immense scope for literary analysis as well as character sketching. The issues that are dealt with are no less either in number or the gravity. The issue of polygamy is one such that surfaces. The polygamy of the Lord Krishna or his cousin and alterego Arjuna do not as much as elicit the raising of an eyebrow while the wedded life of Draupadi albeit with the sanction of the maternal figure of Kunti remains a controversial subject to date. This aspect came to the fore when it was seen that one of the teleserial versions laboured to justify this act by a debate amongst all the principal characters.
Kudos to the author who is also a character in the epic, Ved Vyasa. He has not differentiated between men and women. He has also provided for the third gender in Shikandi. The fact that Kunti herself begot four children including Karna from four different celestial entities as against her co consort Madri opting for the celestial twins is also captured in great detail. The fact that this aspect is in the knowledge of the grandsire Bhishma and Lord Krishna are borne out from the latter events. In fact, a generation earlier, Ved Vyasa himself performs niyoga on the spouses of his half brother. This practice was in vogue for a long time and probably is still indulged in some households which aspire for a heir. The fact that in the earlier generation, Satyavati who wedded King Shantanu was already a mother of an offspring fathered by Sage Parashara also cannot be lost sight of. In fact, Ganga, the consort of Lord Shiva, weds King Shantanu, the father of Bhishma, only to redeem the Vasus from a curse.
The question is what does the epic drive at. Does it promote polygamy may be the question posed by a Rajdeep Sardesai or Arnab Goswami for a television show. The nation apparently needs to appreciate the finer aspect of the epic which is subsequently brought out eloquently. The definition of "right" and "wrong" change perenially. It is "change" alone that is permanent. The situation warranting a particular act would justify it. This may be the slaughter of Shishupala publicly or the preservation of Arjuna over the life of his young son, Abhimanyu. Besides this, it is quite probable that in such a period of time the system of matriarchy and patriarchy must have co-existed which provided a base for such an epic. It is an epic that needs to be read dispassionately without aligning with any single character. An analysis at the end would reveal that there are certain facets of different characters which are embedded in each one of us. Thereafter, it is for us to mull over and decide how to mould ourselves.
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