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The Making of Womanhood in Early India: Pativrata in the Mahabharata

Abstract

As the symbol of a patriarchal society, the Pativratas have been recognized as the ideal women
in the brahmanical tradition. Traditionally Sita, Savitri, Arundhati, Anasuya and Damayanti have
long been celebrated as the Pativratas. They accept chastity,2 submissiveness and wifely
devotion as the highest qualities of their selfhood. They practice and pursue stridharma
(pativrata dharma) during their entire life and even in their previous or afterlife. Sometimes the
extreme devotion of stridharma enabled them to acquire extraordinary power. Their sexuality is
totally controlled by their husbands. They all belong to the higher social varnas in the society.
Since the husband is equated with god, to be worshipped according to the pativrata dharma, the
most miserable situation for the pativrata is the death of her husband (god).

In this paper, will focus on some of these depictions of the ideal women to bring out how the
brahmanical tradition in early India was constructing notions of womanhood in conformity with
caste and other social denominators to reinforce notions of social order and harmony, which
privileged those in positions of social power.

Introduction

The control of female sexuality has been regarded as one of the most important subjects in the
brahmanical patriarchal society. This was because the purity of caste can be sustained by the
control of female sexuality.i As one of the means of control female sexuality and emphasize
women‟s submissiveness to men, the notion of pativratadharma had played an important role in
the brahmanical tradition. Only the woman, who successfully accomplished her duty on
pativratadharma, can acquire a position of the pativratas. The pativrata, as the symbol of
patriarchal society, has been recognized as the ideal woman in the brahmanical tradition. She
accepts chastity, submissiveness and wifely devotion as the highest qualities of their selfhood.
Sometimes her extreme devotion of pativratadharma enables her to obtain extraordinary power.
Her sexuality is totally controlled by her husband. Since the husband is equated with god, to be
worshipped according to the pativratadharma, the most miserable situation for her is the death
of her husband.

Traditionally, Sita, Savitri, Arundhati, Anasuya and Damayanti have long been celebrated as the
Pativratas. All these mythical figures, having a comparatively high social status, first appeared
in the epics as wives of Rama, Satyavan, Vasishtha, Atri and Nala respectively. Except Sita,
who was the main female protagonist in the Ramayana, others‟ stories were not a part of the
main-stream narrative in the epics. If we remove their stories, the epics are not affected in the
least.ii However, today four-other women are as famous as Sita and their stories have strongly
influenced on Hindu women‟s lives.

In this paper, focusing on three legendary figures – Arundhati, Ahalya and Savitri – in the epics,
I would examine how the brahmanical tradition in early India had tried to establish the
subordination of women through the ideology of pativratadharma.
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Arundhati

In the brahmanical tradition, Arundhati appears as a star to which brides at the time of marriage
rituals swear their fidelity and chastity.iii As a wife of sage Vasishtha, Arundhati appeared in the
five books (parvans) of the Mahabharata. However these are only allusions to the Arundhati
legend. Her full story, such as birth, marriage and death, was not given in the Mahabharata. In
the Adi Parvan (Book I, chapter 224, verses 26-31) Arundhati was mentioned when
Vaishampayana narrated the story of Mandapala. When the sage Mandapala spoke to his wife
Jarita who was jealous of her co-wife Lapita, Arundhati appeared as an example for warning of
women‟s jealousy. Because of her jealousy, Arundhati turned into a tiny star like a red ember
overlaid by smoke, not very lovely, sometimes visible sometimes not, which appeared like a bad
omen. Although we cannot find any specific explanation for Arundhati‟s jealousy, the context in
which this episode narrated suggests that polygamy was a very common phenomenon, and it
may be postulated that Arundhati was also jealous of her co-wives.

In the Aranyaka Parvan (Book III, chapter 113, 130 and 214-5) Arundhati was depicted as a
chaste woman who devotedly served her husband. The chapter 113 was narrated by Lomasha on
the marriage of Rishyashringa and Shanta. Arundhati appeared with Vasishtha as an example of
ideal couples along with Lopamudra – Agastya and Damayanti – Nala. The chapter 130
mentioned about the divine place Vatikasanda where Arundhati and Vasishtha attained peace.
The chapter 214-5 contained the seduction of Agni by Svaha. Svaha, falling in love with Agni,
was trying to assume the shapes of each of the seers‟ wives, except Arundhati. Although we
cannot find detail information on this, we can assume that Arundhati‟s chastity hinders Svaha
from carrying out her plan perfectly. Or, it may be the case that Arundhati‟s reputation was
already known and hence Svaha did not take her form.

In the Udyoga Parvan (Book V, chapter 111) Arundhati appeared when Narada narrated the
marriage of Divodasa and Madhavi. The interesting point here is that the sexual dimension of
the relationship between Vasishtha and Arundhati was explicitly brought in. Also here
Arundhati appeared with the epithet Akshamala.iv In the Shanti Parvan (Book XII, chapter 318)
Arundhati was mentioned as a star when Yajnavalkya narrated the premonitory indication of
death after a year.v She becomes a marker for all human beings because if she is not sighted she
has the power to bring death. In the Anushasana Parvan (Book XIII, chapter 130) Arundhati was
described as a great ascetic woman who explained the mysteries of dharma to sages, ancestors
and gods. This chapter, narrated by Bhishma, shows that Arundhati had a great ascetic merit and
was equal to her husband Vasishtha in power for in both vows and conducts.

Arundhati had an ambiguous character in the Mahabharata. While she appeared as a jealous
woman in one place, she was also described as a devoted wife of sage Vasishtha and a great
ascetic woman. Her character as a devoted wife was more firmly established in the later
literature. Especially in the later Puranas Arundhati became the best pativrata in all three
worlds. The Kalika Purana (chapter 19, 20, 22, 23) gave us a coherent narrative of Arundhati in
terms of her birth, life in the parental home and her marriage to the sage Vasishtha. The
description of her rebirth from Sandhya to Arundhati and her marriage in three different births
(as Urjja, Arundhati and Akshamala) with Vasishtha reinforced the chastity and fidelity of
Arundhati. Also her character as a faithful wife was developed in the Uttararamacarita of
Bhavabhuti (8th century CE). Here Arundhati, following her husband‟s advice, finally succeeded
in announcing and convincing Sita‟s purity to everyone.
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Ahalya

Like Arundhati, Ahalya is also introduced in the marriage of Hindus as the symbol related to
wifely fidelity. However, unlike Arundhati, Ahalya has been recognized as an anti – pativrata in
the brahmanical tradition. This is because she is representative of the figure of an adulterer. Her
adultery with Indra has provided some imaginative insights to a wide range of later and
contemporary scholars from different disciplinary vantage points. The various issues relating to
her adultery such as the problem of spontaneity or use of violence became the important themes
in the later literature.

In Sri Lanka and India, Ahalya appears as a black stone that the bride touches with her foot
while she promises never to be like Ahalya but to be a chaste and devoted wife. vi Ahalya, a wife
of sage Gautama, appeared in the two epics; it is alluded to four times in the Mahabharata and
its full story is narrated twice in the Ramayana.

Among these allusions in the Mahabharata, the story of Ahalya in the Udyoga Parvan (Book V,
chapter 12, verse 6) caught our attention. The chapter 12, narrated by Shalya, shows the
conversation between Nahusha and the gods. When Indra, accused of brahminicide (the killing
of Vritra), hid himself in the water, Nahusha took Indra‟s office and laid claim to Shaci, the wife
of Indra. While the other gods condemned Nahusha, he insisted on his claim. Ahalya was
mentioned in this context. Nahusha referred to Indra‟s intercourse with Ahalya to defend
himself. Here, Ahalya was a renowned wife of sage Gautama and violated by Indra. What is
significant in this telling is that Ahalya was presumed to be innocent and Indra‟s violation of her
was well-known and accepted fact. Although we could not find Ahalya‟s own voice in the
Mahabharata, the expression for her such as „a renowned lady‟ and the reference to her „being
violated‟ enable us to assume her comparative high status and innocence in the episode of her
sexual encounter with Indra.

Ahalya appeared twice in the Ramayana. In the first book of the Ramayana (I. 47. 10 – 32, 48),
the story of Ahalya was narrated in the context of Rama‟s journey with the sage Vishvamitra
and Lakshmana from Vishvamitra‟s hermitage to the court of king Janaka. According to
Sutherland, this story was a part of a „coming – of – age – tour‟. She argues that the first book
provided Rama‟s instructive adventure from adolescence to manhood and was the means for a
patriarchal society to articulate the negotiation of sexual anxiety. She understands the story of
Gautama and Ahalya as a tale of sexual crime and its punishment.vii Here Ahalya not only
committed a sexual transgression spontaneously aroused by „her lust for the king of the gods‟
but entreated her lover (Indra) to protect her. The punishment for this adultery was „being
invisible for thousand years‟ and she can be released by her traditional hospitality toward Rama.

The last book of the Ramayana (VII. 30. 18 – 44) also contains the story of Ahalya. The chapter
30 was addressed by Agastya to Rama. Agastya narrated Indrajit‟s victory over Indra resulted
from the curse of the sage Gautama. Ahalya was mentioned when Brahma indicated Indra‟s past
sin. In this version of the story, we go back to the idea that Ahalya was innocent; she accepted
Indra because he was disguised as her husband. Here, for the first time, we get to know of the
birth of Ahalya and also about the importance of Rama regarding her emancipation from
Gautama‟s curse. Her infidelity and unchastity were stressed particularly given the description
of her birth in this context. As a daughter of Brahma, Ahalya possessed a unique beauty among
the women in the three worlds, and was desired by all the celestial beings, including Indra. In
this situation, she should have ideally escaped or overcome the trial of seduction as was
appropriate for pativrata but eventually she failed.
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In most cases in the epics Ahalya appeared as an innocent victim. If we focus on the
characteristic of Ahalya in the Mahabharata, we can notice her chastity and fidelity. However,
in the later literature she was only described as anti – pativrata woman. The renowned Ahalya of
the Mahabharata turned into the stone-woman in the later Puranas. Becoming a stone was one
of the curses given by Gautama and gained popularity from the later Puranas (Skanda and
Brahmavaivarta Purana) onwards.

Savitri

Savitri has been represented as one of the role models of Hindu women. Her effort to save her
husband Satyavan‟s life against Yama (the god of death) makes her the best pativrata in the
brahmanical tradition. She appears in the religious practice called „Vata – Savitri – Vrata‟ as the
goddess who is worshipped by married women for their husband‟s health and longevity. On the
full moon day of Jyeshtha (May – June), women whose husbands are living perform the Savitri
– Vrata or Vata – Savitri – Vrata even now in many parts of India. Different from the story of
Arundhati and Ahalya, the Savitri story was given fully in the Mahabharata.

In the Aranyaka Parvan (Book III. 277 – 283) the story of Savitri was told when the exiled
Pandava king Yudhishthira asked the sage Markandeya whether there had been a woman whose
devotion matched with Draupadi‟s. In reply, Markandeya narrated Savitri‟s story. Here, the
Savitri myth was narrated to juxtapose her as a devoted, virtuous wife, capable of matching with
Draupadi. Thus when Yudhishthira heard the story of Savitri he was supposed to expect the
same result from his wife Draupadi.

The first chapter (277) describes the context of the story and gives information about Savitri
from her birth till her marriage. To acquire sons, the Madra king Ashvapati performed severe
penance. After 18 years, the goddess Savitri appeared and promised to give a splendid daughter
to him. When Savitri was grown up, Ashvapati worried about his daughter and told her to find a
husband on her own. She departed to the forest with the king‟s experienced counselors. The
second chapter (278) shows the celestial sage Narada‟s prediction to Ashvapati about the death
of Satyavan, and strong will of Savitri who insists on marrying Satyavan. When the sage Narada
warned that Satyavan would die after a year, she stood by her decision to marry him. Savitri
finally persuaded her father and Narada they were getting married. The third chapter (279)
narrates Savitri‟s marriage with Satyavan and her new life in the forest. Savitri began an ascetic
way of life following her husband and in-law parents. The fourth chapter (280) contains Savitri‟s
three-night fasting vow. Reminding Narada‟s prediction Savitri observed of three-night vow.
The fifth chapter (281) is the longest and describes her encounter with Yama, the long speech of
Savitri and the four boons she obtained from Yama. On reaching the forest, Satyavan was
suddenly afflicted with a headache and wanted to sleep. Savitri rested his head in her lap and
thought about Narada‟s remark. At that moment, she saw Yama coming to them. They started
the discussion on dharma. Due to her great knowledge about dharma she persuaded Yama and
Yama promised four boons (restoration of eyesight and kingdom for her father-in-law, sons for
her father, sons for herself by Satyavan, and finally Satyavan‟s life) to her. The sixth chapter
(282) narrates Dyumatsena (Savitri‟s father-in-law)‟s sudden regaining of eyesight and Savitri‟s
explanation about her encounter with Yama in the forest. The last chapter (283) is concerned
with how the remaining boons were fulfilled.

In the Mahabharata Savitri appeared as an active, independent and self-assertive woman. Also
she was described as a great ascetic woman who possessed mysterious knowledge about
dharma. In the conversation between Yama and Savitri, the main speaker was Savitri. Her
attitude was dignified and voice was commanding.viii Savitri myth shows she perfectly
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accomplished her duty of pativratadharma and at the result of this she can save herselfix, her
parents, her parents-in-laws and her husband‟s entire family from calamity.

Conclusion

The ideology of pativratadharma had been applied to the concept penetrating the epics. To
become pativrata, a woman should realize their selfhood not as a sexual being who follows the
strisvabhava (innate nature) but as a social being who accepts and follows the stridharma or
pativratadharma.

Arundhati and Savitri became the well-known pativratas because they accomplish the
pativratadharama successfully and Ahalya failed to gain the title of pativrata because she could
not keep her chastity whether she wanted or not.

This ideology of pativrata has steadily emphasized in the later literature. With the intention to
strengthen the pativratadharma, the writers (usually male) have dealt with this subject very
seriously. Thus Arundhati and Savitri‟s fidelity and chastity were more emphasized and
Ahalya‟s failure was more highlighted in the later literature.

Notes

i
According to Chakravarti, the mechanism of control operated through three devices and at three
different levels in early India. The first was through ideology (stridharma or pativratadharma)
internalized by women. This ideology was a rhetorical device to ensure the social control of women. The
second was the authority of husband or male kinsmen. They used coercion and physical chastisement for
women who violated the norms of society. The third was the patriarchal state of early India itself. In this
situation, the king was only the ultimate agency by which women‟s sexuality was controlled. Uma
Chakravarti, Everyday Lives, Everyday Histories: Beyond the Kings and Brahmanas of ‘Ancient’ India,
Tulika Books: New Delhi, 2006, pp. 147-151.
ii
Bhattacharji asserts that some immortal narratives of high literary merit such the story of Nala –
Damayanati, Savitri – Satyavan and Shakuntala – Dusyanta were inserted when the Bharata had been
changed to the Mahabharata through the brahmanical accretions or Bhargava interpolations during the
period between the 1st century CE and 4th century CE. The primary concern of these narratives was the
glorification of the brahmanas. Sukumari Bhattacharji, Women and Society in Ancient India, Basumati
Corp.: Calcutta, 1994.

This is Dhruvarundhati darshana. At this time, the bride breaks her silence and says “may my husband
iii

live and may I secure offspring”. The bride is to observe silence till she sees the Pole star, Arundhati and
the seven sages (the constellation of Ursa Major). P. V. Kane, History of Dharmatra, Vol. 2, Part I,
pp. 527-538.
iv
Akshamala means a string or rosary of beads, especially of Eleocarpurs seeds; name of Arundhati, wife
of Vasishtha (from her wearing a rosary); name of the mother of Vatsa. Sir Monier Monier – Williams,
Sanskrit – English Dictionary, Manohar: New Delhi, 2006, p. 3.
v
“One, who having previously seen the fixed star called Arundhati, fails to see it, or that other star called
Dhruva, or one that sees the full moon or the flame of a burning lamp to be broken towards the south, has
but one year to live. Those men, O king, who can no longer see images of themselves reflected in the
eyes of others, have but one year to live”
vi
Wendy Doniger, Splitting the Difference: Gender and Myth in Ancient Greece and India, OUP: New
Delhi, 2002, pp. 94-95, 16n. During my seminar presentation (1st May, 2010), Dr. Bharati Jagannathan
 Journal of Social Sciences – Sri Lanka
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(Dept. of History, Miranda House, Delhi University) and Ms. Meenakshi Jha (Student, Centre for
Historical Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University) also confirmed such a practice in Tamil and Mithila
marriage traditions.
vii
Sally J. Sutherland Goldman, “Gendered Narratives: Gender, Space and Narrative Structure in
Vlmki‟s Blaka” in Bose, Mandakranta (ed.), Rmyaa Revisited, Oxford: New York, 2004, pp.
47-85.
viii
Her character totally changed and she lost her independent character in the later Purana. In the
Brahmavaivarta Purana (2. 23-24), she was described as a young lady who wanted to learn various
knowledge from Yama. Here main speaker was Yama and Savitri appeared as a listener who was very
curious. Chakrabarti argues that the long speech (over 800 verses) of Yama contains the quintessence of
Brahmanism and makes listeners familiar with the principle of the Puranas. Kunal Chakrabarti, Religious
Process: The Puras and the Making of a Regional Tradition, OUP: New Delhi, 2001, PP. 262-263.
ix
Chakravati asserts that Savitri fights off the god of death to avoid being a widow. Uma Chakravarti,
Ibid., p. 162.

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