Women in Indian and Greek Epics: Some Reflections
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31305/rrjss.2023.v03.n01.004Keywords:
Epics, Women, Patriarchy, Power, GenderAbstract
In the two famous Indian epics the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, there are five admirable women - Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara and Mandodari. These are five special women with remarkable power, wisdom, dedication, and sacrifice which are honoured across periods of the Indian civilisation. Similarly, in Greek mythology also, there are important powerful women characters having exceptional capacity and power. They are Helen, Hecuba, Medea and Thetis. They have not only portrayed their sexuality and motherhood but also demonstrated their power, virtues, kindness, grace and capacity to withstand crisis. In this paper, we take a look at the five women from the famous Hindu epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata and attempt a comparison of some aspects of their lives with important women characters from the legendary Greek epics, Iliad and Odyssey. In the study of these interesting, dynamic and complex women characters we have found that the customs and norms of those societies dominated by patriarchy have immensely affected their lives. However, it will be grossly unfair to treat them as women only. Their lives were affected by brave, power hungry warriors on one hand but on the other hand all these women have emerged as political entities involved in the intricacies of war from behind and not merely as the observers of incidents of wars. These characters have enjoyed much more power than one may perceive from these epics. This vindicates that it is the power that mattered more than gender notwithstanding the fact that patriarchy remained as an influential force in the society.