Discovering the Forgotten Female Warriors of Mahabharata, Written By- Rashmi Vajpayee
Abstract-
Women are incredible in our Indian mythology. Throughout the history of Indian civilization; Women have battled to assert themselves as self-reliant individuals and to vindicate their identities in a patriarchal society. Again and again, these warriors have manifested their prominence in various myths; which are narrated and passed down by various generations in the form of folk traditions. The two great epics The Ramayana (500 BCE) and The Mahabharata (400 BCE) are radiant with many heroic female characters’ distinguishing themselves through various skills. The Mahabharata is the story of courageous men and eminent women whose lives are truly motivational. Women in the Mahabharata performed their various roles and responsibilities with their endurance, optimism, nobility, intellect, and faithfulness. Their assertiveness and self-confidence made them rebellious and tough enough to deal with Patriarchy and Gender-discrimination.
Draupadi, Gandhari, and Kunti are the leading ladies of Mahabharata, but there have been some lesser-known female warriors who were skilled in warfares, but not attained recognition in the epic. These women performed an important role in shaping the narrative of the epic and their contributions cannot be overlooked. This paper is an attempt to discover some of these forgotten female warriors in the Mahabharata.
Introduction
Hindu Mythology is enormous and we have various warriors with significant powers to conquer their enemies. In our mythology, the Goddesses are seen as devoted and nurturing figures that remain calm and the figures of humanity. Women have always been viewed as the incarnation of ‘Shakti’.
Durga, Gauri, and Maha-Kali are the manifestation (Avatar) of Shakti; these Goddesses are the embodiment of energy, fertility, and power. Shakti is the Creator, the Destroyer of devilish forces, and the Restorer of balance. Devi or Shakti takes many appearances, incarnations, and names.
She can be a harmonious and sacrificial mother like Goddess Parvati is also worshipped as ‘ Annapurna’ who is considered as the goddess of nourishment and fertility that represents food.
As the fiery goddess of annihilation Maha-Kali; she is the slayer of the devil ‘Raktabeej’ by drinking every single drop of his blood because each drop of his blood fell on the ground, producing multiple forms of ‘Raktabeej’.
If we look into our legendary epics we have found many invincible women, who fought courageously in the battlefield alongside men. In The Ramayana For instance, the brave and beautiful queen ‘Kaikeyi’ was the second wife of King Dasharata; she was well-trained in self-defense, warfare, drove chariots, and fought wars from a very young age.
When ‘ Indra’ the king of gods asked Dasharata to fight with the devil ‘Samhasura’, who was the rival of both Indra and Dasharata. Kaikeyi requested Dasharata to take her with him on the battlefield. She served him as the charioteer. In the field, Dasharata’s chariot wheel broke, and then it was the fearless ‘Kaikeyi’ who took him to a safe place, repaired the chariot wheel, healed Dasharata’s injuries, then returned to the battlefield again and they won. After that, king Dasharata had promised her two boons.
More than 100 women are discussed in the Mahabharata. Draupadi, Gandhari, Kunti are associated with the main theme of the epic, but there are many ‘other’ women who were lost in the history of Mahabharata. These women have shown their eminence in warfares and martial arts. Chitrāngadā, Satyabhama, Shikhandi, and Ulupi were such skilled warriors. These female figures were, surely the embodiment of heroism, but got a remark in very few episodes of Mahabharata. The present paper aims to discover the myths of these female warriors in the epic, which will justify their contributions to the Mahabharata.
1)Chitrāngadā: The Warrior Princess of Manipur-
The story of Chitrāngadā finds mention in the “Arjuna-Vanavasa Parva” of the Mahabharata. Arjun had met the Chitrāngadā during his exile from his kingdom Indraprastha because as per the condition Draupadi should stay one year with each Pandava brother. If anyone did not follow this condition they had to go into exile for twelve years. When Draupadi was with Yudhishthira, Arjuna entered their room to take his bow Gandiva to save the cows of a Brahmin. So, as per the condition, Arjuna had to go into exile for twelve years, to visit holy places in this period. In his wanderings, he reaches Manipur, ruled by the King Chitravahan. During hunting, he came across Chitravahan’s daughter Chitrāngadā, the warrior princess of Manipur.
As Chitrāngadā was the only child of the king Chitravahan, she was brought up as a boy, who loved adventures, hunting, and martial arts. She was exceptional in archery, sword art, horse riding, warfare, and administration. Chitrāngadā was the army chief and the protector of Manipur. She dressed up like a man who fiercely protected her land. Even a skilled archer like Arjun was also got impressed by the skills of Chitrāngadā; she gave him tough competition in archery. Chitrāngadā was not a man, but she was more than a son for king Chitravahan.
When Arjun saw the completely transformed Chitrāngadā, he was fascinated with her charm Her angelic beauty and skills made him fall in love with her. Therefore, Arjun requested the king to seek Chitrāngadā ‘s hand in marriage. King Chitravahan was initially reluctant to get her daughter married to Arjuna because according to the boon of Shiva, every king of Manipur is destined to have only one child, who is appointed as the king’s inheritor.
Chitrāngadā was his inheritor so; king agrees on a condition that; the child born to Arjun and Chitrāngadā would be the king of Manipur. Arjuna accepts this condition and gets married to Chitrāngadā, he stayed with her for three years. When she gave birth to a son ‘Babruvahana’, Arjun went away on his wanderings. Chitrāngadā was left behind to govern and protect Manipur. She deeply missed Arjun in every single moment. Chitrāngadā became the teacher of her son Babruvahana; who prepares him for all techniques of war such as archery, sword art, and martial arts like his father Arjun.
According to the Ashvamegh Parva of Mahabharata, when Arjun returned to Manipur with his army, following the sacrificial horse of yagya; Babruvahana captures their horse. Babruvahana does not even know that he is the son of Arjun. However, Babruvahana challenges Pandava’s army to fight with him, if they want their horse.
Though, Chitrāngadā spent her whole life without Arjun but wanted to die if her husband was not revived (Bhawalkar, 362). This kind of devotion has been seen in the women of that era.
2)Ulupi: The Naga Warrior Princess-
Ulupi was a Naga princess and the daughter of the serpent king, Kauravya, who belongs to the dynasty of Vasuki. Kauravya was the ruler of the underwater kingdom of snakes in the river Ganga. Arjun started his exile of twelve years from the banks of Ganga. Ulupi saw Arjun and fell in love with him.
Ulupi was a well-trained warrior (Chandramouli,2012) who was skilled in martial arts. She dragged him forcibly into the Naga Lok (the land of the snakes). Ulupi expressed her love and requested Arjun to accept her as his wife otherwise; she will end her own life. Arjuna got impressed with her skills and accepted her by Gandharva’s marriage because he wants to end the rivalry between the Pandavas and Nagas. He spent that night with her and left the palace on the morning of the next day. They had a son whose name was Iravan.
Ulupi gave a boon to Arjun that “he would be unbeatable in the water and all creatures live underwater would always obey him”. Some sources also say that that Ulupi had taught war-techniques to ‘Babruvahana’ (son of Chitrāngadā and Arjun) along with Chitrāngadā. She behaved like an elder sister with Chitrāngadā and loved her son Babruvahana too Arjun got slain by Babruvahana, she revived him by giving Sanjeevani Mani to Krishna. Ulupi was the second wife of Arjun; the first one was Draupadi, later he had married Chitrāngadā and Subhadra. Though Arjun had spent only one day with Ulupi; yet she had ended her life by drowning herself in the Ganga, When Pandavas decided to go with Draupadi on their last journey to the Himalayas (Bhawalkar,360)
3) Satyabhama: The Warrior Wife of Krishna-
Satyabhama was the only child of Satrajit, the royal treasurer of Dvaraka. She was an incarnation of BhooDevi, the earth goddess. Satyabhama was the third wife of Lord Krishna. She was an ace archer, who expert in war tactics. Unlike the other women of those days; who were satisfied with their household. Satyabhama was the companion of Krishna in all fields, including battles. Her father had given her adequate training of warfares. There is an iconic story associated with Narakasura and Satyabhama. Narakasura was the son of BhooDevi; He became a tyrant after getting so many powers from ‘Brahma’. He had attacked Indra’s kingdom to rule heaven. He had abducted 16,000 women and captivated them in his palace to satisfy his lust. Narakasura became obsessed with his powers and in greed; he stole the earrings of the heavenly goddess ‘Aditi’.
When Satyabhama heard of his tyrannies and ill-treatment towards women, she became furious. She approached Krishna to declare a battle against Narakasura. Krishna took her as his charioteer, on the battlefield. In the war Narakasura attacked Krishna with his most dangerous weapon Thunderbolt; being struck with his weapon Krishna got fainted. After seeing Krishna collapse, Satyabhama got enraged. She doubled her powers, aggressively took the bow, and shot an arrow at Narakasura’s chest and He died finally. After that Satyabhama released the sixteen thousand women and all the prisoners who were captivated by Narakasura. To protect the Honor of sixteen thousand women, Krishna married to all of them. Satyabhama was the warrior as well as the loving and caring wife of Krishna.
In the Vana-Parva of Mahabharata, there is the most popular conversation between Satyabhama and Draupadi; where Satyabhama wants to know from Draupadi, the secrets of winning a husband’s heart. Draupadi explains to her how to be a good wife by serving her husband, satisfying their needs, how to become indispensable, and loved in the eyes of your husband. Thus, Satyabhama always tried to make Krishna happy, they had ten sons. After Krishna’s death, Satyabhama went to the forest to perform penance.
4)Shikhandini: The Warrior Princess
In her next birth, Amba was born as Shikhandini; she was the daughter of Drupad, the King of Panchal. According to the boon of Shiva, Drupad’s wife would give birth to a daughter, who would later be transformed into a man. So, Drupad announced that the queen gave birth to a son and they raised ‘ Shikhandini’ like a prince. They had dressed her up in manly attires. She learns archery, martial arts, war techniques, and fine arts when she is a mere girl. Dronacharya is her guru; it is not mentioned in the Shikhandini. Mahabharata whether she has learned this staying in Drona’s house or in her own house( Ghosh,45). She was married to the daughter of the powerful king of Dasarna, who became very angry to know the gender of Shikhandini.
Conclusion-
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Originally published at Literary Endeavour (ISSN 0976–299X): Vol. IX: Issue: 1 (January 2018)
Originally published at https://indianculturecivilization.blogspot.com on August 6, 2020.
