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38 SUKUMARI BIIATTACI IARJI

in food, drcss or ornamcnts, ncvcr spcak iii of my mothcr-in-law, being cvcr subscrvicnt to hcr; my husbands are attachcd to mc bccause I serve thcir cldcrs. I Iccd numerous gucsls and Brahmins cvcryday.“

“In return I get children, bedsteads, rich and wondrous scats, dolhes, garlands, perfumes, hcavcn and unparallcllcd famę."¹⁰⁰ This is a kcy passage in our discussion of the cpie conccpt of conjugality. The physieal tcndancc that she rendered to hcr husbands has been the natural practiec cvcrywhere all through the ages. But thcrc are ccrtain clcmcnts in Draupadl’s speech which should be examincd carcfully. She tended the husbands logether with the other \vivcs. Possibly she did so, but would Draupadl we knew eite il as a virluc, she whose hurt pride prompted hcr to send Arjuna to his ncwly wedded wife, Subhadra? Then, hcr rcmark that she lookcd upon hcr husbands as angry snakes; what kind of conjugality docs it signify? The vcry beginning of hcr speech mentions hcr giving up of hcr pride, the rcsl of the passage signillcs hcr signing away hcr sclf-rcspect and human dignily. She claims that she never cxcecded hcr husbands in anylhing; this is morę like a maid-scrvanl *s than a wifc’s status, she says that she ncver casls a glancc at the door, this virtually turns hcr into a prisoner al the beck and cali of hcr warders, the husbands. Finally, to convincc Satyabhama that all this scrvice was not one-sided, she eiles a list of bcncfils she derives from it: children, bcdslcads, rich and wondrous scals, clothcs, garlands, perfumes, hcavcn and fajne. All exccpl hcavcn and lamę are cnlircly mundanc; and clothcs, garlands, perfumes, scats and beds smack of vcry cheap return for the lolal sclf-abncgalion involvcd in the scrviccs she gavc them. What kind of conjugal rclation does it signify?

But the crucial ąueslion is : do we know this Draupadl? The strong, sclf-rcspccting personalily who complaincd to hcr małe friend Krsna, now says that she ncvcr casts hcr cycs to the door! The proud lover and wife who slyly chasliscd Arjuna bccause hc had married Subhadra now says that she not only servcs hcr husbands but thcir other wivcs, and the fivc hundred maid-scrvants as wcll. Draupadl we know ncvcr showed any craving for comforts and luxurics which could be bought with moncy; bul oncc - only once -did she wish to possess a llowcr with a divine fjagrancc. The rcllncd scnsitive naturę of this fine lady is turncd into a crass materialista in this passage.

This dialoguc sets the tunc for 'many of the intcrpolated passages on conjugality. Marriage becamc the bc-all and cnd-all of lite for women. We have leli behind the Vrddhakumarls, the JaralkumarTs, the spinsters of the Vcdic agc. Now to the old lady, sagę Kunigarga's daughter who had spent all hcr lifc in pious meditation and was about to die and go to heaven; a divinc messenger came and barred her way, saying that no unwed virgin may en ter hcavcn. So she bargaincd with Galava *s son who agreed to marry hcr in return for hall' hcr spiritual mcrils. For that one nighl she regained