INDIAN POLITICAL

THOUGHT
RESEARCH PAPER

The Image of Women in

Persian and Sanskrit Epic
Literature: Shahnameh and
Mahabharata

Presented By -
Name: Isha M Khobragade
Class: 3A
Roll No.: 488

INTRODUCTION

The Mahabharat is a famous Indian Sanskrit epic in which two groups of the same family
line, the Kauravas and the Pandavas, fought each other for control of their kingdom. In
Mahabharat, along with these fights, there are several stories and incidents that reflect
different aspects of the Indian society of that time. On the other hand, Shahnameh is a long
epic Persian poem that was written by the poet Ferdowsi. It consists of three sects that are
mythical, historical, and epical. It is also known as the Book of Different Kings, which
includes the great stories of victory and struggles of the life of the king. Along with the
stories of kings, it also reflects the different aspects of the Persian society of that time. Both
of these incredible ancient epics play an important role in the modern world in learning about
ancient times and applying lessons from them to current society.

In this research paper, in the context of both these epics, I would like to show the different
images of women represented in two different cultures. In the Mahabharata, we can see how
one gender dominates the other. While men fight for power, women struggle for respect and
suffer through a lot of humiliation. Women’s dignity is violated; they are abused. Women
have been represented as objects, a material of pleasure and slaves to their husbands. I will
take the example of Draupadi in the Mahabharata and represent the negative treatment of
women in such a great Indian epic. On the other hand, in Shahnameh, the role of women
complements that of men. They are not represented as the toys of men. They have very high
value and status and play a variety of roles in Shahnameh. They also played a central role in
wars and administration. Women were recognised as positive, influential, and decisive
agents. Shahnameh is filled with the intrepidity, wariness, wisdom, and insight of women.
Some of these women are Gordafarid, Farnak, Gardiyesh, etc. Thus, Shahnameh reflects the
positive treatment of women.

So, the representation of women in these epics was very different. In one, women were
exploited and violated, and in another one, women were given high value and status.
WOMEN IN SHAHNAMEH

In Shahnameh, there was a woman named "Gordafarid." Ferdowsi makes an admirable

example of her. Gordafarid is one of the courageous and brave female characters in the
Shahnameh. She was the daughter of Gazdaham, a famous Iranian warrior, and the sister of
Hojir. Both Gordafarid and Hojir were the defenders of the White Fortress in Iran and Turan.
She got military training and learned to use weapons like a man and also learned other
combat skills. She was good at riding, archery, shooting and war skills. When Sohrab and his
troops arrived to attack the white fortress to gain control over it, Hojir saw them and went to
warn them not to dare attack the white fortress. Sohrab abducted him. When this news
reached Gordafarid, she intellectually decided to send this news to the king and ask him for
help, because they didn’t have enough troops to fight. She’ll go to fight against them as a
male warrior. She made herself look like a male warrior. Gordafarid, with her troops, went to
fight against Sohrab. She uses her skills and throws an arrow that splits the Sohrab’s spear in
half. When Sohrab tears apart the armour shield with an arrow, she realises that she cannot
fight, and she makes the decision to escape the scene. Sohrab followed the horse and
Gordafarid and tried to catch her. When he was trying to grab her, he found that Gordafarid
was a woman. He was both shocked and surprised. Sohrab apprehended Gordafarid and
demanded his surrender. At that moment, without panicking, Gordafarid acted intellectually.
She deceived him by saying that she would open the gate of the white fortress for him. When
Sohrab released her, Gordafarid attacked him and went to the fortress, shutting down the
gate. This way, Gordafarid, with her wisdom, gets released from Sohrab and can even defend
the fortress. However, this was the first glimpse of Gordafarid as a bold and courageous
woman in this scene. By isolating Sohrab from the soldiers and guiding him to the fortress,
she is able to escape death and exact revenge on him for her failure by killing him there.

Gordafarid adheres to her cultural, social, and national values because she loves her identity
as an Iranian. She does not exaggerate her bravery, her captivating beauty, or her long hair
that charms her. Gordafarid views her beauty as belonging to the pure race and to freedom.
Gordafarid, a soldier of the fortress, is so devastated by the arrest of Hojir that her face turns
black from her inability to bear such an embarrassment. She dons the battle outfit, equips
herself, tucks her hair behind the helmet, and charges the foe with the ferocity of a lion.

Here, we have a lionhearted woman who protects her homeland, and one can clearly perceive
how joyful and original it is, a subject touching the poet’s mind. The fact that Gordafarid
chooses to fight heroically with Sohrab reveals a magnificient Iranian cultural ideal of the
supreme woman.

How Women Were Represented in Shahnamenh

Martial Personality: Gordie Chubin is Bahram Chubin's sister. The woman who played the
role of a bold, fearless, and agile figure who fled to China with her brother and was proposed
to by Khaqan after Bahram's death. She gathered an army to face the Khaqan Corps after
refusing to marry him. She is a woman in a position of general. A brave lady who operates as
an experienced leader in the army's organisation, instilling courage, and energising it. She
wears male armour and must disguise her femininity in her armour since her femininity
would tell the opponent that the fight would be simple and would also give him spirit. As a
result, the woman must dress in the man's attire in order to terrify.
Political Personality: Homay is one of the most powerful and influential ladies in the
Shahnameh. Homay, Bahman's daughter, marries. However, he becomes unwell during her
pregnancy, and instead of his son Sassan, Homay succeeds him. Homay began another rite in
the kingdom's culture. The behaviour of Homay on the throne can validate this notion that the
arrival of women in the sphere of politics causes the world of politics to contemplate mercy,
which is typically a feminine trait, rather than a place of aggression and competition, which is
typically the outcome of male traits. She welcomes the people of the world to justice from the
start of her reign. She is able to establish justice in her realm during her thirty-year reign. She
deploys a massive army to Rome, defeats the Romans, and establishes dominion over her
neighbouring tribes. Homay reigns for an extended period of time, likely due to her
exceptional ability to rule.

Artistic Personality: Most women in Shahnameh do not have such a courageous and warrior
demeanour. Most women have feminine careers, while some have occupations that include
entertaining men and providing tools for pleasure and joy. Arezo, a musician, is one of the
artistic characters in Shahnameh. She is the daughter of a shepherd, and Bahram marries her
after learning of her abilities from her father. Beautiful women playing music is referenced in
the narrative of Bijan and Manijeh.

WOMEN IN MAHABHARATA

Draupadi, the main heroine of Mahabharat, was born from fire and was King Draupad's
daughter. She was married to Arjuna, but when he took her to his home, her mother said,
"Whatever he has brought with him, share that with his other four brothers. With respect to
the words of his mother, he shared her with other brothers, and in this way, Draupadi became
the wife of the Paanch Pandavas; Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Shahdeva.

Draupadi lives with each husband for one year, and the others do not interfere in their lives. If
any of the Paanch Pandavas broke the rule, then they would get punished for breaking these
rules of marriage. Once, Yudhishthira and his brothers were called by Shakuni (Yudhishthir’s
cousin) in Hastinapur to play a game of dice. It was a conspiracy by Shakuni to bring the
Pandavas down. When the game began, Yudhishthira was losing everything that he had put at
stake; his kingdom, wealth, even his brother's kingdom and wealth, one by one. He
eventually left with nothing, and he and his brother became Kauravas' servants. But, again,
Shakuni told him that he still had something to put at stake and he could win all the things
back, and that was Draupadi, his wife. Yudhishthira thought that he would win it all back by
putting Draupadi at stake, but he lost her in the game. Draupadi then disrespectfully brings
Dushasana to the court of game by grabbing her hair. In front of the court, Dushasana was
ordered by his brother to remove her sari, and following his orders, Dushasana began to
remove her sari in front of all, including her husband, who were watching all this drama
silently. Because they lost her in stake, Draupadi started to pray to Krishna to protect her
prestige. Draupadi’s sari was becoming large. Dushsana was unable to remove it fully. Shri
Krishna thus safeguarded Draupasdi's reputation. As we can see in these two incidents, how
Draupadi gets shared between the brothers and how she was humiliated in the game of dice in
front of her own husbands, It is said that Kunti, mother of the paanch pandavas, was unaware
that Arjuna had brought his wife. She thought that he had brought alms, so that’s why she
said to share it unknowingly, but all of them accepted her order rather than to resist it. Not
only did the paanch pandava try to resist their mother as a respectable person, even their
mother couldn’t take her words back from sharing Draupadi. And as a wife, Draupadi had to
follow whatever her husband and her in-laws said to her. In the other incident of the gamble,
Draupadi was like a materialistic thing or toy to Yudhishthira, so he put her on stake, and to
bring the Pandavas down, the Kauravas targeted the dignity of women to disrespect and
assault her. She was not a human, she was a toy. How badly the dignity and honour of
women have been represented in such a great Indian epic. Even during the Gamble, Karna
repeatedly called Draupadi a prostitute because she had more than one husband. At that time,
having more than one wife was common for men, but if a woman had more than one husband
then, she was a prostitute. Women were represented as a materialistic thing, a means of
pleasure and inferior to men. Women were unable to raise their voices; they just had to
follow the orders of their husband and their in-laws to be obedient wives and daughters-in-
law.

How Women Were Treated in Mahabharata

Women As Mothers
Indian motherhood has long been a sacred function in a woman's life, frequently
overshadowing her other identities. Women's roles as spouses and mothers are important in
the patriarchal Mahabharata. They have a strong voice that cannot be ignored. In a patriarchal
society, mothers are placed on a pedestal, and this glorification coexists with their poor social
status. "Of the seed and the womb, the seed is superior," Manu says.
After her husband, King Dushyanta, whom she had married through Gandharva-vivaha rites,
abandoned her, Shakuntala headed off with her son to reclaim what was rightfully hers. She
was adamant that her son, Bharata, be made king, and she was successful.
Satyavati, on the other hand, was adamant that her offspring would be king. Shantanu's first
son Devarata, later known as Bhishma, took the vow of celibacy at her urging so that his
father Shantanu might marry again. Satyavati preserved the Kuru lineage. She was willing to
sacrifice self-interest in order to preserve the Kuru dynasty. Her actions as Kurus queen
indicate her independence right away.
Kunti was the mother of three sons. Twins were born to Pandu's second wife. Kunti was left
to care for the children alone after Pandu and Madri died. She represents all single mothers.
Despite the fact that Nakul and Sehdeva are Kunti's stepchildren, she is not prejudiced
towards them. Kunti and Gandhari both desire the best for their children and want their sons
to win the Kurukshetra war. Kunti swallowed her pride and addressed Karana, trying to
persuade him to side with the Pandavas and make them his ally. Despite the fact that this did
not happen, he informed her that his fight was with Arjuna and that she would always be the
mother of five sons. Gandhari, on the other hand, loses all hundred of her children in the
fight, whilst Kunti only loses one son, Karana. Draupadi also loses her children as a result of
the war.

Women As Wives
Anamika, a woman without a name, is the first example. Her identity has not been revealed,
and she represents the broad group of housewives. The story begins with a Brahman,
Kaushika, visiting Anamika's residence for alms. He loses his cool because she keeps him
waiting. Anamika's response to his rage is that her obligation as a wife extends first to her
husband's service, then to anyone else.
Savitri is maybe the most well-known example of a wonderful wife. She chose Satyavan as
her husband despite knowing he would die after a year.Through her persistent insistence,
perseverance, and devotion to her marital obligations as a wife, she won over Yama, the Lord
of Death, who awarded her four boons and restored Satyavan's life with the fifth.  In order to
free her husband from Death's clutches, she followed the Dharma of an ideal wife. Only a
virtuous wife can triumph over anything, including Death. Indian ladies continue to honour
and revere Savitri as a faithful and loyal wife.
Gandhari took to disability after discovering that her husband is blind by blindfolding her
eyes. She fulfils a wife's Dharma by accompanying her husband in sickness and in health.
The sacrifice seeds she sows reap fruit later, when she may employ her newly acquired
talents to strengthen Duryodhana's body. This demonstrates mental fortitude and a
willingness to make personal sacrifices. Gandhari's decision to permanently bandage her eyes
shut in imitation of her husband's blindness is a disempowering submission to the interests of
others.
It would be unjust to end this section without discussing Draupadi. When Arjuna returned
Draupadi to his mother, Kunti, with her back to the pair, urged Arjuna to distribute his spoils
among his siblings. Draupadi, also known as Panchali, became the bride of five (in Hindi,
paanch) brothers as a result of this. In a matter of moments, she turned from a valued item
acquired by Arjuna in a Swayamvar to a victim of circumstance.
Draupadi's fate worsens in the next years. When all else fails, her eldest husband
Yudhishthira uses her as collateral in a dice game against his cousin and the eldest of the
Kauravas, Duryodhana. In the assembly, she was stripped naked and humiliated. Despite her
humiliation, Draupadi continued to follow her spouses into exile and sacrificed everything
precious to her heart. This demonstrates her commitment, endurance, and bravery. Draupadi
is revered in South India as the furious virgin-goddess who was betrayed by her husbands.
This essentially speaks to society's concept or rather expectation of a woman's Dharma,
which is meant for lifelong subservience to her husband and becoming a sati after his death to
remain joined to him in subservience in the afterlife.

CONCLUSION
In the Mahabharata, women are considered as slaves, property, chattel, and commodities
utilised for men's pleasure. Women's key characteristics include submission, suppression,
obedience, and silence. They are instruments of male ambition. Women like Gandhari, Kunti,
and Draupadi stand out, occasionally challenging the male world's unfairness. The standing
of women in contemporary India has changed. In India, several laws are in place to protect
wives from dowry, abuse, and to provide them with maintenance. One area that still has to be
addressed is marital rape, which is not a punished offence in India. Despite legislation,
women continue to face abuse, exploitation, harassment, and servitude in a patriarchal
culture. From the time of the Mahabharata to today's society, there hasn't been much change.
The condition of women in the twenty-first century is similar to that of women in ancient
times.
Shahnameh, as one of the most influential epic works in Persian literature, enlarged
deliberative views, educational and ethical insights, as well as Persian tradition and the
Persian school of chivalry. However, this massive book mentioned the names of thirty-two
women as well as a number of important women without naming them. The main
characteristics of women in Shahnameh are analysed in terms of social issues. As a result, in
Shahnameh, loyalty and the inability to keep secrets are seen as the best and worst attributes
of a woman, respectively.
The study also discovered three distinct social personality types, namely martial, political,
and artistic. Some of these women hold prominent positions in society while not ignoring
their love and affections. It depicts women's position and status, as well as their impact in the
society of the time. It is also worth noting that some Shahnameh women, such as Manije,
Tahmina, and Sudabeh, are irresponsible while consciously expressing their love for their
favourite husbands. There are many parallels in their appearance and behaviour, implying a
social unit in these stories. The social framework in which these stories are set is a free,
unrestricted, aristocratic culture in which women have a reasonable amount of independence.
Furthermore, women in Shahnameh are practical, and knowing what their bodies and souls
want, they seek to meet those needs.