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Bards sing of universal matters, emotions which anybody could experience. Every epic sung by the bard has a message precious to us, especially the legends that went unrecorded yet, continue to live in the hearts of many generations as the gift of their predecessors.
From the world of Culture and Folklore
Mahabharata is the oldest and the most widely read epic in our nation. We all claim to know the epic rivalry of Pandavas and Kauravas by heart, but do we really know everything about it? The mainstream Mahabharata written in Sanskrit continues to occupy the collective memory of Indians. Unbeknownst to many of us lies another version of the epic, adopted by the tribal community of Bhils.
For years and most probably centuries now, the Bhils have sung their version of Mahabharata known as the Bhil Bharata. This retold version is the legacy of the Bhils that is passed on from one generation to the other orally, with no written evidence or compilation whatsoever.
So as your dutiful bard, I bring to you yet another undiscovered episode of power, passion, jealousy, action and adventure from this epic of Bhils.
One fine day, Vasuki, the king of Nag-lok, finds a strand of hair on his land. Compelled by the urge to locate the face behind it, he mounts his horse to land up in Hastinapur. His pursuit of the unknown beauty takes him to the cloud palace, where the ethereal Draupadi rests.
Her golden hair, milk-white complexion and delicate charms were a sing-song dream to the people and a reality to her five husbands.
Vasuki suddenly snaps out of his trance when Arjun rudely interrupts his chain of thoughts. Vasuki then proposes the idea of marriage, which combusts the flames of jealousy in Arjuna. In a much-anticipated scuffle, Vasuki binds Arjuna with a strand of his moustache, hanging him on a peg in the wall. Arjuna is helplessly left to witness the couple engaging in the blissful symphony of ecstasy over and over again.
Draupadi's willingness to mate with Vasuki soon turned into boredom which prompted her to disclose the secret of killing Vasuki, who feared Karna because of his celestial gifts. At Arjun's request, Karna then slew all seven heads of Vasuki, banishing him to the Nag-lok forever.
This episode remains one of the most controversial tales ever. But what attracts me the most is the feminist understanding of this legend. Women like Draupadi have the discretion to choose their partner while the men, Arjun in this case, fight for her attention. The Sanskrit version of the epic paints Draupadi in a negative image often, blaming her as the cause of the war or as a passive, helpless person who needs the protection of her husbands and Krishna, making the epic patriarchal and extremely male-centric.
The recent evaluation of the Bhil Bharata by Devdutt Patnaik also explores many such episodes where the epic not only reveres its women but also gives them equal rights and choices to voice out their opinions and concerns.
Many stories within the Bhil Bharata trace the celestial roots of several female characters, including Kunti, Gandhari and Draupadi, but that is a tale for another time.
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