Speech Acts of Draupadi in The Mahabharata: The Case of Sabha Parva and Vana Parva

Abstract

Draupadi has been hailed as an extraordinary woman character of The Mahabharata and has often been appropriated by feminists particularly on account of her vocality. Her exceptional skill with words makes her an excellent orator and debater—qualities which are rarely represented in women. The epic representation of her character, despite ridden with several flaws, has been appreciated for giving her important and crucial moments of verbal articulation which problematise the very epistemological universe of Dharma on which the entire epic narrative sustains itself. Two Parvas of The Mahabharata, i.e. the Sabha Parva and the Vana Parva offer some such examples of the exemplary speech acts of Draupadi which throw light on one of the most independent minded women characters of the epic. The article seeks to analyse these speech acts with the intention of bringing out the gender politics underlying these exceptional utterances.