Draupadi’s image in the Mahabharata as the Stereotype for Physical Beauty of its Female Heroines

The article is an analysis of the stereotyped image of physical beauty of the heroines of Indian epic Mahabharata. The features of the character of main plot, Draupadi, are compared with these of minor female characters of this epic. Draupadi’s image is shown in many fragments coming from different books of the Mahabharata but the descriptions of the heroines of sub-stories, even if not so numerous are strikingly similar. The characters of sub-stories chosen for this comparison are Śakuntala, Damayanti, Lopamudra, Sukanya, the unnamed woman of frivolous behaviour and Savitri. The comparison of images of the female characters allows to check the potential influence of the image of the main female character on the range of other images of female beauty as shown in the Mahabharata. The question of probability of this potential influence is posed and discussed in detail.

 

Draupadi’s image in the Mahabharata as the Stereotype for Physical Beauty of its Female Heroines

The article is an analysis of the stereotyped image of physical beauty of the heroines of Indian epic Mahabharata. The features of the character of main plot, Draupadi, are compared with these of minor female characters of this epic. Draupadi’s image is shown in many fragments coming from different books of the Mahabharata but the descriptions of the heroines of sub-stories, even if not so numerous are strikingly similar. The characters of sub-stories chosen for this comparison are Śakuntala, Damayanti, Lopamudra, Sukanya, the unnamed woman of frivolous behaviour and Savitri. The comparison of images of the female characters allows to check the potential influence of the image of the main female character on the range of other images of female beauty as shown in the Mahabharata. The question of probability of this potential influence is posed and discussed in detail.