Mahabharata’s Draupadi: A Visual Narrative Of Her Societal Impact In Contemporary India

While I had not intended to do so, I found myself coming back to research and represent a cause I care about deeply. From the several narratives of Mahabharata, the focus was drawn to Draupadi, whose reinterpretation by women as a means of protest empowered me to dig deeper. The harsh realities revealed made it pertinant to bring them to the forefront. As a result, insightful discussions regarding the position of women in societal structures were held.

This piece is a thematic continuation of ‘Karma and Fate’ as here I decided to find connections between those stories and contemporary society, to enhance its relevance.

During this attempt, I found various reinterpretations of the character Draupadi which were used by women to protest against sexual abuse. Inspired by these instances, I started exploring how the character affected other spheres of life in our society. My final output visually represented the impact of Draupadi, a prominent female protagonist of the epic Mahabharata, on the historical, literary, artistic, sociocultural and political aspects of Indian society. A structure containing four concentric circles portrayed her mythological, historical and contemporary influences through four instances of her life – The Swayamvara, The Bahupatitva, The Vastraharana, and The Akshay Patra.

I confidently used Madhubani inspired illustrations to portray the mythological story, making me realise how far I had come since my first attempt at it. I also explored collage as a new medium of expression, and used it in the contemporary layer, to represent today’s information heavy age. Thorough secondary research, data visualisation and concept visualisation was done, improving my skills in this field.