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PanchaKanyas-
The panchakanya literally means five kanyas. Kanya may be translated as girl, daughter, maiden or virgin.
The well-known Sanskrit hymn that defines the Panchakanys runs:
Sanskrit transliteration
ahalyā draupadī sītā tārā mandodarī tathā ।
pañcakanyāḥ smarennityaṃ mahāpātakanāśinīḥ ॥
English translation
Ahalya, Draupadi, Sita, Tara and Mandodari
One should forever remember the panchakanya who are the destroyers of great sins
A variant replaces Sita with Kunti:[SUP]
[/SUP]
Sanskrit transliteration
ahalyā draupadī kuṃtī tārā mandodarī tathā ।
pañcakanyāḥ smarennityaṃ mahāpātakanāśinīm ॥
Though all being married, the choice of the word kanya, not nari(woman) or sati (chaste wife), seems interesting to scholar Pradip Bhattacharya”
Of these five,
Ahalya was violated by Indra,
Draupadi had five Husbands,
Tara lived with her husband Vaali’s Brother , Sugreeva.
Mandodai married Vibhishana, Ravanas’ brother, after Ravana’s death?
Only Sita fits the concept of Chastity and loayalty to the core!
That’s why She is treated as Mother by all, Thayar in Tamil.
But then how the other four qualify as one among panchakanya ? is it because 'The panchakanya' are venerated as ideal women and chaste wives in one view?
All kanyas lack mothers in their life. Ahalya, Tara, Mandodari, Sita and Draupadi have supernatural births, while Kunti is adopted at birth and separated from a mother. Though all of the kanyas are described as mothers, except Kunti, no kanya's motherhood is emphasized in their tales.
Another common element is the theme of loss in their legends. Ahalya is cursed and abandoned by her family. Tara loses her husband, Draupadi her sons and Mandodari her husband, sons and kin in war. Each of them suffers a tragedy and used by men, but battles on with life and society. They are considered by Mr Pradip Bhattacharya as victims of patriarchal myth-making, message.
The panchakanya are regarded by one view as ideal women. George M. Williams remarks, "They are not perfect but they fulfil their dharma (duty) as mothers, sisters, wives and occasionally leaders in their own right."
Another view considers them exemplary chaste women or mahasatis ("great chaste women") as per the Mahari dance tradition, and worthy as an ideal for "displaying some outstanding quality".
Another view does not regard the panchakanya as ideal women who should be emulated.[SUP]
[/SUP]Bhattacharya, author of Panch-Kanya: The Five Virgins of Indian Epics contrasts the panchakanya with the five satis enlisted in another traditional prayer: Sati, Sita, Savitri, Damayanti and Arundhati. He rhetorically asks, "Are then Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara, and Mandodari not chaste wives because each has 'known' a man, or more than one, other than her husband?"[SUP]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchakanya
[/SUP]
The panchakanya literally means five kanyas. Kanya may be translated as girl, daughter, maiden or virgin.
The well-known Sanskrit hymn that defines the Panchakanys runs:
Sanskrit transliteration
ahalyā draupadī sītā tārā mandodarī tathā ।
pañcakanyāḥ smarennityaṃ mahāpātakanāśinīḥ ॥
English translation
Ahalya, Draupadi, Sita, Tara and Mandodari
One should forever remember the panchakanya who are the destroyers of great sins
A variant replaces Sita with Kunti:[SUP]
[/SUP]
Sanskrit transliteration
ahalyā draupadī kuṃtī tārā mandodarī tathā ।
pañcakanyāḥ smarennityaṃ mahāpātakanāśinīm ॥
Though all being married, the choice of the word kanya, not nari(woman) or sati (chaste wife), seems interesting to scholar Pradip Bhattacharya”
Of these five,
Ahalya was violated by Indra,
Draupadi had five Husbands,
Tara lived with her husband Vaali’s Brother , Sugreeva.
Mandodai married Vibhishana, Ravanas’ brother, after Ravana’s death?
Only Sita fits the concept of Chastity and loayalty to the core!
That’s why She is treated as Mother by all, Thayar in Tamil.
But then how the other four qualify as one among panchakanya ? is it because 'The panchakanya' are venerated as ideal women and chaste wives in one view?
All kanyas lack mothers in their life. Ahalya, Tara, Mandodari, Sita and Draupadi have supernatural births, while Kunti is adopted at birth and separated from a mother. Though all of the kanyas are described as mothers, except Kunti, no kanya's motherhood is emphasized in their tales.
Another common element is the theme of loss in their legends. Ahalya is cursed and abandoned by her family. Tara loses her husband, Draupadi her sons and Mandodari her husband, sons and kin in war. Each of them suffers a tragedy and used by men, but battles on with life and society. They are considered by Mr Pradip Bhattacharya as victims of patriarchal myth-making, message.
The panchakanya are regarded by one view as ideal women. George M. Williams remarks, "They are not perfect but they fulfil their dharma (duty) as mothers, sisters, wives and occasionally leaders in their own right."
Another view considers them exemplary chaste women or mahasatis ("great chaste women") as per the Mahari dance tradition, and worthy as an ideal for "displaying some outstanding quality".
Another view does not regard the panchakanya as ideal women who should be emulated.[SUP]
[/SUP]Bhattacharya, author of Panch-Kanya: The Five Virgins of Indian Epics contrasts the panchakanya with the five satis enlisted in another traditional prayer: Sati, Sita, Savitri, Damayanti and Arundhati. He rhetorically asks, "Are then Ahalya, Draupadi, Kunti, Tara, and Mandodari not chaste wives because each has 'known' a man, or more than one, other than her husband?"[SUP]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panchakanya
[/SUP]
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