The Female Body and Public Shame: A Gender-Based Interpretation of Sita's Agnipariksha and Draupadi's Vastraharan

Abstract

Abstract: What happens when a woman’s shame becomes the site where a community measures its honour? This paper examines Sita’s Agnipariksha and Draupadi’s Vastraharan, which are perhaps two of the most debated episodes in the two major epics—Ramayana and Mahabharata—to consider how the female body in public emerges as an object of voyeuristic scrutiny and moral regulation. Far from mere myths, these tales reverberate into the present and tell stories of women in contemporary contexts. Drawing on feminist perspectives, cultural analysis, and the work of scholars such as Judith Butler, Michel Foucault, and Hiltebeitel, the study reveals how shame functions as a patriarchal tool for disciplining, punishing, and silencing women. What Sita’s trial demonstrates is the internalization of virtue through compliance, while Draupadi symbolizes rebellion; however, both are trapped within structures of domination. The paper also situates these ancient stories in the modern contexts of shame-based violence, including honour killings, victim shaming, and representative portrayals of the ‘perfect woman’. Using today’s lens, the current study raises awareness of the fact that “These epics should be used to challenge rather than perpetuate the culture that depicts women as happy to be abused and men as defenders of this tradition” (Ahmed 2021).