Compare and contrast Sita and Draupadi.

Both characters occupy a really powerful role in both the
Ramayana and Mahabarata as well as in Indian
Literature, in general.   Like so much with classical literature, there are raging
complexities that lie underneath the supposedly simple surface.  Both women play vital
roles in honor bound times and both have to endure a specific level of challenge because
of this position.  Sita must battle through the elements in being Lord Rama’s wife while
Draupadi finds challenges in being married to the five Pandavas.  As a result of their
position, they have to endure something that could be perceived as humiliation and are
proven to be above reproach.  Draupadi’s disrobing is a moment that would test the
character of any person, but her commitment to Lord Krishna who responds with providing
her with the sari that is endless is a testament to her faith.  Sita has to endure the
abduction by Ravana and withstanding his horrendous advances only to come back to Ayodha
and have to walk through the fire to prove her loyalty in order for the citizens to take
her back as her matriarch.  Both of them are also considered to be avatars of Hindu
divinity.  Sita is seen as a form of the Goddess Lakshmi, while Krishna refers to
Draupadi as “his sister,” indicating that she is an avatar of the Goddess Parvati.  Both
of them also challenge the male authority structures, but in different ways.  Draupadi
questions why she is seen as something to be bartered in a wager, suggesting that the
notion of womanhood, in general, is not something to be seen as objects.  Sita’s
devotion to Lord Ram is the standard for all loyalty, yet she refuses to stand by him
when she cannot be welcomed back to Ayodha with open and authentic reception, leaving
him to be alone.  In the modern predicament, both of them are seen in some level of
divergent lights.  Draupadi is seen as someone who forces men to acknowledge their own
savagery and cruelty, as she does not fight back, but rather devotes herself to Krishna
during the disrobing.  She stands tall and prays, almost achieving a transcendent
quality that forces men to recognize the fact that she is literally beyond them.  While
Sita is the epitome of devotion, I think that there is a tendency to dismiss her as the
victim of patriarchy.  I feel that this is a misreading of her because she, like Lord
Ram, is a product of the time period which curtailed everyone’s freedom.  The tendency
to reduce her to this quality is one element that might cause her to be viewed in a
different light than Draupadi.