Scriptures are often used to make patriarchal control sacrosanct over women’s bodies. A stereotypical monogamous woman is generally idealised by patriarchy; Polyandrous Draupadī in the Mahābhārata, however, stands sharply in contrast and the epic struggles to legitimise it by different myths to soothe the moral discomfort. Principal women characters of the epic like Draupadī, Kuntī and Satyavatī having more than one man in their life suggest that during the early stages of development of the epic, the values that governed man–women relations were not as rigid as they became later. During the growth of the epic, the lives of these women characters were transformed according to patriarchal perception, which expects that a woman should be a virgin when a man marries her. As a way out, the epic repeatedly restores the virginity of these women characters. As men are considered as owners/protectors of womens’ bodies/sexuality, the restoration seems to have restored the sense of honour and also redeemed the transgressions of men who ‘soiled’ them. Obsession with virginity also indicates the attitude of the commodification of the woman’s body. These women characters are portrayed as passive, whose lives and bodies are manipulated according to men’s perception.

圣经经常被用来使父权制对女性身体的控制神圣不可侵犯。典型的一夫一妻制女性通常被父权制理想化；然而，摩诃婆罗多中的一妻多夫 Draupadī 形成鲜明对比，史诗努力通过不同的神话使其合法化，以缓解道德上的不适。史诗中的主要女性角色，如 Draupadī、Kuntī 和 Satyavatī，她们一生中有不止一个男人，这表明在史诗发展的早期阶段，支配男女关系的价值观并不像后来那样僵化。在史诗的成长过程中，这些女性角色的生活根据重男轻女的观念发生了转变，即男人娶女人就应该是处女。作为出路，史诗反复还原了这些女性角色的童贞。由于男性被视为女性身体/性的拥有者/保护者，修复似乎恢复了荣誉感，也救赎了“玷污”了他们的男人的过犯。对童贞的痴迷也表明了女性身体商品化的态度。这些女性角色被描绘成被动的，她们的生活和身体都被男性的感知所操纵。