Devyani

The traditional view of a mythological character is that it is staid, flat, and uninteresting, belonging to an unreal world of the days gone by.

But contrary to this, Devyani, the daughter of a sage, is surprisingly different. She is not only vivacious and enticing but also a tempestuous lover, free-willed, and unyielding. Being a spoilt child, she is in the habit of getting things done at any cost. She makes her father revive her lover Kutch (killed twice by the demons) to life because she says she cant live without him. Unlike most of the present-day girls, she offers herself to the young man to marry her, but at his refusal (for personal reasons), she curses him.

When she is rescued by Yayati (a Kshatriya king) from the blind well, into which she had fallen, she asks him to marry her because he had held her by the hand. Yayati is reluctant as they belong to different social strata, where the customs do not allow such wedlock, but she is determined to have her way. She pressures her unwilling father to perform her marriage, which the poor man does despite the unfavorable customs. He cant displease his daughter.

She has no qualms about blackmailing the king (in whose court her father was an advisor) to give away his daughter, Sharmistha, as her permanent slave when she goes to her husbands house. The fact that both the girls were bosom friends did not deter her from her meanness.

It is surprising to note that such a liberated and strong female character was created in an epic thousands of years ago.