Lecture on “Panch Kanyaas” by Padma Vibhushan – Dr. Sonal Mansingh

Mediating on the merits of the five great ladies, namely Ahalya, Draupadi, Sita, Tara and Mandodari, helps destroy even the greatest of sins !!

” Dr. Mansingh talked about the lives of these Five women , she said “If you read their lives, one thing is for sure, none of them was a “compliant, malleable” wife. None of these women stood by and took what family and society gave them at face value. Infact, they held on to their dignity as women despite what family and society threw at them.Draupadi was mocked and subjected to all sorts of unkind remarks all her life, yet, she lives through it all with queenly dignity. Sita was a headstrong woman, one who successfully argued her case with Rama and her in-laws to follow Rama into exile. Tara was the widowed wife of Vali, who married Sugriva and successfully championed her son’s right to inherit the throne of Kishkindha. Mandodari the beautiful! Instead of arguing, fighting or making life a misery for her family, she took charge of the situation and managed the ever growing seraglio of her husband.

There are the characteristics of great wives as listed in the Puranas – dignity, patience, diplomacy, resourcefulness, drive to succeed, looking out for the family etc