The Cult of Draupadi, Volume 2: On Hindu Ritual and the Goddess

Volume 2 looks at the cultic rituals and argues that these rituals cannot be interpreted independent of other Hindu traditions. Hiltebeitel draws upon his recent fieldwork to demonstrate the remarkable regional and local variations in the practice of the Draupadī cult rituals, from the core area around the ancient center of gingee to the thanjavur area just to the south. He brings to the forefront the differences between the complex rituals of cities, towns, and villages and discusses variations related to their proximity to the central temple in gingee and to the castes from which their customs are derived. using as its model the festival of the Tindivanam temple, Hiltebeitel’s study follows the order of the festival itself and investigates in turn the festival’s four interrelated arenas: the Draupadī temple, a drama stage, a ritual battlefield (paṭukaḷam), and a firewalking area. He explains how the Draupadī festival orchestrates movements back and forth between these arenas to produce a “ritual of battle” in which Draupadī emerges as the victorious goddess.