Somadeva 5/15/2016

Though women living during the Vedic Era in Ancient India held a decidedly more elevated social status than many of their non-Hindu counterparts, they still used disguises in order to carry out tasks that otherwise would be impossible. Somadeva, an eleventh century brahmana and courtier, wrote a large collection of stories called the Kathāsaritsāgara to entertain his patron, Queen Sūryamati (1272).

In "The Red Lotus of Chastity," one of the stories found in the compilation, Devasmitā, the heroine, wears several masks to carry out a task that might otherwise not work. Her husband Guhasena, a man for whom she relocated a great distance, plans to travel to the island of Cathay for business. They both fear that the other will be unfaithful, so they appeal to the god Śiva to aid them in maintaining their fidelity to one another. The god creates two magical lotus flowers that will remain alive as long as the other is faithful. With the reassurance of the lotus in place, the husband left for business, leaving Devasmitā in their home in Tāmraliptī with her handmaidens.

Four merchant’s sons on Cathay took notice of the lotus that Guhasena kept on his person at all times, and, having a keen interest for its origin, gave Guhasena too much to drink in order to derive the secret of the flower. Upon hearing its use, the four set sail for Tāmraliptī with the goal of corrupting Devasmitā from her goal of fidelity.

Upon arriving, they meet with a Buddhist nun, Yogakaraṇdikā, who promises that she will get them a meeting with Devasmitā.In this instance, we see the first mask used by a female in The Red Lotus of Chastity. A Buddhist nun is supposed to hold up the ideals of the just and virtuous life. Instead, she is seduced by the idea of being helpful to four young men. Of course, her ideals are already skewed, as she describes in detail how she came to have thieving pupil whom she is immensely proud of (1275). She hides behind her false mask of a religious and morally-upright character to gain entrance into the chambers of Devasmitā, urging her to explore her sensuality as to not lose her youth, as well as to avoid frustrations and vexations of the soul (1277).

Devasmitā puts on her first mask at this point, playing along with the plot of the nun so as to turn her own plot. Had she remained firm in her resolve, calling Yogakaraṇdikā out on her plan, she could not have been more cunning than the nun. She asks a handmaiden to pose as her, essentially wearing the mask of  Devasmitā, to invite the young men in, one by one, getting them drunk and useless with a drug, before stripping them, branding their foreheads with a dog’s paw, and dropping them in the streets (1277). Each man denied any wrongdoing to their person, covering the stamp, and went home to Cathay, embarrassed that they had been outdone by a woman.

Devasmitā, concerned that the men would kill her husband out of revenge, followed them, disguising herself as a merchant as to gain entrance onto a ship. Upon arriving in Cathay, she bade the king to assemble the people so that she might find her four servants… who bear the mark of the dog’s paw on their forehead (1279).
In wearing several masks, Devasmitā was about to seek lasting revenge on the men who would defile her chastity and protect her chastity all at once.

The idea of a woman donning a facade is found in literature from antiquity to modern times. It is typically a method employed by a woman to seek an elevated status or to be given the same consideration as her male counterpart, but in the case of Devasmitā, a woman who is powerful without the aid of a mask, every facade is used to trick the wicked into a life of servitude for their transgressions. As far as the Buddhist nun goes, her mask was used to be seen as useful to the four merchant’s sons. Lastly, the handmaiden dressing as Devasmitā was a tactic used to protect Devasmitā’s identity when disguising herself as a merchant for the trip to Cathay, as well as ensuring that nothing bad came back on her for her treatment of the four men, should her plan not work out in the end.  

The Norton Anthology of World Literature: Shorter Third Edition, Two- Volume Set. W.W. Norton. Ed. M Puchner. 2013. 1272-79. Print.