Understanding the Meaning of Life in the Life of Madhavi

The objective of this research paper is to understand the psychological dynamics of a character of   the Vedic era. Method: The character has been studied through content analysis of a holistic single case study method (Yin, 2003). The character: The story of Madhavi was narrated in a brief in the Udyoga Parva of Mahabharatha. She was a daughter of a king Yayati. She agreed to marry kings, a way to get money to fulfill the indebted Brahmin student Galava. In the process, Madhavi married to four kings, each wedlock, got unlocked after she delivers a baby as per the contract. However, she did not marry any person during her self-choice ceremony, but chose the forest and leaves to the forest as an ascetic. She comes back into the picture, when her father Yayati needed support to go back to the heaven, which she fulfilled and made her children to do so. Discussion: The paper attempts to explore the underlying psycho-social and socio-cultural dynamics of incidents in the life of Madhavi through analyzing the narratives holistically. She showed matured adult behavior through asserting herself as an individual as well as supported the collective through contractual marriages. Finally, she was neither the victim of self-assertion nor the collective, but emerges herself as an epitome of values, finding the meaning in her every deed as well as in her life. Conclusion: The narrative of Madhavi looks like an exploited character, but holistic analysis of her behavior shows that it was the finest character for understanding the self oriented behavior in finding the meaning while asserting for Self and nurturing the cause of collective without losing her identity.