Why do you think the author(s) offered three explanations for a single episode?
The author(s) offered multiple explanations for Draupadi's polyandrous marriage because this practice gradually fell into disfavour amongst the Brahmanas, who reworked and developed the text through the centuries.
As polyandry became unusual or undesirable from the Brahmanical point of view, later composers felt the need to justify this episode in various ways. Some explanations linked it to a situation of crisis like shortage of women during warfare, while others connected it to practices prevalent in the Himalayan region.
The multiple explanations thus reflect how the text was dynamic and evolved over time, with different authors attempting to make sense of a practice that was once acceptable but later seemed problematic.
Explanation
This question tests the student's understanding of how the Mahabharata evolved as a dynamic text. The textbook clearly states that the multiple explanations for Draupadi's polyandry suggest that 'polyandry gradually fell into disfavour amongst the Brahmanas, who reworked and developed the text through the centuries.' The various explanations - linking it to Himalayan practices, warfare crises, or divine intervention - show how later authors tried to justify what had become an uncomfortable episode from a Brahmanical perspective.
Solution Steps
Step 1: Identify the episode - Draupadi's polyandrous marriage with the Pandavas
Step 2: Note that historians link multiple explanations to changing social attitudes
Step 3: Explain that Brahmanas found polyandry unusual/disfavorable over time
Step 4: Conclude that multiple justifications were added as the text evolved