in mahabharata, the story of draupadi's marriage to 5 men is a case in point. this pointed to the fact that polygamy was matched with polyandry during the vedic era. women could select their husband in an assembly called 'swayamwar'. in this practice, the father of the woman would invite all the men and the woman would select one, and marry him while the court watched. this clearly showed how women's rights were taken seriously during the vedic era. this practice was prevalent till the 10th century a.d.