Draupadi's Wailings...

Draupadi's Wailings...

The day's battle had made Draupadi look 80 years old...physically

as well as mentally.

The city was full of widows…There were only a few men around.

Orphan children were seen roaming around and the queen of them all

Draupadi was sitting motionless in the palace of Hastinapur, staring

into the void.

Just then, Shri Krishna enters Draupadi's room.

As soon as she sees Krishna, she runs and hugs him...

Krishna keeps caressing her head and lets her cry.

After a while, he takes her away from himself and makes her sit on

a nearby bed.

Draupadi: What happened, friend? I had not thought so.

Krishna: Destiny is ruthless Panchali. It does not work as we think!

It transforms our actions into results. You wanted to take revenge.

You succeeded, Draupadi! Your revenge is complete...

Not just Duryodhan and Dushasan, all the Kauravas are finished.

You should be happy!

Draupadi: Dear friend, have you come to soothe my wounds or

to sprinkle salt on them?

Krishna: No Draupadi, I have come to make you aware of the reality.

We can not see the results of our actions far ahead and when they are

in front of us.

Draupadi: Then, nothing is in our hands. So, am I completely

responsible for this war, Krishna?

Krishna: No, Draupadi. Don't consider yourself so important...

But, If you had a little foresight in your actions, you would never

have suffered so much.

Draupadi: What could I have done Krishna?

Krishna:- You could have done a lot when your swayamvara took

place... If you had not insulted Karna and allowed him to participate

in the competition, the results would have been different! (1)

After this, when Kunti ordered you to become the wife of five

husbands, and if you had not accepted, the results would have been

different....(2)And after that, you insulted Duryodhan in your palace saying that

" the sons of blind men are blind". (3)

If you had not said that, your disrobing would not have happened...

Even then, perhaps, the circumstances would have been different. (4)

"Our words are also our deeds" Draupadi, and "It is very important

to weigh our every word before speaking. Otherwise, its adverse

effects keep making not only ourselves but our entire surroundings

unhappy. Man is the only creature in the world whose poison is not

in his teeth but in his words”.

Therefore use words wisely. Use such words, which do not hurt

anyone’s feelings!  The Mahabharata resides within each and

every one of us.

Epilogue:

Draupadi is the most prominent female character in the Mahabharata. Her given name at birth is Krishnaa, but since she is the daughter of Drupada she is called Draupadi. She is also known as Panchali – or the ‘daughter of Panchala’. She is also known as Yajnasena since born out of the Yagna.

Draupadi is often considered the primary reason for the destruction of the Kuru dynasty. Indeed, she takes birth as a grown young woman in a sacrifice performed by Drupada, in which the king asks for a ‘weapon’ with which the Kurus can be defeated.

Many kings participated in the contest, but most of them could not even string the bow. Seeing the failures of the kings, Karna, the son of Sun God approached the bow, wielded it, and was about to shoot the arrow when Panchali loudly said " I will not select a Suta as my husband ".Then Karna, laughing in vexation and insulted, threw aside the bow already drawn to a circle and left the assembly.

a

When everybody failed, Arjuna, disguised as a Brahmin, approached the bow, strung it, and pierced the eye of the fish in a single attempt. The Kshatriyas present there objected to the marriage, as they did not know that the Brahmin was Arjuna. Therefore, they attacked him, but could not do much before the strength of the Pandavas. Then Draupadi requested the monarchs to stop the fight as she had been rightfully acquired by the Brahmin. Then, the warriors stopped fighting and returned to their kingdoms.

2. Apart from the curses and boons in her previous lives, one more incident happened when Pandavas returned to their abode along with Draupadi. They approached their mother and presented Yajnaseni to her as the alms they had obtained that day. Kunti, who was inside the room said: “Enjoy you all (whatever you have obtained).” A moment later, when she saw Panchali, ‘Oh, what have I said?’ and felt sorry to say so and expressed her regret to Yudhishthira. Pandavas were devoted to their mother and never turned down any of her orders. Yudhishthira understood the situation and told Arjuna, “O Arjuna, you have won her. Therefore, she should be your wife only. Therefore, ignite the sacred fire and marry her with due rites.” But Arjuna declined his suggestion because his elder brothers, Yudhishthira and Bhima, were unmarried. Yudhishthira remembered the story of Draupadi’s previous birth told by Sage Vyasa by which Draupadi was supposed to have five husbands in this birth because of a boon from Lord Shiva. Therefore, Yudhishthira pronounced that Draupadi would be their common wife.

3. When Pandavas reached Hastinapur after the marriage with Panchali, the elders decided to divide the kingdom and give some part to Pandavas. There they built, with the help of Mayasura, a magnificent city named Indraprastha. Pandavas defeated most of their adversaries in the battle. And arranged for Rajasuya Yajna to proclaim Yudhishthira, Chakravarti Samrat. For the yajna, they invited Duryodhana and many other kings.

In Pandava’s palace, Mayasura had designed a water pool that looked like a floor. Thinking it was a floor, Duryodhana stepped into it and fell into the water. Seeing this, Draupadi could not control herself and laughed at him. As in some stories, she said, “A blind man’s son is also blind”. Duryodhana got very angry with her and decided to take revenge for his insult.

4. Later, in the game of dice, she was pledged by Yudhishtira. Subsequently, Draupadi was disrobed in the assembly by the orders of Duryodana. Bhima took an oath to kill Kauravas at the instance of Draupadi. Before the attempt of Draupadi Vastraharan, Pandavas did not think about killing Kauravas because they considered them their brothers, even though Duryodhana had tried to kill them.

  It was told in some stories, indirectly Draupadi was responsible for the killing of Kauravas and helped Lord Krishna establish dharma.