Draupadi
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In the Ancient Indian epic Mahābhārata, Kṛṣṇā Draupadī (Devanagari: कृष्णा द्रौपदी ; approx. pronunciation: [krɪʂɳaː d̪rəʊpəd̪iː]) is the daughter of King Drupada of Panchāla, who becomes the wife of the five Pandavas. When Yudhisthira becomes the king of Hastinapura, Indraprastha and the Emperor of India at the end of the war, Draupadi becomes Queen.
Her first name Krishnā, which literally means dark (-complexioned), is not to be confused with the (male) avatar of Vishnu: Krishna. Her first name Krishnā is not well-known even to many Hindus, and she is much more known by her patronymic surname Draupadī. She is also known by her demonym Pānchālī (lit., the one from the kingdom of Panchāla), which interestingly, is often misinterpreted by Hindi-speakers today to mean "the one with five husbands" (Hindi "pānch" = five).
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[edit] Birth
King Drupada of Panchala had been defeated by the Pandava prince Arjuna on behalf of Drona, who subsequently took half his kingdom to humiliate him. To gain revenge on Drona, he performed a great fire-sacrifice to beget a powerful son who could kill him. Having been struck by Arjuna's valour, Drupada performed a Yagya some where near the temple Doopeshwar Nath in modern-day Bareilly city and also prayed at the sacrifice for an exceptionally beautiful daughter who could marry Arjuna. Draupadi thus emerged with Drishtadyumna from the sacrificial fire.
Upon Draupadi's emergence a divine voice said she would be the reason for the destruction of the Kauravas. Draupadi was considered very beautiful, mainly for her glowing dark skin, large dark eyes and graceful figure.
It is believed that Goddess Kali had given a part of her powers to her, for the destruction of the Kauravas. She was named by Brahmanas as "Krsnā" (see above) due to her radiant dusky skin (Lord Krishna was also dark-skinned) and is very often referred to and addressed by this name in the Mahābhārata.
[edit] Marriage to the Pandavas
Drupada intended that Arjuna alone win the hand of his daughter. Upon hearing of the Pandavas' supposed death at Varanavata he set up a swayamvar for Draupadi intending to bring Arjuna out into the open. The princes vying for Draupadi's hand had to shoot five arrows at a revolving target, while looking only at its reflection in a bowl. Drupada was confident that Arjuna alone could accomplish this task. Arriving with his brothers disguised as Brahmins, Arjuna successfully tackled the target. He and his brothers also defeated the other suitors who attacked them, enraged at a Brahmin winning a Kshatriya princess's hand. Draupadi had earlier rejected Karna who was able to pick the bow saying she cannot marry a Charioteer's son.
While in exile, Kunti, mother of the Pandavas often advised her sons that they share everything they have (or obtain through Bhiksha i.e. alms) equally amongst themselves. Upon returning home with Draupadi, Arjuna addresses his mother first "Look mother, I have brought Bhiksha (alms)!". Kunti, unmindful of what Arjuna was referring to, unassumingly asked her son to share whatever it is with his brothers. Thus, in order to obey their mother's order all five accepted Draupadi as their wife.
According to another source, when Sage Vyasa visits the family, he explains to Draupadi that her unique position as the wife of five brothers results from a certain incident in her previous birth. She had in that lifetime prayed to Lord Shiva to grant her a husband with five desired qualities. Lord Shiva, pleased with her devotion, tells her that it is very difficult to get a husband with all five qualities that she desired. But she sticks to her ground and asks for the same. Then Lord Shiva grants her wish saying that she would get the same in her next birth. Hence she gets married to five brothers each who represents a given quality.
None of the Draupadi's children survive the end of the epic. Parikshit, grandson of Subhadra and Arjuna, is the sole Kuru dynast who survives, at the end of Mahābhārata.
[edit] Draupadi's Cheer-Haran
Draupadi’s Cheer-Haran, literally meaning stripping of one’s clothes, marks a definitive moment in the story of Mahābhārata. It is the central reason of the Mahābhārata war, the rivalry between Pandavas and Kauravas being the more general cause.
Yudhishthira and his four brothers were the rulers of Indraprastha under the sovereignty of King Dhritarashtra. Dhritarashtra’s son Duryodhana who resided in the capital of the empire Hastinapur was always jealous of his cousins and the wealth they had acquired by building Indraprasta. To take revenge on the Pandavas, his uncle Shakuni treacherously came up with a plan and together with his brothers, his friend Karna and maternal uncle Shakuni, he conspired to call the Pandavas at Hastinapur and win their kingdoms in a game of gambling. Shakuni was skilled at winning by unfair means. The idea was that Shakuni will play against Yudhishthira and win at the gambling table what was impossible to win at the battlefield.
As the game proceeded, Yudhishthira lost all his wealth and kingdom one by one. Having lost all material wealth, he went on to put his brothers at stake one by one and lost them too. Ultimately he put himself at stake, and lost again. All the Pandavas were now the dasas of Kauravas. But for the villain Shakuni, the humiliation of Pandavas was not complete. He plods Yudhishthira that he has not lost everything yet; Yudhishthira still has Draupadi with him and if he wishes he can win everything back by putting Draupadi at stake. Yudhishthira walks into the trap and to the horror of everybody present, puts Draupadi as a bet for the next round. Shakuni rolls the dice and gleefully shouts “Look, I have won”. Duryodhana commands his younger brother Dushasana to forcefully bring her into the forum. Dushasana barges into the living quarters of Draupadi who had just finished her bath and was drying her loose hair. Dushasana grabs her by the hair and brings her into the court dragging her by the hair.
Unable to withstand the distress of his wife, an emotional Bhima threatens to burn up Yudhishthira’s hands with which he placed Draupadi on stake. Arjuna tries to help Draupadi but Yudhistira forbids him. Arjun vows to kill Karna for insulting his wife by calling her a whore.
Now in an emotional appeal to the elders present in the forum, Draupadi repeatedly questions the legality of the right of Yudhishthira to place her at stake when he himself had lost his freedom and as a consequence did not possess any property in the first place. Everybody remains dumbfounded. Bhishma, the patriarch of the Kaurava family and a formidable warrior, has only this explanation to offer to Draupadi - “The course of morality is subtle and even the illustrious wise in this world fail to always understand it.” Duryodhana now commands the Pandavas to strip themselves in the manner of dasa. They obey by stripping off their upper garments.
Then Kauravas demand the same from Draupadi who refuses. Then to the horror of everybody present, Dushasana tries to strip Draupadi of her sari. Seeing her husbands unable or unwilling to help her, Draupadi prays to Lord Krishna to protect her. Lord Krishna now works a miracle so that as Dushasana unwraps layers and layers of her sari, her sari keeps getting extended. Bhima is furious at Dushasana and says, "I Bhim, Pandu's son vows until I cut off Dushasan's and drink his blood I will not show my face to my ansestors." Finally, a tired Dushasana backs off without being able to strip Draupadi as she is protected by Lord Krishna.
Duryodhana repeatedly challenges Yudhishthira’s four brothers to disassociate themselves from Yudhishthira’s authority and take their wife back. No one dares to denounce their loyalty to their eldest brother. In order to provoke the Pandavas further, Duryodhana bares and pats his thigh looking into Draupadi’s eyes, implying that she should sit on his thigh. In rage Bhima vows in front of the entire assembly that one day he will break that very thigh of Duryodhan in battle.
Finally, the blind monarch Dhritarashtra's conscience is stirred, in part fearing the wrath of Pandavas against his sons. He intervenes and asks Draupadi to wish for whatever she desires. Draupadi asks her husbands the Pandavas to be freed from bondage. Dhritarashtra grants her wish and also restores to Pandavas all they lost in the game of dice. Free from the bondage Bhima immediately proposes to his brothers to slay all Kauravas present then and there itself. Yudhishthira and Arjuna prevent him from taking any rash action. After many words of reconciliation between Pandavas and Dhritarashtra, Pandavas withdraw to their kingdom along with Draupadi and their entourage.
Shakuni, Karna and Duryodhana later convince Dhritarashtra to invite Pandavas for a new game of dice, with modified rules. It was following the defeat in this new game that Pandavas were sent into exile for 12 years.
However, not pledging her, given that the other Pandava brothers had already been pledged and lost, would also not have resolved the dilemma Yudhishthira faced. That the elders like Bhishma, Drona, and Dhritarashtra remained silent spectators of the entire episode adds valuable insight to their personalities too. Vidura was the only one who objected to the whole thing but he did not have the authority to stop it.
[edit] Devotion to Krishna
Krishna treats Draupadi as his sister, pledges his friendship to Draupadi and vows to show the world the greatest example of friendship. He protects her whenever she asks him for help.
As per Narada and Vayu Puranas, Draupadi was composite Avatar of Goddesses Shyamala (wife of Dharma), Bharati (Wife of Vayu), Sachi (wife of Indra), Usha (wife of Ashwinis) and hence married their earthly counterparts in the form of the five Pandavas. Enraged at a jest by Parvati and the four goddesses, Brahma cursed them to human birth. Parvati thought of the solution wherein they will be born as one woman, Draupadi and hence share the earthly body for a smaller period of time. Draupadi's characteristic fight against injustice reflects Parvati or her Shakti, Kali inhabiting Draupadi's mortal flesh at times. At other times, Draupadi was docile and even waited to be rescued (as in case of Jayadratha and Jatasura) showing the qualities of other goddesses like Sachi and Usha. Other times, she showed astuteness in hiding their true identity and asking Vayu putra Bhima to kill the evil Keechaka like Goddess Bharati would. Draupadi was also avatar of Goddess Shree or Wealth who was joint wife to five Indras, aka Five Pandavas. She was to be born several times for imprisoning the Indras. First time was as Vedavati who cursed Ravana (who is another goddess Avatar Swaha, wife to Agni). She then came again as Maya-Sita especially to take revenge from Ravana while Agni hid the real Sita. Third one was partial either Damyanti (whose husband Nala was equivalent to Dharma, Vayu, Indra just like the Pandavas) and her daughter Nalayani. She married Sage Mudgala. The fifth avatar was Draupadi herself. So we find in Draupadi, a composite avatar of Kali, Parvati, Sachi, Shyamala, Usha, Bharati, Shree, Swaha, the eight goddesses.
Krishna calls Draupadi his sakhi, or friend. He helps Draupadi because she prayed with utmost devotion. When Krishna had cut his finger on the Sudarshan Chakra, she bound it with her Sari, this act being the origin of Rakhi. The another story of origin of Rakhi is Sachi tying thread to Indra. Also, Krishna is the one who opposes her marriage to Karna and promotes her marriage to Arjuna
Draupadi is regarded by most Hindus as the exemplification of bhakti to God. She shows utmost faith in Lord Krishna. And he protects her.
[edit] Polyandry
The marriage of Draupadi with five Pandava men, i.e., polyandry, was not regarded without censure by the society spoken of in the epic. The Indo-Aryan texts almost never mention or allow polyandry, although polygamy was common among men of higher social ranks. Her marriage to five men was controversial, as we can see by the comments of Duryodhana, who justified dishonoring her earlier by saying that a woman who marries five husbands is a whore.
[edit] References
- Eminent women in the Mahabharata by Vanamala Bhawalkar.
- Marriage to the Pandavas
- Mahabharata (1999) by Krishna Dharma
- Mahabharata by VedaVyasa
- Shri Krishna tele-serial by late Shri Ramanand Sagar
- Karna Puran
- Mrityunjay a Marathi novel.
- Mahabharata of Krishna Dwaipayana Vyasa, English translation by Kisari Mohan Ganguli
[edit] External links
- http://moralstories.wordpress.com/2006/05/15/draupadi-an-ikon-of-a-true-indian-woman/
- http://www.sacred-texts.com/hin/maha/index.htm
- Draupadi, the Woman: Epitome of Feminity and Feminism by Madhuri Guin
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