Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} Draupadi by Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad Ghatotkacha's blog. The pseudo-secularist anti-Hindus efforts to denigrate and rundown the Hindu faith and practices have to be admired at least for their unabating and untiring perseverance. Do any of the so-called “Hindu fanatics” bother to keep up relentless salvos against the enemies of Sanatana Dharma? What triggered this post is the following news item: Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad's book that defames Draupadi has been selected for a Central Sahitya Akademi award. Selection panel constituted by Congress (Italian) had purposefully nominated this novel which denigrates Draupadi who is an iconic feminine character and an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna to hurt the sentiments of Hindus. One of the main objections raised by the concerned Hindu organizations is the interpretation of Draupadi as someone who forever craves for carnal pleasures. Following strong protests and complaint filed by from Hindu organisations headed by Prajna Bharati , the Human Right Commission sought explanation from the AP Government. The Human Right Commission has also stayed the Award function proposed on February 16. Y.L Prasad who holds Ph.Ds in Hindi and Telugu from Andhra University. He was close to NTR and became a Rajya Sabha MP in 1996. This man who was awarded a Padmashri in 2003 for Literature & Education could not resist a dig at a highly revered character like Draupadi, who is one of the Panchakanyaka . Draupadi , Ahalya , Mandodari , Sita and Tara are remembered by Hindu married ladies as the epitomes of chastity. These five noble ladies set the highest standards of conduct for a chaste Hindu lady. So then why am I not surprised at the sense of outrage among the Hindu people when the highly revered Draupadi is depicted as a nymphomaniac? Let me say a few words about this Draupadi in question. King Yajnasena Drupada of the Panchaala Kingdom with Kampilya as the capital had a fiery daughter, “a dark-skinned, stately, wondrously beautiful maiden” known variously as Krishnaa , Kalyani , Panchaali and Draupadi . The King had two sons Dhristadyumna and Satyajit . King Drupada was captured by the master archer Arjuna and his four brothers in a sudden surprise attack and brought before the vindictive Dronacharya who compelled the King to make a humiliating apology for an earlier slight and also confiscated the Panchala lands north of Ganga River. King Drupada’s whole life was poisoned by this bitter memory and all he lived for was to avenge it. He also transmitted this burning passion of his life to his children. To avenge their father’s humiliation was the mission of their lives too. Princess Draupadi had set her heart of marrying the most redoubtable warrior in the whole of Aryavarta who can destroy Dronacharya. Such was her iron determination to avenge her father’s humiliation that she was known as the “ Daughter of Drupada ” rather then her own given name. Fast forward to the time of Draupadi Swayamvaram . Arjuna, in the guise of an anchorite, won the stiff archery test at the Swayamvaram and won the heart and hand of Princess Draupadi. Kunti, the senior wife of late Emperor Pandu, not knowing that the five brothers, the Pandavas are bringing home the Princess of Panchaala, unthinkingly asked the brothers to share what ever they brought equally among themselves. When Empress Madri died on the funeral pyre of her husband Emperor Pandu she left her two young sons in the care of the Empress Kunti. The three sons of Kunti and the two sons of Madri pledged to honour and obey the words of Mother Kunti under all circumstances. Mother Kunti lived her life to keep the five brothers, the Pandavas , united and strong. Her wish was their command. The Pandavas, the five brothers and their mother Empress Kunti wanted Princess Draupadi to marry all five brothers. In Hindu households, it is the older son who marries first then the younger sons. Arjuna too felt that older brothers Yudhisthtira and Bhima had to marry first before he married. The only solution they found was for all the five brothers to marry Princess Draupadi. This solution was opposed by King Drupada, Prince Dhristadyumna and Princess Draupadi. King Drupada, Prince Dhristadyumna and Princess Draupadi were very much against Princess Draupadi marrying the five brothers. They felt it was gross adharma . It would bring stigma to the entire family. Maharishi Veda Vyasa was invited to the confabulation to sort out the royal mess! Veda Vyasa, the fountainhead of Dharma , The Best of Munis , counseled as follows: A dedicated wife is the root from which spring strength and discipline which make life righteous. The divine sages have ordained that a family should revolve around a dedicated wife. If she falls the family falls with her. Chaos reigns. So they decreed that one wife be dedicated to one husband. This is DHARMA . To tackle unforeseen calamities the ancient sages have also sanctified unfamiliar ways in extraordinary circumstances. This is the APADDHARMA . One such APADDHARMA is niyoga . A childless widow can approach the brother of her deceased husband to beget a child for her and continue the family line. Another APADDHARMA is for a woman to marry more than one brother to avoid a calamity. Such marriages prove successful if the wife is wise and the husbands considerate. She has to give equal dedication to all of her husbands. In days gone by, Jatilaa , the daughter of Sage Gautama, one of the Saptarishis, was married to seven brothers who were rishis . King Havirdhana of the royal lineage of King Prithu had ten sons who were known as Prachetas. These ten were all righteous men famous for performing severe austerities and meditation. The Prachetas brothers had one wife among all of them. Rejecting Yudhisthtira’s solution would mean that Draupadi would become a rejected bride whom few noble warriors would care to win. By this King Drupada would have also broken his vow of marrying his daughter to the winner of the swayamvara test, thereby putting him to shame before kings and nobles. Demanding that only Arjuna marry her would result in separating Arjuna from his mother and his powerful brothers. That would weaken her husband Arjuna. By marrying the five brothers, the motherless Draupadi would get a loving and dedicated mother, Kunti. The five brothers – loving and considerate – united in word and deed, their strength cemented by her undivided devotion will either rule the Kurus or establish an empire for themselves. By marrying the five brothers Draupadi would be serving Dharma whose instruments they were. This was the counsel of Maharishi Veda Vyasa to Princess Draupadi. The wise princess chose to follow the sage’s advice. He father King Drupada was known as one of the pillars of Dharma in Aryavarta and Princess Draupadi would be no different. That is why she is counted among the highly revered PANCHAKANYAKAS. Muni Yaja , Muni Upayaja and Bhagawaan Sri Krishna who were present at the confabulations between the Panchalas and the Pandavas concurred with the opinion of the Maharishi Veda Vyasa . I have drawn most of the material in the above narration from Dr Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi ’s book ‘ Krishnavatara’ Volume III [Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Edition 2006] According to B.S Bisht, The Khasas of Jaunsar-Bawar (Dehra Dun District) are a polyandrous community. In the Mahabharata the Khasaas are expressly mentioned among the northern tribes who brought presents to Yudhisthira. Many important sites in Jaunsar-Bawar have associations with Pandavas and they even have temples dedicated to the Pandavas. In Jaunsar-Bawar, the bride generally goes through a marriage ceremony with the eldest of the brothers but becomes the wife of all of them. In Bawar every brother has a day allotted to him for consorting with his wife. The Khasa wife enjoys all sorts of privileges, respect, affection and love of the family members as well as of the community. At present the fraternal polygamy is changing to bi-polyandry, monogamy and polygamy. So why this belittlement of Hindu icons, faith, beliefs and practices? In the powerful words of Maanoj Rakhit in his trailblazing book ‘ Christianity in a Different Light: Face Behind the Mask ’ [3rd Ed May/June 2005], Christians could not tolerate the existence of a superior civilization on the face of this Earth and they had to conspire to wipe it out totally . Christian Briton slowly and systematically eradicated the ancient and egalitarian ancient system of education established in vedic times and replaced it with a costly and elitist system of education which reduced this ancient nation to a colony of clerks and peons. Today’s convent educated “secular” Hindus are actually crypto-Christian, Anti-Hindus acting as a deadly traitorous fifth column rendering the nation defenceless and destroying it from within. A product of this British colonial Christianising education, Jawaharlal Nehru declared in a shameless manner: “ By education, I am an Englishman, by views, an internationalist, by culture, a Muslim, and I am a Hindu only by accident of birth ”. YARLAGADDA LAKSHMI PRASAD, ANOTHER PRODUCT OF MACAULAY’S BRITISH CHRISTIAN COLONIAL EDUCATION, FOLLOWS THE MIND-SLAVE TRADITION OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU. Let not Lakshmi Prasad forget the fact that M.F Hussein, the jihadi paint brush warrior, who had likewise hurt the religious feelings of Hindus through his pornographic paintings of Draupadi, is now hiding in exile outside India, despite the best efforts of the anti-Hindu "secular" forces to bring him back to this country. India’s contribution to various branches of knowledge and wisdom was denied in the past by the British as well as many Indian historians working under the British Raj and British influence. But why has this attitude not changed even after independence? With the introduction of Macaulay system of education in 1835 the enslavement of the Indian mind began and it continues to be so even today --- even after 63 years of our partitioned independence. An Idea Eternal: The Billion Interpretations of Draupadi. A child, she was born from the womb of fire. A woman, she was a pawn in the larger political sweepstakes of Aryavarta. A wife, she legitimised the idea of polyandry. A queen, she embraced poverty. An empress, she was humiliated beyond belief. An expert in the nuances of ethics, she challenged the son of Dharma. A mother, she lost all her children. And at the end of a tumultuous journey, all she had was a fall — from grace and a cliff — to a solitary death. Above all, as one of the most complex and intense characters in India’s greatest epic, the Mahabharata , Draupadi — daughter to the powerful king Drupada, sister to general Dhristhadhymnya, wife to the formidable Pandavas, friend to Lord Krishna — is even today undergoing interpretations and interpolations. The fire she was born to continues to burn. It scorched her, it scalds us, it will continue to singe India. She will attract writers who will judge her. And in the process of judging, they will be judged. Released late January, Saiswaroopa Iyer’s Draupadi: The Tale of an Empress is the latest among several adventurers who have explored the character over the years. To Iyer, Draupadi symbolises iccha shakti, dignity, poise and inspiration. Earlier, and among the best retellings of Sri Krishna’s life, KM Munshi’s 1962 seven-volume but incomplete Krishnavatara shows her to be a strong yet perplexed woman seeking the world’s best archer as her husband, within palace intrigue and Aryavarta politics. In his 2010 Telugu book, Draupadi , Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad explores, among several other things, her sexuality. In his 2009 The Difficulty of Being Good , Gurcharan Das’s Draupadi, following her humiliation and the subsequent banishment of the Pandavas, engages with the eternal questions of good and evil: “Why be good,” she asks Yudhishthira. In his 1992 layered analysis of the great text, The Lore of the Mahabharata , Amalesh Bhattacharya situates her uniquely: “Damayanti and Sita were like the unvacillating flame of a lamp, while in Draupadi prevailed the forceful fiery flame of sacrifice.” In her 1968 Yuganta , Iravati Karve captures her poignant life: “Two words keep recurring in reference to Draupadi — nathavati anathavat , “having husbands, but like a widow”. Draupadi. Raja Ravi Varma painting. Image via Wikimedia Commons. Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni’s 2008 masterpiece, The Palace of Illusions , gives us a peek into the intimate world of Draupadi. Moving to the next level, Paramahansa Yogananda, while examining the characters of the Mahabharata from a spiritual window in God Talks with Arjuna , sees Draupadi as the kula kundalini , the force binding the chakras . Elevated to the status of a goddess, there are 408 Draupadi temples in India, notes Alf Hiltebeitel in The Cult of Draupadi . From a goddess worshipped to a subaltern exploited, we meet an indomitable Draupadi in Mahasweta Devi’s Breast Stories . After several rounds of rape and torture, when the Jharkhand tribal woman ‘Dopdi’, suspected of being a terrorist, finally comes out to meet Burra Sahib Senanayak, she refuses clothes and wears her nakedness as a symbol of defiance, her bloodied body as a weapon. “There isn’t a man here that I should be ashamed of. Draupadi pushes Senanayak with her two mangled breasts, and for the first time Senanayak is afraid to stand before an unarmed target, terribly afraid.” Five millennia earlier, we saw this fright in the blind eyes of King Dhritarashtra after she was disrobed. We saw this fear in the heart of Queen Gandhari, who shuddered for the lives of her sons. We saw this impotence of one of the greatest warriors, Bhishma, who hid behind reciting texts but lost his dharma. We saw the city of Hastinapur tremble with terror. This strength, this dazzling brilliance, this unshakable equanimity in the middle of anger and shame, this fire. This is Draupadi. She is a body as well as a soul, a character as well as its evolution. She is at ease discussing statecraft with Bhima and Arjuna, as she is holding forth on the craft of managing five husbands with Krishna’s wife Satyabhama. She jealously keeps the other wives of her husbands away, but makes space for Arjuna’s wife Subhadra. She manages her mother-in-law Kunti — experienced in private polyandry — and her husbands in public polyamorous relationships seamlessly. This is Draupadi. She will continue to be blamed for the destruction of kshatriyas , the cause of the Great War. For Draupadi, beauty was her crime, intelligence her undoing. Today, we see new scenes of the same play being enacted in the lives of some of the most beautiful, the most accomplished, the most powerful women, the same Draupadis. And yet, we see several of them break out of male dominance through grit. This is Draupadi. Not for Draupadi the predictability of intimacy or dependability of relationships. Even her bed was a serial 12-month sojourn with a new Pandava, who would return once every five years. Howsoever sexually liberating it may sound, this was no orgy; sexual urges were boxed within the confines of dharma. Draupadi’s body kept the five Pandavas together even if her heart was irreversibly mortgaged to Arjuna. Her character was beaten into shape on the anvil of dharma by kings and rishis, executed by lesser men, honed by desire, and cheated by her own. This is Draupadi. A fire that cannot be extinguished, a character that cannot die, a force that energises as well as destabilises, a woman seeking perfection in the world of men, Draupadi is a journey. She is a river of molten lava, constantly burning new pathways to gender, transcending time, space and societies. She is a character that has not been moulded by the warm-loving hands of a potter but chiselled into shape by the cold-hard knocks of a sculptor. Whether this strong woman will get redemption is what writers will be compelled to explore. Not one, not hundred, not thousand. There is a Draupadi beating in the hearts of a billion Indians. An idea eternal, this is Draupadi. Gautam Chikermane is vice-president at Observer Research Foundation and author of Tunnel of Varanavat. Sahitya Academy Award to Draupadi - Blind Jury? The pseudo-secularist anti-Hindus efforts to denigrate and rundown the Hindu faith and practices have to be admired at least for their unabating and untiring perseverance. Do any of the so-called “Hindu fanatics” bother to keep up relentless salvos against the enemies of Sanatana Dharma? What triggered this post is the following news item: Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad's book that defames Draupadi has been selected for a Central Sahitya Akademi award. Selection panel constituted by Congress (Italian) had purposefully nominated this novel which denigrates Draupadi who is an iconic feminine character and an ardent devotee of Lord Krishna to hurt the sentiments of Hindus. One of the main objections raised by the concerned Hindu organizations is the interpretation of Draupadi as someone who forever craves for carnal pleasures. Following strong protests and complaint filed by from Hindu organisations headed by Prajna Bharati, the Human Right Commission sought explanation from the AP Government. The Human Right Commission has also stayed the Award function proposed on February 16. Y.L Prasad who holds Ph.Ds in Hindi and Telugu from Andhra University. He was close to NTR and became a Rajya Sabha MP in 1996. This man who was awarded a Padmashri in 2003 for Literature & Education could not resist a dig at a highly revered character like Draupadi, who is one of the Panchakanyaka. Draupadi, Ahalya, Mandodari, Sita and Tara are remembered by Hindu married ladies as the epitomes of chastity. These five noble ladies set the highest standards of conduct for a chaste Hindu lady. So then why am I not surprised at the sense of outrage among the Hindu people when the highly revered Draupadi is depicted as a nymphomaniac? Let me say a few words about this Draupadi in question. King Yajnasena Drupada of the Panchaala Kingdom with Kampilya as the capital had a fiery daughter, “a dark-skinned, stately, wondrously beautiful maiden” known variously as Krishnaa, Kalyani, Panchaali and Draupadi. The King had two sons Dhristadyumna and Satyajit. King Drupada was captured by the master archer Arjuna and his four brothers in a sudden surprise attack and brought before the vindictive Dronacharya who compelled the King to make a humiliating apology for an earlier slight and also confiscated the Panchala lands north of Ganga River. King Drupada’s whole life was poisoned by this bitter memory and all he lived for was to avenge it. He also transmitted this burning passion of his life to his children. To avenge their father’s humiliation was the mission of their lives too. Princess Draupadi had set her heart of marrying the most redoubtable warrior in the whole of Aryavarta who can destroy Dronacharya. Such was her iron determination to avenge her father’s humiliation that she was known as the “Daughter of Drupada” rather then her own given name. Fast forward to the time of Draupadi Swayamvaram. Arjuna, in the guise of an anchorite, won the stiff archery test at the Swayamvaram and won the heart and hand of Princess Draupadi. Kunti, the senior wife of late Emperor Pandu, not knowing that the five brothers, the Pandavas are bringing home the Princess of Panchaala, unthinkingly asked the brothers to share what ever they brought equally among themselves. When Empress Madri died on the funeral pyre of her husband Emperor Pandu she left her two young sons in the care of the Empress Kunti. The three sons of Kunti and the two sons of Madri pledged to honour and obey the words of Mother Kunti under all circumstances. Mother Kunti lived her life to keep the five brothers, the Pandavas, united and strong. Her wish was their command. The Pandavas, the five brothers and their mother Empress Kunti wanted Princess Draupadi to marry all five brothers. In Hindu households, it is the older son who marries first then the younger sons. Arjuna too felt that older brothers Yudhisthtira and Bhima had to marry first before he married. The only solution they found was for all the five brothers to marry Princess Draupadi. This solution was opposed by King Drupada, Prince Dhristadyumna and Princess Draupadi. King Drupada, Prince Dhristadyumna and Princess Draupadi were very much against Princess Draupadi marrying the five brothers. They felt it was gross adharma. It would bring stigma to the entire family. Maharishi Veda Vyasa was invited to the confabulation to sort out the royal mess! Veda Vyasa, the fountainhead of Dharma, The Best of Munis, counseled as follows: A dedicated wife is the root from which spring strength and discipline which make life righteous. The divine sages have ordained that a family should revolve around a dedicated wife. If she falls the family falls with her. Chaos reigns. So they decreed that one wife be dedicated to one husband. This is DHARMA. To tackle unforeseen calamities the ancient sages have also sanctified unfamiliar ways in extraordinary circumstances. This is the APADDHARMA. One such APADDHARMA is niyoga. A childless widow can approach the brother of her deceased husband to beget a child for her and continue the family line. Another APADDHARMA is for a woman to marry more than one brother to avoid a calamity. Such marriages prove successful if the wife is wise and the husbands considerate. She has to give equal dedication to all of her husbands. In days gone by, Jatilaa, the daughter of Sage Gautama, one of the Saptarishis, was married to seven brothers who were rishis.King Havirdhana of the royal lineage of King Prithu had ten sons who were known as Prachetas. These ten were all righteous men famous for performing severe austerities and meditation. The Prachetas brothers had one wife among all of them. Rejecting Yudhisthtira’s solution would mean that Draupadi would become a rejected bride whom few noble warriors would care to win. By this King Drupada would have also broken his vow of marrying his daughter to the winner of the swayamvara test, thereby putting him to shame before kings and nobles. Demanding that only Arjuna marry her would result in separating Arjuna from his mother and his powerful brothers. That would weaken her husband Arjuna. By marrying the five brothers, the motherless Draupadi would get a loving and dedicated mother, Kunti. The five brothers – loving and considerate – united in word and deed, their strength cemented by her undivided devotion will either rule the Kurus or establish an empire for themselves. By marrying the five brothers Draupadi would be serving Dharma whose instruments they were. This was the counsel of Maharishi Veda Vyasa to Princess Draupadi. The wise princess chose to follow the sage’s advice. He father King Drupada was known as one of the pillars of Dharma in Aryavarta and Princess Draupadi would be no different. That is why she is counted among the highly revered PANCHAKANYAKAS. Muni Yaja, Muni Upayaja and Bhagawaan Sri Krishna who were present at the confabulations between the Panchalas and the Pandavas concurred with the opinion of the Maharishi Veda Vyasa. I have drawn most of the material in the above narration from Dr Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi’s book ‘Krishnavatara’ Volume III [Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Edition 2006] So why this belittlement of Hindu icons, faith, beliefs and practices? In the powerful words of Maanoj Rakhit in his trailblazing book ‘Christianity in a Different Light: Face Behind the Mask’ [3rd Ed May/June 2005], Christians could not tolerate the existence of a superior civilization on the face of this Earth and they had to conspire to wipe it out totally. Professor Makhan Lal and Professor Rajendra Dixit in their outstanding book titled ‘EDUCATING TO CONFUSE AND DISRUPT: Defiling History and Education System of India’ [published by India First Foundation, New Delhi.] have in a very painstaking and methodical manner detailed how the Christian Briton slowly and systematically eradicated the ancient and egalitarian ancient system of education established in vedic times and replaced it with a costly and elitist system of education which reduced this ancient nation to a colony of clerks and peons. Today’s convent educated “secular” Hindus are actually crypto-Christian, Anti-Hindus acting as a deadly traitorous fifth column rendering the nation defenceless and destroying it from within. A product of this British colonial Christianising education, Jawaharlal Nehru declared in a shameless manner: “By education, I am an Englishman, by views, an internationalist, by culture, a Muslim, and I am a Hindu only by accident of birth”. YARLAGADDA LAKSHMI PRASAD, ANOTHER PRODUCT OF MACAULAY’S BRITISH CHRISTIAN COLONIAL EDUCATION, FOLLOWS THE MIND-SLAVE TRADITION OF JAWAHARLAL NEHRU. “India’s contribution to various branches of knowledge and wisdom was denied in the past by the British as well as many Indian historians working under the British Raj and British influence. But why has this attitude not changed even after independence? With the introduction of Macaulay system of education in 1835 the enslavement of the Indian mind began and it continues to be so even today --- even after 63 years of our partitioned independence. Looking into the heart of an enigmatic woman. As Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad puts it, ". touching the legendary characters is taking a vow to stand on the sharp edge of a sword." When the character is someone like Draupadi, whose detractors possibly outnumber her admirers, the writer's task becomes even more difficult, especially if he wants to be fair. A reading of the 'Submission', which is a sort of a preface by the novelist, reveals the extensive and intensive reading that the author had done before he actually started writing the novel. He read a number of books on the Mahabharat and more than a hundred books in various languages on Draupadi's character. Not only this, he arranged for some of the material he collected to be heard by elders who had a thorough understanding of the Mahabharat . Friends who were familiar with the epic through cinema and theatre were also consulted. The idea was to present Draupadi as a flesh-and-blood character, with human feelings and emotions, one who could touch the innermost chords of the reader's heart. The same can be said for all the other characters of the novel. The 18-day war, which caused such death and disaster that it did not matter in the end who won and who lost as there was very little difference between victory and defeat, brought everyone down from their pedestals and reunited them in their grief. It was time for introspection, for looking within. It was also the time for revealing secrets that had lain hidden for a long time. One of them was Karan's real identity, the fact that he was Kunti's eldest son, born out of wedlock. Kunti's revelation troubled Draupadi greatly, as she remembered spurning Karan at her swayamvar on the ground that he was a mere charioteer's son (sutaputra). To quote Prasad, "If Draupadi had come to know that day that Karan was the first-born of Kunti and the eldest brother of her husbands. What kind of fire would have burnt in her heart was known only to her." Draupadi is perhaps the most complex character in the Mahabharat and Prasad has managed to convey it in his work. One admires his literary skills (not lost in translation) as he describes Draupadi walking behind Arjun and Bhim, a passage that one cannot resist quoting. "Like the blue sky touched by white clouds, Draupadi walked with them. Like the stream yearning to rub the banks, Draupadi walked with them. Like the raindrop dumbfounded by the moist smell of earth, Draupadi walked in their footsteps." The unique coming together of man and nature is conveyed beautifully in these lines. What was Draupadi's reaction to her polyandrous marriage? Initially, she had thought it was a mistake to marry five men at one point of time. But when there was acceptance from her family and society, she decided to go ahead with it, wondering whether all of them would love her and most importantly, whom she would love the most. Prasad depicts her union with the five brothers very sensitively, keeping her nature as well as those of her husbands, along with their differences, in mind. Extensive research tends to make a work of fiction more ponderous and less readable. It is to Prasad's credit that his novel never loses its readability, one of the main reasons being that he looks at his characters as human beings with good qualities as well as weak points, not mythological characters or superhuman beings. Even Krishna,who had shown his cosmic power to the Kauravas, tells Draupadi, "Draupadi! My cosmic form is in no way greater than your experience. You surpassed my cosmic form and reached the stage of merging with me." With the passing away of Krishna, Draupadi, along with the Pandavas, realized that they were going through ". the last chapter of moving history." It was time to go on the ultimate journey, the mahaprasthan . The novel ends with Draupadi's passing away on the journey and "merging with the flute's melody dissolved in the infinite space." There is no regret, no sorrow, no looking back, only a sense of the sublime, of merging with the infinite form of one who was a friend, philosopher and guide. It is a sad yet befitting end to the life of one of the most remarkable and complex characters of the Mahabharat, one who remained an enigma, whom few understood. The novelist manages to portray her multi-faceted character, yet retains his modern/feminist perspective. The novel makes the reader sit up and think about a number of things: love, life, relationships, the ultimate end. Draupadi by Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad. PRESENT POSITION 1. Chairman, Andhra Pradesh Hindi Academy, Hyderabad 2. Professor, Hindi Department, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam 3. Chairman, Jan Shikshan Sansthan, Visakhapatnam, (Institute of People�s Education, Ministry of H.R.D Govt. of India) 4. Member, Hindi Salahkar Samiti, Ministry of Human Resource Development, Govt. of India. POSITIONS HELD 1. Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) (1996-2002) 2. Deputy Chairman, Parliamentary Committee on Official Language 3. Member, Parliamentary Standing Committee, Ministry Of Petroleum and Chemicals 4. Member, Parliamentary Standing Committee, Ministry of Defence 5. Member Consultative Committee, Ministry of Steel and Mines 6. Member, Consultative Ministry of Culture and Tourism 7. Member, Press Council of India. TEACHING EXPERIENCE 1977-80 Lecturer in Hindi, K.V.R.College, Nandigama, A.P. 1980, Head of the Dept. of Hindi, Andhra Loyola College, Vijayawada, A.P. Since 1985 Lecturer and Reader, Dept. of Hindi, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam From 2005 Professor, Dept. of Hindi, Andhra University, Visakhapatnam. No. of Ph.D Candidates Produced 8. No. of M.Phil Candidates Produced 6. BOOKS HINDI 1. �TELUGU KE AUDHUNIK KAVI BHAIRAGI� (Critique on the poetry of famous Telugu and Hindi Poet Bairagi) Sahayog Prakasan, Vijayawada � 1980. 2. HINDI KAVITA KO ANDHRON KI DEN (The Contribution of Andhras to Hindi Poetry) Lokmanya Hindi Pustak Mandir, Governorpet, Vijayawada-2, 1985 3. VAICHARIK KRANTI KE AGRADOOT KAVIRAJ TRIPURANENI RAMASWAMY (A Critique on the life and literature of Social Reformer and Telugu poet Kaviraj Tripuraneni Ramaswamy chowdary), Telugu University � 1987 4. KAVIRAJ TRIPURANENI KE DO POURANIK NATAK (Translation of Kaviraj Tripuraneni Ramaswamy�s Telugu Drama �Sambhuka Vadha� into Hindi)- 1989 Rashabacharanjain Avam Santati; Delhi � 1988 5. MUKTI SANGRAH (Translation of Dr.Bezwada Gopala Reddy�s Telugu Poetry) Rashabacharanjain Avam Santati; Delhi � 1990 6. GNANA PEET PURASKAR VIJETA DR.C.NARAYANA REDDY (A Critique on the Life and Literature of Dr.C.Narayana Reddy) Lokamanya Hindi Pustak Mandir, Governorpet, Vijayawada, 1991. 7. AATMA HATYA (Hindi Translation of C.Narasimha Rao�s Telugu Novel) 8. �DRAUPADI� translation of own book from Telugu. TELUGU 1. SAPTA SWARALU (Collection of Radio Talks) A.B.C Publication, Hyderabad, 1980 2. JATI NETA JAYA PRAKASH (A Biography of Jaya Prakash Narayan) Chaitanya Publications, Vijayawada, 1980. 3. VARTAMANA RAJAKEEYA DUSTITI (Translation of Madhu Limaye�s speeches from Hindi) Navya Bharaty, Hyderabad, 1992 4. GRAMEENA PRAJAVANI (Ed.) 1985 5. KERATALU (Telugu Translation of Aarigapudi Ramesh Chowdary�s Hindi Novel �Nadi Ka Shor�) Andhra Pradesh Hindi Academy � 1987 6. IRAVAI OKATO SATABDAM LO KI (Collection of articles published in News Papers) Indian Academy of Social Sciences, Visakhapatnam- 1987 7. TAMAS (Telugu Translation of Bishm Sahani�s Sensational T.V. Serial and Novel.) Navyajyoti Publications, Vijayawada � 1989 8. PRAJALA EDURATENNULU PALUKULA TEERUTENNULU (Translated and edited the Lok Sabha speeches of Sri Vadde Sobhanadreswara Rao- 1987) 9. ALURI BAIRAGI GAJANAN MADHAV MUKTIBODH KAVITVALA TULANATMAKA PARISEELANA (Ph.D Thesis in Telugu) Published in 1994. 10. ADHUNIKA TELUGU KAVITA (A Critique on 100 years of Modern Telugu Poetry) � 1995 11. VEDANA BHARITAM � ABALA JEEVITAM (Translation of Suneeta Budhiraja�s Hindi book �Tees Ka Safar�- 1996) 12. BHARAT AMERICA SAMBANDHALU (Telugu Translation of sri.K.R.Narayanan, Former President of India�s English Book �India and America�, essays in understanding) 13. ASAADHARANA NETA ATAL BIHARI (Life of Prime Minister, Vajpayee) 14. YAYATi (Telugu Translation of V.S.Khandekar�s Mrathi Novel) 15. ADVANI JAIL DAIRY (Telugu Translation of L.K.Advani�s � A Prisoner�s Scrap Book) 16. HINDI SAHITYA CHARITRA (History of Hindi Literature) 17. DR.RAM MANOHAR LOHIA (Life and Works of Socialist Leader Dr.Ram Manohar Logia) 18. �DRAUPADI� Historycal Novel based on Draupadi. 19. HARIVAMS RAI BACHCHAN ATMA KATHA (Abridged Translation of Famous Hindi Poet Bachchan�s Autobiography) 20. PUTCHALAPALLI SUNDARAYYA (Life of great Communist Leader Putchalapalli sundarayya) 21. �KATHANALA VENUKA KATHALU� Telugu translation of �SCOOP� (life sketch of Kuldeep Nayyar) 22. �MANA GOVERNOR NARAYANADUTT TIWARI� 23. �ATTADUGUNUNCHI AGRASTHANAM VARAKU� (Susheel Kumar Shindey�s biography) 24. �NAA DESHAM � NA PRAJALU� (Telugu translation of L.K.Adwani�s autobiography) 25. "KARAN SINGH ATMA KATHA" 26. "SATYABAMA" ARTICLES More than 100 articles published in various leading Dailies and Journals such as Indian Express, Andhra Patrika, Andhra Jyothi, Andhra Prabha, Udayam, Yuva, Telugu Vidyardhi etc.