Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} What Did to Feed Ten Thousand Sages by Anita Nair Interested in the epic ? Know how Draupadi died. With being re-televised on DD National, curiosity regarding epics like Ramayana and Mahabharata has spiked again. Know how Draupadi died in the epic Mahabharata. The culturally rich epic of Mahabharata did not end with the victory of one and the defeat of others. The war caused immense loss of life on both sides of the and the . The journey of Pandavas after the war and leading to their deaths is a part of the Mahaprasthanika Parva or the "Book of the Great Journey" - the 17th book in the 18-part epic Mahabharata. It traditionally has three chapters and is the shortest book in the epic. Draupadi, one of the most important characters in the epic, was the daughter of King of Panchal, and wife of the Pandavas - the five brothers. She had five sons who were collectively addressed as the Upapandavas. Draupadi was a strong woman and a pivotal character. It is said that Draupadi was born out of revenge. King Drupada of Panchala was defeated by the prince on behalf of , who then took half of his kingdom. To exact revenge on Drona, Drupada performed a yajna called Putrakameshti yajna to obtain a means of blessing. Draupadi emerged as a beautiful young woman from the sacrificial fire after her sibling . Draupadi as a Goddess. The Draupadi Amman sect (or Draupadi devotional sect) is a tradition that binds together a community of people in worshipping Draupadi Amman as a village goddess. It carries unique rituals and mythologies. The sect believes that Draupadi was the incarnation of goddess . Walking on fire is a popular ritual enacted at Draupadi Amman temples. At the ancient religious festival of Bengaluru Pete, during the nine-day event, Draupadi is worshipped as an incarnation of Adishakti and . King , other Pandavas and Draupadi start their journey of India and the Himalayas to Heaven after Yudhishthira crowns as the king of , in care of . As the Pandavas leave, a dog befriends them and is taken along for the journey. The Pandavas first go south, reaching the salt sea and then turn north, stop at Rishikesh, then cross the Himalayas. As all of them cross the Himalayas, Draupadi is the first person to fall to the ground and die. asks Yudhishthira why did Draupadi die early and couldn't continue with them on their journey to heaven. Yudhishthira claims that Draupadi suffered from the vice of partiality, in her affections for Parth (Arjuna). Track Spiritual monthly Calendar for all Festivals, Vrats and Muhurat on Times Now. Draupadi and – Was It Platonic Love? Since we are all glued to the Mahabharata telecast in the confines of our homes these days, a relationship worth exploring is that of Draupadi and Krishna – the virtuous and brave princess of Panchaal and the all-pervasive Supreme Lord himself. Throughout the Mahabharata, they may not have shared the stage too often, but whenever they did, Krishna and Draupadi conversations offered us a peek into their undeniable chemistry. Let’s place their relationship under the lens to understand whether Krishna Draupadi friendship was just that or something more. Table of Contents. Draupadi and Krishna – A Multi-Layered Bond. Draupadi and Krishna epitomise the notion that ‘a man and a woman can be just friends’. Many scholars having been amazed by the depth of their relationship have often suggested that there was more to Krishna Draupadi friendship than met the eye. Numerous theories even claim that Draupadi hoped to marry Krishna! While that would have certainly added a dramatic twist to the epic, Draupadi and Krishna only ached to teach us about true devotional service and a transcendental companionship. So, did Draupadi love Krishna? Well, in a way, yes. They shared a love that was honest and real, without the romance trope. ‘Sakha’ and ‘Sakhi’, as they liked to call each other is an archaic term for what we today know as the famous ‘friend zone’. Draupadi – The Extraordinary Princess. Draupadi was a fine young woman in the Mahabharata, born to King Drupada of Panchaal. Her birth was far from ordinary, spiritually as well as literally, for she was considered to have been born to pose as a catalyst in future events. She has divinely ordained the responsibility for the establishment of Dharma. Quite a terrifying pressure for a princess. Rather than a womb, she descended from flaming sacrificial fire. As the famous story goes, King Drupada had miserably lost half his kingdom to Arjuna who fought the king on behalf of Dronacharya, his guru. To exact revenge on Dronacharya, King Drupada performed a yajna to further his lineage to kill Dronacharya from which first appeared his son Dhrishtadyumna and then the princess Panchali. Krishna, on the other hand, was a distant cousin to the Pandavas and the Kauravas. He projected to be a neutral party, even though he was an ally of the Pandavas and a dear friend to Draupadi. Krishna Draupadi Friendship. It is believed that once when Draupadi was visiting Dwarka – the magnificent and opulent residence of the Lord himself, a touching incident allowed her to gain Krishna’s mercy. Krishna was cutting up some fruits and an unfortunate slip caused his finger to start gushing blood. A terrified Draupadi immediately rushed to Krishna, tore a rag from her saree and wrapped it around Krishna’s wound to stop the blood. Krishna was charmed and touched by her endearing actions. He went on to ask her what she would like in return for the same. A faithful devotee with unconditional love for her friend said that she would only like him to be in her life forever. Thus, Krishna Draupadi friendship took form. Krishna was invested in Draupadi’s swayamvar. When did Draupadi meet Krishna? The foundation of this friendship can be traced back to Draupadi’s swayamvar, where the two came face-to- face for the first time. The swayamvar was rigged in essence. King Drupada had made sure that the challenge could only be overcome by Arjuna for he considered him the most suitable for his daughter. Krishna had hoped for the same, being Arjuna’s best friend, and in this case, also the perfect wingman. It is debatable whether Arjuna proved to be a good husband to Draupadi, but he was certainly a brave and true man. We are not sure of Draupadi’s further interactions with Krishna beyond this point since their relationship has never been at the forefront until a significant incident that disrobed her off her dignity and became pivotal to the epic battle of Mahabharta. Draupadi and Krishna’s bond shines through a dangerous gamble. One of Draupadi’s husbands, Yudhisthir, while playing a game of dice, in his stupor bet Draupadi after he had already lost everything else. The game had already been designed to make him lose, and thus, Draupadi had been played away to the Kauravas. Evil Duhsasana, having zero respect for his sister-in-law, dragged her into the court by her hair. Drona, Bhisma and other elder and respected gentlemen were also present at the scene. Draupadi did cry out for help but nobody came to her rescue. It was said that she was only wearing a single cloth as a sari that demurely covered most of her body. However, Duhsasana began disrobing her and that court did not lack spectators. He began pulling on her garment and while she used her strength to make him stop and screamed for help, Draupadi was all alone. Where was Krishna during Draupadi Vastraharan? As an incarnation of the Supreme Lord himself, Krishna was omnipresent. Soon, Draupadi realised there was only one hope for her – to seek help from her Sakha, Lord Krishna. She immediately started praying to him, asking for his mercy. The Supreme Lord instantly graced the scene. As he appeared, without saying or doing anything, Draupadi’s saree continued to be unravelled but with no end in sight. As Duhsasana kept pulling and tugging at the infinite fabric, Draupadi too was surprised at what she was witnessing. Her saree kept flowing and flowing, leaving everybody in the court spellbound. The answer to ‘where was Krishna during Draupadi Vastraharan?’ becomes abundantly clear – not only was he there but Krishna also saved Draupadi from a lifetime of embarrassment. Why did Krishna help Draupadi? As the Lord, Krishna was inclined to help those in genuine need for divine intervention. But in this case, the answer to ‘why did Krishna help Draupadi?’ is a little more deep-seated. This episode has been weaved to a previous occasion where the Sakha and Sakhi exchanged loving discourse. For that, we have to revisit that time in Dwarka when Draupadi tore a piece of her saree to stop Krishna’s bleeding. Perhaps from then, Krishna Draupadi friendship became a prominent theme in the Lord’s life. ‘An eye for an eye’ has here been replaced with ‘a piece of cloth for infinite cloth!’. Therefore, it can be attributed that not only did Draupadi and Krishna share a deep friendship and love, but he also felt responsible for her. Draupadi is also among Krishna’s greatest devotees. Normally, one views this incident as a symbol of Krishna Draupadi friendship, where the Lord came through for her as a companion in adversity. However, there is another aspect to their relationship. It has been claimed that not only did Draupadi consider Krishna her friend and confidante, she was also a great devotee of the Supreme Lord. Draupadi had always been mesmerised by Lord Krishna’s qualities and worshipped him out of love and servitude. Like the famous Mirabai, Draupadi was also perhaps a Krishna bhakt, which is why he was the first and the only person she remembered at the gravest moment of her life. This certainly adds another layer to Draupadi and Krishna relationship. Perhaps, the two were more than just friends. Were Krishna and Draupadi in love? Perhaps, yes. But rather than a conventional love, theirs was a love that draws an enchanted devotee to their Lord and the one that the Lord reciprocates as a protector. Not only does this reveal Krishna’s potency as a friend, but it also points towards his loyalty to his followers. It shows us that when life tests us which it tends to do a lot, we must simply surrender wholeheartedly and our God will come to our rescue, just the way that he did for Draupadi. Krishna helped Draupadi more than once. Another incident has been recorded when her Sakha saved Draupadi from immense embarrassment. Back when the Pandavas had been exiled to the forest, sage Muni decided to visit the brothers, along with his disciples. The Pandavas had been using a vessel called the Akshay Patra which rapidly produced food and only came to a halt when Draupadi had finished eating from it. wanted to disgrace the Pandavas, and thus, encouraged Durvasa Muni to visit them after Draupadi had eaten her meal. This would ensure that the Pandavas would have no food to offer to the sage and his disciples and it would create a shameful situation. As the sage and his disciples visited the Pandavas, the brothers grew extremely anxious for they knew they had no food to offer to them. Durvasa and the disciples went away to bathe in the river and a tensed Draupadi prayed to her Lord to find a solution. As usual, Krishna appeared and had already understood her ordeal. Krishna said that he was famished and he asked Draupadi to give him something to eat. When she said that she had nothing to offer, he requested her to bring the Akshay Patra vessel to him. Draupadi’s leftovers that had been stuck to the vessel caught his eye and he ate a single grain of rice that was left. Krishna said that he was completely satiated from that piece of rice and could not eat anything more. Since he is the Supreme Lord of the Universe, his satiation meant that everybody in the universe must also be completely full! All of a sudden, Durvasa Muni and his disciples felt extremely full and lost their appetite completely. They took their bath and left quietly to avoid any embarrassment for they were too content to stop and eat. Thus, the Lord saved Draupadi and Pandavas from what could have been a mortifying moment or perhaps even a dramatic curse. Thus, it is evident from the above two anecdotes that Draupadi and Krishna did share a significant bond, even if it was rarely depicted in the telling of this tale. Their love might not have been a sizzling romance but it was indeed mysteriously beautiful. Friendly dalliances are tremendously underrated but Draupadi and Krishna remind us how truly wonderful they actually can be. Five For Draupadi. The idea of one woman having many husbands does make most men feel inadequate, not least her husbands. Little wonder then Draupadi is one of the most popular and controversial heroines of . But she is not the only woman with many husbands. Her mother-in-law, , knew many men: four gods (, , and ) besides her husband, Pandu. But unlike Draupadi, her association with the gods was not public knowledge. It was whispered in corridors not announced in courts. And they did not really count as they were not husbands, just child- providers. The scriptures refer to other women who had many husbands: Marisha, who married the ten Prachetas brothers and Jatila who was the common wife of seven sages. In early societies with high infant mortality rate and short lifespan, polygamy was preferred to polyandry. When a man had many wives, the family could have more children than a woman who had many husbands. This value for fertility is one of the reasons why women were usually kept away in seclusion and safety, a practice that eventually led to the throttling of women’s rights. But polyandry had benefits too — sharing a wife assured sharing of property and no division of the land. In temples, one does see gods with many wives: with Gauri and ; with Bhoo- and Sri-devi; Muruga with Valli and Sena. This is either accepted matter-of-factly or simply explained away using metaphysics. But there are no images of the Goddess with multiple husbands. Usually her doorkeepers, such as Kala Bhairav and Gora Bhairava, are described as her sons or servants. The idea of the Goddess with more than one husband is unacceptable. Even suggesting it is blasphemous. Draupadi with her five husbands and an entire epic revolving around her stirs the imagination — makes us think of things that we otherwise dare not think. Women writers who write on Draupadi flirt with the possibilities but only at a psychological level. Recently a male writer dared explore the physical aspect of Draupadi’s intimacy with her husbands. Not surprisingly this has led to outrage and protests and calls for the book to be banned. One hears of co-wives fighting over their husband’s affection. Did the husbands fight over Draupadi? The epic does not explicitly discuss this, but the possibility of jealously tearing the brothers apart is alluded to repeatedly. The sage Narada warns the Pandava brothers of conflict that can destroy their fraternal bond. Narada suggests that they make careful bedroom arrangements to allow equal and exclusive access to each husband for a limited period of time. Any brother who enters her chamber when she is supposed to be with another husband will have to perform penance. Arjuna does stumble in once while she is in the arms of Yudhishtira and so has to go on a pilgrimage to atone for his crime. During this ‘pilgrimage’, he ends up with three more wives. Every brother has exclusive rights to Draupadi’s chambers for a year, and then has to wait for four years for the next turn. Why one whole year? Perhaps because it gave Draupadi enough time to bear a child for that husband without any issues of paternity. As we know from the epic, she did bear each of her husbands a son, five in all. Before she moved to the next husband, Draupadi walks through fire to regain her virginity and purity. Such rules were never placed before polygamous husbands. But Draupadi had a rule of her own for her husbands. She makes it very clear to her husbands that they cannot bring any other wife into the same house. Thus all the Pandavas have other wives but these wives stay with their parents and the Pandavas have to travel out of the city to visit their other wives in the four years that Draupadi is intimate with the other brothers. The only exception is made for Krishna’s sister, , who marries Arjuna. In a dialogue with Krishna’s wife, Satyabhama, Draupadi explains how she serves her husbands and satisfies all their needs and makes herself indispensable, hence very loved. Draupadi comes across as a very practical woman who knows she has to work to ensure all her husbands love her and do not feel she favors any one of them. But in the final chapter of the epic, it is made clear that of all the husbands, she favors Arjuna the most — a crime for which she is sent to hell! Stories are often told of how Draupadi came to have five husbands. Explanations are needed for a culture desperate to explain such a discomforting practice. One story goes that in her past life she was a sage’s wife; her insatiable sexual appetite led him to curse her that in her next life she would have five husbands. Another story tells us that she asked Shiva for a husband who was noble and strong and skilled with the bow and handsome and wise. Since no single man possesses all five traits, Shiva gave her five husbands instead each with one trait. Yet, this woman with five husbands is dragged into court and disrobed in public. She wonders why this happened to her. A folklore states that Krishna had sent the perfect husband for her — one who would love and protect her all her life and be faithful to her. His name was , but she rejected him because of his low caste. So, she ended up marrying a man who shared her with his brothers and failed to protect her when she needed him the most. Mahabharata story: Durvasa Muni and cooking pot of Draupadi! Once Durvasa Muni visited the house of Duryodhana, the enemy cousin of Maharaja Yudishtra. Duryodhana was intelligent enough to satisfy the brahmana by all means, and the great rishi wanted to give some benediction to Duryodhana. Duryodhana knew his mystic powers, and he knew also that the mystic brahmana, if dissatisfied, could cause some havoc, and thus he designed to engage the brahmana to show his wrath upon his enemy cousins, the Pandavas. When the rishi wanted to award some benediction to Duryodhana, the latter wished that he should visit the house of Maharaja Yudishtra , who was the eldest and chief among all his cousins. But by his request he would go to him after he had finished his meals with his Queen, Draupati. Duryodhana knew that after Draupati’s dinner it would be impossible for Maharaja Yudishtra to receive such a large number of brahmana guests, and thus the rishi would be annoyed and would create some trouble for his cousin Maharaja Yudishtra. That was the plan of Duryodhana. Durväsä Muni agreed to this proposal, and he approached the King in exile, according to the plan of Duryodhana, after the King and Draupadi had finished their meals. On his arrival at the door of Maharaja Yudishtra, he was at once well received, and the King requested him to finish his noontime religious rites in the river, for by that time the foodstuff would be prepared. Durväsä Muni, along with his large number of disciples, went to take a bath in the river, and Mahäräja Yudishtra was in great anxiety about the guests. As long as Draupadi had not taken her meals, food could be served to any number of guests, but the rishi, by the plan of Duryodhana, reached there after Draupadi had finished her meals. When the devotees are put into difficulty, they have an opportunity to recollect the Lord with rapt attention. So Draupadi was thinking of Lord Krishna in that dangerous position and the all-pervading Lord could at once know the dangerous position of His devotees. He therefore came there on the scene and asked Draupadi to give whatever food she might have in her stock. On her being so requested by the Lord, Draupadi was sorrowful because the Supreme Lord asked her for some food and she was unable to supply it at that time. She said to the Lord that the mysterious dish which she had received from the sun-god could supply any amount of food if she herself had not eaten.But on that day she had. already taken her meals, and thus they were in danger. By expressing her difficulties she began to cry before the Lord as only a woman would do in such a position. The Lord, however, asked Draupadi to bring up the cooking pots to see if there was any particle of foodstuff left, and on Draupadi doing so, the Lord found some particle of vegetable sticking to the pot. The Lord at once picked it up and ate it. After doing so, the Lord asked Draupadi to call for her guests, the company of Durvasa. Bhima was sent to call them from the river. Bhima said, “Why are you delaying, sirs? Come on, the food is ready for you.” But the brahmanas, because of Lord Krisha’s accepting a little particle of food, felt sumptuously fed, even while they were in the water. They thought that since Mahäräja Yudishtra must have prepared many valuable dishes for them and since they were not hungry and could not eat, the King would feel very sorry, so it was better not to go there. Thus they decided to go away. Moral of the story: This incident proves that the Lord is the greatest mystic, and therefore He is known as Yogeswara. Another instruction is that every householder must offer food to the Lord, and the result will be that everyone, even a company of guests numbering ten thousand, will be satisfied because of the Lord’s being satisfied. That is the way of devotional service. Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare. Hare , Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. PS: I humbly request all the devotees to please forward and share this moral / instructive stories they hear so that everyone can be benefited by hearing about Krishna and his dear devotees. The Story of Draupadi. Draupadi: Nemesis of the Kauravas: Without Draupadi, would there be a or the Mahabharata epic? The answer is a resounding No. Draupadi, who plays a major role in the Mahabharata, was born to King Drupada and was originally called Krishnaa, for her dark complexion Drupada had been humiliated by Drona, the guru of the Pandava prince, Arjuna. So he performed a great sacrifice for a powerful son who would kill Drona and avenge his humiliation. He also prayed for a very beautiful daughter, and thus, Draupadi emerged along with Drishtadyumna from the Yagna fire. The moment she emerged, a divine voice was heard saying that the Kauravas would be destroyed by her. Mythology says that Goddess Kali had given Draupadi some of her powers in order to destroy the Kauravas. As Drupada ruled the kingdom of Panchala, Draupadi was also called Paanchali. The Pandava prince won Draupadi’s hand in a swayamvar and took her home. The Pandavas were living in exile then. Draupadi: Wife of the 5 Pandavas: Kunti, the mother of the 5 Pandavas, had told her sons to share everything they got as alms, equally. So when Arjuna told his mother to see what he had brought that day, as alms, Kunti, not aware that Arjuna was referring to Draupadi, told her son to share it with his brothers. This was how Draupadi became the wife of all the five brothers, which is called fraternal polyandry. Another story says that Sage told Draupadi that her polyandry as the wife of five men was because of an incident in her former life. In that life, she had prayed to Shiva to grant her a husband with five qualities. Shiva replied that it was hard to get a husband with the five qualities that she wanted. But she insisted on it, and finally, Shiva granted her the boon. In her next birth, therefore, she was married to five brothers, each of whom represented a particular quality. The Disrobing of Draupadi: The Mahabharata says that Duryodhana’s hatred of his Pandava cousins became more intense after Draupadi mocked him once when he was visiting the Pandavas at . As for Draupadi, she vowed not to rest until the clan was annihilated after the Kaurava prince, , disrobed her in front of her husbands and the elders of the Hastinapur court. In the great Kurukshetra war, all the Kauravas perished. Though the Pandavas survived, Draupadi's children did not survive. Only Parikshit, the grandson of Subhadra and Arjuna, survives to continue the Kuru lineage. The disrobing of Draupadi marks a turning point in the narrative of the Mahabharata. It is the main reason for the great Kurukshetra Yudh (war). The Pandava -Kaurava rivalry was a more general cause. After a rigged game of dice, the Pandavas lost everything to the Kauravas. Finally, Yudhishtira wagers Drauapadi but loses her too. It was then that Duryodhana, seeing a chance to avenge his insult, orders his brother, Dushasana, to bring Draupadi before the royal court and disrobe her. As her husbands could not help her, Draupadi prayed to Krishna, her trusted friend, to protect her modesty. As Dushasana disrobed her, her sari became longer and longer until finally, he became tired and stopped. This was Krishna’s miracle to protect Draupadi’s dignty. Draupadi: A Composite Avatar: The Narada and Vayu say that Draupadi was a composite Avatar of several Goddesses. They include Shyamala (Dharma’s wife), Bharati (Vayu’s wife), Sachi (Indra’s wife), Usha (Ashwini Kumaras’ wife). They got married to their earthly counterparts, who were the five Pandavas. The story goes that was angered by a joke made by Parvati and the four goddesses, and cursed them to be born as humans. Parvati’s solution was that they would be born as one woman, Draupadi. Draupadi could be said to have had ‘anger issues’ and was intolerant of injustice. This is a reflection of Parvati or . Kali inhabits Draupadi 's body at times. On other occasions, Draupadi behaved in a docile manner. This reflects the qualities of goddesses like Sachi and Usha. And at other times, she displayed guile and cunning, by using Bhima to kill Keechaka, in the manner of Goddess Bharati. Draupadi was also a form of Goddess Shree or Wealth, who was the common wife of five , aka Five Pandavas. She was cursed to be born many times for imprisoning the Indras. Vedavati, who cursed Ravana, was her first birth, and then she was reborn as Maya- to take revenge on Ravana while concealed the actual Sita. Her third birth was partial, as both (her husband was the equivalent of Dharma, Vayu, and Indra, like the Pandavas) and her daughter, Nalayani, who was the wife of Sage Mudgala. Draupadi was her fifth birth. Thus, she was a composite avatar of 8 goddesses – Parvati, Kali, Sachi, Shyamala, Usha, Bharati, Shree, and Swaha (wife of Agni). Draupadi and Krishna: To Krishna, Draupadi was his ‘sakhi’, a friend. A story says that his reason for helping Draupadi is that she prayed to him with utmost devotion. When Krishna injured his finger on the Sudarshan Chakra, she tied it using her sari. It was this gesture that lies behind the origin of Rakhi, the festival that celebrates the brother-sister bond. Draupadi, to many, exemplifies the notion of bhakti or devotion to God. She had the utmost faith in Krishna, and he never failed her in her hour of need.