Wife of Pandavas. See Mahabharata. (Glossary for the Vahinis)
Draupadi was a ‘Maha Pativrata’- thedoyen among women who worship their husbands as veritable representatives of God and serve them in that spirit. Moreover there is an esoteric meaning for her name. ‘Draupadi’ means not merely the wife of five husbands, namely the Pandavas. Every human being has, within him or her, five husbands, in the form of five life-breaths –Prana, Apana, Vyana, Udana and Samana. When it is said that Draupadi lived harmoniously with all her five husbands, the allegorical meaning is that she ensured the maintenance of harmonious equilibrium among her five life-breaths, which is a pre-requisite for a balanced living. In the case of most persons, one or more of these life-breaths become excited beyond the optimum limit, resulting in a loss of equilibrium and harmony and the five-breaths, and the consequent lack of balance in life as a whole. All should try to follow the example of Draupadi in the matter of leading a life full of contentment and harmony as well as in
being satisfied with simple but pure food. (ICS , pp. 103-104)
Draupadi, who had five husbands, could be called a pativrata (one of chastity). Who are these five husbands? They do not represent physical bodies. Here five husbands symbolize five elements and five life principles.(SSS Vol.33, p. 179)
116: Arjuna wins Draupadi in her Swayamvara.
Draupadi’s father Drupada organised a swayamvara (ceremony to select a groom by the bride) to perform her marriage. Thousands of youths, princes and kings came to his court to win the hand of Draupadi in this swayamvara. Just as King Janaka had declared that he would give his daughter Sita in marriage to the prince who could string the bow of Lord Siva, King Drupada arranged a Matsya Yantra (a device with the replica of a fish). The condition of the contest was that whosoever was able to hit the eye of the fish that was revolving high above on a pole with an arrow by looking at its reflection in water below would be successful in winning the hand of his daughter.
Many valorous youths and princes who were confident of their victory tried their luck without any success. This was not an ordinary test that everyone could succeed. Many thought that it was easy, but in reality it was not so. When no one could succeed in the contest, the entire assembly fell into a stunning silence. The Pandavas were present incognito in this assembly. Lord Krishna, who was also present, looked at the Pandavas and smiled noticing that the Pandavas spoke to each other in whispers. Arjuna then walked majestically towards the Matsya Yantra, smiling all the way. He was totally calm and composed. Looking at the reflection of the fish in water, he shot an arrow. When it hit the target successfully, the entire assembly went into raptures. All the people looked at Arjuna in admiration with great delight. King Drupada then asked his daughter Draupadi to garland Arjuna.
At that time, the Pandavas were staying in the house of a potter. When they went back to that house along with the bride, their mother Kunti was inside Even before entering their house, they announced to their mother that they had received a very valuable fruit. Their mother replied from inside the house that they should share the fruit equally between themselves. The Pandavas always obeyed the command of their mother and honoured every word that she uttered. They went inside and offered their salutations to their mother and vowed to follow her command religiously. In this way, Draupadi became the wife of all the five Pandavas. The Pandavas dutifully accepted the command of their mother. But, how could the world accept this? It is the duty of the children to obey the command of their parents, irrespective of the fact whether the world accepts it or not. People, however, accepted this in view of the intimate relationship that existed between the five brothers.
When can one consider a woman as one’s wife? Not merely because one is married to her. One can call her as wife only when one considers her as half part of his body. Many people questioned Krishna how Draupadi could be called a pativrata (chaste wife) when she was the wife of five husbands. Then Krishna described her qualities which earned her this noble status.
‘She dutifully obeyed the command of her husbands.
She would never say to any one of them that she had no time to serve him.
She was satisfied with whatever she got in life.
She was the supreme example of chastity,
And none could match her in this respect.’
(Telugu poem)
She never asked for anything beyond the means of her husbands. A true chaste woman is one who conducts herself according to the condition of her husband. The husband should also recognise the qualities of his wife and have equal concern for her. Only then can both of them lead a virtuous and noble life.
Looking at her virtuous conduct and her power to control the five senses, Dharmaraja told Draupadi, ‘You do not merely belong to us; you are the embodiment of primal energy.’ Her father Drupada had also held this view and considered her as the embodiment of divine energy. Only those who achieve control over the five senses and the five elements can know the reality of the world and conduct themselves in a righteous manner. One who has complete control over one’s senses can achieve the greatest heights in life.
Draupadi was endowed with great power of discrimination and she could discriminate between what was good and what was bad. Both good and bad are present in this world just like darkness and light. She encouraged all those who were virtuous and imparted sacred teachings to evil-minded people to transform them. Not only she had control over the five senses and five elements, she had thorough knowledge of pancha kosas (five sheaths of the soul) and pancha pranas (five life-breaths) also. She could differentiate between atma and anatman(Self and non-Self). Thus, she set an ideal to the world and earned a good name.
Draupadi taught that one should do one’s duty with dedication. She exhorted all to exercise control over their desires and discriminate between good and bad, imbibing all that was good and giving up all that was bad. One should never forget to perform good actions and discharge one’s duties, she advised. Everyone should discharge one’s duty with dedication and should not interfere in the duties of others, she counselled the people. ‘You may have wife and children. It is your duty to fulfil your responsibility towards them, but at the same time all your desires should be directed towards the path of goodness and righteousness’, she said. Thus, she became an ideal to the world and showed the path of truth to one and all. One can attain Dharma only by following the path of Satya. Satyan nasti paro dharma (there is no Dharma greater than adherence to truth). There can be no Dharma without truth. It is the path of truth that leads one to God. (SSS Vol.39, pp. 55-59)
Arjuna among the Pandava brothers won Draupadi in the swayamvara. When Pandavas returned along with Draupadi and told their mother that they brought home a fruit, instantaneously mother Kunti advised them to share it equally among the five of them without being aware of the fact that they were referring to Draupadi. Accordingly, she became the chaste wife of the five Pandavas. Even Lord Krishna testified to her chastity thus:
Draupadi dutifully obeyed the command of her husbands. She would never say to any one of them that she had no time to serve him. She was satisfied with whatever she got in life. She was the supreme example of chastity and none could match her in this respect. (Telugu poem) (SSS Vol.40, p. 232)
Once Rukmini and Satyabhama both were taken by surprise by the amount of Grace that Krishna bestowed on Draupadi, the Queen of the Pandavas, whose story was one long series of humiliations and calamities. Krishna rescued her from dishonour and distress time after time; they were curious to know the nature of the devotion that could draw down on her the Grace of God in such a continuous stream. So, Krishna took them both with Him. One day, when He went to Indraprastha, Arjuna had gone hunting and Draupadi was drying her hair after her bath. Krishna asked the queens to comb her hair for it had got into too much tangle, as they remarked. When they did so, they heard from the end of each hair the sound of Nama Japam (repetition of Lord s name), ‘Krishna, Krishna, Krishna’---that was the extent of her deep devotion to the Lord; it had impregnated into each single hair of her head.(SSS Vol.5, pp. 82-83)
In ancient times, the rishiswere not shaving off their hair since the hair was considered very sacred and powerful, spiritually. This body (pointing to Himself) is nearly 80 years old. Still, the hair on My head remains very strong and powerful to this day. I will tell you more about the power of the hair on My head, later. Once, Draupadi was alone as her husbands had gone out. She took out one strand of hair from her head and dropped it in the water, chanting some mantras. That single hair with the potency of the mantrascould bind all the hills around. Later on, a number of yogis assembled together and enquired as to how a single hair could bind all the hills around. They concluded that it was the strength of the hair of Draupadi, and her will power that could perform this stupendous task. It is difficult to comprehend such latent divine phenomenon. Unfortunately, today man is unable to realise his innate divinity. Man, who is heir to the humanness is forgetting the very quality of his humanness. He is cultivating demonic qualities. (SSS Vol.38, p. 23)
When the Pandavas were living in exile and were undergoing a great deal of hardship, sage Durvasa along with thousands of his disciples went to their hermitage and asked for food. He told them that they were going for a bath in a nearby river and would come back to have food. The Pandavas were gripped by anxiety as to how to provide food for so many guests when they had nothing with them. Fearing the curse of sage Durvasa, Draupadi prayed to Krishna to save them from this predicament. Krishna promptly appeared on the scene and asked Draupadi to give Him something to eat. Then Draupadi replied, ‘Krishna, if we were living in Hastinapura, I would have certainly given You a sumptuous feast. But alas! We are living in a forest eating roots and tubers. In such a situation, what can I offer to You?’ Krishna told her to look into the vessel, which she had already cleaned, if there was any food particle left in it. She did accordingly and found a tiny piece of leaf sticking to the vessel. Krishna ate that leftover leaf. As soon as He did so, the hunger of Durvasa and his disciples was satiated and they went away without bothering the Pandavas. Thus, Krishna saved the Pandavas from Durvasa’s curse. Thus, sometimes God pretends to have desires, not because He lacks anything, but only to help His devotees. (SSS Vol.34, pp. 150-151)
Emperor Dharmaraja had only one desire, that is, playing the game of dice. He was very fond of this game. The Kauravas noticed this weakness of Dharmaraja. They contrived to trap him by making use of this weakness. Their maternal uncle Shakuni instigated and advised them, ‘You go and invite Dharmaraja for a game of dice.’ Shakuni was an adept in this game and he could easily defeat his opponents by foul means. Duryodhana and his brothers were on oneside and Dharmaraja was on the other. The dice used in this game were manipulated to enable them to score a victory each time the game was played. As a result, Dharmaraja lost the game every time. He lost his empire, his brothers, himself and even Draupadi.
The Kauravas annexed his empire and took control over Dharmaraja’s brothers and wife Draupadi. They dragged her to the royal court. Draupadi then posed a question to the honourable members and elders in the assembly whether Dharmaraja pawned himself first and then lost her or vice-versa. If Dharmaraja pawned himself first and lost the game, he had no right to pawn Draupadi. Moreover, Draupadi was the wife of not only Dharmaraja, but all the five brothers. Did they give their consent to pawn Panchali (the wife of five brothers) by Dharmaraja in this game of dice? No one in that august assembly dared to answer the subtle points raised by Draupadi. They did not open their mouth. (SSS Vol.42, pp. 156-157)
There is another example, which Draupadi has nicely handed to us. Draupadi, after she had gone through all her troubles and tribulations, was sitting and talking to Krishna on one occasion in a pleasant mood. She addressed Krishna as her dear brother and asked: ‘What is the matter? I remember having been in great difficulties and having called you with the fullness of my heart and begged you to come and save me. But you came late. You never came in time. Can you now explain to me what stood in the way of your coming in proper time?’ Krishna then asked Draupadi: ‘You say you addressed me and called me. May I know in what manner you called me and how you addressed me?’ Then she replied, ‘Yes, I said, hai Krishna, hai Dwarakavasa.’ The Lord replied, ‘You addressed me as Dwarakavasa. Where is Dwaraka and where is Hastinapura, to which place I had to come? That was a long distance. If only you had addressed me as Hridayavasi or as one who is living in your own heart, I would have appeared immediately. Because of the manner of your addressing I had to travel all the way from Dwaraka to Hastinapura and how could I have come in time from such a long distance?’ In this way, all the utterances of God only demonstrate to us His closeness to us. (SSB 1972, p. 34)
The stories in the Mahabharataare often misinterpreted by commentators. From Mahabharata, it is known that the Pandavas were living incognito at King Drupada’s palace. At this time, according to some writers, Kichaka fell in love with Draupadi and Bhima got angry and killed him. This is not the truth. The actual fact is that Kichaka was ill-treating Draupadi who was at that time in the role of a servant. Bhima was enraged at this and killed Kichaka. There is nothing like Kichaka was in love with Draupadi, because at that time Kichaka was twenty-two years old and Draupadi was seventy-six years old. (SSB 1974 Part II, p. 36)
During the course of the Kurukshetra War, Bhishma was the commander-in-chief of the Kaurava army. One day, Duryodhana and Dushasana confronted him and said, ‘O grandsire, you seem to be very inactive these days. As a result, our enemies are growing from strength to strength. It is time that you shed your slackness and shows your prowess.’ Provoked in this manner by Duryodhana and Dushasana, Bhishma declared that he would kill all the Pandavas before sunset, next day. Draupadi fell at Krishna’s feet and prayed that He should protect the Pandavas. Krishna said, ‘Follow My command, I shall certainly protect your husbands.’ Draupadi said, ‘Krishna, who else can I follow other than You? You are our everything.’
It was night-time. As the war was over for the day, all were taking rest in their respective tents. Bhishma was feeling very depressed. ‘I have vowed that I would kill the Pandavastomorrow. But how am I to kill them who are noble and virtuous and whom I brought up with my own hands all these years? It is the food of the Kauravas that has spoiled my head (mind).’ Thinking thus, Bhishma was pacing up and down in his tent. Krishna sensed Bhishma’s predicament. He always planned according to time, place and situation. His was the master plan. He told Draupadi to follow him
As there was no electricity in those days, there were only oil lamps burning in each tent. After walking a certain distance, Krishna asked her to put off the sandals as they were making noise. Draupadi implicitly obeyed Krishna’s command. Krishna immediately wrapped her sandals in his shawl and carried them with him. Once they reached Bhishma’s tent, He told Draupadi to hurry up and fall at Bhishma’s feet at once. Draupadi did accordingly. Hearing the jingling sound of bangles Bhishma thought it was a married woman and as his wont, he blessed her saying, Deergha Sumangali Bhava (may you and your husband live long). After uttering this blessing, Bhishma noticed to his great surprise that it was Draupadi whose husbands he had vowed to kill the following day. (SSS Vol.33, pp. 179-181)
At that time, Krishna, the master architect of thewhole plan, came inside with a cloth bundle in hishands. Bhishma expressed his pleasure at seeing Krishnaand said that this plan was drawn up by Krishna inorder to save his devotees and that Krishna was theonly person who could save even Bhishma from theconflicting situation. At this moment, he noticed thecloth bundle in Krishna’s hands and asked what thebundle contained. When the bundle was opened, it wasseen that it contained the shoes of Draupadi. Indemonstrating his grace and love, God will be prepared,not only to help his devotees, but even to carry theshoes of his devotees if it became necessary. (SSB 1976, p. 126) Bhishma extolled Krishna saying, ‘O Lord, none can describe Your Leelas (divine play). They are most wonderful and most sacred in all the three worlds.’ Krishna told Bhishma that he had come to Draupadi’s rescue, as she was highly virtuous. (SSS Vol.33, p. 181)
At thisunparalleled grace shown by Krishna, Draupadi’s eyeswere filled with tears and she asked, ‘Is it not sufficientthat you have been taking care of our lives? Is it notsufficient that you made a plan for my husbands to bespared instead of being killed the next day? Did youhave to carry my shoes which have no value at all?’ (SSB 1976, p. 126)What was the secret of Draupadi’s greatness?
Draupadi was always contented with what she had.
She was always obedient to her husbands
and would always find time to serve them
There is no woman greater than Draupadi.
(Telugu poem)
(SSS Vol.33, p. 181)
Lying on the bed of arrows, Bhishma showed great affection to the Pandavas and preached to them what has since come to be known as the Shanti Parva. In that context, while Bhishma was preaching the code of conduct relating to peace in the Shanti Parva, Draupadi had some thought in her mind; and she laughed loudly and attracted everyone’s attention. The Pandavas thought this to be very inappropriate, and they did not like Draupadi laughing in this manner in the presence of the elders. Bhishma was all-knowing and he knew the thoughts that were passing in the minds of the Pandavas. In order that an appropriate explanation might be given to the Pandavas, Bhishma asked Draupadi to come closer to him. He blessed her and said that she would remain a Sumangali for long and went on to say that she would not do anything without good reason. He asked her to explain why she laughed so that her husbands might know the answer.
Draupadi addressed Bhishma in great reverence and humility and asked Bhishma, ‘At the time when I was humiliated in the court of Duryodhana, you never spoke of any code of conduct; and at the time when my husbands were banished into the forest for twelve years and were to live incognito for one year, you never preached any code of conduct. You are now teaching the Shanti Parva to the Pandavas who are the very embodiments of dharma. Why are you now teaching this to the people who do not need to be taught? This should have been taught to Duryodhana and his accomplices. Such a thought came to my mind and I laughed. Not only this, in the court that day Dharmaraja lost in the game of Dice and also lost when he placed himself as the stake. Then he offered me as the stake.
It was then decided that the Pandavas were to go to the forest and I was humiliated. Was this dharma? You are an embodiment of dharma and right conduct. Do you think that on that day, after losing himself in the game, Dharmaraja had the right to bid me? I was married to five husbands, and in that context, belonged to all of them. If only one husband wanted to bid me, was that right? At that time, what had happened to all your professed adherence to right conduct.
Secondly, Dharmaraja offered me as a stake, after he lost himself in the wager. He had no right to do this. On that day itself, I questioned whether Dharmaraja lost himself first and then offered me as a stake or whether he offered me as a stake first and then lost himself. You did not give me an answer then. What had happened to all your right conduct at that time? Today,
when there is no need at all, you are preaching all this to the Pandavas. This, indeed, is a laughing matter and has induced laughter in me.’
While Bhishma was lingering between life and death, the fact that Draupadi was arguing so vehemently and asking inconvenient questions upset even Dharmaraja. Bhishma, however, laughed loudly and praised Draupadi for asking such questions and said that the answers to such questions would be of great importance to the coming Kaliage and asked the Pandavas to calm down.
Bhishma said, ‘For many years, I had been serving evil kings and sinners and had been living on the food that they had given me. Therefore, all the rights and dharma in me were submerged. As a result of the arrow that struck me from your husband’s hand, all the evil blood has flown out and now the dharma that had been submerged has come up; and I am preaching the need for good conduct.’
From this Shanti Parva, preached by Bhishma, we have to learn the lesson that if anyone promotes himself with the help of money accumulated by bad and evil ways, then the good in him will be submerged by the bad blood in him. It is in this context that Krishna had taught that the pot in which you cook, the material which you use to cook, and the food itself should all be clean. In this dialogue, Bhishma had taught to the world that there can be evil in the food that you take. From the food that we take, come the thoughts. From the thoughts that are generated in us comes the action. From our actions, will come our good and our bad. After giving the appropriate lessons to the Pandavas, Bhishma gave up his life. (SSB 1976, pp. 127-132)
When Ashwatthama killed the sons of Draupadi, Arjuna was very much agitated. He caught hold of Ashwatthama, tied his hands and feet, brought him before Draupadi and told her, ‘Here is the villain who killed your sons. I shall cut him to pieces. You can anoint your hair with his blood.’ Draupadi pacified Arjuna saying, you should not do any such thing. Why?
The one who is full of fear and has lost all courage,
or the one who is in deep sleep or dead drunk
or has surrendered to you, or the one who is a female,
O Arjuna, it is not proper to kill such a person.
(Telugu Poem)
Thus saying, she held the hand of Arjuna from killing Ashwatthama. She fell at the feet of Ashwatthama and said,
It is at the feet of your father, Dronacharya,
That my husbands have learnt all that they know.
Being the son of Dronacharya,
Was it proper for you to kill my children?
How could you have the heart to kill them,
Who were unarmed, young, quietly asleep,
Were not having any grudge against you,
And were not contemplating any harm to you?(Telugu Poem)
Though she chided Ashwatthama for his cruel act, she was calm all the while. Such an attitude of calmness often solves many difficult problems. You should not lose your peace even under the most trying circumstances. Under any provocation, you should not contemplate causing harm to anyone. In spite of that Bhima was still bent upon killing Ashwatthama. So high was his anger that he said:
This Draupadi is a stupid woman,
For she pleads for this wretch’s freedom.
She feels no anger against this murderer of her sons.
This assassin Ashwatthama is not a Brahmin.
Do not release him but kill him.
If you do not do that, I myself will hammer his head
With my powerful fist, for you to see!
(Telugu Poem)(SSS Vol.33, pp. 215-217)
Meanwhile, Arjuna was seething with anger and was about to kill Ashwatthama. Draupadi fell at his feet and reasoned with him thus: ‘Arjuna! Will my sons be revived by killing Ashwatthama? His mother too would experience the same kind of sorrow that I am undergoing at the loss of my sons. Having studied the Vedas and Shastras, how is it that you are not able to maintain your tranquillity?’ (SSS Vol.38, p. 22)
The body is made up of five elements and is bound to perish sooner or later,
but the In-dweller has neither birth nor death.
The In-dweller hasno attachment whatsoever and is the Eternal Witness.
Truly speaking, the In-dweller who is in the form of the Atma is verily God Himself.
(Telugu poem)
Thus, Draupadi pleaded with Arjuna to forgive Ashwatthama for his heinous act. Arjuna replied, ‘You are preventing me from keeping up my vow.’ To this Draupadi said, ‘Tonsuring his head and removing the crown jewel from his head is equivalent to killing him.’
Draupadi prevailed upon Bhima and Arjuna with her pleadings and saved Ashwatthama. Arjuna paid heed to Draupadi’s advice and as a token punishment shaved Ashwatthama’s head, took his crown jewel and sent him away. (SSS Vol.38, pp. 22-23)
Such was the nobility of character of the women of those days. Women are by nature forgiving. There were many women of fortitude, forbearance and purity in this country. It is because of such great women that India still holds its head high in spirituality. Forbearance and forgiveness are the qualities which should be fostered by all individuals. You must be able to forgive even your enemies. (SSS Vol.33, pp. 215-217)
When Pandavas were preparing to go to the forest, Dharmaraja sent for Draupadi and asked her to sit by his side. Dharmaraja told her, ‘Owing to certain personal differences between the Pandavas and the Kauravas, a situation has come about by which we will have to go to the forest.’ He told Draupadi that these troubles and tribulations were something which they could not avoid, and that it was a very hard thing to be living in a forest for twelve years and follow it up with one year in which they had to remain incognito. Dharmaraja told her that the men will somehow bear the difficulties and that it was not an occasion for women to go into the forest, and he advised her to remain back and take care of the old Dhritarashtra and Gandhari.
The Pandavas had asked Draupadi to take care of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, the two main people who were cruel and responsible for their having to go to the forest. This is a very great quality in the Pandavas, and we must learn a lesson from this conduct. If the Pandavas really hated the Kauravas, is there any meaning in this act; and can we justify the fact that the Pandavas asked Draupadi to stay back and serve the Kauravas? The moral of this is that whatever has to happen in one’s life will happen, but to take such inevitable events and use them to promote hatred is not the correct thing to do, and it is not a good human character.(SSB 1976, pp. 145-146)
While this is as it may be, Draupadi, to maintain the reputations for her husbands, her parents, and parents-in-law, is talking about this code of right conduct. She said, ‘I was born to the great king Draupadi, I have become the daughter-in-law of the world famous king Pandu, I have married the great Pandavas who are proud of themselves, I have given birth to sons who are heroes. How can I be a servant?’ These words of Draupadi will move one’s heart. She wanted her parents to be proud of her, she wanted her children to feel that they are the children of a great mother, she wanted her husbands to feel that they were married to a great woman, she wanted her parents-in-law to be proud of her, and she wanted to please them. The Mahabharatais a text of great events and Draupadi herself was always behaving in a manner in which she maintained the reputation of her great family and her country. (SSB 1976, pp. 148-149)