Content Warning: Please note this story contains sensitive and intense material that may be distressing to some readers within the context of an ancient epic. I advise reader discretion.
The minute Dusa was ordered to disrobe Draupadi, he pushed her into the center of the Court and began to pull at her saree.
She cried out, ‘No,’ and clutched it harder, and tried to escape him.
She pleaded with folded hands in front of all of the men assembled in Court: the Elders, the wizened old grandfather, the Brahmin priest, the courtiers, and finally the King.
Yet no man dared defy Prince Duryo that day. It was as though they had been turned into stone, and ashamed, with eyes downcast, they sat without moving a muscle.
What of her husbands? They seethed and vowed vengeance inwardly but would not get up and break the code of honor to save her.
So, it came to pass that the bravest of men nay warriors in the three worlds, assembled in that Court that day, denied justice to the only woman seeking it, having been made a pawn in their battle for power and ego.
While in the privacy of her room, Draupadi had worn the saree loosely pleated and gathered together and bunched it up into a knot at the center of her waist.
Dusa finally succeeded in pulling at the free end of the saree that was draped over her shoulder and looped back into the waist.
As the disrobing unfolded, she clung tightly to the bunched-up knot, where the saree was held together in its loose state. This knot was the sole element tightly securing the remainder of the saree, unlike formal wear which provides additional support and layers.
What do the brave feel when helpless? Here, the situation was exacerbated as the brothers had placed her in harm's way, subjected her to the insults of their cousins, and now were forced to witness her humiliation.
Arjuna lowered his eyes, no longer able to look, and tightened one fist in anger, burying it deep into the cushion until the veins popped. The other fist he drove into the floor, where his ringed fingers scraped against the surface, bleeding his knuckles.
None of them had brought arms into the Court, as was the custom.
Even if they did have their bow and arrows, mace, and swords, each of their weapons of power, what good would it have done?
They were bound not by fear, but by the inscrutable code of honor that men bind themselves in at the cost of the women in their lives, having lost themselves in a game of dice. They were in no position to help anyone, least of all their wife.
Prince Duryo, his special friend Karna the rest of the 98 brothers, and their maternal uncle laughed at the shamed faces of the five brothers, whom they hated with a particular zeal.
Draupadi still held on to her knot now, but as Dusa kept pulling, the saree got shorter and shorter. She knew then she had no other hope.
Finally casting aside her fear, knowing she had no other hope, she released her hold on the knot. Raising her hands above her head, folded in prayer, eyes closed, she called out for help to her friend - that eternal friend of the soul, of the distressed, of the hopeless, the lonely - in a voice of abject misery—a cry resounding from deep within, egoless - reflecting the desperation of someone without any hope.
“Krishnaaaaaa!” she cried aloud, “Save me!”
She began fervently repeating His name with her eyes still closed, oblivious to her surroundings, and steeped in devotion and faith.
Those who heard her plaintive cry to Krishna that day in the Courts could not sleep peacefully again at night.
Dusa kept pulling at her saree and as Dusa pulled, the Princess was was being turned around in a circle as she had let her fragile holds go.
The more Dusa pulled, the more saree he got. He looked at his brother in amazement, and for direction. Prince Duryo encouraged him to keep pulling. So he kept t it. Yet, the cloth continued to unravel.
Arjuna was the first to raise his eyes and realize the truth.
His dearest friend Krishna had responded to her cry and was rescuing Draupadi.
Mounds of saree cloth were piling all around Dusa.
His hands began to tire, but the now infinite saree showed no signs of ending and yielding to the wicked intentions of the evil brothers.
After a while, his hands aching from the effort, he fell back on the floor, exhausted, and stopped, surrounded by multiple high mounds of cloth.
Only then did Draupadi lower her hands, swiftly pulling the remaining part of her saree and draping it over her shoulder, covering herself.
Shaking, she stood alone in the center of the Court, her eyes downcast, unable to look up due to the shame she felt—humiliated in such a perverse manner by the men who, by rights, should have defended her honor.
The Court was silent. The wicked brothers though defeated, sat smirking still.
After a few moments of silence, Draupadi raised her head and spoke aloud firmly, sending a chill down every elder in the Court.
“Hear this, O Mother Earth, and all the Gods and Goddesses, and all of the Court present here today, I, Draupadi, daughter of King Drupada, born of the fire, shall not rest in peace, until I am avenged.”
Looking at Dusa who had defiled her by touching her, and dragging her by the hair, she vowed: “Unless I wash my hair with your blood, I shall not tie my hair again.”
At this, her husband, the mighty warrior Bhima, who could kill a man with his bare hands, vowed too: “One day,” he said to Prince Duryo, “I shall break your thigh which you so crudely pointed to as a seat, and if I don’t, then I shall give up my life.”
Meanwhile, Prince Duryo’s mother finally summoned by some enterprising person with enough presence of mind, arrived in Court.
As Draupadi was on the verge of cursing the entire generation of her sons and grandsons, the mother rushed to her side, embraced her, and begged her pardon on behalf of her sons. She castigated her sons and appealed to the King to intervene.
The blind King, finally coming to his senses and fearful of the repercussions for his sons from the curse of a pious woman, asked for Draupadi's pardon and granted her anything she desired. She requested that she and her husbands be set free, a request the King immediately granted.
However, when the King sought to restore their wealth, Prince Duryo intervened, suggesting that it would dishonor the word of royal men to undo all of the wins.
Instead, he proposed that he was willing to give his cousins their rightful share in the kingdom if they agreed to spend 12 years in exile and go incognito in the 13th year. If anyone recognized them in the 13th year, they would have to go into exile again for another 12 years.
Once again, another set of unjust conditions was imposed to deny the brothers their rights. The five brothers, righteous in nature, accepted these conditions. Along with their seething wife they left for the forest.
Every day in exile, they brooded on Draupadi's humiliation and yearned for revenge. Draupadi never let them forget their silence in Court, allowing their evil cousins to win.
When Krishna visited them in person, he advised patience and counseled Draupadi against seeking revenge. He was the only one who could offer her such advice.
War was to be the last resort, if at all, and every possible step had to be taken to prevent such a calamity for its consequences would be too terrible to bear for the world.
So, twelve years passed. In the thirteenth year, going incognito, individually seeking work, they served as household help in a royal court so no one would recognize them. Draupadi worked as a maid in the Queen's household to avoid detection.
However, as a beautiful maid, she had to fend off the indecent advances of the queen's brother. Below, Draupadi is shown being miserable, as she is tasked to take wine to the Queen's brother, who has summoned her intending to harass her. Her hair remains untied.
Finally, she confided in her husband, Bhima, who worked as a cook in the same household. Quietly one night, he then killed the amorous, wicked brother to protect her. Thus, their time incognito was fraught with danger and continued hardship.
Upon successfully returning from exile, the five brothers requested Krishna to be their emissary to negotiate peacefully for their rightful half of the kingdom.
Prince Duryo, by now well-entrenched in the court with his father being a king in name only, refused to grant them anything.
Krishna proposed that, even if unfair, for the sake of peace, he was willing to accept just 5 villages for them.
Prince Duryo laughed and retorted, "Five villages? I am not prepared to give them the space of 5 pinheads."
Despite the best intentions of Krishna and the other family elders, war became inevitable. The defining event was the humiliation of Draupadi.
Though the participants did not know it yet, it was to be a war for the ages - a battle of good versus evil fought by men, aided by superpowered beings on both sides.
Sides were taken, and allegiances formed - either you fought for good and justice, or evil and injustice.
The eighteen-day war took a heavy toll on both families.
Yet, at first, Arjuna despite understanding the reasons for the war, felt despondent and reluctant to engage in battle against his elders and family members.
On the first day of the battle, he sat down in a state of depression in his chariot.
It was then Krishna delivered the famous Bhagavad-Gita or Song of God on the battlefield, exhorting the warrior to rise and do his duty.
This is also the moment when Krishna declared, ‘I am become Death, Destroyer of Worlds’ a statement that Oppenheimer would later reflect upon when he witnessed the test of the atomic bomb.
In the war, the hundred brothers were decimated, leaving the blind King, who had supported his sons without discrimination, childless.
Prince Duryo had his thigh broken before he died.
His brother, Dusa, was killed in a primal fashion, with Bhima collecting his blood from his veins. He then took the blood to Draupadi, who smeared it in her hair to wash away her defilement.
Both their vows were fulfilled.
The war also involved the Preserver-God incarnated as Krishna, who served as a charioteer to aid the five brothers in the fight for Good.
Krishna had rescued Draupadi from dishonor in the court, thus repaying a debt owed to her.
Before the events in this story, during happier times, the five brothers and Draupadi had visited Krishna. On one occasion, Krishna's finger got cut. Draupadi, faster than anyone else could react, tore the edge of her expensive saree and wrapped it around his finger, staunching the blood flow.
Smiling, Krishna told her, "One day, I shall repay every thread of this cloth," and indeed, he did.
But during the unfortunate event, why did he wait to help?
Draupadi had been holding onto her saree knot, assuming it would save her. It was only when she let go of her knot and surrendered wholly to Krishna that He rescued her.
Thus, the soul, foolishly invested in saving itself with its limited resources, needed a reminder that the path to spiritual bliss is through complete surrender to God.
Notes:
The Mahabharata or ‘Great Epic of Bharata Dynasty,’ is a pivotal epic in Hindu
mythology that is deeply ingrained in the cultural fabric, influencing many of its values. Even children are familiar with its major plots. Its backstories, character development, subplots, and strategic plays surpass those of Game of Thrones. With a length ranging from 100,000 to 120,000 couplets, containing nearly 2 million words, it is 7-10 times the length of the Illiad and the Odyssey.
For a concise read, check out William Buck’s translation.
Duryo is short for Duryodhana. Dusa is short for Dushasana. You won’t find these names in Indian naming books! Interestingly, girls are rarely named Draupadi due to the hardships she endured.
The five brothers are collectively known as the Pandavas (sons of Pandu), and the hundred brothers are collectively known as the Kauravas (being born in their ancestor King Kuru’s dynasty).
Krishna is best friends with Arjuna because he embodies the ideal of a good man, making Arjuna a friend of God. Many Indian children are named Arjun or Arjuna, and, of course, Krish or Krishna.
The disrobing of Draupadi is a significant event in the epic, violating all known norms of society and eventually leading to the war to defeat the Evil brothers.
Draupadi is born, it is written, to become the cause of the destruction of the Kauravas.
Modern cultural context: When people suffer and ask why, others may ask them to take heart and remember that even the righteous Pandavas had to undergo so much hardship.
If you enjoyed my creative retelling, please like, share, comment! Thanks for reading!
Hmm, bound by honor to tolerate dishonor. Something to think about...
The Mahabharata is awesome. Fortunately, it was finalized before it could be sanitized. We get to see people in all of their glory and nastiness.
Draupadi had a better fate than Vashti in the Book of Esther (Old Testament) which is read during the Jewish holiday of Purim. Vashti was queen of Persia. On the seventh day of a seven day feast her husband, King Ahashverus (Xerxes,) was holding for the Persian nobility, Ahashverus ordered her to come the dinner wearing her crown (as in, only her crown and nothing else) so he could display her beauty to his buddies. She refused. Ahashverus asked his advisors what he should do about her refusal. They told him that, if Vashti could get away with disobeying her husband, wives throughout the empire would disobey their husbands. With that he had her beheaded.
Following her death, Ahashverus chose Esther, a Jewish subject of the empire, to be his queen, and in that role she was able to save the Jewish community from extermination planned by one of Ahashverus' advisors.