THE DISGRACE TO DRAUPADI

Yudhishthira lost the game of dice. Then Duryodhan ordered Dusshasana to drag Draupadi by her hair to the royal court before the great assembly of people and then to disrobe her completely.

Duryodhana was the happiest man in the assembly and he ordered Vidura to go and fetch Draupadi for performing the menial jobs along with the other slaves of the royal household. Vidura said, " I cannot execute the dictates of a maniac; you do not know that you are playing with mortal fire." Duryodhana replied to Vidura, " I know that you will come out in your true colours. Your partiality towards the Pandavas is proved to the hilt now. I do not want your platitudes. So saying he ordered his charioteer Pratikami to go and fetch Draupadi forthwith. Pratikami went to the inner apartment of the royal palace reserved for women and said to Draupadi. "Princess of Panchala, I am sent here by Lord Duryodhana to fetch you. Dharmaputra lost you to Duryodhana as a wager in the game of dice and now you are a slave of the kauravas."

Draupadi exclaimed ! "This is incredible news. A gambler who has pledged his wife in the game of dice is unheard of in the annals of any age. Dharmaputra has immense wealth for purposes of wager." Pratikami told Draupadi that Dharamaputra has lost all his wealth and Kingdom including his brothers, himself and the wife. Then Panchali raised a point of jurisprudence, "Pratikami, you go to Dharmaputra and ask him whether he first lost himself as the wager and then offered me as the bet or lost me as the wager and then offered himself as the bet. Please bring me the reply. Then I shall come if necessary." When Pratikami informed about this, Duryodhana said, "Draupadi has raised a legal point which must be settled in the assembly. Ask her to come here first and elicit the clarification."

Pratikami went to Draupadi and said that the members of the assembly wanted her presence to discuss the points raised by her. Draupadi followed Pratikami to the place where Gandhari and elders were seated . Duryodhana immediately said to Duhsasana , "Pratikami is afraid of Bhima. You go and get Panchali here." Duhsasana caught hold of her locks of hair and dragged her to the open assembly. Draupadi appealed to the assembly to give their judgement whether she was won righteously. She said, " I do not know how you are all able to put up with this sacrilege on the fair name of the Bharatha race committed by this shameless sinner, Duhasasana. Is there nobody here with any sense of compunction? How could Dharmaputra stake me when he was no longer a free man? All this is a transparent conspiracy." Then she stretched out her arms in anguish and cried aloud, "I appeal to the Lord for justice in this hour of horror and humiliation , more terrifying and tragic than death."


Everybody was silent and Dharamaputra did not raise his head. Bhimasena could not keep quite any longer and said to Dharmaputra, "You do not seem to realize even now what your foolishness has brought about. I can excuse you if you have lost us in the bets. You ought to have realized the guiles of Sakuni even at the last minute and desisted from offering Draupadi as the wager. The fingers of a foolish gambler like you must be scorched." Dharmaputra replied, "I deserve the punishment, please carry it out without any further dealy." Arjuna argued with Bhima saying, "Beloved brother, you are unwittingly falling into the trap aid by our enemies. They want to sow dissensions among us. This is the time for self control; certainy this is not the time for anger or desparate bravado. After all Dharmaputra has seen a victim of vicious circumstances. How can any self-respecting Kshatriya refuse to accept an invitation for the game of dice? He has just observed the traditional royal etiquette and we have to blame our stars only." Bhima was pacified. However Draupadi stood sobbing in utter helplessness and deep anguish. Even Bhishma and Drona kept quite.

Then Vikrana, one of the younger brothers of Duryodhana rose up and said, " Draupadi has raised a pertinent question. I know am quite young. But elders Dhritarashtra, Vidura, Bhishma and Drona are silent when righteousness is at stake and it is the duty of every member of the house to reply to the points raised by Draupadi. I crave the indulgence of the audience for taking the floor. Karna rose to reply to the arguments advanced by Vikarana and said, "when Dharmaputra staked himself and lost Panchali as part of himself was already won. So the point raised by Draupadi was quite irrelevant. As Draupadi is a slave the etiquette of the royal womanhood does not apply to her anymore. She along with her clothes is now the property of Duryodhana. Duryodhana immediately ordered Duhasasana to take hold of the garment of the Pandavas and Draupadi. The Pandavas did so, but however Draupadi was not prepared for it . Duhasasana in a fit of relentless frenzy attempted to seize her clothing by force. Draupadi in utter desolation and destitution, devoid of all earthly help, prayed to the almighty God in complete supplication and surrender and offered no resistance and then a miracle happened.

New clothing appeared taking the place of stripped robes which piled up into heaps of mountains. Duhsasana was exhausted completely and gave up his attempt. But Bhimasena rose up roaring like a lion and vowed aloud, "The whole assembly, including the respected elders of the Bharatha race, venerable preceptors and veteran warriors are the eyewitnesses to what Duhsasana has done to Draupadi. The day of reckoning is bound to dawn when I propose to wreak terrific vengeance. On that day in the open battle field, I swear, I will kill Duhsasana in the most gruesome fashion tearing him to pieces, limb by limb and taste the terrible blood, gushing out of his warm veins." There was a great consternation in the assembly at the ferocious vow taken by Bhimasena. Draupadi emboldened by the vow of Bhimasena and stand taken by Vidura demanded an answer from the assembly whether she was won righteously. Bhishma at long last opened his mouth, "Distinguished daughter-in-law of the Bharatha dynasty, you have raised an intricate point of law and righteousness. Frankly nobody in this assembly is competent enough to give you the correct answer excepting Dharmaputra. The concept of righteousness is the most complex postulate in this world which has perplexing connotations which Dharmaputra alone knows. Anyway if he does not prefer to speak out, the perpetrators of the crime, who so ever they may be will reap the consequences. Unprecedented consternation, confusion and chaos and utter pandemonium prevailed in the hall. Bhima was searching for his weapons but Bhishma and Drona cautioned him to be patient.

Dhritarashtra was agitated at the unexpected turn of events and Vidura appraised him with the vows pronounced publicly by Bhima. Meanwhile queen Gandhari came to Dhritarashtra and counseled him to take timely action. Dhritarashtra acted with decision and determination. He summoned Draupadi to his side and offered her profuse apologies for what had happened and solicited her forgiveness. "My dear daughter- in- law, you are the light of the two dynasties -the Bharatha and the Panchala. I am extremely sorry for the outrageous conduct of my sons. But I am determined to make sincere amends. I will give you any boon you ask, please ask and you shall have it for the mere asking." Draupadi coolly collected all her wits and said, "Worthy inheritor of the illustrious tradition of the Bharatha dynasty, I thank you for offering me a boon. All that I ask now is only this, "You may be pleased to set Dharmaputra at liberty."

Immediately Dhirtarashtra did the same. "Yes Yudhisthira is a free man now. My dear daughter -in-law I want you to have one more boon. I am very much pleased with your sense of righteousness and nobility of character ." Draupadi said, "Then I request that the remaining Pandavas may also be freed." Dhritarashtra said, "Your wish shall be fulfilled -all the Pandavs are now freemen." Again the blind King asked Draupadi to seek another boon. But Draupadi declined the offer with thanks saying, "A kshatriya lady can ask twice, a Vaisya lady thrice and it is the prerogative of the Brahmin lady to ask a hundred boons. So I should like to stop now and I do not like to seek anymore favours." Dhritarashtra was happy at the sense of propriety exhibited by Draupadi and summoned Yudhisthira to his side and said, "Dharmaputra I know you are a generous man and richly deserve the title conferred upon you. I am very sorry and I am full of regrets. I am conferring all the kingdom and all the wealth you have lost in the game of dice on you once again. I request you to forgive and forget all the indiscretions committed by Duryodhana for the sake of Gandhari. The real safeguards for any kingdom are not its warriors and the weaponary, ministers or diplomacy but righteousness only. You righteousness will protect you forever."