The Strange Relationship Between Draupadi and Pandavas
The idea of one woman having many husbands makes many men feel inadequate and insecure. But the heroine of Hindu mythology Draupadi, is one of the most popular and controversial woman who lived this life.Draupadi living with her five husbands satisfied all their needs and made herself indispensable, hence very loved. But there are lot of unknown things about the relationship between Draupadi and the Pandavas.
For instance, each Pandava brother had exclusive rights to Draupadi’s chambers for a year, and after living with her for one year, they had to wait for four years for their next turn.Draupadi and ArjunOf the five Pandavas, Draupadi used to favour Arjun the most. While Draupadi loved him only, the others were in love with her. She loved Arjun because he had won her in the ‘Swayamvar’ and therefore she devoted to him.However, she was not a favourite of Arjun. Arjun never liked sharing Draupadi with his brothers. Instead, Arjun's favorite wife was Subadhra, Krishna's half-sister. He also kept Abhimanyu (his son with Subadhra) over and above his sons from Draupadi and Chitrangada.
Also, when all of Draupadi's husbands married other women, Draupadi never reacted, but when Arjun married Subhadra, she was really upset. Tocalm her down, Subadhra had to go to Draupadi dressed as a servant, just to assure her that she (Subadhra) will always be beneath Draupadi in status.Draupadi and YudhisthirDraupadi’s life was in shambles; she was the most cursed woman of her time; and was one of the most important reasons behind the Mahabharat war – all of this because of Yudhisthir.Being the eldest of all the Pandavas, Yudhisthir got the ‘first dibs’ with Draupadi, despite what others felt or believed.
The brothers married her according to age, eldest to youngest.Then, Yudhisthir called an assembly with his brothers and told them the story of two powerful rakshasas, Sunda and Upasunda, whose love for the same woman led them to destroy each other. He said that the lesson to learn here is that the brothers must be careful when sharing Draupadi.He then made a rule that Draupadi must live with one brother for a set period, and during this period, the other brothers cannot touch her. It wasYudhisthir, who decided that Draupadi will live for one year with each brother and that since he isthe eldest, she will start the cycle with him.Yudhisthir did not stop at this. He said that the brother who broke this rule will have to go into exile for 12 years.
Further, the same punishment will apply if any brother happens to disturb the other when he is carnally engaged with Draupadi.This punishment actually came into play when Arjun disturbed Yudhisthir and Draupadi. Arjun had to retrieve his weapons from the armory, in order to help a poor Brahmin whose cows had been stolen by thieves.As a result, Arjun had to depart on his 12 exile. During these 12 years, Arjun meets Indra Dev, gets cursed by Urvashi (celestial nymph), learns lot of new skills from multiple teachers (Shiva, Indra, etc), marries Subadhra, followed by Chitrangada, etc.Draupadi and BhimAmong all of her husbands, Bhim was the only one who loved Draupadi the most. He always fulfilled all her desires and could not bear seeing her hurt.It was Bhim, who brought her flowers from Kuber's garden.
He even cried when he learnt thathis wife would have to serve as a Sairandhri (servant) to Queen Sudeshna of Matsya. He was the one who killed 100 Kauravas to avenge the insult to Draupadi. Draupadi also ran to Bhim when she was molested by Keechak in Matsya Kingdom.Apart from Bhim, no other Pandava was under Draupadi’s thumb. She was prone to outbursts of rage, and made unreasonable, unwise demands. Though a savage monster with others, Bhim was always tender with Draupadi.Nakul and Sahadev were more loyal to Yudhisthirthan anyone else was. They always followed him everywhere and did exactly as he asked. They could have gone and ruled over Madradesh (their birthright through Madri), and lived a life of luxury and ease, but they stuck with their brother through thick and thin.Their relation with Draupadi was dictated by Yudhisthir.
Courtesy:Dailybhaskar.com
