Mahabharata remains to be one of the most fascinating tales I’ve ever read. A story of two clans from the same family that fought against each other, it is weaved with treachery, deception, jealousy, honesty, devotion, morality and so much more. It has numerous interesting tales that you might have missed while reading/seeing it and there’s so much that you can take away from them.
Among them, the one related to Draupadi, the female protagonist and wife of the Pandavas, is quite interesting.
She is known to be taunted, humiliated and driven to the forest along with her 5 husbands. Did you know that she didn’t tie her hair for 13 years, owing to a vow?
Source: pinterest.com
It all started with a game of dice between the Pandavas and Kauravas in which Yudhisthir gambled himself, his brothers and their wife Draupadi. The Pandavas lost the game and everything else in their possession. This meant that the Pandavas were now slaves of Kauravas. With Kauravas win, Duryodhan ordered Dushasan to drag Draupadi into the court.
When Dushasana did so, Draupadi resisted. He then held the pleading Draupadi by her hair and dragged her into the royal court. It is also said that Draupadi was menstruating at that time.
Source: writergitanjali.com
To further the humiliation, he started disrobing her in front of the royal court. Although, the inaction of the Pandavas and others in the family is questioned by many today, the story goes on to say that bound by defeat, they were helpless and hung their heads in shame.
Draupadi looked at her 5 husbands and the elders of the family, the great warriors, who were reduced to mere spectators. She begged, requested and reprimanded them for not standing up for justice.
Source: qulture.com
Bound by the rules of the game, no one came to her rescue as she stood there in torn clothes, seething with fury, trembling and bleeding in anger.
When her cries fell on deaf ears, she prayed to Lord Krishna. The more Dushasana pulled her saree, the more it stretched! He could never find its end.
Having failed to disrobe Draupadi, Duryodhana then patted his left thigh and ordered her to sit on his lap. This enraged Draupadi, who cursed Duryodhana to die with a broken thigh.
Source: wikipedia
Laws of dharma had failed to protect her. Enraged with the insult, she vowed never to tie her hair until she washed it with the blood of those who abused her.
Seeing the immoral actions, Bheem, the second Pandava, couldn’t contain his anger any longer. He stood up and lashed out at the Kauravas, vowing to avenge the insult that Draupadi was subjected to. Later, when at war, Bheem did avenge the insult by killing Dushasana.
While every incident of Mahabharata contains a lesson, one very important learning here is to not give into one’s whimsical desires and take all the consequences into account before taking important decisions.
