THE PURE CHARACTER OF YAAGYASENI DRAUPADI…
Draupadi was a very strong-willed woman. If you see, in any part of the Mahabharata, She never became weak. She had strong willpower and was a great devotee of Krishna. This devotion towards Krishna saved Her from a lot of incidents. Not only was She a strong-willed woman, but She was very sharp and intelligent. During Pandava Vanavasa, Krishna, along with Satyabhama, visited the Pandavas. There, Satyabhama and Draupadi had a conversation, wherein Draupadi Herself narrated how She used to know each one in all of Indraprastha.
The Pandavas had thousands of servants and maids. In that too, whose name is what, what is their designated work, who has taken a holiday, and for what reason, everything was known to Draupadi, without the help of anyone. She didn’t require an Excel sheet of all the servants and maids. All the Excel Sheet was in Her mind itself. That sharp, alert, and intelligent was Draupadi.
There is a misconception in the Mahabharata that, in Draupadi Svayamvara, Draupadi rejects Karna, saying that he is a Sootaputra. This is a later addition and is not authentic, because Draupadi’s brother Dhrishtadyumna himself declares that people from any caste can take part in the Svayamvara. If this is the case, then it is very illogical for Draupadi to tease Karna like this.
Another misconception about Draupadi is that, when Duryodhana, after the Raajasuya Yagya, came to Indraprastha Sabha, where Yudhishthira, Bheemasena, Arjuna, Krishna, Nakula and Sahadeva, Draupadi, and Krishna’s 16,108 queens were there. Duryodhana, due to a misconception, assuming the water design on the floor as solid floor, slipped and fell into the water. Draupadi laughs at Duryodhana, saying, “Andhe ka putra Andha.” Note that Draupadi NEVER said this thing. In reality, as Duryodhana slipped and fell into the water, Krishna, with His eye coordination, asked Bheemasena, Draupadi, and His 16,108 queens to laugh at Duryodhana. Thus, not just Draupadi, but Bheemasena, Draupadi, Krishna, and the other 16,108 queens of Krishna laughed at Duryodhana’s fall. The major plan behind this was that Krishna wanted Duryodhana to grow more hatred towards the Pandavas.
If intelligence is one strength of Draupadi, then another, and the main strength of Draupadi, was Her true and unwavering devotion towards Krishna. In the Dyuta Sabha, first Dharmaraja puts Draupadi on the stake, loses Her and then puts himself on the stake. He loses himself too in that game, and Duryodhana asks Pratikami (Duryodhana’s charioteer) to bring Draupadi. Pratikami came to Draupadi and told Her the whole incident. Draupadi didn’t cry. She asked, “Who gave Dharmaraja the right to put me on the stake?” At this, Pratikami came to Duryodhana and asked the same question. Duryodhana asks Pratikami to tell Draupadi to come here and ask the question. The second time too She doesn’t come.
This time Duryodhana sends Dushasana to bring Draupadi, dragging Her by Her hair. Dushasana comes to take Draupadi. He speaks very vulgarly to Draupadi. That’s why Lord Vedavyasa, in the Mahabharata, calls him ‘Paapinaam Chakravarti’. He chases Draupadi, even falls on Her, and then drags Her by Her hair. Draupadi was Rajasvala at that time (She was menstruating at that time). Plus, She was wearing one piece of cloth on Her body. In that case, this sinner, Dushasana, was dragging Her by Her hair and coming down into the Dyuta Sabha. He teased Draupadi, “Where is your Krishna? Call Him…call Him…let’s see how your Krishna helps you!” and laughed aloud.
Draupadi was so weakened by that physically that She continuously kept saying, “O Dushasana, please leave me…it’s painful.” But Dushasana teased Her and brought Her to the Dyuta Sabha. But the most astonishing part was that nobody spoke. Only Vidura spoke, that ‘This is Adharma.’ But nobody responded. Karna over here calls Draupadi a Veshya and asks the Pandavas to remove their clothes, since they had lost everything. Karna further even tells Draupadi to remove Her clothes. Plus, all the four wicked people - Duryodhana, Dushasana, Karna, and Shakuni are laughing aloud like, ‘AHAHAHAHA’. On hearing Karna, this sinner Shakuni also supported him. Duryodhana even shows his thigh and asks Draupadi to come and sit on his left thigh. He even forgot the basic manners of how to treat his sister-in-law, and that too the queen of the whole Aryavarta.
After this, Dushasana does the Vastraharan of Draupadi. Generally, in TV serials, we do see that during Vastraharan, Draupadi rotates as Dushasana pulls Her saree. Actually, this is not true. Because Draupadi was wearing only one piece of cloth. But what really happened is that Draupadi, from the beginning, was remembering Krishna. She prayed to Krishna, ‘O Krishna! O resident of Dwarka! O beloved of the Gopis! Please save me, who is trapped in the dense forest of the Kauravas!” At this, Krishna gave Akshaya Vastra to Draupadi. How did this happen? When Dushasana pulled Her saree, another saree was immediately there on Her body. As he pulled that too, immediately another saree was there on Her body. Like this, without letting Her honor be destroyed, Krishna protected Draupadi’s honor.
Dushasana pulled an endless heap of sarees, what felt like lakhs of garments, and still couldn't remove Her clothes, and thus Draupadi’s honor was saved. Why am I saying this so vividly? Because you can notice how dangerous this situation was, but can you imagine how courageous and devoted Draupadi was? She was one of the top-tier devotees of Krishna. She had so much tapas shakti that She could burn the entire Kauravas, Karna, and Shakuni, just with one glance, due to Her Paativratya, but She didn’t do so. Even after the Vastraharana and Bheemasena made a pratigya to break Duryodhana’s thigh, Karna and Shakuni insisted that Dushasana take Draupadi to Duryodhana’s room.
That was the time when Bheemasena woke up and went towards Duryodhana. Vidura described this to Dhritarashtra, who was busy asking, “Kim Jitam? Kim Jitam?” (Who won? Who won?). Then Dhritarashtra realized that once Bheemasena woke up, none of the Kauravas would be alive. And then, Dhritarashtra stopped the Dyuta Krida and asked the Pandavas to return to Indraprastha. In that state, too, Draupadi was fearless at last and cursed them to be killed by the Pandavas. Because these sinful Kauravas won everything by cheating, Krishna, too, in the Mahabharata war, didn’t let any of them die happily. From the day Dushasana touched Draupadi’s hair, the Kauravas’ death count had begun.
So, you can imagine how patient, yet sharp and courageous Draupadi was. Even after all this, She bowed down to Bhishma Pitamaha, Dronacharya, Krupacharya, and Dhritarashtra. When Dhritarashtra asked Draupadi to ask for boons, Draupadi didn’t ask anything for Herself, but asked for the freedom of the Pandavas and to return everything that they lost in the gambling. This shows Her humility, devotion towards Her elders, and Her selflessness. After that, the Pandavas and Draupadi, who was unharmed by the Kauravas due to the grace and compassion of Krishna, returned to Indraprastha. She was the knower of Stree-Dharma. She is a great Pativrataa. That’s why She is remembered as the second in the list of the Pativrataa strees, and is remembered in the morning.
I have also seen some questions on Quora asking, ‘Was Draupadi an unchaste woman?’ So, for those who think Draupadi is unchaste, let me say one thing: ‘If you consider Draupadi as unchaste, then nobody’s mind is as unchaste as your own.’ Therefore, think before you say that. Read the Mahabharata. Because not only was She a Pativrataa, but She was also the queen of the whole Bhaarata. Draupadi Devi had the Panchapatitva within Her. This means there were 5 devis within Her, namely, Shyamala (wife of Yama), Bharati (the wife of Mukhyaprana Vayudeva), Umadevi (wife of Shiva), Shachi (wife of Indra), Usha (wife of Ashvini devatas). So, mainly, Draupadi is the incarnation of Bharati Devi (the wife of Mukhyaprana Vayudeva). Due to the curse of Brahma, the rest of the devis had to come into Draupadi.
So, when Draupadi was with Dharmaraja, Shyamala was active in Draupadi, and the rest were inactive. When She was with Bheemasena, Bharati Devi was active, and the rest were inactive. When with Arjuna, Shachi was active within Her. When She was with Nakula-Sahadeva, Ushadevi was active within Her. She had the presence of Umadevi within Her. When King Drupada got to know that Draupadi was going to marry 5 Pandavas, he hesitated initially, but then Lord Vedavyasa gave him divine sight and showed Him Pandavas' devata svaroopa and their wives, and told the Panchapatitva concept to Drupada, and clarified that this won’t bring any harm to Her Paativratya. This Panchapatitva is also stated in the Garuda Purana and other Puranas too.
Thus, in a nutshell, I would like to say that Draupadi was a very strong and supportive character in the Mahabharata, and is like a backbone for the Pandavas. During the Akshaya Paatra incident too, Krishnaa’s devotion to Krishna was unwavering. Even after all this, Her devotion towards Her husbands, and mainly Her devotion towards Krishna, never wavered. This makes Her a top-tier devotee and a great personality.
Hope this helps!
Jai SriRam!
SriKrishnarpanamastu!