The fiery heroine Draupadi was not without kindness an affection. She was insulted, taunted and driven to the forest by the sons of Dhritarashtra and Gandhari. When, Dusshasana pulled at her saree, Dhritarashtra and Gandhari would not help her. But after the war of Mahabharata, Draupadi looked after Gandhari with respect and affection; she treated her in the same way as she treated Kunti. She had a resolve that would not cool off after thirteen long years of suffering, and also sympathy for Gandhari after all was over.
When Aswathama (son of Dronacharya) who killed the sons of Draupadi, inspite of her great grief at the loss of her children, came to Pandavas, she moved forward and touched his feet and paid him his due respect. Bhima was unable to bear such sorrow and because of this, he was in great emotions which drove him to the point of exhibiting his physical prowess to the world. In fact he was looking at this quality of forbearance of Draupadi as a laughing matter. Bhima was greatly surprised at the peaceful attitude of Draupadi. He thought that the suffering of having lost all her children had driven her to insanity, for, otherwise he was not able to understand how a true mother could show such forbearance when the person who had killed all her children was standing before her. Draupadi was a great woman with exemplary character. When the strong Bhima was preparing to kill Aswathama with his bare hands, would it be possible for a weakling like Draupadi to go and stop Bhima? It was only the purity of her thought that was her strength. Draupadi was such a great woman that in order to protect right conduct, she would even oppose her husbands. But even now, it was Bheema who tried to avenge the death of her sons by uprooting the Shiromani (divine diamond) off the forehead of Ashwathama and thus ending his powers of invincibility.
Draupadi maintained the reputation of her husbands, her parents and parents-in-law. She wanted her parents to be proud of her, she wanted her children to feel that they are the children of a great mother, she wanted her husbands to feel that they were married to a great woman and she wanted her parents-in-law to be proud of her and she wanted to please them. Draupadi herself was always behaving in a manner in which she maintained the reputation of her family and her kingdom.
[ Ultimately, the fact that Draupadi stands quite apart from her five husbands is brought tellingly home when not even Sahadeva of whom she took care with maternal solicitude, nor her favourite Arjuna - tarries by her side when she falls and lies dying husbanded yet unprotected, on the Himalayan slopes ] during their journey to heaven - the Mahaprasthana. It is said, however, in some analyses of the Mahabharata, that only Bheema, at such a juncture tried to save her from her fall from the cliffs by extending an unsuccessful hand to catch her. He failed and Draupadi fell to the ground below and was dying a painful death when Bheema came to her side, consoled her and remained by her side till she eventually died. During these last moments, it is said, Draupadi realized the futility of her undying love for Arjuna and felt the selfless and unconditional love and support that Bheema had provided her at each moment in her life and repented the fact that she could never reciprocate the love of Bheema in equal terms.