The Truth Of Devika

What Is The Truth?

Dear all,

Since months I have been seeing that many Wattpad members are having a very unclear idea regarding Maharani Devika. I have faced many questions regarding her existence, timeline of wedding and even her imaginary early death. After a lot of tolerance, now I think I must take a stand for her. So this is my effort to make you all realize what she actually was.

Myth #1: Devika was first wife of Yudhishthira

No. A big no. Yudhishthira's first wife was Krishnaa Draupadi and no one else.

Proof:

Vaisampayana continued, 'Thus addressed by his mother that hero among men, that foremost scion of the Kuru race, the intelligent king (Yudhishthira), reflecting for a moment, consoled Kunti, and addressing Dhananjaya, said, 'By thee, O Phalguna, hath Yajnaseni been won. It is proper, therefore, that thou shouldst wed her. O thou withstander of all foes, igniting the sacred fire, take thou her hand with due rites.'

"Arjuna, hearing this, replied, 'O king, do not make me a participator in sin. Thy behest is not conformable to virtue. That is the path followed by the sinful. Thou shouldst wed first, then the strong-armed Bhima of inconceivable feats, then myself, then Nakula, and last of all, Sahadeva endued with great activity. 

- Swayamvara Parva, Aadi Parva

Here Arjuna clearly means that he cannot marry Draupadi because Yudhishthira was unmarried and Bhima had not gone through a proper Aarya marriage. Marrying before them would be counted a sin for him.

Again, from the next chapter, Vaivahika Parva, Yudhishthira tells Drupada:

Yudhishthira said, 'Thy daughter, O king, shall be the common wife of us all! Even thus it hath been ordered, O monarch, by our mother. I am unmarried still, and Bhima also is so amongst the sons of Pandu.

Now if Devika had been already married to him, how can they say thus? Saying that Devika was his first wife, makes ever truthful Dharmaraj a liar to Drupada. (I am not blaming them who did not know or took creative liberty in their stories, this is just telling the truth because I cannot see people believing false things.)

So one point is hopefully clear. Yudhishthira was unmarried during Draupadi swayamvar and wedding. Let's proceed with the next.

Myth #2: Devika was Yudhishthira's first wife who married him soon after his coronation as Yuvaraj and died during childbirth

Okay. Let's assume that this was the case. So Devika died during Yaudheya's birth and hence Yudhishthira claimed himself to be unmarried/widowed. Fine. But is this true? Let's see!

1. Before sending them to lakshagriha, Duryodhana says to Dhritarashtra that if Yudhishthira could not be removed from throne then his heir would rule Hastinapura and he would never get a chance. Do you think Dhritarashtra would let Yudhishthira marry and have a heir before Duryodhana in such condition? Without his active support (which was definitely not there), Kunti was too alone to arrange Yudhishthira's marriage at that time.

2. Even if Devika came earlier and died, what happened to Yaudheya? How could Kunti and Pandavas go to Varanavata festival leaving the newborn baby in Hastinapura? Could they do this? Would not Duryodhana try to kill Yudhishthira's son too immediately? Where he did not even spare Kunti, do you think he would spare Yaudheya?

3. The biggest proof.

After Ghatotkacha was born, Kunti tells him, you are the firstborn of the five Pandavas.

How could Ghatotkacha be the firstborn if Yaudheya was already born?

So again a big No.

Myth #3: Devika married after Kurukshetra war

Again a big No. I don't know why this one is the most popular now. In Sarala Mahabharata (a regional, probably Oria version) we see a 15 year old girl Suhani marrying him after Kurukshetra war and before Mahaprasthana. She was daughter of a praja and not a Princess. I don't really know how she can be considered as Devika, especially given the fact that she had no child with him. It could not be possible anymore to have a child. Then was Yaudheya a myth?

No. Yaudheya was real. Devika was real. Myth is Suhani, who is just a regional folklore and maybe appears in Devdutt Patnaik's Jaya. That does not make her real. Yaudheya's existence proves that Devika's marriage happened much earlier than the war. How can one even compare Maharani Devika with a fictional girl?

I repeat, Devika is real. She may have a single verse in entire epic, but she still is much more real than imaginary wives of Karna and imaginary daughters of Pandavas who are never mentioned even in a single verse. I don't know why everyone is seemingly against her to prove that either she died earlier or married too late! Cannot we be a little kind to her, not to snatch her husband from her at least?

Question: So when exactly Devika was married?

During Indraprastha days. Most probably after Arjuna's exile. I am not sure before or after Prativindhya's birth, though. Though I think Prativindhya was elder than Yaudheya. I need to research on the kids more.

Last but not the least, I know many
of you do not like Devika. But please, stop insulting her thus! If you are Draupadi fan, do not see her as Draupadi's rival of throne but see her as her sister. If you are Arjuna fan, do respect his Bhabhi! If you are Krishna devotee, please love His student! And if you are Yudhishthira fan, for God's sake, do not envy her! That will pain her husband and hopefully you will not like that!

Apologies for this long rant. Hope this helps all who are 'confused' about Maharani Devika! May the beloved of Dharmaraj get the honour she deserves!

Thanks for reading!