Reincarnation Of Draupadi (Completed)

Ch 46: The Game Of Dice

At the gaming hall, Duryodhana declared "My uncle Shakuni would throw the dice on my behalf and Yudhisthira, if you desired, could get someone else to throw the dice on your behalf,"

Yudhisthira declined. Before the game began, he said slowly, “Dice is a poisonous game; it breeds discord and destroys friendships. It is not a game for kshatriyas, Shakuni and I would rather not play.”

Shakuni laughed, “I can’t believe the mighty king is afraid of the challenge.”

That settled the issue. Now Shakuni was not only very skilled, he was crafty and a cheat too. He used loaded dice and hence every time he threw the dice, Duryodhana won.

To begin with only some jewellery and some property were wagered. As the Pandavas kept losing one throw after another, Dhritarashtra, who could not hide his joy, would shriek, “That is won, this is won and this is won, too,” and so on.

Shakuni, meanwhile, kept challenging his opponent and prodding him on. Yudhisthira then placed all his slaves and thereafter his entire kingdom at stake and when he lost that, too, he said, “I have nothing left now”.

“You have your brothers; you can place them at stake. Who knows, they may be able to win back all that you have lost.”

Vidura spoke up against the immorality involved in the stakes but Duryodhana curtly asked him to keep his counsel to himself and Yudhisthira seemed to be bewitched. And so Yudhisthira placed, one by one, his brothers at stake. When he had lost them all,

Shakuni said, “It’s time now for the king himself to take charge and rescue his brothers,” and so Yudhisthira staked himself. When he lost himself, he mourned, “Now I have nothing left.”

“But you do,” said Shakuni, “Panchali. Lakshmi will certainly bring all the wealth back.”

So Yudhisthira placed at stake their wife Draupadi. Shakuni would not relent now and ensured that Yudhisthira lost Draupadi too.

Duryodhana sent a slave to fetch “the woman with five husbands” to the gaming hall, where the entire court, which was watching the game of dice being played, was present.

Accordingly the slave approached Draupadi and said, “Yudhisthira, thoroughly intoxicated with gambling, staked you and you have been won by Duryodhana. Duryodhana has consequently directed that you come to the assembly hall.”

Draupadi, however, sent the slave back with a query, was she placed on stake before or after. if he staked himself first and lost himself first, how can he still have any rights over me?

When the slave returned with only her query, Duryodhana, annoyed, commanded Dushasana, “You go and fetch her.”

Dusshasana went into the women’s quarters where Draupadi sat with hair unbound dressed in a single cloth. Draupadi was startled by his audacity but before she could protest, Dusshasana grabbed her by her hair and dragged her through the palace corridors into the gambling hall.

Draupadi, who had been dragged screaming to the gaming hall, now turned to the elders and asked, “Had not Yudhisthira lost himself before he put me on stake? If so, how could he, a slave, place me or anything else on stake? Am I therefore not a free woman?”

Bheeshma said, “The laws of morality are subtle. While a man who has lost himself and is a slave may not wager anything or anyone else, even a slave has a right over his wife. Hence I am unable to decide upon the issue.”

Yudhisthira merely hung his head down in shame. Dhritarashtra and the others remained silent.