Draupadi, the beautiful fire-born princess of Panchal desires Arjun who wins her in her swayamwar, but due to circumstances, she has to marry all his brothers and him. Turning into wife of five men, Draupadi was dutiful and respectful towards them s...
Oh! What has destiny decided for my future? I do not even know which warriors will come for my swayamwar. What do I do now Oh Lord Narayana!
Draupadi's maid Dhatreyika came to hear her talk. She was sad to see her princess sad. She brought some portraits to Yagnaseni.
Dhatreyika's POV.
My dear princess! I know how you must be feeling but all I can do for you as your trusted maid is to show you some portraits of kings and some princes for you to know who all will come for your swayamwar. Is that ok? This will give you some confidence princess.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Draupadi liked her maid Dhatreyika's idea. "You may give me those portraits", said she. Dhatreyika gave the first portrait to Draupadi.
"Who is this tall and dark man with a mace?" Draupadi asked her maid.
"Duryodhan, the son of King Dhritarashtra of Hastinapura, a skilled man", her maid replied her.
He was tall and strong, but Draupadi felt as if there was some negativity emanating from his poise and face in the portrait.
"Seems like you did not like him Oh Princess!" Dhatreyika said and then smiled.
She then gave Draupadi, the portrait of Shishupala of Chedi and then of Uttar of Matsya. Then she gave her portrait of Shalya, king of Madradesh.
Draupadi did not seem to like any one of them neither through their poise or through their description.
Then the maid came up with one portrait which fascinated Draupadi.
"Who is this tall and dark man with a peacock feather in his crown? His poise is royal and his eyes are expressive as well. He fascinates me", said Draupadi.
"He is Krishna, the king of Dwarka. He is one visionary among the Yadus and one brilliant statesman. Besides some say that he is one manifestation of Lord Vishnu. But he has clarified to our king that he is not interested in marrying you as he is already married with his 8 chief wives and 16000 other wives whom he had married to save them from disgrace. He is closely related to Hastinapur as his aunt is King Pandu's wife Kunti(Pritha)", Dhatreyika said to her.
"Would Krishna come only as the chief of the Yadavas?" asked Yagnaseni.
"Yes my princess! He would only come as one guest but the Yadavas who would come along him would participate in the contest", her maid replied her.
"I hope I meet Krishna and talk to him some day, for I truly feel he is transcendental. I would love to seek his blessings and be his friend", Draupadi expressed her wish.
Dhatreyika's voice brought Draupadi back to reality from her world of wishes.
"Who is this Dhatreyika? He is also quite royal and elegant to view", said Yagnaseni.
She got the reply of her question. "He is Karna the king of Anga. He is not a royal but a Suta who was made the king of Anga due to his friend Duryodhan."
Then came the portraits depicting the Pandavas. The maid kept on describing them.
"He is Yudhisthira, the first Pandava and the most liked among all his brothers and cousins among the people."
"He is Bheema, who was born after Yudhisthira. Known for his strength, he is the son whom Kunti mothered due to Vayu like she mothered Yudhisthir from Dharma."
"These are the two twins Nakul and Sahadev who are sons of King Pandu and his wife Madri but as both of them are not alive that pious Kunti considered them as her sons only."
Then she came up with the last portrait. As Dhatreyika was about to mention the name of that Pandava, Draupadi exclaimed, "Who is this young and tall man who has power to captivate my mind and soul?" Draupadi was fascinated with this youth and his unparalleled beauty, which was similar to Krishna.
"He is Arjun or Partha, the third son of King Pandu and Kunti whom Kunti had mothered from King Indra himself from heaven. He is known for his supreme archery skills."
Draupadi could not help but think of this youth's beauty. He was tall and dark with royal poise exactly like how Draupadi's wish was.
"You like him my princess?" Dhatreyika asked mischievously to Draupadi.
"He truly fascinates my mind", Draupadi said while blushing.
"I'm not willing to tell you, but there are rumours that Arjun perished with his brothers and Queen Kunti in the fire of Varnavat. Some say they may be alive while some say they perished. Hope for the best Oh my beloved princess! If he is alive then he may come for your swayamwar and win you as well", said that maid.
Draupadi's face now was pale. She thought "Would he have managed to stay safe from the fire? Would he come for the swayamwara and complete the task?"
She had seen portraits of various kings but the one whom she desired was only Arjun and no other king.
She could do only one thing and that was to pray to Lord Narayan to fulfill her wish of wedding only her desired love.
