Mistaken Vows: Draupadi and the Five Pandavas

Their Mistake - Prequel

Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine her wedding day to unfold as such. From the moment her father suggested marriage, she had felt numerous emotions, but fear wasn't one of them. Until now.

Still dressed in her crimson wedding attire, with a bejeweled veil covering her face, and wearing beautiful gold jewelry, Draupadi was the picture of a perfect bride. But she did not feel like one. All she could think was how her fate had turned out. How she was about to be considered a mistake again.

Can someone love their mistake? Mistake... that was what Draupadi had become. The monumental mistake that had forced the five sons of Pandu to choose between unity and survival.

She could hear the cries of a mother who was about to see five of her sons break apart, a mother who was about to lose four of her sons for a lifetime.

They were about to be punished for mistakenly being her husband.

As coldness seeped through her body, she felt the grip of fear and anxiety tighten around her. She dreaded being the catalyst for tearing apart a family bound by love. Anxious thoughts swirled in her mind about becoming a wife to five husbands, marrying five strangers, and being divided among five brothers.

Could she endure it or would she punish a mother with a lifetime of separation from her sons?

No.

"Mata," she called. Forcing her breathing to be even and standing tall. She might be a mistake for her father and the Pandu brothers but she  refused to commit the crime of punishing an innocent mother.

She can see sadness and guilt in Kunti's eyes and feel the intense gaze of the five brothers at her back.

"I accept your blessings, Mata. I'm ready to accept your five sons as my husbands," she uttered, hearing the collective intake of breath.

"Putri..." Kunti couldn't believe what she heard. She had heard of the innocence and generosity of Panchal Kumari, but seeing her forgiving her mistake and accepting it made Kunti realize that Yagyaseni was perfect for her sons. That she was the tie that would bind the five of her sons together so that no one could break them.

"Thank you. Thank you so much. I will forever be indebted to you, Putri." she said hugging her daughter-in-law and patting her head lovingly. Her touch calmed Panchali and gave her a semblance of peace, yet the pit in her stomach seemed to grow with each second.

She was going to be a wife to five husbands. Dread made her hide her face in Kunti's shoulder. Even the warmth of a mother's hug couldn't soothe her mind.

"But Mata..." she heard one of the brothers speak, yet she couldn't discern whose voice it was. They were still so much strangers to her that she couldn't even distinguish their voices. How... How would she ever be able to accept all of them as her husbands? How could she fulfill her duties as a proper wife to each of them? How would she ever find the capacity to love...

"All of you will marry her before we depart for Hastinapur," Kunti commanded her sons.

Disbelief clouded Yudishtir's thoughts. How could he condone such a sinful act? Five men sharing one woman? He couldn't allow his brothers to partake in such immorality.

"Mata, it's adharma," he attempted to explain once more. He held great respect for his mother, yet marrying Panchali felt equally unjust.

This marriage turned out to be a grave mistake, one that could only be undone by distancing themselves from Arjun and Panchali. Yet, just the thought of cutting ties with his brother and mother left his mind in turmoil. He dreaded the idea of not being there for his siblings, unable to shield and support them.