Arjuna - Draupadi, A Saga of Love, Silence, Sacrifice and more...

Prologue

Arjuna – Draupadi, A Saga of Love, Silence, Sacrifice and more...

Disclaimer:

This story/one shot is purely a fictional story and is not intended to hurt anyone. If it unintentionally hurts anyone, then I apologise in advance. Please understand this is a fictional story but the spirit of which would be inspired as per the events/incidents from the epic.

Before I dwell into the story, would like to present some of the incidents/statements from the epic, which in my view clearly depict the undercurrents/ strong pull of Arjuna/Draupadi towards each other as compared to the rest of the persons in their complex marriage situation. These are from the epic as per BORI Critical Edition translated by Bibek Debroy.

1. Below is the passage as per BORI CE, when Arjuna returns back to Khandavaprastha after his 12 year exile. Book: The Mahabharat Volume 2, Section Eighteen:

Arjuna went to Draupadi, then, out of love, Draupadi told Arjuna 'O Kunti's son! Go to the daughter of the Satvatas. A second load always loosens the first tie, however strong'. Draupadi thus lamented in many ways. Arjuna pacified her a lot and asked for forgiveness. He quickly went to Subhadra, who was dressed in red silk. Arjuna sent her away to dress in garments worn by a cowherd lady.

As far as my reading of the epic, I did not find any such lamentation on part of Draupadi when any of her other husbands remarried. Interestingly, none of her other husbands apart from Arjuna asked for her forgiveness when they remarried. In my view, this incident highlights the special relationship shared by the Arjuna/Draupadi.

2. BORI-CE, Book: The Mahabharat Volume 2 (Section Thirty-Two), below is the passage, wherein Draupadi feels disheartened due to the absence of Arjuna, who first goes to Himalayas to do tapasya to get blessings from Lord Shiva and then goes to heaven to acquire divine weapons.

After Dhananjaya's departure, those bulls among men lived there, unhappy in their minds and anxious about him. 'In particular, Panchali remembered the husband who was in the middle, the brave one who was absent. She told the foremost of the Pandavas, "in the absence of the two-armed Arjuna, the equal of the many-armed Arjuna (Kartavirya Arjuna) and the best of the Pandavas, this forest seems cheerless to me. Wherever I look, the earth seems to be empty to me. This forest, with its many marvels and blossoming trees, no longer seems to be attractive in Savyasachi's absence. The twang of his bow is like the roar of the thunder. I remember Savyasachi and without him, I cannot find any peace of mind"

As per my understanding, even though Draupadi was vocal and when needed spoke in public too on the matters related to Dharma, responsibilities, duties and so on but she did not usually show her feelings or her equation in public as with regards to her husbands. Only Arjuna seems to be an exception to such norms, as usually Draupadi was not very discreet or failed to be discreet with regards to her feelings towards Arjuna.

3. BORI-CE, Book: The Mahabharat Volume 10 (Section Eighty-Nine), below is the passage wherein Yudhisthir wants to know the reason why Arjuna is always on the move and has borne a disproportionate share of sorrow. Yudhisthir goes on to say that he doesn't see any inauspicious things on Arjuna's body that can explain it, so wants to know from Krishna the reason.

'Having been thus addressed, Hrishikesha reflected for a very long time. He replied 'O king! No inauspicious marks can be seen in him (Arjuna), but for the fact that the lion among men has cheekbones that are exceedingly large.' Thus addressed by Krishna, Yudhisthir told Krishna that this was indeed true. However, Draupadi cast a sidelong glance towards Krishna (the sidelong glance signified disapproval).

This to me is a very amusing episode indeed, no less than a filmy scene, where it looks like Krishna was in a playful mood and seems to pull the leg of Draupadi. Again, I don't find any other incident in the epic resembling anything remotely similar to this. This to me again depicts how Krishna saw Arjuna and Draupadi and their relationship, throughout the epic, he treated them as his friends and they were like a best friends group.

4. BORI-CE, Book: The Mahabharat Volume 10 (Section Ninety-Four), below is the passage wherein Yudhisthir explains to Bhim on the reason of Draupadi's fall.

'She had a great partiality for Dhananjaya. She has reaped the fruits of that'

These are just some of the episodes where a special relationship of Arjuna/Draupadi could be seen. There are various others as well, like when Arjuna comes from heaven and gives precious jewels to Draupadi, she is addressed by Ved Vyas as his beloved OR Arjuna responding to Yudhisthir on the 17th day of the battle OR Draupadi glorifying Arjuna in far many ways as compared to others.

Since, they were born in human forms, so they did have their own strengths and also some moments showcasing their weaknesses. I really don't know, why if someone loves or prefers one a bit more than the others is considered so bad or unreal, specially when they have taken human form.

Finally, we all are trying to interpret the epic as per own understanding with best intentions to understand it, so it is quite natural to have some differences in understanding and arriving at conclusions but those differences should not create any antagonism.