BORI Critical Edition - Busting of Myths

Accusations on Draupadi

Disclaimer: Based on my reading and remembrance of the BORI edition of the epic, I am mentioning the below events. I would be open to correction, if someone can point to the BORI edition of the text which contradicts what I have quoted below as false accusations. As the BORI edition is voluminous, so it is natural for someone to slip in reading/recollecting some parts, so I will be glad in correcting my mistakes.

I welcome discussions based on the proofs from BORI edition only. Also, I expect people involving in the discussions to be civil and respectful. We all can have varying opinions but at the end of the day we should behave politely.

I am raising the topic of Draupadi because I feel she is accused unfairly for the things she never said nor was involved in. Also, I have tremendous respect for her, she is an example of absolute courage and intelligence. All through her life, she faced very difficult and humiliating situations but each time bounced back. She is unfairly portrayed as a bloodthirsty woman and some think that she deserves all the insults/humiliations thrown at her because of these false accusations. I would be very happy, if this work can change even one person's false perception of Draupadi. I know I cannot change everyone's perception. Propagation of false accusations continue because it helps the media houses to produce programs with added drama/intrigue, some fans of various characters who really don't like Draupadi like to target her unfairly, and some vested interest groups to demean epics and so on. Recently, I read about an incident where few arguments occurred between friends in discussions related to these topics, so I wanted to write on these topics to bust those myths. The best homage we can pay to Draupadi is to bust some of these false accusations which portray her unfairly.

For the current exercise, we will use the BORI edition regarded as the most authentic text of Mahabharata to bust some of the most common myths circulated demeaning Draupadi, who is one of the most glorious characters in all of Indian epics, not just Mahabharata.

Accusation 1: Draupadi insulted Duryodhan in Maya Sabha of Indraprastha by saying that 'A blind man's son is also blind'. This perceived incident (myth) has gained traction due to the Mahabharat TV serial of B.R.Chopra and also through modern era books.

Answer: Below is the exact text which is mentioned in BORI Critical edition with regard to the situation. The text is part of BORI edition [Volume 2 - DYUTA PARVA (English Translation by Bibek Debroy)].

"One day, Dhritarashtra's son, the lord of the earth, arrived at a place in the middle of the sabha that was paved with crystal. The king thought it to be water and, in alarm, raised up his clothes. His mind deluded, he wandered around the sabha, shame-faced and miserable. After some time, he mistook a lake with crystal water, adorned with crystal lotuses, for land and fell into the water with his clothes on. On seeing him in that fashion, the immensely strong Bhimasena, and Arjuna and the twins, all burst out in laughter. Since he was incapable of bearing insults, he could not tolerate this. To save his face, he did not even look at them."

Above was the exact situation which occurred in the Maya Sabha of Indraprashtha where Duryodhan was roaming about and one can read that Draupadi was no where involved in the situation. But, we can see the malicious nature of Duryodhan in spinning the above situation while recounting it to Dhritarashtra by involving Draupadi in it. Below is the spin which Duryodhan had applied for it.

"Having brought gems from Bindusarovar, Maya constructed a platform of crystal. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! On seeing the place full of lotuses, I took it to be water. On seeing me draw up my clothes, Vrikodara laughed at me. He thought me to be devoid of riches and deluded by the superior wealth of the enemy. O descendant of the Bharata lineage! Had I possessed the ability, I would have killed Vrikodara there. The derision of a rival burns me. O lord of men! I again saw a similar pond full of lotuses. Thinking it to be made out of crystal, I fell into the water. At this, Krishna and Partha laughed out loudly at me, and so did Droupadi and the other women. This pained my heart".