Draupadi - The Impregnable Queen

16

"This is-" Draupadi stopped herself.

Draupadi was about to reply to the invitation received from the Crown Prince of Hastinapur for the Dyutasabha when her husbands arrived, they seemed to be in a good mood, she got an impish idea, which turned to ruin her mood instead. Yudhishtira was considering the invitation.

"Ridiculous!" completed Bhima.

"And naive." Nakul added.

Yudhishtira looked at Sahdev hopefully, he was the only one who possibly would back him. As if on cue Sahdev moved his head in denial.

"Jeshtha, besides the fact that how much it pains me to say this, I am with Bhrata Bhima and Nakul on this." he said shrugging.

Nakul placed his right hand on his heart, feigning hurt.

"I get it you are jealous of my strength and valour, but what is your deal with Nakul!" Bhima asked.

"Hey!" Nakul playfully punched Bhima on his abdomen.

Bhima raised an eye, "You think I can even feel your feeble hits?".

Arjuna dutifully ignored them, getting the focus back on the impending decision to be made.

"I agree with Sahdev Jeshtha, though we should try to avoid any conflicts, I do not think it will matter if we do not, Duryodhana is enough to raise a conflict himself. I even dare to say, if he is in mood, he can wage a war with himself." Arjuna stated.

"5000 swarnamudras on that!" bellowed Bhima.

"You are already eager to gamble Jeshtha!" laughed Nakul.

"Your concerns are justified by Duryodhana's past behaviour. But isn't it our duty as his brothers to give him a fair chance at changing himself if that is what is happening!" said Yudhishthira.

"10000 swarnamudras against that!" Bhima said.

"Make that 50000 for me!" Nakul joined in.

"Do not mock him, he is our brother. I will do anything to avoid bloodshed in the family." Yudhishtira said.

"Bloodshed! Bloo-" Draupadi let out a sigh, "Husband not even an incendiary of Duryodhana's calibre can lead a declined invitation to bloodshed!" Draupadi said exasperated.

"Wife, you know he will find another way to do it then!" Yudhishtira said looking straight at her.

She opened her mouth but closed it. She did know it.

"Well, maybe it is not such a bad idea, if I and Bhrata Bhima pair up we may even win!" said Nakul.

"Why in the world would I do that! I would rather team up with Arjuna!" said Bhima.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Arjuna raised his hands in exasperation.

"Seriously, Bhrata Arjuna, you may be the greatest archer in the Aryavarta, but you are not the smartest!" Sahdev pointed out.

"100000 swarnamudras to that!" the eldest joined in.

"It is touching to see the faith my brothers have in me!" Arjuna replied smiling ruefully.

"Aww we love you too brother!" said Bhima, taking him in a hug such that the impact made Arjuna stagger. The rest of the three brothers joined in.

"I guess I will just go to Abhimanyu!" Draupadi chuckled going out, letting the brothers share a laugh or two. It seemed good to Draupadi that regardless of the turmoil around them, their love for each other got stronger every moment. She wiped the thoughts away as she saw the five-year-old waddling towards her.

-

They had been travelling for the past five days. Draupadi's back hurt. But she dared not to climb into a palanquin, she learned that lesson quite well. The prince consorts looked exhausted too. The good news was that they were just 30 minutes away from the palace, the bad news was that the crowd gathered on the streets made the six of them sure it was to take a long time.

With great patience, they finally reached the palace gates. The first thing they noticed was the decor! Hastinapur had not been decorated as that since ever! 

The path to the palace steps was covered in petals as white as snow, but the stairs were laden with rose petals. It seemed like from the top of the palace flower threads were hanged, the alternate yellow and blue made the palace look like a morpankh. The view was beautiful, the only thing Draupadi dreaded was the weather, it was humid and cloudy, the sun nowhere in sight. Draupadi had never liked cloudy days. Regardless, she managed to walk up the steps.

The king was clad in apparels she knew were worth one half of the palace at the first sight. The queen seemed to struggle to keep herself upright, the jewels were not making it look easy. Her 98 sons in their best apparels stood in a disciplined line at the back. Senapati Bhishma was in his usual all-white attire sporting a faint smile. Mahamantri Vidur also in his usual clothes seemed confused, Draupadi made a mental note to speak to him later. The Crown Prince looked as if it was coronation day. His uncle beside him, bowed unnecessarily low to her. His best friend Angaraj Karna stood in his demure but royal clothes observing the six of them with a stoic expression. Dushasan also dressed with grandeur was grinning offputtingly. 

"Let the Samragni be happy!" said the interim king joining his hands bowing low.

Something was fishy, as she had no other choice she decided to play along.

"Pranipat Tatshree, I am the Samragni, but I also am your daughter in law!" Draupadi said joining her hands smiling as politely as she could.

Author's note: I am providing a vocabulary for words you may be unfamiliar with:

Swarnamudras - Hindi for gold coins