Draupadi - P Jagannivas

Draupadi is regarded as one of the Pancha-maha-pativrata-s of yore, the other four being Ahalya, Sita, Tara, and Mandodari. P Jagannivas talks about this woman of substance….

Draupadi the daughter of Drupada was also called Panchali being the princess of Panchala desa. She along with her brother Dhristhadyumna emerged from the sacrificial altar. More than her parentage she was better known as the wife of the Pandava-s. True, as it were, she was the wife of all the five brothers, Pancha Pandava-s. She is regarded as one of the Pancha-maha-pativrata-s of yore, the other four being Ahalya, Sita, Tara, and Mandodari.

Sita and Rukmini as we saw in the earlier Issues are Goddess Lakshmi’s amsa-s, where as Draupadi, Ahalya, Nalayani, Savitri and others are some of the mythological characters in the Hindu pantheon. Draupadi in particular, as we said earlier, is an important character, around whom the Kurukshetra war is woven. While so many intertwined reasons and causes might be pointed out for the outbreak of that great Dharma Yuddham (righteous war), on hindsight one can say that it was Draupadi’s Sapatha (vow) that triggered off the Battle Royal.

© "Nrisimhapriya" (January, 2004) published by Sri Nrisimhapriya Trust, # 30, Desika Bhavanam, Venkatesa Agraharam, Mylapore, Chennai 600 004. Website: www.ahobilamutt.org. Reprinted with permission.

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