Draupadi’s polyandry-her marriage to the five Pandavas in the Mahabharata, is generally accepted without much discussion by readers. The oft repeated story goes that, Arjun brings Draupadi home from the swayamvar and says “Look ma, what I brought”. Kunti who has her back towards him, says that he should share whatever it is with his brothers, so they all land up marrying her. This version of the story is so silly, that accepting it, seems to me an insult to the greatness of the epic.
Just think about it. We are talking about the Mahabharata – the greatest and the most intricate epic of all time. A story that beautifully elucidates the dilemmas of life and society. It talks of Dharma. It shows us how to contextualize what is good and what is evil. It embodies the Bhagvad Gita - indisputably the most revered Indian philosophical text. Then how can one be so naïve as to believe that, to justify Draupadi’s polyandry, Ved Vyas will rely on a circumstantial confusion. This is the Mahabharata we are talking about-not some comedy-of-errors sitcom.
To understand more about this part of the story, one needs to ask: what is the context in which this marriage is happening? What is social sanction for this? Whose decision, was it? Who gains and who loses if this happens or doesn’t happen?
This blog examines these, and other aspects, with an objective of presenting a more cogent case for the event. So, let’s get down to it shall we?
Let us begin by quickly recapitulating the events from the Mahabharata, leading upto Draupadi’s swayamvar. You would no doubt, know these bits of the story. But please stay with me. I promise it all connects to our case.
Why is the swayamvar happening in the first place?
You would recall the backstory of Draupadi’s father, Drupad, the king of Panchal. During his childhood, Drupad was a good friend of Drona. One day while playing, Drupad promised Drona that he would share everything with him.
But their paths diverged. Drupad became a king while Drona lived in poverty. Tired of his life as a mendicant, Drona goes to seek help from Drupad, assuming that the latter will still regard him as a close friend. Drupad treats him courteously but distantly. Drona feels terribly insulted and vows revenge. To even stand a chance of doing this, Drona needs a fighting army. He goes to Hastinapur (a kingdom with a long legacy of mutual discord with Panchal) and becomes the guru of Kaurava and Pandava princes.
As guru dakshina he demands that Drupad be brought to him in chains. The Pandavas attack Panchal and bring Drupad as prisoner fulfilling their obligation to their guru. Dronacharya forces Drupad to part with half his kingdom. So now Drupad has a huge grouse, and in turn wants revenge not only on Drona, but on Hastinapur too, for having given shelter to Drona. But for that he needs the best of the best warrior in Aryavrata on his side.
And, what better way to identify such a warrior than to offer his beautiful daughter as a prize (‘Veeryashulka’) to the one who can perform a seemingly impossible feat of archery. So, we need a swayamvar event for that, right?
Great. Let the preparations begin.
But where are the Pandavas at this time?
The Pandavas, along with their mother Kunti, have been sent by Duryodhana to Varnavrat, ostensibly for R&R, but with the clandestine intention of having them killed there by burning down the house specially built for them. The Pandavas get wind of the conspiracy and manage to escape secretly. As they leave, they themselves set fire to the building. Everyone now believes that they have perished in the flames.
Rather than going back to Hastinapur and calling out Duryodhana’s mischief, they roam the forest incognito, disguising themselves as brahmans. Here (and this as you will see later is of some importance to the case at hand), Bhim kills the rakshas forest satrap Hidimb. The latter’s sister, Hidimba, openly lusts for Bhim and wants to marry him. After some hesitation, Kunti and the Pandavas agree to the marriage, but only after reaching an understanding with Hidimba that she will not seek to know their real identities and that she will not follow them after they leave the forest. They stay in the forest for enough time for the newlyweds to have their child, Ghatotkacha. During this time, to the best of information available, mother-in-law Kunti and daughter-in-law Hidimba, have a conducive relationship.
So far so good. But while Bhim is cavorting around with his wife, the rest the Pandavas are wondering what the end game of this incognito sojourn in the forest is. Despite the hardships they are facing here, they conclude that they simply don’t have the resources to go back to Hastinapur and take on Duryodhana. So, they carry on living in disguise.
Meanwhile, rishi Krishna Dwapayan (aka Ved Vyas), with Vidur’s help, has figured out that the Pandavas did not die in the fire at Varnavrat. He locates them and sends word that they should proceed to Panchal kingdom and take part in the swayamvar of Draupadi. The Pandavas, implicitly trust and respect Ved Vyas and do as instructed. They land up at in Kampilya the capital of Panchal, still incognito and disguised as brahmans, but clearly risking being recognized with the objective of participating in the swayamvar. Surely they knew that all the Kauravas and other kings will be there to try their luck as well.
With this background, I would like to come to the specifics of the swayamvar which is of direct relevance to the case. I won’t go into the actual modalities of the event and what is required of the participants. These are known to everyone.
What is not as well known, is that when the task to be fulfilled is announced, Yudhisthira realises that this contest was not quite up his alley and he leaves the stadium along with Nakul and Sahadeva and goes back to their mother. Arjuna and Bhim, who stand a much better chance at such stuff stay back to participate. Why did they leave?
Anyway, Arjun goes ahead and wins the contest and Draupadi’s hand.
Since no one, even now, knows the real identity of the winner, there are cheers from the Brahman stand thinking that the winner is one of them, while the Kshatriya stand is mighty peeved. The latter group refuses to let Draupadi be taken away without a fight. And this is where Bhim gets active. Using a tree trunk as a weapon he pummels the likes of Shalya and other kings who dare to come in the way of their taking Draupadi away.
Since Duryodhana, Karna and the rest of the Kauravas are there it stands to reason that they well recognized Arjun. Even Krishna is there in the audience, watching the proceedings with serene calm and confidence. The disguise is outed. But for some inexplicable reason the real identity of the winner is not told to Drupad and Draupadi?
But keeping this inconsistency aside, at this stage of the story, there is no confusion as who is supposed to be marrying Draupadi. It’s Arjuna and Arjuna alone. No other brother except Bhim is even there at the venue. (I must clarify here that Arjuna is only the declared winner but is not actually married at the event. )
Then Arjuna and Bhim lead Draupadi back to where they are staying in Kampilya to introduce the bride-to-be to Kunti. This is when the generally believed “Look ma what I have brought” incident supposedly happened. Just to be clear Mahabharata doesn’t claim this incident anywhere. It is just one of those things which get popularly accepted to be true without fact checks. What then is Mahabharata’s official party line?
Kunti’s objections
The first spanner in Arjun’s works is thrown by Kunti. She raises the issue that social norms do not permit a younger brother (Arjun) to get married while an elder brother (Yudhisthira) is still unmarried. There’s even a term for it – it’s called Parivedan. In Kunti’s mind that’s an absolute no-no and she will have none of this Parivedan thinggy happening in her family. Those of you prone to whataboutery will be quick to point towards Bhim. He has already not only married (Hidimba) before his elder brother but even has had a child. Why did this issue not get raised by Kunti then? Kunti’s reason (some would say excuse) is that Bhima’s marriage to Hidimba was as per the laws of the jungle and cannot get applied to civilized society. Moreover, Hidimba had been told beforehand that she will not follow the Pandavas when they leave the forest so that’s that.
Arjuna gets the hint loud and clear. He tells Yudhisthira that he will withdraw and the eldest brother can have Draupadi as his wife. Wait (some of you would exclaim)! Is that even allowed? Is the swayamvar prize transferable? Then what is the point of being a winner? And what about the ‘Swayam (own choice)’ prefix of ‘Swayamvar’? Doesn't that count for something.
If you (or Arjuna for that matter) thought so, then you obviously didn’t read the fine print in the rules of the contest. Draupadi has been won as a prize (‘Veeryashulka’). She doesn’t have a choice in the matter. And she is now the property of the winner he can freely be ‘transferred’ to another person(s). This may prick the feminist in you, but that’s how things were back then.
Yudhisthira (being Dharmaraj and all that) makes some token noises of protest trying to evaluate whether this move of his will stand the rigour of examination on his highest principles of Dharma. He decides that it's all kosher and accepts. So now, Yudhisthira is in pole position.
Was the Parivedan factor the only thing in Kunti’s mind while objecting? Well not quite. There was another factor. When coming to Kampilya it would have been assumed that it would be Yudhisthira who would be contesting. In effect then Arjuna has defeated not only every other person who contested but also those who chose not to contest – viz Yudhisthira. So some sibling resentment could have crept in.
But what about king Drupad? As father of the bride does he not have a say in all this? What happens to his plans and objectives of revenge?
Now Drupad has learnt of the real identity of the winner - Arjuna. But Arjun is also the very same person who had taken him as prisoner to Drona. How can he allow his daughter to marry the very guy who had taken him prisoner on behalf of Dronacharya? He is about to dispatch his son Dhrishtadyumna to intercept the Pandavas before they leave Panchal.
Enter Krishna. He presents some very technical arguments to soften the edge out of Drupad’s potential animosity towards Arjun. He points out Arjuna’s action of making Drupad a POW was just as a gurudakshina. Drupad shouldn’t hold that against him. Also he says annihilation of the Hastinapur is not what Drupad has vowed. His vow is that he will avenge his insult and he stands a better chance if the Pandavas were on his side. On his side ok, but against whom? Hastinapur? Isn't the plan for the Pandavas to go back and claim Hastinapur? Or against Drona? Have the Pandavas accepted turning against their guru only to get married? Very confusing, nuanced arguments (and to my mind unconvincing) - but that's Krishna for you.
What about Draupadi herself? What possibly does she think of this unexpected transfer clause in the contract.
Draupadi obviously is attracted to Arjuna. Who wouldn't be. He does come across as a lady's man. Good looking, competent at his job and above all the victor in the contest. As the saying goes, everybody loves a winner.
And now she learns that he is not some forest sage but a prince. She probably couldn't believe her luck. With Krishna having handled her father's misgivings, what could now stop her from marrying her new found beau. By comparison Yudhisthira would have seemed a huge comedown in her eyes.
Well, Draupadi is nothing, if not a smart and intelligent lady. Later events in the Mahabharata will bring this out more clearly but for now let's stick to the polyandry bit.
She would have at some point of these wranglings, realised that if she marries Arjuna and not Yudhisthira, her progeny would not be first in line to the throne. Back in those days, this used to be a big consideration point for would be queens of Hastinapur. (Remember how Satyawati's father Dasraj - a mere fisherman - extracted a promise of lifelong celibacy from Devvrat (Bhishma), before he consented to giving her hand in marriage to his father Shantanu. This, just to ensure that Satyawati's son become the future king. Gandhari, too left no stone unturned to pave the way for Duryodhana becoming Yuvraj).
If now Draupadi is getting a chance to marry Yudhisthira and have a fighting chance at becoming the mother of the king of Hastinapur surely she wouldn't have pooh poohed the thought from her mind. Her head at least, if not her heart, would have told her to play along.
Fine, but how do the rest of the brothers come into the picture
So far, one can understand Arjuna and Yudhisthira vacillating with conflicting desires and thoughts. Bhim at least fought alongside Arjuna at the swayamvar when faced with the Kshatriya resistance. But, hello, how do Nakul and Sahdev squeeze into the frame.
This is where realpolitik comes back into the decision making.
Think about the situation carefully. While waiting for the rules of the contest to be announced all the brothers would have hoped that they will be able to win the hand of this most beautiful lady. Then to accept someone, whom they had seen as a ‘could be bride,’ as a bhabhi could rankle in their minds. I’m not saying it would have – but could have. And Kunti couldn’t have risked that at all. For the Pandavas to stand any chance of reclaiming their rights over Hastinapur, 100% unity between the brothers was critical. Yudhisthira being by far the most intelligent of the brothers realizes this too. Now that Arjuna has transferred the ‘rights’ over Draupadi to his eldest brother it is Yudhisthira who decides to share Draupadi with all his brothers.
In conclusion
So, you ladies and gentlemen, after reading the above do you not agree that the above case of Draupadi's polyandry, is far more convincing than the sanitised 'share-it-with-your-brothers' story we have been fed from childhood.
Mahabharata goes into the intricacies of the dilemmas, arguments, personal interests, and repercussions in great detail. Mahabharata is about the greyness of its characters - as much about their faults as their greatness. It teaches us to argue before accepting, to challenge conventions no matter how deep rooted. Mahabharata is what each one chooses take from it. Which is why it is the greatest of the Indian epics enriching the lives of countless generations.
Credits:
Mahabharata is not my story. Neither is it anyone else's story. Not even Ved Vyas's. It has been told, retold by hundreds of generations. Each generation and each reteller would have embroidered the base fabric of the tale in their own way coloured by the conventions of their own age. I have therefore felt justified and emboldened enough to present this case to you. However if it hurts your sentiments in any way, I want assure you that it was not intentional.
For this blog I have relied on my understanding of various retellings I have read in my life. The foremost amongst them is 'Mahasamar' by Padmashree Narendra Kohli. Others have included 'Yajnaseni: Pratibha Ray', The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, various books by Devdutt Pattanaik and others, besides discussions with many of my friends.
