#panchala

Part 1

Note: Everything in Mahabharata is open to interpretation, and it’s fine if you don’t agree with mine, just don’t be rude about it. 😊

“Pati-vridhhi kule mama” – Draupadi to Bhanumati.

This little shloka snippet is not from any version of the Mahabharata, but this little anecdote captures Draupadi so beautifully that when I read it in Dr. Bhaduri’s work, I couldn’t resist the urge to put it in here.

One day, when Draupadi had come to visit Hastinapura, Duryodhana’s wife taunted her about the number of husbands that she had. Draupadi hit back with this gem: “Pati-vriddhi kule mama” [Husbands are to be maximised in my family]. With this one retort Draupadi looped in not just their immediate elders like Kunti, Madri, Ambalika, Ambika or Satyavati, but also went further back, to Ganga, to Urvashi and to Tara: the founder/revivor/sustainer mothers of the Kaurava line, the single thing tying them all together apart from the lineage being the greater-than-one number of their partners, thoroughly traumatising Bhanumati in the process (we don’t talk about that, right?).

The fact that Draupadi is a great logical speaker and a fine orator often gets suppressed under the weight of ‘her revenge’. The point of the anecdote is not just to prove that she can be snarky, but rather to tie in to the fact that Draupadi is an extremely present and intelligent speaker who can, so to speak, ‘dish it right back’.

One of the first times that we, the readers, ever hear of Draupadi within the main story is when some random Brahmins recount the story of her birth for the five brothers on their way to Kampilya. “Vedi-madhyaat-sam-utpannaa padma-patra-nibh-ekshanaa, darshaniya-anavadya-angi su-kumaari manasvini,” they say [Emerged from the centre of the altar, [with] eyes like lotus petals, worth of being beholden, the one with a body that is incomparable, youthful [on the younger side], contemplative].

Now, I do not like the middle of that shloka, or the other subsequent comments the middle-aged Brahmins pass about the fifteen/sixteen-year-old [or freshly-born if we go with the magic] girl’s body; however, even these men cannot evade the last adjective. Even when they’d much rather be still talking about her physical attributes, Krishnaa-Draupadi’s personality, her introspective, ruminative, a-thousand-solid-thoughts-a-minute brain still wrings out a comment about itself.

Another name of Draupadi’s is Yojanagandha, or the one whose perfume can be perceived across a yojana (roughly 3.6 km).

Interestingly, though this is most probably a stretch, look at this excerpt: “neel-o-tpala-samo gandho yasyaah kroshaat pravaayati”. This refers exactly to the name above, translating to “[Her] Fragrance, like the blue lotus, flows over multiple kroshas (1.8 km)”.  Now, blue lotus, most popularly, is associated with Saraswati, specifically Neela-Saraswati or the Ugra-Saraswati. This form of Saraswati still propagated knowledge, but also has a certain edge, invoked primarily in the study of Tantra. Bhoomi, the goddess, is also often shown holding a blue lotus.

Of course, the on-the-nose interpretation is still tied to the epithet of ‘manasvini’, and the fact that Draupadi, the new Panchala princess, is already renowned in her kingdom, both for her beauty and her dark complexion [hence, ‘blue’ lotus]. However, narratively, a very solid indication is presented (albeit this could just also be a case of the proverbial question of why did the author say the curtains were blue), linking Draupadi, in a single metaphor, to extensive knowledge, to defensive violence and to land [To note: I am not claiming any avatarhood here, just pointing out a probable tongue-in-cheek foreshadowing].

Biologically, the twins seem to be someone in connection to the rishis Yaaja and Upayaaja, and Drupada’s wife makes them promise that the twins would only consider her as their mother. However, there could be any number of places they could’ve actually originated from.

Now, coming to her swayamvara: this was not really a swayamvara; it was a veerya-shulka with a PR spin. My guess is that, if Drupada were to come out and say this is a veerya-shulka, then Karna [or other undesirable people from the Panchala perspective] would have more of a solid ground for just storming the ceremony and kidnapping Draupadi. However, by pretending that this is a swayamvara, Drupada can control the participants (somewhat) and Draupadi has a say.

Dhrishtadyumna starts off the competition by listing the family’s preferences for the future-husband of their one-and-only princess: “roopeṇa veeryeṇa kulena chaiva; dharmeṇa chaivaapi ca yauvanena” ([Great in] beauty, in valour, in lineage, in a sense of duty, and more importantly, in age [reasonably young]). The list goes on for a while there, and reads almost like a terms and conditions page we all sign without actually reading. The simile is not really off-base, and this is, in fact, a pre-declared disclaimer that the Panchala royal family give, in case they wish to reject a successful participant later.

We know that Drupada was already looking for Arjuna, having chosen him as the desired husband for his daughter, and so he wanted to have enough loopholes in the competition rules so as to avoid any other people who might succeed in the initial challenge. Interestingly, there is no fish involved in this competition. It is only described as a suspended bhrami-yantra, and the meena-chakshu predicate is added on by Kashiram Das in his adaptation.

When Krishnaa-Draupadi enters the swayamvara sabha, on the sixteenth day of the overall festival, a milky-white garland in her hand, Vyasa describes her as: aapluta-angi su-vasana sarva-abharana-bhooshita [slightly overwhelmed, dressed in a fine dress and all forms of jewellery].

Skipping ahead a little bit, when most of the kings have tried to lift the heavy bow and have failed miserably, Karna rises to try. Dhrishtadyumna, by this point, has already given her a hint about both Karna and his overlords. Vyasa mentions that the Pandavas had already mentally written Draupadi off when Karna had risen. Seeing that: “Drishtvaah tu tam Draupadi vaakyam-uchhai-r-jagaad naaham varayaami sootam” [Seeing him, Draupadi declared loudly to the sabha, I will not marry the soota].

This is a contentious shloka, to the point that most editions have just removed it to avoid the trouble [still can be found in the Bangabasi edition]. However, it is quite an interesting position to put Draupadi in.

Obviously, the first point is the casteism of it. None of the main characters (including Karna) is free of this evil. Now, to make it more interesting, I already blabbed a lot about Drupada and Dhrishtadyumna silently pushing for this thing. They are, in my opinion, at least somewhat hiding behind Draupadi, forcing her to be the bad guy here, in public. Because, think about it, if any of the men in the Panchala royal family had stopped Karna, wouldn’t there be a war immediately? But only because this is a swayamvara, and it is the bride that is raising the objection, Karna has to bite the bullet, and we are able to avoid the Great War of the Grooms (for about 15-20 minutes, but that’s a different issue). To note, I am not letting Draupadi off the hook; I am just arguing that her words might not have come 100% from her and no one else, and I’m pretty sure Drupada had something to do with this. Apart from this, this remains also just a glimpse of the ‘manasvini’ that we heard about earlier.

I wonder if Drupada would have made Draupadi say this instead of another man in her family if he knew how much this one sentence was going to haunt his daughter in the future. Again, not saying Draupadi deserved it, squarely because no one deserves ‘it’, but in the story, this is the action whose reaction we see in Karna’s vitriol all those years later.

When Arjuna is successful, we again see a different face of this woman: ‘vinaapi haasam hasateeva kanya’ [without smiling, the girl smiles], and ‘madaa-drite-pi sthalateeva bhavaiha, vaacha vina vyaharateeva drishtya’ [she stumbles as if she were drunk, her drunken [on Arjuna, not alcohol] eyes speak without her lips moving].

After the battle with the kings is won, Arjuna and Bheema take Draupadi to the cottage of the potter, where Kunti is worried sick. A description of their journey is recorded by Dhrishtdyumna later: “Krishnaa pra-grihya-ajinam-anvayaattam, naagam yatha naaga-vadhuh pra-hrishta” [Holding on to the end of his ajina dress, Krishnaa followed him, just like an elephant-bride happily follows her elephant; note: naaga and hasti are synonyms in this version of Sanskrit, signifying both ‘snake’ and ‘elephant’; here the meaning of elephant has been used].

Although, herein lies a question. Kunti knew her sons went to see the swayamvara, but why she didn’t go with them is anybody’s guess. Also, Vyasa, previously, already told Kunti in private that Draupadi is to be married to all five brothers, and I do not think Kunti would be callous enough to forget an instruction like that! Although that one scene could be a later addition, it does add a different flavour to the drama at this point.

Then Arjun makes that fated joke, and Kunti replies: “Sa tvana-vekshya putrou, provaacha bhunkteti sametya sarveh!” [Whatever you brought, sons, devour it all together!] The previous paragraph does raise the question, no, whether Kunti knew what she was saying? On the surface, she didn’t have a clue, obviously, and she definitely regretted saying ‘devour’! Also, when Kunti then asks Yudhishthira to give a solution, she is definitely worried about the dharma of it all, but in a ray of sunshine, is also equally worried that the newly-arrived Panchali must not be put in an uncomfortable situation due to her careless words.

Yudhishthira, to his credit, immediately rules in favour of Arjuna. However, Arjuna, in a knee-jerk reaction, refuses to marry before his elders (buddy, I love you, but this is a thing you usually touch base on before you get engaged). While they are ping-ponging this decision back-and-forth, Draupadi is quite enjoying seeing all five grown men squirm- “drishtvaam te tatra pashyanteem sarve Krishnaam yashasvineem” [Then the illustrious Krishnaa looked at all of them]. She doesn’t utter a single word during this entire negotiation, but that is predominantly because she doesn’t need to, she is sort of liking it.

The next morning, when Drupada invited the lot of them to come to the palace, Draupadi was already allowed to shift into the same palace as her future husbands. Drupada arranges this so she can get acquainted with her new family with some level of privacy. After leaving them alone for a week, Drupada calls Kunti and Yudhishthira to his private sabha to fix the date of Arjuna and Draupadi’s marriage. This is when Yudhishthira decides to drop the bombshell. Apparently, no one else had bothered to inform the bride’s family about the final decision.

Yudhishthira starts with the fact that he and Bheema aren’t married yet (Hidimba doesn’t count, obviously), and Drupada declares that he is happy to find them a couple of nice girls, or have Draupadi marry Yudhishthira and then find Arjuna and Bheema a couple of nice girls. He is quite angry (understandable, after the radio silence for a week) when he hears about the Pandava Solution, and then Yudhishthira makes him angrier: “Esha na samayo Rajan, ratna-sya saha bhojanam” [In these times of the world, King, a gem [of a woman] must be devoured together]. (Darling let your mummy talk, and you…just…finger-on-lips please. Look, I understand eroticism, and the lady’s most probably on board, but must you say it like that to her father? He might have heart issues, you know)

Yudhishthira, then, once Vyasa arrives to back him up, brings up several examples of polyamorous women, let’s be clear, not to be progressive in general, but more so to win that argument. Also, ‘sookshmoh dharmoh maharaja’ [Dharma is a very fine/delicate concept, King]. This one dialogue had turned Draupadi’s life upside down more than once! Vyasa, after some more similarly questionable food-related comments (just let the women talk, Sir, and don’t ruin food for me), says that a woman at least desiring multiple partners, given the men too do the same, is simply ‘dharma-ir-shchasha sanaatanah’ [this is the traditional dharma]. Then, after the famous story about the five imprisoned Indras and a distraught Swarga-Lakshmi, Vyasa finally manages to convince Drupada, (this part’s only there to stuff the polyamory into a socially accepted single-husband structure).

Hence, the five brothers, canonically, like five well-behaved, and well-built bulls, followed Dhaumya, their cowherd, onto the wedding altar, where they each married Draupadi, on five consecutive days.

After this, we see Kunti being a delightful mother-in-law, who relinquishes her control of the household immediately and reiterates her trust in Draupadi by giving her the job of coronating the Pandavas as Emperor(s) in Kurujangala (the general area of Hastinapura) by her own authority as the Empress.

When the Pandavas then return to Hastinapura, now strengthened by the alliances of Drupada and Krishna, they are welcomed by, interestingly, Duryodhana’s wife, followed then by a mildly jealous and apprehensive Gandhari. Too bad, the men were too angry to show their faces. Also, interestingly, now, Gandhari orders Vidura to take Kunti and Draupadi to Pandu’s old room, and clean that up for them to stay in, when the last time they were here, they were shunted off to some spiderwebbed corner of the palace, still on Gandhari’s watch!

Then, after some time, Dhritarashtra again banishes them to Khandava, where Krishna finally, properly catches up to them, and personally helps them measure out the land and start building the city (leveraging his experience from Dwarka, no doubt) before returning for some time. There, Narada arrived to help them negotiate the one-year-per-brother rule for living with Draupadi. Vyasa describes the situation as “gaja-ir-yukta anya-ichhetyum ashakya, vabhoova parama-preeta naaga-ir-eeva saraswati” [Draupadi became a forest with many lakes where each of her elephants/husbands enjoyed a swim and kept other animals away, and she became an ecstatic forest providing shade to all five of them].

Then, of course, Arjuna disappears for twelve years, leaving Draupadi to fume at the absurdity of the entire situation. And then, he returns with Krishna’s sister, now married and ready to share her household. When Arjuna returns to Indraprastha, he goes straight to Draupadi, who promptly directs him to return to his ‘newer-model’ and stay there, among other things. So, Arjun does exactly that.

Interestingly, it is his idea to dress up Subhadra as a gopa woman and send her in to mollify Draupadi instead. It works, only somewhat. Draupadi is impressed with the gesture, but she is still angry. She says to Subhadra, “Nihsapatno-stu te pati.” This on-the-face translates to ‘may your husband not have any enemies’. However, sapatn[o/i] also means co-wife (‘sautan/shotin’).

Dr. Bhaduri interprets this as: ‘may you have no co-wives’, by which Draupadi still keeps Arjuna on the rack, as an extension of her previous comment.

I also like the other reading, which is: ‘may your husband have no co-husbands’: a covert expression of how tired she was starting to get of her husbands’ antics and their rapid-fire marriages.

Krishna also arrives shortly (primarily for damage control with Draupadi, I imagine), but also, with huge military help, which he practically ‘launders’ into the Pandava artillery disguised as wedding presents (he did the same thing during Draupadi’s marriage), since Balarama wouldn’t let him help them like this otherwise (Rohini is Shantanu’s brother Bahlika’s daughter/granddaughter, so that’s where his neutrality mainly comes from). This is also the time when Krishna is properly promoted from ‘weird generous acquaintance’ to ‘best friend forever’ in Draupadi’s books.

Right before Khandava is burned, we see Draupadi enjoying a nice picnic with Krishna, Arjuna and Subhadra, where she throws her own jewellery and even clothes at the entertainers who were performing for them. We see that Draupadi is 110% comfortable doing this in front of Krishna, most probably because she (and the other male members of her family) knows that Krishna is never ever going to look at her that way.

From here itself, we see Draupadi take a greater-than-average interest in politics, where Vyasa comments that by killing Jarasandha, Bheema and Arjuna have made her very happy. It seems that she is very much actively involved in at least the planning part of the conquest step of the rajasuya.

Again, if we have to pass rajasuya, we need to at least touch upon the infamous ‘andhe-ka-putra’ mess. Just to clarify, that did not happen. Draupadi didn’t laugh. In fact, she wasn’t even in the same building when Duryodhana fell into that indoor pond. That was all Bheema, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, who laughed at him. The specific dialogue comes from a Telugu play that B. R. Chopra saw, then put in his show, and created a permanent additional headache for poor Draupadi. In the text, however, Duryodhana straight-up lies about Draupadi laughing at him (this being the inspiration for the play to make it true) when he is pitching a fit to his father.

I also have to blame Yudhishthira a bit for what happened next. This dude decides to prank his homicidal cousins at the worst possible time, and with the worst possible scenario. Why on earth would anyone think that Duryodhana being in charge of receiving the gifts meant for the Pandavas, Dushhasana in charge of food and drinks, Ashwatthama in charge of saying hello to everyone and Jayadratha in charge of choreographing the support staff is remotely a good idea, on any front. Did he want his guests to have the worst possible time?

Then, Shakuni gaslights Dhritarashtra into thinking that he has neglected Duryodhana, and he convinces Duryodhana to host the infamous dice game. Now, the game itself is very interesting. It seems from Shakuni’s words that it was almost expected that one would cheat in this, to the point that Shakuni classifies a certain speed of counting and a talent for adding/removing points as a necessary skill rather than any form of cheating. Yudhishthira doesn’t agree. Shakuni pretty much tells the prince that he is going to cheat, and even the method he is going to use, confident that Yudhishthira can in no way match up to this particular ‘skill’ and will lose.

Interestingly, Yudhishthira very much knows that he is walking into a trap. He is naïve, not unintelligent. Then, one after the other, he stakes all his brothers, and then himself. We see that he has genuinely forgotten about Draupadi (and hence didn’t stake her organically, without Shakuni’s prodding), since she isn’t in the sabha yet.

Then Yudhishthira, almost feverishly, starts describing Draupadi. I won’t go into the overtly physical detail that he gives. Interestingly, this is one of the few complete physical descriptions of Draupadi, and it seems very intentional to have this be publicised by Yudhishthira, of all people, especially in the situation that he did. Even if the next events did not happen, I would still hold this speech against him.

Then, Duryodhana asks Vidura to go fetch Draupadi, so she may clean their quarters with a broom. This seems also a cruel mockery on Duryodhana’s part, to begin the insult of Draupadi with the one man who was trying to shield her. Then, when Vidura, instead of swallowing the insult, starts throwing legal jargon and moral fables at him, Duryodhana turns and asks the soota Praatikaami to go fetch her instead.

Draupadi, the ever-present debater, understands in a second, from Praatikaami’s summarisation, and tells him to go ask the Pandavas if Yudhishthira had already lost himself, then who gave him the right to stake Draupadi, who would then be an independent woman (or at least belong to her father, pardon me for being crude about it).

Yushishthira doesn’t answer Praatikaami, and instead sends a separate messenger to beg Draupadi to tie her dress lower than usual, cry a little, come to the sabha, and beg (read: argue legally) on their behalf.

Finally, Duryodhana ordered Dushhasana to bring her instead. To save herself, Draupadi ran towards Dhritarashtra’s bedrooms, where his other wives were (also, this is where we learn he did have other wives, even besides Gandhari and Yuyutsu’s mum). However, none of those women helped her, and Gandhar most probably was not there at the time. Dushhasana catches up to her there and pulls her to the sabha by her braided hair: “Dushhasano naatha-vatim anaatha-vat, chak-arsha vayuh kadalimivaartaam” [Dushhasana pulled the woman, who had husbands, as though she had no protectors, just like the wind bends a soft banana tree].

When she reaches the sabha, the first thing she does is glare at her husbands with an intensity that sends a chill down their spines. Then, she continues speaking (yes, she never stopped arguing her point).

Now, Karna has had our sympathy through the entire story so far, but here, personally, he slips so far that it is unrecoverable, no matter how many (not many) good things he accomplishes in the story after this point. You sort of expect it from the Kaurava brothers, but you do not expect it from Karna, and it does come almost out of nowhere, that Karna, too, is laughing his head off, while Draupadi is begging to be let go. Yes, she insulted him before, but this is hardly an acceptable response. Nor are the words he uses to describe Draupadi next.

Draupadi argues that since Yudhishthira has lost himself, she is an independent woman, and so her now-legally-ex-husband could not have staked her. Vidura agrees with this and is, in fact, the first to argue that point, even before Draupadi gets involved. However, Bheeshma gets in the middle and complicates the matter by bringing up a tradition, where a wife is but half of her husband, and according to the old pitamaha, when Yudhishthira lost himself, he lost Draupadi to the Kauravas automatically, and hence the last bet isn’t legal. Also, since Yudhishthira didn’t protest against himself while placing the last bet, Bheeshma isn’t too sure what he should say (???). However, this doesn’t help Draupadi whatsoever. Good job, grandpa, you just muddied the pool nice and thorough and hurt her defence in the process!

Draupadi, however, refuses to give up, and argues further that everyone knows that Yudhishthira is a novice in this game, so how come the elders even allowed him to play against Shakuni? Here, Dushhasana tries to start pulling her garments again, Bheema shouts at Yudhishthira and Arjuna stops him. Vikarna, becoming the opposing force to Karna as the stand-in “Virudhha-Karna”, stands with Draupadi, but is silenced by Karna himself. He is determined to, today, extract a twisted revenge for the insult in her swayamvara all those years ago.

Then finally, when Dushhasana pulls open her dress, she calls out to Krishna (not in every edition), and Dharma is the one who comes to her rescue (no harm in conflating the two, really, you do you <3): “Tatastu Dharmo-ntarito mahaatma, samaavrinod vividh-air-vastra poogaiha” [Then Dharma, the great soul, transformed himself and wrapped her in various clothes]. A non-magic explanation could be that all the kings who were present in the sabha finally had enough of this and threw their own dresses for Draupadi to catch and cover herself with. This is when Bheema vows to kill Dushhasana.

After this, Draupadi sort of regains her composure and very sarcastically says, “I failed to follow proper procedure and convey my regards to the elders, but only because I was a little preoccupied with the impolite prince. I am the daughter of Drupada, the sister of Dhrishtadyumna, the daughter-in-law of Pandu, and the sakha [note it, not sakhi] of Krishna. I am also the lawfully wedded wife, of the same caste, of the kshatriya Yudhishthira. So, if you could kindly wrap up this drama and fast-track the decision of whether I am a slave or not, then we can all get on with our day.”

Then a long legal debate follows, between primarily Bheeshma, Duryodhana, Karna and Draupadi, interspersed with the other vows. It results in Dhritarashtra’s fears finally catching up with him, and he therefore releases the Pandavas, Draupadi and their wealth. Seeing the sabha’s opinion slowly turn against them, Karna is the first one to give up: “Panchali Pandu-putraanaam nauresha paara-gaa-bhavet, stri gatih Pandu-putraanaam ityu-vaacha su-dur-manah” [Panchali dragged the Pandavas ashore on a boat; at last, a woman is what saved the great Pandavas].

Then, they leave but are called back from only a little distance. Then they lose again and are sent to the forests. They also get a magic plate which is ever-filling until Draupadi eats, which basically amounts to the fact that now Draupadi is not only stuck in the forest in the middle of nowhere, she is stuck also cooking for the entire forest in the middle of nowhere.

This is when Dhrishtadyumna, Krishna, Dhrishtaketu and other allied Kings catch up to them. Krishnaa-Draupadi, going against some decorum, demands an answer from Krishna as to why he wasn’t in Hastinapura to save them. For one thing, she describes her ordeals with no sugarcoating, with all the gory details, which is relatively rare for women in literature, and we love her for it! If she has to live through it, the men can at least hear her out without complaining.

In her words, Draupadi enumerates several legal points, ranging from a failure on Dhritarashtra’s part in controlling his administration to the various torture Bheema specifically has had to put up with over the years. Practically, unfortunately, she knows most of these kings will not lift a finger to help her, but she hopes at least they’ll stand with her husbands (who she also blames, but to a lesser degree) on the question of inheritance: na bhraataro na cha pita naiva tvam Madhusoodana [I don’t have a brother, nor a father, and not even you, Madhusoodana!], is where her speech culminates.

Draupadi corners Krishna and declares that he has four reasons for why he is obligated to protect her, even if her husbands don’t: (1) sambandhaat: she is his aunt’s daughter-in-law, (2) gauravaat: she is born from the yajna fire and hence is a special person, (3) sakhyaat: she is Krishna’s personal friend and hence has a special right to his care, outside of her familial contact, and (4) prabhutvena: Krishna is powerful. The 3rd should speak to us the most about their relationship.

Krishna assures her, and they all return. Her five children go to Panchala with Dhrishtadyumna, Krishna takes Subhadra and Abhimanyu to Dwarka, and Dhrishtaketu takes Karenumati to the city of Shuktimati in Chedi. Yudhishthira’s charioteer Indrasena also goes to Dwarika with the bulk of their remaining support staff and Draupadi’s jewellery before rejoining them later. After this, the Pandavas retreat northward from Kamyaka-vana (Thanesar) into Dwaita-vana (Deoband, Saharanpur). There, several Brahmins (read: political theorists) meet the Pandavas (political implementors), and they begin planning their strategy of recovery.

Meanwhile, the ‘priyaa cha darshaneeyaa cha panditaa cha pati-vrataa’ [Beloved, worthy of being beholden, the expert advisor, dedicated to the well-being of her husbands] Draupadi is fuming. She understands the theory well enough, but she is thirsty for some action. Something tangible she can see with her own eyes. The more frustrated she becomes, the more she takes it out on her husbands. She points out the various differences in their lifestyle, imploring her oldest husband to do something productive.

Draupadi and Yudhishthira, both skilled debaters and both near-identically entrenched in their contemporary political theory, have a long conversation, contrasting the theories of Yudhishthira’s kshama/anrishangsata [forgiveness/non-cruelty, Yaudhishthiri-neeti] and Draupadi’s utthana/udyoga/chairavati [standing up/initiative/movement, Vaarhaspatya-neeti]. Finally, when Draupadi blames God for not intervening, and therefore implicitly supporting Duryodhana’s atrocities, or not existing at all, Yudhishthira is taken aback. He momentarily praises Draupadi, accepting his defeat, but then falls back to patriarchy and chides his wife for making ‘atheistic’ points- ‘naastikyantu prabhaashase’ and implores her to be less reliant on her own intelligence.

She then serenades him in adjectives such as “alakshmi”, “durbudhhi”, “kleeva” (don’t like this), “unmaada” and “I should’ve just picked one of you”. Now, the last one, yes, she said that, but it was in terrible anger, and there is no reason to assume based on this alone that she regretted marrying all of them. After the dyuta sabha, their equations changed obviously, but Draupadi’s natural propensity for polyamory was never the point in question.

Then Vyasa advises Arjuna to seek more advanced weaponry, and we see a glimpse of Draupadi and Arjuna’s rather silent relationship. Draupadi obviously uses “we” for everything and says, “We will not be happy even a single second without you.”, “We shall talk about you day and night!” And, “May no one else be cursed with a kshatriya birth, one that takes a man away from his family!”

In the 2025 web series Kurukshetra, Shikhandi wasn't reborn. With the help of powerful ancient magic, he was made. Tantrik hrt ftw ig.

Amba transforms into a man, and Shikhandi weeps bitter tears at Drupad's death, celebrates with Dhrishtadyumna and does on the upapandavas--just like he did when he was born as Drupad's son. But this is the story of a bloody battle, and it doesn't have the time or cgi or will to explain how Shikhandi somehow becomes a part of Drupad's brood, how his place is as unquestioned as Drupad's children.

Kritvi/Keerti is the daughter of Peevari and Shuka, and a granddaughter of Vyasa.

Although her association as a pitri-kanya implies that she might have been an adopted child, in keeping up with her mother's personal experience and a probable desire to continue the tradition.

She is the wife of the Anuha/Nipa/Gau. She is the mother of Brahmadatta, a famous king of Panchala.

No detail about her has been recorded in Mahabharata, probably because she was able to lead a rare uneventful life (except for her sister-in-law and the drama on that side of the family).

We do not know which kingdom she comes from. However, in the Indonesian version she is noted as Kamaroopa's King Bhagadatta's (Narakasura's son's) daughter Danowati (Dhanamati), the twin sister of Banowati (Bhanumati), who is the wife of Duryodhana. In this story, she is rescued from Duryodhana's clutches by Dhrishtadyumna. However, in context with Bhanumati, she could also be the princess of Kalinga.

Her sons are Kshatradharma, Kshatravarma, Kshatranjaya, and Dhrishtaketu. They are all unfortunately killed in the battle of Kurukshetra.

Her real name is unfortunately not recorded in the epic. She is conventionally referred to as Prishati, though her marital name can also be written as Draupadini/Paarshatini.

When Shikhandi is born as a girl to her, she lies to the public, with only her husband in confidence, that she has given birth to a boy. She hides the secret all the way up until it comes out, rather dramatically, after Shikhandi is married to the princess of Dasarna.

She is late to the alter of the yajna that Drupada performs in order to get a son that would slay Drona, and the twins Dhrishtadyumna and Draupadi 'pop out of the fire' itself. She requests Yaaja, the ritwika of the yajna, to issue a mandate that the twins must address her as their mother thereafter.

She is the oldest daughter of a King of Kashi, who alongside her younger sisters Ambika and Ambalika, is forcefully kidnapped from a swayamvara arranged by her father by Bheeshma after the other participant kings make fun of him.

Later, once they reach Hastinapura, Amba tells Bheeshma, in front of his ministers, that she is in love with the king of Shalva, and with the permission of her father would have chosen him if Bheeshma had not messed up her plans. Slightly offended, but still polite, Satyavati and Bheeshma let her go.

Shalva, however, rejects her now, citing Bheeshma's assumed wrong intentions.

Angered, Amba seeks refuge with some rishis, and as fate would have it, she runs into her now-hermit maternal grandfather Srinjaya-Hotravahana. He, along with Parashurama and his disciple Akritavrana, hatch a plan to kill Bheeshma in a duel.

Bheeshma however defeats Parashurama after seven days of battle, and Amba therefore goes away to perform harsher tapasya in the hope of achieving enough merit to kill Bheeshma. Here, Ganga curses her to become a seasonal river infested with crocodiles, but Amba continues on her path, unbothered.

Finally, Shiva appears to her and gives assurance that she would be reborn in the Panchala royal family and that she would eventually become a man, and would retain this feeling of revenge.

This is a selective summary of Dr. N. P. Bhaduri's 'Katha Amrita Saman' series, covering only the points that he made with regards to Panchala. Now, because Shikhandi is an integral point to that story, and the professor does note some controversial streams of explanation in relation with his story, I just want to make it clear, that this is just a summary of his work. I personally both agree and disagree with the different parts of his commentary.

Special thanks to @chahaa-piun-ja, who wanted to read the books, and gave me the chance to comb through it once again! ❤️

Parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

After the horrible Dyuta sabha is finished, after a few days actually Krishna, Dhrishtadyumna and Dhrishtaketu (Shishupala’s son and Karenumati’s brother) all reach kamyaka vana, which is situated on Saraswati’s banks (Thanesar), pretty close to Kurukshetra in fact.

Krishna takes Subhadra, Abhimanyu and Indrasena (Yudhishthira’s charioteer and emergency treasurer), and Dhrishtadyumna takes the five upa-Pandavas.

In one of the subsequent arguments with Yudhishthira, Draupadi reveals that she learned the intricacies of the Varhaspat-neeti, one of their constitutions, by sitting with Drupada as the latter breathed down the necks of Dhrishtadyumna and his shastra teacher (why are you micromanaging your near-adult kid, man? But, thanks to that I guess Draupadi got to learn cool stuff, so it’s a win-win I guess).

Somewhere in the middle of the 12-year forest-vasa, the upa-pandavas journey on foot, travelling, like their fathers all the way from Kaampilya to Dwarka. Apparently, Dhrishtadyumna tried to ‘bribe’ them with luxury and relaxation, but they wanted to experience life, and preferred Krishna’s ‘stricter’ training regimens to Drupada and Dhrishtadyumna’s ‘babying’. Krishna publicly praises Draupadi’s upbringing for this resilience. Despite this, Krishna does add in the end of his monologue, that despite stringent trainings under Abhimanyu, Pradyumna and Anirudhha (what’s the timeline, honestly?), Krishna personally makes sure that all luxuries physically available in Dwarka are afforded to her children.

Something slightly unrelated I’d like to point out here: Yudhishthira’s base philosophy. Anrishangsata. Non-cruelty. This concept is a superset, containing the concept of ahimsa or non-violence within itself. Ahimsa obviously is the denigration of when you physically hurt/k*ll someone. Anrishangsata takes it one step further and denounces all forms of cruelty, even the subtle, emotional and subconscious: for example, if you have a piece of cake you’re eating, and there’s another person in the room without another piece, and you continue to eat it without offering to share, you are being emotionally cruel and therefore, nrishangsa. This is extended to things like insincere charity: like when you donate old clothes, with the subconscious thought that these clothes are no longer worthy of you, but you are giving away the clothes to someone ‘less-fortunate’, who you think is inherently, socially ‘lower’ than you. Or even if you just donate food that you personally would not eat- low quality, on the verge of spoiling etc. Yudhishthira would not approve!

This is a selective summary of Dr. N. P. Bhaduri's 'Katha Amrita Saman' series, covering only the points that he made with regards to Panchala. Now, because Shikhandi is an integral point to that story, and the professor does note some controversial streams of explanation in relation with his story, I just want to make it clear, that this is just a summary of his work. I personally both agree and disagree with the different parts of his commentary.

This portion is from the information in the first book in series. I will eventually, some day, get through the other six in the series (and eight if it gets published in the meantime and I can find a copy).

Special thanks to @chahaa-piun-ja, who wanted to read the books, and gave me the chance to comb through it once again! ❤️

Parts: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Chandra -> Budha -> Pururava -> Ayu -> Nahusha -> Yayati -> Puru -> … -> Ilina -> Dushyanta -> Bharata -> Bhumanyu Bharadwaj -> Suhotra -> Hasti -> Ajamidha -> Neela (Neelini’s son) -> … -> Haryashva -> {Mudgala, Srinjaya, Vrihadishu, Yaveenara, Krimilashva(/Kapila/Kampilya)}

These five children of the Paurava dynasty leave their home turf of Hastinapura, and win over 5 small kingdoms in the general UP area (known earlier as Kribi) which came together to form the nascent kingdom, Panchala.

The first king Mudgala, after the unification, becomes a brahmin, and his line becomes known as the Maudgalya brahmins. In this family is later born rishi Sharadvaana and his twins Kripa and Kripi- the OG Pandavas’ and Kauravas’ first guru…and Drona’s wife.

Panchala’s lineage is carried forth in Srinjaya’s line. Srinjaya -> Chyavana Pijavana -> Sudasa -> Sahadeva -> Somaka -> Jantu -> ... -> Prishata -> Drupada -> {Shikhandi, Dhrishtadyumna, Draupadi, Satyajit etc.}.

Srinjaya’s capital was in Ahichhatra (again, the naga connection).

The Panchalas had civil strife for a long time, one example centered around a king (just tribe leader?) called Sthapati who is dethroned by the Srinjaya clan, and later helped by the Kaurava King Bahlika (Shantanu’s older brother) in an attempt to destabilize Panchala and install a puppet king.

The OG Srinjaya’s two daughters Vahyaka and Upavahyaka were married to Krishna’s ancestor, the Yadava King Saatvata’s second son Bhajamana (also Vrishni’s brother), in an attempt to offset the growing Kuru influence, counting on the Yadava-Haihaya alliance (however weak) to provide some backup.

 On the other side, Ajamidha’s youngest wife Dhoomini’s son is Riksha. Hence, Ajamidha -> Riksha -> Samvarana -> Kuru.

During Samvarana’s rule, Sudasa attacked Hastinapura when the former was busy with his new wife Tapati, and Samvarana had to flee to the forests with his family.

Many years later, Samvarana and his son Kuru, under the guidance of his friend Vashishtha (who also helped him marry Tapati), and the help of Mathura’s Yadavas, Gandhara's Druhyus, Anava-Ushinara Shibis, and Satna’s Turvasus, he is able to win back Hastinapura (interestingly all 5 lineages descending from Yayati come together to fight this offshoot Panchala line).

Many texts also note that near the end of his rule, Sudasa became an unkind dictator who tormented his subjects, and hence probably faced some military mutiny leading to his eventual defeat.

Somaka was left defeated and humiliated with only a fraction of his family’s kingdom and no respect internationally.

Somaka apparently has one hundred wives, and only 1 son Jantu. Because of this awkward distribution, all 100 queens equally spoiled this kid, and once when they all started crying as if someone had died, when the child was bit by an ant. Irritated by this, Somaka apparently m*rders the child, and sacrifices him in a yajna, from which he is able to obtain 100 sons. Jantu himself is apparently reborn too.

However, Harivansha, claims that while Jantu was undoubtedly Somaka’s oldest son, the kingdom is passed on to Prishata (who we now recognize, as Drupada’s father). However, researchers hold that there might have been a lapse in documentation, and Prishata is in fact a descendant of Jantu, not his brother. After Kuru, even the lineage at Hastinapura suffers a similar lapse, as the next noteble king we see is Dilipa (Pratipa’s father, Shantanu’s grandfather), who is seemingly around Prishata's generation.

Prishata’s importance lies in the sole fact that he is able to hold his own on an international stage, and returns Panchala to some of its former glory.

When Amba is ‘thrown out’ (her words) and by both Bheeshma and Shalva, she finds temporary refuge in rishi Shaikhavatya’s ashram.

There she meets her maternal grandfather, the (still)King Hotravahana. The very next day, Akritavrana and his guru Parashurama to arrive there (surprisingly fast), to plan an ambush on Bheeshma. Amba, having developed some sort of a crush on Bheeshma, here tries to actually shield him, by explaining the entire story and Bheeshma’s part in it. However, the control seems to have moved to Hotravahana, who steamrolls his granddaughter, having finally found a ‘legitimate’ reason to go after the Kauravas, after their brutal insult in the last big conflict.

Atkritavrana and Hotravahana keep pressuring Amba, until, in front of Parashurama, she finally throws Bheeshma under the bus (aeons later Bheeshma is still salty about this, since he thinks Amba should’ve held her ground and gone after Shalva instead). Bheeshma later confesses to both Vyasa and Narada to having spread out a whole, paranoid network of spies just to keep track of Amba (and later Shikhandi), in case she tried anything else.

Amba goes on to tell some rishis, that because of Bheeshma’s actions she is ‘neither a man nor a woman’. Then Amba goes on to receive a boon from Shiva to ‘become a man’, and at the same time Drupada too receives a boon to be able to have a daughter who will become a son.

Vyasa says that after Amba k*lling herself, when Drupada’s wife had a child, she lied to everyone saying that the daughter she had was actually a son, and Drupada happily went along with it, naming the child Shikhandi. Outside the family, only Bheeshma knew that she was a girl, because of his spies. Drupada not only orchestrates a marriage for this son/daughter of his, but he also sends Shikhandi to Drona (?) to learn martial skills.

It is estimated that Hotravahana, after Bheeshma-Parashurama’s fight took Amba to Panchala, and gave her his nephew (?) Drupada, and the ‘androgynous’ nature of Shikhandi was an intentional misdirection by Amba and Drupada (who probably adopted her).