Did Draupadi really love arjun more?[DT Note Page 22] - Page 24

Arjun's reaction on seeing Subhadra is described thus. Drishtvaiva. Taamarjunasya kandarpamajayata. As soon as Arjuna beheld her, he was possessed by the god of desire. Krishna teased him. Vanecharasya. Kimidam Kamenalosyate manah.can the heart of a forest dweller agitated by the god of desire? Arjun's confession. Goes thus.vasudeva's daughter and vaasudeva's sister,extremely beautiful whom shall she not fascinate? On the advice of Krishna ,Arjun get's. Ready to abduct her prior to which he seeks permission from Yudhishtir for that act, When Arjun finally gets into action,he seizes subhadra's by force and keeping her in his chariot,he starts for Indraprasth,Tatah sa purushavyaghrah...suchismitaam... Here subhadra is described as the girl who is smiling or the girl of sweet smiles. If we observe the whole thing, it is crystal clear that Arjun is besotted by Subhadra which he readily admits.Some feel that it is a forceful abduction done without subhadra's approval.But master poet Ved Vyasa removes any such confusion by using a single word suchismitaam..Subhadra's positive reaction is indicated by her smile.I don't think subhadra is unaware of her cousin,Her brother's dear friend and great warriorArjun.Telugu mahabharat written by nannya ,Tikkana and errana gives a good reasoning for the elopement of Subhadra with Arjun.They say that prominent Yadav Garg sang praises of Arjun's valour and beauty in Dwarakanagar and subhadra is smitten by that.So both are equally passionate towards each other. Otherwise it won't be difficult for the Yadava princess to indicate her displeasure. One more point to be noted. The abduction happened only after Yudhi gave his consent.No such permission was sought in case of ulupi or chitrangada.Then why did Arjun sent messengers to Indraprasth,Toseek Yudhishtir's permission or to inform someone else?

As soon as he reached Indraprasth,Arjun faced the heat of Draupadi's displeasure She told him to go to subhadra only wept in many ways. Bahudha vilapantim krishnaam svaantayaamaasa,Paarthah. Arjun pacified krishnaa who wept in many ways and said after the second knot is done, the first one will become loose. Arjun made subhadra dress up like a milkmaid,gopaalika. Subhadra readily agreed without any ego .We see great understanding between Arjun and Subhadra even though their association is still since a brief period only. Parth ah prasthapayaamaasa,kritvaa,gopaalikaa vapuh. Subhadra dazzlingly beautiful even in that attire,went and submitted herself before her again without ego.Vavande Draupadim Bhadra,preshyahamiti chaabraviit, Subhadra's has her own glory of being the sister of The Lord himself and she is besotted and abducted by the most desirable warrior of Aaryaavarth. Still her love for Arjun and regard for his word made her do all this .As for Arjun he very freely asked his new bride to please his First wife.Without hesitation.If we analyse his feelings on the basis of this situation,we will really get confused.Whom did he love more?The first wife waiting with heartfelt love all. These years and burst out on seeing his new love. Or the innocent new bride who implicitly obeyed his wish without ego?

The birth of the children was followed by Vyasa allotting nearly thirteen verses to describe Abhimanyu's birth in comparison to three or four verses to describe the birth of five sons of Panchali.Tato Subhadra subhadra's,kesavasya priya Swasa,..jayantamiva paulomi...Then Subhadra,the favourite sister of vaasudeva,gave birth to a son like sachi,to jayanta.Now subhadra giving birth to Abhimanyu is compared to Indra's wife giving birth to Jayanta. Yudhishtir celebrated the birth by offering rich donations.The boy is equal to Krishna in,looks,valour and bravery.Dhananjaya's heart was filled with joy be holding his son. Now if we come to Upa pandavas birth,it was done in a very brief manner,giving the significance of their names. Arjuna's son was named srutakarma as he was born after he returned from his pilgrimage.no celebrations or donations are mentioned as in the case of Abhimanyu.Ironically even their names sound ordinary when compared with Abhimanyu,whose name itself sounds special. Arjun's preferential love towards Abhimanyu is elaborately mentioned in comparison with his concern for his child by Draupadi.But it may not serve as a vital proof to show Subhadra as his favourite wife. There is no rule as such. So this can not help us decide whom Arjun loves the most.

When Krishna and Arjun goes to the banks of yamuna,to relax in summer, both Draupadi and subhadra accompanied them.They enjoyed with women folk,whereas their husband got busy fighting with Indra and other gods as Agnideva consumed khandava forest.Arjun spent more with Krishna than with his spouses,either enjoying or battling .They are together and focused in their own mission.As per the Epic,the ladies enjoyed drinking,dancing and donating their valuables to their maids or friends.So this instance also leaves us in ambiguity,as Arjun did not give the slightest hint who is more coveted by him.After this incident at khandavadahana We will never see much information regarding subhadra as she lives in Dwarakanagar bringing up Abhimanyu under the protective shade of Krishna,away from her husband.Ved Vyasa never allots space to describe how subhadra bore the pain of separation,staying away from him.All this while it is Draupadi who hogs limelight for her bold resistance at Dyutsabha,Her steely resolve to remind her husbands every minute the need for Revenge and so on. But we can not take away the importance of subhadra in Arjun's life just because she is inactive and maintained a low profile.Due to the vastness of the Epic Ved Vyasa must have not felt it necessary to describe her trials,mostly mental during those thirteen years.She according to me is like river Saraswati which flows under river Ganga at Vaaranaasi. She is Antarvaahini there,not visible to the naked eye but proves her existence though subdued by Ganga's dynamic presence.So Draupadi is like Ganga in Arjun's life ever motivating,always inspiring him in his heroic deeds where as Subhadra is like river saraswati ,dominated by Ganga like Draupadi but still making her presence felt in Arjun's life.

Originally posted by: ltelidevara

When Krishna and Arjun goes to the banks of yamuna,to relax in summer, both Draupadi and subhadra accompanied them.They enjoyed with women folk,whereas their husband got busy fighting with Indra and other gods as Agnideva consumed khandava forest.Arjun spent more with Krishna than with his spouses,either enjoying or battling .They are together and focused in their own mission.As per the Epic,the ladies enjoyed drinking,dancing and donating their valuables to their maids or friends.So this instance also leaves us in ambiguity,as Arjun did not give the slightest hint who is more coveted by him.After this incident at khandavadahana We will never see much information regarding subhadra as she lives in Dwarakanagar bringing up Abhimanyu under the protective shade of Krishna,away from her husband.Ved Vyasa never allots space to describe how subhadra bore the pain of separation,staying away from him.All this while it is Draupadi who hogs limelight for her bold resistance at Dyutsabha,Her steely resolve to remind her husbands every minute the need for Revenge and so on. But we can not take away the importance of subhadra in Arjun's life just because she is inactive and maintained a low profile.Due to the vastness of the Epic Ved Vyasa must have not felt it necessary to describe her trials,mostly mental during those thirteen years.She according to me is like river Saraswati which flows under river Ganga at Vaaranaasi. She is Antarvaahini there,not visible to the naked eye but proves her existence though subdued by Ganga's dynamic presence.So Draupadi is like Ganga in Arjun's life ever motivating,always inspiring him in his heroic deeds where as Subhadra is like river saraswati ,dominated by Ganga like Draupadi but still making her presence felt in Arjun's life.

I am very very impresses with ur analysis...
I love the way u described Draupadi n Subhadra in such an unbiased way... 👏

Originally posted by: amritat

I am very very impresses with ur analysis...
I love the way u described Draupadi n Subhadra in such an unbiased way... 👏

. Thank you both for appreciating.

Subhadra's presence is again felt in virata Parva ,at the time of Abhimanyu's marriage to Uttara,Here also we don't find much information regarding her interaction with Arjun.In udyoga para we find the most visibly clear intimacy of Draupadi with Arjun when Sanjay visits the four friends enjoying ina secluded place.Yes,Krishna ,Satya,Arjun and Draupadi it is ,not Subhadra.we may wonder why she is not enjoying the togetherness after being away from her husband for thirteen years.we can't draw conclusions based on this fact for even the closest siblings here we talk about Krishna and subhadra. Will definitely won't just sit together and enjoy with their spouses like what Sanjay saw here .The scene describes Krishna's feet on Arjun's lap and Arjun's feet in Draupadi's and Satya's.Krishna's equation with Draupadi is that of a sakha who enjoyed her faith and confidence to the extent of making her solely depend on him in her time of crisis.She is uninhibited,expressive and bold in his presence.Vana Parva also offers more such behaviour on her part when Krishna visits them.So when they want to spend quality time together Krishna and Arjun will definitely welcome Draupadi into their much guarded space along with Satya who is just like Draupadi in every way.As for Subhadra she is the dearest sister who has her limitations in the presence of her elder brother.While Draupadi's equation with satya boasts of friendship Subhadra's equation with satya is that of a bhabhi,nanad kind of relationship. So it is quite reasonable on part of Ved Vyasa for not making Subhadra's a part of the cosy foursome. Again we can not decide our point that is who is that between the two,that enjoyed Arjun's love,the most.

Many people feel the contrast in behaviour at the time of Abhimanyu's death and the death of at upa pandavas at the hand of Aswathama. Prove Arjun's priority for Subhadra over Draupadi. If we observe both the incidents we Truely feel the difference.I don't want to get into the details of events that lead to Arjun's oath of killing Jayadrath.It became world famous courtesy star Bharat and shaheer's almost realistic portrayal of Arjun's fire of revenge.Though the star version is distorted,even people like us who are so much into the Epic found it,captivating and thrilling. The fire of revenge that rooted and burnt seven akshouhinis of kaurava army along with Jayadrath is clearly missing at the time of the death of Draupadi's sons. The fierce flame of anger that killed many kings like Durmarshan, vind,Anuvind. etc. single handed,the superlative skill that pierced Duryodhana's nails and made him run,the power that made karna helpless spectator of his valour is shockingly silent,even after seeing the brutal murder of upa pandavas. But it is really not convincing enough to feel that Arjun's preference for Subhadra's is the reason.Arjun whose heart is so kind can never be so mean that he finds it not important to react at all.So what could be the reasons,deserves a thorough analysis,

As soon as Draupadi came to know about the death of her sons and brothers she collapsed . She then called upon Bheema and praised his previous achievements. She asked him to immediately bring Aswathama,the culprit so that his crest jewel should be taken off his head as a punishment.Bheem starts with Nakul,without Thinking about the consequences of his duel with a devilish and frustrated Aswathama. All this happens but we see no reaction from Arjun,It is Krishna,who reminded Yudhishtir of the danger into which Bheema is directly walking fast. An interesting statement is made here by Krishna. Bheemah Priyaste sarvebhyo bhratrubhyo bharatarshabha. Bheema is dearer to you than all your brothers,o king Yudhishtir...great observation indeed. Lord said it .so we should believe.Itis not Arjun who sacrificed Draupadi,Abhimanyu,and who toiled hard to get Devine satraps and who always saved him from the clutches of Drona, No he is not the one,dearer to his Eldest.It is Bheem as usual who acts impulsively like at the time of Aswathama's narayanastra on the 15th day of the battle when he was saved by Krishna and Arjun. ,with Arjun releasing varunastra to to save Bheem from the fire of Narayan aastra.Ofcourse there is no remedy to narayanastra than bowing down before it's fire.Arjun and Krishna successfully saved Bheema then and they have to do it now also and they did.so when Aswathama releases Brahmasir with a wish to make the earth devoid of paandavaas apaandavaaya... Krishna alerts Arjun thus.Arjunaarjuna yaddivyam as tram te hridi. vartate. Arjun,release the Devine Brahmasir that existed in your heart...So now we come to the answer of the question Why did not Arjun react like Bheema did..Arjun releases the Astra with this wish. Purvamaachara putraaya, Tato. Anantaramatmano. Bhratrubhyascha. Swastiti. Let my preceptor's son be saved and then me and my brothers Allof us should be safe. So even after committing such a wretched deed he considered Aswathama as his teacher's son only. And he does'nt want to harm him at all ,It is not his less love for Draupadi 's sons but his excessive concern for his guruputr dominated his mind.May be Draupadi is aware of her husband's weakness.Hence she instigated Bheema but notArjun to take revenge,And she may be smart enough to know thatArjun has to enter the scene to tackle Aswathama.