Draupadi:Strength of the Mighty Pandavas

The below is a piece of text from the book The Palace of Illusions ( by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni )

"Draupadi realizes that together they are capable of doing what none of them could do alone. Draupadi now sees the reason behind Kuntis decision of marrying her to all five brothers. She committed herself totally to the welfare of the Pandavas ,so as they ."

ROLE AS A DAUGHTER - IN -LAW

As a daughter-in-law, Draupadi got on very well with Kunti. From their first meeting in the potter's hut, Kunti won over Draupadi by her simplicity, firm yet fair control over her small family. Kunti's inadvertent order to share Draupadi between her husbands was a tough ordinance for Draupadi to bear. But, even Draupadi could see this was an honest mistake by Kunti.

DRAUPADI THE WIFE OF 5 GREAT WARRIORS

Draupadi even knew and understood that the Pandavas needed other wives for personal and political reasons. Even though she accepts the need of the Pandava brothers to have other wives ,she makes sure witfully that her position is not compromised . She uses her anger to keep them in check. On hearing the news of Pandava brothers marriage to other women, Draupadi displayed her anger by like locking herself in a room and throwing expensive objects around. She says that it is never a good idea to let ones husband grow complacent. Her display of anger ensured that the number of wives remains minimum and it also kept the other wives away from the palace. This had ensured that she remained undisputed mistress of the palace . Nakul and Sahadev though very sweet to her and loved her unconditonally , they were often afraid of this fiery side of their queen .

But like any other wife when the Pandavas took another wives, Draupadi felt extremely jealous. But she also admits that she did not expect her husbands to remain celibate while they waited for their turn as her spouse.But she is aware of her special position that none of the other wives can take in their lives. As she herself says

"If the pandavas were pearls, I was the gold wire on which they were strung. Alone, they would have scattered, each to his dusty corner. They would have pursued separate interest, deposited their loyalties with different women. But together we formed something precious and unique" .

Draupadi knew very well that she was yudhisthira's spear ,bheem's mace , arjun's Ghandiv and Nakul and Sahadev's swords .

However, when Arjuna married Krishnas sister Subhadra, Druapadi was really shaken. She felt betrayed by Krishna and accuses him of encouraging Subhadra to snatch Arjuna. But Krishna says that union between Arjuna and Subhadrahave a greater design, which is more important than the heartache that Draupadi sufferes.

As a wife, Draupadi was no more manipulative than any other woman when it comes to getting what she wanted from her hubands. Indeed, the fact that she was able to keep all her husbands happy is a testament that she was a wonderful wife.She vey well knew when and where to plot,how to seduce her husbands , an important job a women should do to sustain her marriage, how to cook delicious food, how to cure illness, when to speak and when to remain silent.

1) She knew Yudhisthir was bound by duty and was unflinching in his observance of protocols. She knew her post as the empress was secured through her marriage to the eldest Pandava. Though Draupadi was dragged into the kuru court due to Yudhisthir's addiction to gambling, the first person Draupadi freed was Yudhisthir.

2) Bhima she knew loved her so much, that he could never see her unhappy. She knew that of all the brothers, his love for her was whole hearted. Bhima had other wives, like most powerful men at the time, but of all his wives, Draupadi was his favourite. He would fulfil her slightest wish with relish. This was especially true while they were exiled for 12 +1 years. Bhima felt aggrieved by her insult in the Kuru court and could not forgive himself for not having had the freedom to fight for her when she needed it the most.

3) According to Yudhisthir, Arjun was her "favourite husband" - though there is no evidence to back this up. Yudhisthir felt that as Arjun had won her hand in marriage, this was bound to be the case. She may be been wedded to the five brothers thanks to her mother-in-law's word, but, Arjun was the person she loved first. Fact is, Arjun loved Draupadi very much .

4) Nakul and Sahadev were sweet to her. They loved her very much and Draupadi mothered them with her affection.