First off, let me make it clear I disliked Arjun Without A Doubt for what it did to Arjuna, Panchali, and Krishna.
Secondly, I'm not an Arjuna Panchali shipper. Far from it TBH😆. I loathe that pairing for what it does to the image of the woman who was the empire's finance minister and an accomplished lawyer.
Thirdly, I don't believe in any past life connections or carried over vendettas from previous births. So whatever their motive was for war came in the same life according to me. Since Dhrishtadyumna bluntly states his reason for being with Pandavas was his sister, I will take him at face value. Since Krishna says he owes Panchali a debt and WILL get rid of her enemies, I will take him as a man making those promises. Shikhandi doesn't say anything, but the Amba thing was only said by Bheeshma and not Shikhandi himself, leading me to believe Bheeshma was looking for a convenient excuse for being beaten. I assume Shikhandi was also there for his sister.
FYI, Bheema was in the war for Yudhishtira, not Panchali. That he managed to get his revenge on the Kauravas was a side benefit.
The only Pandava who was always on her side was Sahadeva. Bheema and Arjuna to some extent in that they disobeyed Yudhishtira for her at times. Nakula never did though Kunti told him to follow in Panchali's footsteps.
Let me repeat: there was NO soulmate business going on in most of the romantic pairings. My only objection was to your saying Arjuna loved Panchali as part of the Pandavas. No, that's not how it works. A man doesn't automatically feel Kaama for a woman married to his brothers. Kaama is a VERY individual thing. Whatever Kaama Arjuna felt for Panchali, Chitrangada, and Subhadra, he felt for HIMSELF, not because he was a Pandava. He kept marrying because that's how political alliances were made those days. All 5 Pandavas married others for political alliances.
And it seemed to me that the post was making the same mistake as the book you mentioned, except on behalf of Subhadra. From your later posts, it is clear I misunderstood. Apologies and #peace to you, too.
They were both awesome women. IMHO, Arjuna didn't deserve either.
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