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This debate over who was responsible for the war has been ongoing, perhaps ever since the great epic was written
As I read somewhere: After all, it was easier, and there was no one else man enough to shoulder the burden and accept responsibility.
Isn't that the truth? In a society where a woman is often blamed for 'inviting rape' or 'sexual molestation' because of her attire or her life style, why are we surprised when the same society blames Draupadi for the war.
Unfortunately, a lot of these people who point fingers at Draupadi are educated, liberal and women themselves.
If Draupadi was really responsible for the great war then how does one explain:
1. Drupad's desire to have a son who could avenge Drona one day. Draupadi just happened to 'pop' out from the same fire, uninvited and undesired.
2. The ongoing rivalry between the Kauravs and Pandavs since they were kids. I'm sure Draupadi planted seeds of this rivalry even before she was born
3. The sharing arrangement between the Pandav brothers. Hell, yeah, she asked for it because she desired so many men...oh no, she asked for it in her previous birth. The men and their mom were just fulfilling prophecy!
4. The convenient interpolations to the original text (assuming CE is more authentic) of her insults to Karna and Duryodhana- just to justify their actions in the dyut sabha!
5. Yudhistra gambling her away and her open molestation in the sabha- of course what could Yudhi do, he was bound by dharma and so were tons of maharathis like Bhishma, Drona etc.
6. She invited Jaidrath and Keechak to molest her so they could also play a role in laying the foundations towards the war.
7. Even after the exile, the Pandavs were reluctant to wage a war if they had five villages granted to them. Once that peace offer was rejected, they couldn't sit back and went all out for the war
Granted, Draupadi wanted herself avenged but did she ever ask for a large scale battle like Kurukshetra? She would've been content if her husbands had just supported her, been there for her when she needed them and perhaps just killed the four main culprits...
The blame is not with the Kauravas, not with the Pandavas, not with the elders of the court; it was not a war fought of greed, of lust, of envy or of pride but of gender. The blame of the the great war of Kurukshetra, of Mahabharata lies with Draupadi, a woman because she was one. (ref: http://www.themisfitgirl.com/2010/07/draupadi-blame.html)
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