Edited by: Shreya Jain
The boon of heaven, the bane of fire, fated to light an empire’s pyre.
Yagnaseni Draupadi – The heroine of Mahabharat – the victim of Mahabharat, and the cause of Mahabharat. She played arguably the most prominent role in the force behind the Great War that ensued between the Pandavas and Kauravas. She was the story’s victim yet seemed to hold more power than anyone else. She promised revenge and delivered it with the death of an entire empire. Her character fills every shade of white and black and grey- but all of them make her the most iconic woman of Hindu Mythology.
Like the multiple names she goes by, she also has various layers such as a daughter scorned at birth by her father as he only wanted a son, as the gift of the gods who stepped out of fire, destined to end the Kuru line of rulers. She was the best friend of Lord Krishna, who influenced her strongly, and their friendship is still considered to be the bond of the most pure platonic affection. She was a devoted daughter who wasn’t very accepted at his court despite being the princess of the land, but she won him over with her innocence and adoration. And of course, she was the wife of the Pandavas, the woman who married five brothers, which was the most life-altering decision she agreed to. She was degraded and called characterless, and yet, she was desired as well as feared. She goes through disrespect no woman should have to endure. The infamous disrobing scene that shakes people to their very core was a reality she had to endure. She was slut-shamed before it was a thing because a woman marrying five men was unheard of. Of course, nobody bats an eye when kings marry multiple wives. And nobody did bat an eye, but only when Draupadi was assaulted so many times by kings and warriors who all wanted to take her by force.
And yet, somewhere both her mother-in-laws blame her, despite their sons’ actions. Her assaults are said to be provoked by her beauty because she’s too irresistible for her good. Despite being women who have also suffered at the hands of the men in their lives (Gandhari was forced into a marriage to a blind king and Kunti had to watch her husband die and raise her kids alone because he couldn’t keep his hand off his second wife) they still end up blaming her for the war.
Even her husbands failed her. The war was her revenge, but their silence when she was being humiliated in an open court speaks volumes by itself. Lord Krishna did come to her rescue, but he shouldn’t have had to, because she was married to the most powerful men in the world. Her marriage itself is a political move. Of course, there are a thousand iterations and translations- but the five brothers too fell for Draupadi, even though she was only supposed to be Arjuna’s wife. Kunti made no mistake, she herself sent them to the Svayambar. She knew exactly what she was doing and did it anyway, because she did not want her sons to be jealous of Arjuna. Draupadi made her whole life a continuous turmoil just to fulfil this wish. But did anyone ever think of blaming anyone else but her?
She went through it all; she played the Queen well. She was proud, but is also the epitome of power. The fiercest woman of the saga, her revenge burns a generation of kings and warriors to the ground. But in the vengeance, she also loses her brother, her sons, and her father. Hers is a story of love and war and loss and tragedy and victory, but she wrote it herself and came out alive.