As I read through another Mahabharata, I keep thinking to myself how Draupadi was created just to fuel the cleansing of the Earth at the cusp of the ages.
To begin with she was not born, she appeared from the fire of a yagna. King Drupada had just been humiliated by Dronacharya. He was defeated and captured by Arjuna at the direction of Drona. King Drupada came back to Panchala and conducted a massive yagna to beget a son who would kill Drona and a daughter who would marry Arjuna. And so there she was...Draupadi, born to marry the handsome Arjuna.
But, fate had something else in store for Draupadi. Draupadi was a dark and ethereal beauty who no man could resist. When the Pandavas saw her at her svayamvara, they all wanted her. Even so many kings and princes of Bharatvarsha, including Kuru prince Duryodhana and King of Anga, Karna. Draupadi's purpose in life was accomplished when Arjuna pierced the eye of the revolving fish, disguised as a brahmin. The Pandavas brought her home to Ekcharka to their mother and presented Draupadi as bhiksha. Kunti, their mother asked them to divide it among themselves. Kunti grew very worried when she saw Draupadi and realized what she had just uttered. But, Krishna appears and tells them how Draupadi in her previous birth had asked Lord Shiva for a husband and had repeated "husband" five times in her boon.
At her svayamvara, Draupadi refuses to accept sutaputra Karna and spurns him. This incident remained embedded in Karna's memory when he did what he did at the dice game.
To begin with she was not born, she appeared from the fire of a yagna. King Drupada had just been humiliated by Dronacharya. He was defeated and captured by Arjuna at the direction of Drona. King Drupada came back to Panchala and conducted a massive yagna to beget a son who would kill Drona and a daughter who would marry Arjuna. And so there she was...Draupadi, born to marry the handsome Arjuna.
But, fate had something else in store for Draupadi. Draupadi was a dark and ethereal beauty who no man could resist. When the Pandavas saw her at her svayamvara, they all wanted her. Even so many kings and princes of Bharatvarsha, including Kuru prince Duryodhana and King of Anga, Karna. Draupadi's purpose in life was accomplished when Arjuna pierced the eye of the revolving fish, disguised as a brahmin. The Pandavas brought her home to Ekcharka to their mother and presented Draupadi as bhiksha. Kunti, their mother asked them to divide it among themselves. Kunti grew very worried when she saw Draupadi and realized what she had just uttered. But, Krishna appears and tells them how Draupadi in her previous birth had asked Lord Shiva for a husband and had repeated "husband" five times in her boon.
At her svayamvara, Draupadi refuses to accept sutaputra Karna and spurns him. This incident remained embedded in Karna's memory when he did what he did at the dice game.
After receiving Khadavprastha from their uncle, the Pandavas with the help of Krishna, transformed it into Indraprastha. The danava Maya built a Maya Sabha for them there. Maya Sabha was built such that it read the mind of people that came to see the sabha and if they were envious, the sabha would conjure up tricks which would confuse them. One day, after the Rajasuya yagna, Duryodhana entered the Maya Sabha and looked at it full of envy. As he stepped in, he lifted his garment to cross what he thought was a puddle of water but it tuned out to be a hard floor. A little further down he walked into a pool of water when he thought it was hard ground. Seeing the Kuru prince drenched, Draupadi laughed out loud. Duryodhana was seething with anger and stormed out of the place.
All these led to the dice game and Draupadi being humiliated in the Kuru sabha. Karna and Duryodhana never forgot the insults handed to them by Draupadi and took advantage of the dice game. For Draupadi, Bheema and Arjuna took the vows they took.
Once, during the exile, when Draupadi was alone, Jayadratha, the king of Sindhu and brother-in-law of Duryodhana saw Draupadi and could resist her. He caught hold of her and carried her away. On his way he was caught by the Pandavas and they punished him by shaving his head off. Unable to bear the insult he performed a rigorous penance and obtained a boon such that he would be able to defeat all the Pandavas except Arjuna in battle for a day. This he used on the day when the Kauravas treacherously killed Abhimanyu.
These and many other incidents, make Draupadi THE reason for the Mahabharata war. She was the Lord's Maya that illusioned the demonic forces and together, Krishna and Krishnaa (Draupadi was called so because of her complexion) rid the Earth of her burden.
