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Reading Notes: Mahabharata Part B


  • Wife of the Five Pandavas 
    • Arjuna won Draupadi (daughter of Drupada) as his bride at the swayamwara
    • When the eldest brother (Yudhishthira) tells his mother (Queen Kunti) that they have returned with a gift she tells them that they must share it
      • informs his mother that it is Draupadi and she should be Arjuna's bride since he won her 
      • Arjuna says Yudhishthira should have her since he is the eldest
    • Yudhishthira says that the matter should be decided by the gods and King Drupada
    • it is revealed that the bretheren are the Pandava 
      • this made Drupada happy and he entertained the brothers in his palace for many days
    • eventually the rishi Vyasa was called to decided which brother should wed Draupadi
    • Vyasa, like Queen Kunti, says that she must marry each brother
      • because it had already been decided by the gods because she was the reincarnation of a pious woman who had prayed to Shiva for a husban five times and the god promised her 5 husbands as a reward in her next life
      • also said that the Pandavas were an incarnation of Indra and were regarded as one being
    • on 5 successive days Draupadi married the Pandavas in order of age from oldest to youngest 
  • Storytelling Notes: I really don't like the fact that Draupadi has no agency in this story. Queen Kunti is the only woman that has an semblance of agency because her sons kind of obey her wishes. Draupadi has absolutely no dialogue and is spoken for by her father. If I decide to use this for my storytelling I want to flip the dynamic and give Draupadi her own agency to chose to marry (or not) who she pleases. 
  • Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald A. Mackenzie (1913)
(Pandavas and Draupadi from Fanda Classiclit)

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