As the Pandavas were living their lives in exile, Krishna came to pay them a visit. As soon as he arrived, it was Draupadi who approached him first saying, "Duryodhana tried to make me his wife as my husbands stood their in silence, not moving a muscle. Is it not the duty of a husband to protect their wife? If so, why did they not even attempt to save me from the evil Duryodhana?"Krishna attempted to console Draupadi as she cried her eyes out. He told her, "Do not cry anymore as I am here to help your husband's family so you can once again be a queen."
Krishna then went to Yudhishthira and said, "I am deeply sorry I could not help you in your battle at Hastinapura. However, I am here now, what can I do to help?" After talking to Yudhishthira, Krishna made his way back to his kingdom. As soon as Krishna left, Draupadi made a dash to Yudhishthira to complain saying, "How did our lives end up like this? We used to enjoy the luxury of soft and silky beds, chairs of ivory, and beautiful robes. And now, what do we have? We are beggars now sleeping on stiff grass mats and wearing rags as clothes. I ask of you, Yudhishthira, that we go into battle and seek and take back what is ours."
Yudhishthira being the wise man he is responded to Draupadi by saying, "Being angry and thoughts of destruction is bad and sinful. Do not think and talk this way. We have to love and forgive others." Draupadi said in return, "You might have a point, but how can I praise lords who have done us wrong? Those who have done evil are now happy, and we who are good people are now sad and in grief. I cannot give praise to the lords who have desired this inequality for us."
Yudhishthira said to Draupadi, "The gods are mysterious, but do not doubt your religion or the power of the gods."
Draupadi could not take it anymore. After her conversation with Yudhishthira, she escaped to her room. She did not leave her room for the rest of the night. It was that night that Draupadi decided to leave the forest in search for help to get her old life back. Twas the middle of the night when all the men were asleep that Draupadi escaped and made her efforts to try to find Krishna in the hopes that he could help her.
Bibliography: Indian Myth and Legend by Donald Mackenzie (link)
Author's Note: The Pandava family are sent into exile along with their wife, Draupadi. The exile takes place in the depths of the forest for many years to come. As soon as they were sent to exile, the Pandavas prayed to the sun god asking for help to which he gave the family a copper pot filled with food. After this blessing, the exile journey begins and it is Draupadi who suffers the most. Next thing we see is that Krishna pays the family a visit and it is Draupadi who asks him to save her from her terrible and awful current lifestyle. Krishna tells her that he will try to help and then talks to Yudhishthira next. As soon as Krishna leaves, Draupadi talks to Yudhishthira and ask him if they could go into battle to get back their kingdom and what is rightfully theirs. Yudhishthira goes against this pleading; however, in the original story Draupadi does not leave. In my version, I wanted to see Draupadi more independent and leave the readers hanging as she begins her escape from the Pandavas and treacherous exile.
The Exile of the Pandavas. Source: Wikimedia Commons
HI Nikole,
ReplyDeleteI love your retelling of the exile. Everyone seems to tell it differently and I love it. I like how you made Draupadi more vulnerable and wanting her old life back. I know I would if I was a princess and then had to live in the forest for 15 years. No thank you. I think you did a great job writing this and I can't wait to read more from you this semester.
Hello Nikole!
ReplyDeleteThis exile story is different from the one I read. This showed that after exile Draupadi was sad and wanted answer and revenge on the people who have done wrong. I would have reacted the same way, if some people have wronged me or took something precious from me by doing wrong method. I look forward to read more stories in future.
Hi Nikole! I really enjoyed reading your story this week. I appreciated the way you captured each character and really expanded on their qualities and such. I think the tone of sadness here is super relevant to the original story as well. I think you have such talent for writing and being able to tie in the reader throughout the plot! Have a wonderful week 9 in this class!
ReplyDeleteHey Nikole, I really enjoyed your story about Draupadi. The Mahabharata makes her seem like a subordanate and weak even though this is how the women are supposed to be in the Indian culture during this era, I still want to see her become stronger. I cannot remember if Draupadi had to be exiled with the brother or if she chose to go with them but either way I think your ending of having her leave is much better. It is a cliff hanger that makes me want to read more. Great job, I'll try and come back later on to read more of your stories!
ReplyDeleteHi again! I really enjoyed this story. Again, you did an amazing job with details. That is a really big part of storytelling, and you do a great job. I liked the twist and making Draupadi leave. Your author's note did a really good job giving us an idea of the original story (it has been a while since I read it) and telling why you changed what you did. Great job and good luck with the rest of the semester!
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