Draupadī

Draupadī The wife of all five Pāṇḍava (see Pāṇḍavas) brothers in the Indian epic the Mahābhārata (see Mahābhārata), “fire-born” Draupadī is an incarnation of Śrī (see Śrī, Lakṣmi) or “Prosperity,” the wife of the god Viṣṇu (see Viṣṇu), which is appropriate to a kingdom such as that of the Pāṇḍavas, which follows the principles of dharma (see Dharma), or proper social law. Draupadī's situation as the wife of five men is not common and occurs only because of a promise made by Kuntī (see Kuntī) or Pṛthā, the mother of the brothers. In any case, although she favors the hero Arjuna (see Arjuna), Draupadī is a faithful wife to all five brothers and provides each with a son. When Yudhiṣṭhira, the oldest brother and the king, gambles away his kingdom and his brothers and even their wife, it is Draupadī who convinces the Pāṇḍava enemies to grant the brothers their freedom. The event that leads to their release is a high point in the Draupadī myth and clearly establishes her as Śrī and as the source, with Kṛṣṇa (see Kṛṣṇa), of Pāṇḍava power. When the gambling victors, the Kauravas (see Kauravas), attempt to strip Draupadī in order to humiliate her and her husbands, Kṛṣṇa intervenes and miraculously prevents the stripping. As always in the events of Hindu mythology, there is a symbolic meaning to this incident. It suggests that the dissolution of the universe, represented by Śrī-Draupadī, will not yet take place. A cult based on Draupadī as an incarnation of the Goddess (see Devī) exists to this day in parts of India.