In the previous episode, we had witnessed the Paandava brothers revealing their true identity to Drshtadhyumna and subsequently to King Drupada. The Paandavas were doing this for the first time ever since they had a miraculous escape from the burning “Laaksha Griha” (The Wax palace). All of us know by now that the Paandavas were living a disguised life at the Vaaranaavatha Desha, to be out of sight of Duryodhana and Co. for a certain period of time. Now that Arjuna had won the Svayamvara event of Draupati, and since Drshtadhyumna had sent a Brahmana Rishi to understand the Paandava brothers’ background, Yudishtra did not have any option but to reveal himself and his four brothers. Thus, Drshtadhyumna and King Drupada were extremely happy that Draupati was going to marry the best people in terms of warfare and other noble “Dharmic” qualities. We were witnessing in yesterday’s episode that King Drupada had invited all of them for a grand feast and even at that point, the Paandavas were put to test by King Drupada to understand whether they are really Yudishtra and co. or somebody else.
Moving on further thus, King Drupada was extremely happy to understand their true identity and his hospitality towards them knew no bounds! King Drupada served them an extraordinary feast with the best of the best hospitality and as the Paandavas were consuming the food, King Drupada was closely observing them. The way in which the Paandavas were eating, the way in which they were interacting with each other, etc. proved to King Drupada that they were none other than Yudishtra and Co.! We should understand here that although the Paandavas have revealed their identity, they were still in the attire and appearance of Brahmana Rishis. That hadn’t changed yet. As the feast was over, Bhagawan Krishna and Balarama arrived at the palace of King Drupada! As Arjuna spots Bhagawan Krishna for the first time after so many years, he was surprised to see Him there.
Arjuna asks Bhagawan Krishna thus, “Oh Krishna! How did you know that I was here at King Drupada’s place? How did you know that we were proceeding with the marriage talks with Draupati? Who told you all this?” Laughing out at Arjuna, Bhagawan Krishna explains to him in an indirect way thus, “Oh Arjuna! I know where you’ve been all these days, and I know where you are right now! I’ve been following you all these days because you and I have a “special connection” with each other!” Through this answer, Bhagawan Krishna “hints” to Arjuna that both of them were the “Nara-Narayana” combo of Bhadrinaatha Kshetra. However, Arjuna being in the midst of the marriage talks and the feast, did not understand the in-depth meaning of what Bhagawan Krishna said. However, he was very happy that Bhagawan Krishna “graced” the occasion at the right time. Thus, as Bhagawan Krishna settles down along with Balarama and with all the hospitality that was offered by King Drupada, the marriage talks formally begin.
King Drupada starts talking and expresses his opinion thus, “Oh Paandava brothers and Keshav! I’m extremely happy today that I’m having an opportunity to be part of this gathering along with the Paandavas and Bhagawan Krishna. However, when it comes to marriage, it was Arjuna who had won over the Svayamvara, isn’t it? How can I give my daughter in marriage to all the five Paandava brothers? Moreover, there is no precedence in history that a woman is marrying five men. Of course, a man married many women as part of the “Kshatrya Dharma”, but the vice-versa is something that is unheard of. Hence, this is the part wherein I’m not convinced fully yet!” As King Drupada explains thus, Drshtadhyumna explains his stance thus, “Oh esteemed gathering! I concur with what my father says. I’ve also never heard of one woman marrying many men. This is where even my concern is!”
As both of them express their concern thus, Yudishtra explains thus, “Oh King Drupada and Drshtadhyumna! Whatever you’re saying might not be exactly correct. Just because you’ve not heard of something, it doesn’t mean that there’s no precedent in history that a woman married more than one husband. I shall explain two instances wherein such a thing has happened in the past and there is nothing wrong if such a thing happens now!” This is where we’ve to understand one important point – If we’ve to enter into an argument or a discussion with someone on something, we should talk with facts and figures. Our conversations should always be “evidence-based” and not something that is merely hypothetical and in the air. For instance, if we’ve to substantiate a point from the Ithihasas or Puraanas or from the Vedas, we’ve to first understand clearly what the text says about it, and then come for a debate. I’ve explained this point earlier as well during our Ramayana project, in the context of Bhagawan Rama killing Vaali from behind. Many people start debating blindly as to whether Bhagwan Rama’s act of killing Vaali from behind is correct or wrong! However, if we read deeply through the Ramayana text, we would understand the exact reason as to why Bhagawan Rama did that. However, if we do not have in-depth clarity on the subject, it is better for us to keep quiet, rather than engaging in needless debating.
This is exactly where Yudishtra clears the air. As King Drupada exclaims that there’s no evidence of such a thing happening in the past, Yudishtra is going to quote two instances wherein a woman had married more than one husband in the past. So for today, let us understand up to this point and let us wait till the next episode to continue this discussion further! Stay tuned! 🙂
The Indian Dharma 