Draupadi's Dilemma

Gambling is such a dirty game that one loses all---money and even the self respect. That is what happened with the Pandavas. They accepted the challenge of Kaurvas to play dice. Their royalty forbade them to say no to the challenge. And the result was that they lost their kingdom and all else. When nothing was left, the Kaurvas prompted them to put their wive Draupadi at stake. Foolishly with a hope to win back all, they staked her too and lost.

At one time Draupadi had insulted Duryodyana calling him blind, being the son of a blind. Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kaurva brothers wanted to avenge his insult. They brought Draupadi by dragging her from hairs in the court. He and his colleagues disgraced Draupadi. He asked her to come and sit on his thighs. Others tried to undress Draupadi. The senior members of the family were shocked but were helpless as no one heeded to their advice.

At that crucial moment when her honour was at stake, Draupadi looked towards her powerful husbands, the Pandavas one by one for help. But since they had lost her in gambling, they just closed their eyes and bent their heads in shame. One of the Kaurvas tried to remove her Saree to make her naked before all. Her pleadings towards Pandavas did not help her. She then looked upward and prayed to Lord Krishna. Mysteriously Krishna helped her. So when they tried to pull her Saree, it became so lengthy they failed to undress her. Draupadi thanked the Lord.

Later when Sri Krishna appeared before her, she asked why he didn’t help her earlier. Why he took so long. Sri Krishna replied that earlier Draupadi was depending on her powerful Pandavas. When she lost hope from all sides and pleaded for his help to him alone, he at-once helped her.

Though the incidence is a tragic one, yet it was the main cause of the disastrous war that took place between the Kaurvas and the Pandavas. But it teaches us a lesson that we should look towards God alone for help, with full faith. Our resources and the relatives, however powerful they may be can’t help us. Secondly we should never indulge ourselves in gambling. No one has ever gained in gambling. All lose some way or the other. The gambling takes away our peace of mind and ruins our family.