Her eyes. Draupadi’s eyes haunt me. I should have stepped in. I should have said something. I could have saved her from her humiliation in the court today. I don’t understand how the elders of the court stood silent and upheld their textbook dharma when a woman’s honour was at stake. Even her husbands did nothing to protect her!
They say Draupadi was granted five husbands because in her past life she asked Lord Shiva for five qualities in her husband, and no one man possessed all five. I wonder what useless qualities she asked for. As apparently none of them were of any use to her today!
I pondered over the Pandavas, trying to attribute a quality to each.
Yudhisthira..famed for his dharma,
Bheema, surely for his strength,
Arjuna is a worthy opponent, perhaps for his bravery,
Nakula is certainly blessed in his looks,
and Sahadeva..well he is quite wise I suppose.
Is that all a woman wants in her husband?
“Duryodhana, what are my best qualities?”
“Is that what you were thinking about for so long? Why, you should have asked me sooner then!
Well, as the King of Anga, you have always been generous, just and righteous.
Kshatriyas know you to be a great warrior, with power and courage second to none.
As your closest friend, I know you to be honest, wise and trustworthy.
And I must say you do make the ladies swoon!”
Duryodhana’s guffaw filled the room.
“Oh, Duryodhana, stop teasing me! It was a very serious question.”
“And it was a very serious answer. You, my friend, are the five Pandavas all rolled into one and maybe a bit more. But you know what is your best quality of all? Your love. You would go against all those virtues and break every rule in the book for the sake of a loved one.”
Paisleys & Peacocks 