Draupadī Vivāha

The Vaivāhika Parva tells how Draupadī was married to each of the five Pāṇḍavas. It begins with a great debate about one woman having five husbands. Drupada first objected. His objection ended only when Vyāsa arrived and gave him divine vision.

The wedding was a grand occasion, attended by the devas. It ended with Kuntī’s blessing and the arrival of Kṛshṇa with rich gifts.

Drupada’s objection

Dhṛshṭadyumna reported to Drupada about the Pāṇḍavas, with Yudhishṭhira the eldest among them. Drupada sent his purohita (family priest) to meet them. It then came out that all five brothers wished to marry Draupadī. Drupada was troubled. In all the śāstra he knew, he had never heard of one woman with five husbands. He objected strongly.

The debate that followed brought in Yudhishṭhira, Dhṛshṭadyumna and Kuntī in turn. Yudhishṭhira said that what he declared was not adharma. A Dharmarāja would not declare anything that crossed the limits of dharma, he said, and from the moment the matter arose he had seen that this was the arrangement meant to be. Kuntī spoke of her own command, “share this equally among yourselves”. She had spoken it without knowing what Arjuna had brought home, and it could not be taken back (Ādi Parva, Chapter 193).

Vyāsa gives divine vision

Vyāsa’s arrival ended the deadlock. The great ṛshi took Drupada aside in private. He first gave him divine vision (divya-cakshu, the eye that sees beyond the world). Then he told him the Pañcendra Upākhyāna and the account of Draupadī’s earlier birth (pūrva-janma).

With divine vision Drupada saw the truth for himself. The five Pāṇḍavas were five Indras born again, and Draupadī was Śrī born again. Śiva’s own vara (boon) from a former birth had decided that she would have five husbands.

Drupada accepted this. His objection ended because he had seen the truth directly (Ādi Parva, Chapter 195).

The marriage ceremony

The wedding was held over five days in a row. Draupadī married each of the five brothers in turn, one on each day, beginning with Yudhishṭhira. It was done with full Vedic rites. The sacred fire burned and mantras were chanted. The bride and groom walked around the fire together, and the marriage was made holy in the presence of the devas.

An assembly of devas was present. Flowers fell from the sky, and unseen voices spoke auspicious blessings (Ādi Parva, Chapter 197).

Kuntī’s blessing

After the ceremonies Kuntī, mother of the Pāṇḍavas, blessed Draupadī with great love and with formal rites. She took Draupadī as her daughter-in-law and as the young queen of the Pāṇḍava household. Kuntī’s blessing was a mother’s deepest wish that Draupadī’s life be one of glory, prosperity and dharma (Ādi Parva, Chapter 198).

Kṛshṇa’s gifts

Kṛshṇa had known the Pāṇḍavas at the svayaṃvara and rejoiced. He came to the wedding with rich gifts: garments, jewels, chariots, horses, servants, cattle and gold. The gifts showed his love for his cousins and for Draupadī, whom he held as a sakhī (a dear friend). The occasion also marked the formal beginning of the alliance between the Pāṇḍavas and the Vṛshṇi-Yādava line (Ādi Parva, Chapter 199).

Sources

• Mahābhārata, Ādi Parva, Chapters 193–199 (Chapter 193: Drupada’s objection and the debate; 195: Vyāsa’s intervention; 197: the ceremony; 198: Kuntī’s blessing; 199: Kṛshṇa’s gifts)