Draupadī’s Five Husbands
In the Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa the dharma-birds, the wise birds who answer the questions of Jaimini, tell why Draupadī had five husbands. They say that the five Pāṇḍavas are five portions of the one teja (radiance) of Indra, and that Draupadī is Śacīdevī, the wife of Indra, born again. So her marriage to all five is in full agreement with dharma.
Indra’s diminished teja
In Tretāyuga, Triśira, the son of Tvashṭā Prajāpati, performed fierce tapas with his head turned downward. Indra feared his growing power and killed him. Through this act of brahmahatyā (the killing of a brahmin), the teja in Indra began to grow less. Dharma-devatā took in Indra’s teja.
Later Indra killed Vṛtrāsura by treachery, breaking his own oath of peace. He also broke into the āśrama of Gautama Maharshi by deceiving Ahalyā. Each time his teja lost more. Each portion of his teja left him and entered the Aśvinī Kumāras and other beings.
The five portions and the Pāṇḍavas
When the time came for dharma-sthāpana (the setting up of dharma again), the devas themselves came down to the earth, each with a portion of his teja. They came to balance the weight of adharma that had piled up because rākshasas had been born as kings.
Dharma-devatā placed Indra’s teja in the womb of Kuntī. From it Yudhishṭhira was born, of the very essence of Dharma. Vāyu Deva placed his share of Indra’s teja in Kuntī’s womb, and Bhīmasena was born. Indra himself placed his remaining vīrya (seed) in Kuntī, and from it Arjuna was born. The Aśvinī Kumāras had received portions of Indra’s teja, and through Mādrī they gave birth to the twin sons Nakula and Sahadeva. So the five Pāṇḍavas together are the five portions of the one teja of Indra.
Draupadī as Śacīdevī
Indra’s wife Śacīdevī, whose bond with Indra is eternal, was born as Draupadī from the fire of the sacred yajña. The dharma-birds tell Jaimini: “It is none other than Śacī herself who was born as Draupadī from the sacrificial fire, for great yogīśvaras can divide their essence and show it in many forms.” The five Pāṇḍavas together are the one teja of Indra. So Draupadī’s bond with all five is the holy reunion of Śacī with her husband, not in parts but as a whole.
The Viśvedeva sons and Viśvāmitra’s curse
The Viśvedevas were cursed by Viśvāmitra during the account of Hariścandra, and they were born as the sons of Draupadī. Viśvāmitra was angry with the Viśvedevas, who had gone with Hariścandra and then left him. He cursed them to take human birth, but without wives or children and without the fullness of married life.
So these Viśvedevas were born as the five sons of Draupadī: Prativindhya, Sutasoma, Śrutakīrti, Śatānīka and Śrutakarman. They died as brave mahārathas (great chariot warriors) at the hands of Aśvatthāmā, unmarried and without children.
Sources
- Mārkaṇḍeya Mahā Purāṇa, Chapter 5