The Queen Who Was Gambled Away: Interview With Draupadi
Queen Draupadi
BY FAATINA SHARMA October 26, 2015
This is the first installment of our Get to Know series. Shreemati News hopes that these stories inspire our readers. For our first week, I sat down with Draupadi. She has not been in the news very much lately, especially since the story broke about her husband gambling her away. Draupadi graciously agreed to sit down and talk about her feelings about that time and how she has moved on since then.
I met with Draupadi in the local coffee shop. She came in wearing yoga pants and a flowing top. She gave off a peaceful air. Draupadi looked like a woman who had taken her past struggles and used them to make herself stronger. She spotted me and a giant smile spread across her face, which gave a sparkle to her eyes. After we hugged, we sat down with our tea and proceeded with the interview.
Shreemati News: Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview! How has life been lately?
Draupadi: Of course! I have always been a great admirer of this news network since it started. Life has been wonderful! I recently became certified as a yoga instructor and I plan on opening my own yoga studio soon. I really enjoy it and I hope it helps other people find the peace that I found through practicing yoga. You know, ever since that time.
SN: That sounds like a great idea. It is easy to see that there is something different about you. I bet it is the time you spent focusing on yourself. Speaking of that time, would you mind sharing with the readers a few of your thoughts as you went through that?
D: Oh, thank you! It did help me come to terms with the fact that my husband gambled me away in a giant game of dice. It can really hurt a woman's self-esteem when she realizes her husband is willing to give her up just like that. I do not think I will ever forget that moment. I was just simply spending some time writing letters in my chambers when one of my handmaidens came through the door. She seemed so terrified that I was hesitant to ask what was going on. She had taken a moment to catch her breath and then told me that my husband had used me as the stakes in his game of dice.
SN: I cannot begin to imagine what the horror of that moment must have felt like! How did you handle it?
D: Honestly, I was terrified! But then I realized there was a good chance that my husband, Yudhishthira, had already lost a significant portion of his property. I was hoping he had perhaps gambled away himself first. Once it was confirmed, I knew that I was not going to go willingly. However, those awful men pulled me down into the court. The called me a woman with no morals because I had been forced to marry all five of the Pandava brothers.
SN: Oh, is this where the miracle occurs?
D: Yes, they said it would be no difference if I had clothes or not. They tried to pull them off of me. However, I prayed to Krishna and he extended my sari so it would never end.
SN: Amazing! What happened after that?
D: Well, surprisingly after that, they were so stunned by the way Krishna rescued me, they asked me what I wanted. I think they wanted to get me out of there so that I would not call down the wrath of Krishna on them. They gave me back my freedom and restored what Yudhishthira lost. After that, I was able to take my things and leave.
SN: That is incredible. It really shows how brave you are in taking a stand and changing your life for better.
D: I do not know if I would say that. I think what really happened was that I realized I did not like where my life was. I felt at my lowest when they said I was gambled away. When I got a second chance ... when I was sent away from the court, I realized I had the freedom to make my own choices now. That was the best feeling ever.
SN: I bet that was a beautiful moment. I think that was all of my questions for today. Thank you for your time!
AUTHOR'S NOTE: When I originally read the story of Draupadi, I was so sad for the queen. She had been forced to marry five brothers and passed down each year. Each brother was required to forget all about their year with Draupadi. I cannot imagine how awful it would feel to already be changing husbands each year, but to also have each husband forget all about you. I did try to streamline the story, because there is a lot in Draupadi's story. For instance, there are a lot more details included when Draupadi was brought before the court to determine whether or not she had been legally gambled away to another man. Also, there is much more that can be written about the Pandava brothers all taking her as their wife. I might try to introduce the other details in another story in the future. For this story, I was drawing inspiration from the interviews that are often in women's magazines. I worked it into an interview that I felt Shreemati News would enjoy reporting. I like interviews because they can really show a more intimate side to the interviewee. The original story can be found by reading R. K. Narayan's The Mahabharata (1978).