Jaya: An Illustrated Retelling of the Mahabharata Read online

  Before long, Indra-prastha became the envy of all Bharata-varsha, for it was a prosperous city with fields and orchards and pastures and markets and river-ports. Priests, warriors, farmers, herdsmen and artisans from all over came to make this their new home. Yudhishtira with the help of his brothers instituted and maintained the code of dharma in this city. All men were supposed to do their duties determined by the role of their father in society and by their stage in life. All women were supposed to take care of their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons and help them fulfil their duty.

  Advising the Pandavas was their guru, Dhaumya, who had witnessed their rise in fortune from their days in abject poverty in the forests of Ekachakra.

  It is interesting that Indra, a Deva, which is conventionally translated to mean god, opposes the Pandavas while Maya, an Asura, conventionally translated to mean demon, supports the Pandavas. While Indra, king of the Devas and god of rain, who resides in the sky, tries to save the Nagas whose habitat is being destroyed, Agni, another Deva, god of fire, who sits on the ground, consumes the Nagas and their habitat. Thus the relationship of humans, Devas, Asuras and Nagas is quite complex.

  Devas and Asuras had great architects who built vast citadels based on the principles of Vastu-shastra. Devas had Vishwakarma while Asuras had Maya. That Pandavas take the help of Maya indicates that the Asuras, though feared as demons, were also seen as allies under suitable conditions. Maya means magician, suggesting that the techniques he used to build the palace for the Pandavas were considered magical.

  Since weapons were so integral to warriors in Vedic times, they were given names and treated with respect. Arjuna’s bow is called Gandiva while Krishna’s discus is called Sudarshan. Krishna has other weapons too—a sword called Nandaka, a mace called Kaumodaki and a bow called Saranga. Balarama called his pestle Sunanda.

  Indra-prastha is believed to have been located on the banks of the Yamuna not far from modern Delhi. Hastina-puri was located further north on the banks of the Ganga. Kuru-kshetra is a barren stretch of land in what is now the state of Haryana.

  For helping him regain his lustre, Agni, the fire-god, gifts Arjuna many weapons including the famed bow Gandiva and a chariot drawn by four horses: Saibya, Sugriva, Meghapuspa and Balahaka.

  38

  Sharing Draupadi

  All the five Pandavas loved Draupadi equally. This was a recipe for disaster for it was a question of time before they experienced jealousy and possessiveness.

  Krishna told the Pandavas the story of Tilotamma, an Apsara who was sent by the Devas to create discord and eventually destroy the two Asura brothers, Sunda and Upasunda. No sooner did the two brothers see her than both desired her hand in marriage. ‘I will marry the one who is the stronger of you two,’ said Tilotamma smiling slyly. The brothers decided to fight for her. And since both were equally matched, they ended up killing each other in the fight.

  ‘If you don’t want to end up killing each other as Sunda and Upasunda did, you must agree to allow Draupadi to be exclusive to one brother for a year at a time. Once the year is over, you must let her go to your other brothers and return to her only four years later. The brother who enters Draupadi’s chamber out of turn will go into exile for a year,’ said Krishna to the Pandavas.

  The Pandavas agreed. Each brother had exclusive access to Draupadi’s chamber for a year at a time and she served each one dutifully. It was said that before moving on to the next husband she would walk through fire and regain her virginity.

  Draupadi enjoyed Yudhishtira’s honesty, Bhima’s strength, Arjuna’s skill, Nakula’s beauty and Sahadeva’s knowledge. She bore each one of her husbands a son. Thus she became mother of five sons.

  The Pandavas were allowed to marry other women to take away their loneliness in the four years they were deprived of Draupadi’s company. But none of these other wives were allowed to stay in Indra-prastha. This was Draupadi’s demand and the Pandavas agreed to it.

  One day, the cows of the Pandavas were being herded away by thieves. The cowherds sought the help of Arjuna who rushed to the palace to collect his bow. He looked everywhere but could not find it. Finally, he decided to look for his bow in the one place he had not searched: Draupadi’s bedchamber. When he entered, he found her in the arms of Yudhishtira.

  Since he had entered the bedchamber out of turn, Arjuna had to go into exile for a year as punishment. He decided to go on a pilgrimage.

  Draupadi bore the Pandavas five sons. They were: Prativindhya, son of Yudhishtira; Satsoma, son of Bhima; Shurtakirti, son of Arjuna; Shatanika, son of Nakula; and Shrutasena, son of Sahadeva.

  Besides Draupadi, each Pandava had other wives. Yudhishtira married Devika, the daughter of Govasana of the Saivya tribe, and begat upon her a son called Yaudheya. Bhima married Valandhara, the daughter of the king of Kashi, and begat upon her a son named Sarvaga. Nakula married Karenumati, the princess of Chedi, and begat upon her a son named Niramitra. Sahadeva obtained Vijaya, the daughter of Dyutimat, the king of Madra, and begat upon her a son named Suhotra.

  There is a Punjabi folklore connecting Draupadi’s conjugal arrangements with the reason why dogs copulate in public. A Pandava would always leave his footwear outside Draupadi’s chamber to let the other brothers know of his presence. A dog stole Yudhishtira’s footwear and so Arjuna assumed Draupadi was alone when he entered her chamber in search of his bow. Draupadi, embarrassed, cursed the dog that since its actions caused her intimate moments to be known to another, all dogs in the future would copulate only in full view of the public, stripped of all shame.

  In the Oriya Mahabharata, Agni, the god of fire, demands that he be allowed to see Yudhishtira. Unfortunately, at that time, the king is busy in the chambers of Draupadi. Agni threatens to destroy the city of Indra-prastha if the king does not meet him immediately. Arjuna therefore is forced to enter Draupadi’s chamber, out of turn, resulting in his long exile.

  39

  Ulupi and Chitrangada

  During his journeys, Arjuna visited many holy shrines located on riverbanks, beside lakes or on mountain tops.

  In one lake Arjuna was attacked by five crocodiles, but he managed to wrestle and kill them all. To his surprise, the crocodiles turned into five nymphs. ‘We were cursed to be crocodiles by a Rishi whose meditation we disturbed. We were told a warrior would liberate us. That warrior is you. Thank you.’

  Another time, Arjuna was dragged under the river where he found himself in the arms of a Naga woman called Ulupi. ‘I have no husband. Make me yours. Make love to me,’ she requested. Arjuna refused. ‘It is against dharma to reject a woman who comes to you willingly and full of desire,’ she said, quoting the scriptures. Arjuna had then no choice but to spend a night with her. Then he went on his way, forgetting the strange encounter.

  From his union with Ulupi, Arjuna would become the father of a young warrior called Iravan who would, years later, play a crucial role in the great war at Kuru-kshetra.

  Arjuna then came to the kingdom of Manipur whose princess, he had heard, was a great warrior woman called Chitrangada.

  Chitrangada had heard many great things about Arjuna, and had fallen in love with him without even seeing him. She feared that Arjuna would be repelled by her rather masculine bearing. So she invoked Shiva and begged him to make her more feminine. Shiva answered her prayers and she transformed into a coy young girl. When she approached Arjuna in her new form, he paid her no attention for he had seen many such women. His eyes searched for that great warrior woman with manly gait called Chitrangada. When Chitrangada learnt what Arjuna sought, she begged Shiva to restore her to her original form. Arjuna took one look at Chitrangada as she really was and fell in love with her.

  ‘May I marry your daughter?’ Arjuna asked the king of Manipur.

  ‘Yes, you may,’ replied the king, ‘provided you let me adopt the son she bears.’

  ‘So it shall be,’ said Arjuna. In due course, Chitrangada gave birth to Arjuna’s son who was named Babruvahana. H