"This is grossly unfair!" shouted a King. "The King had invited us, fed us and honored us only to humiliate us in this manner!" "Yes!" cried another, "How dare Drupad give her away to a mere Brahmin!" Drupad folded his hands in front of the furious crowd and said, "I had vowed to bestow my daughter unto the man who wins this contest. Say, how can I break my vow?" One of the Kings said, "Very well, if she can't be the wife to any one of us, then there is no need for her to live at all! Let us burn that woman in the very fire from which the King got her!" Arjun noticed that the Princess had clutched his hand in fear. He smiled at her and said, "No need to be afraid Draupadi. I shall teach them such a lesson that they'll think twice even before looking at another woman in a wrong way! Come Dhrishtadyumn! Now, where's my brother?"
Bheem uprooted a huge tree and advanced towards the Kings, while Arjun picked up a few arrows and started shooting them at the enemy. Yudhishthir led Nakul and Sahdev to the center of the pavilion where he stood smiling while Krishna nudged Balraam, "I don't understand why they are so bent upon revealing their identity here! I don't like this! I'll go and stop them!" Balraam stopped him, "Wait a minute Kanha, lets watch the fight first. It'll be fun!" Krishna nodded and smiled at his brother.
All the Brahmins present there raised their holy sticks and shouted, "Do not fear, we shall all fight with you, and defend your wife!" Arjun said, "Thanks for the offer, but my brother and I are sufficient for this bunch of Kings. Please wait and watch how I deal with them!"
Karna attacked Arjun, while Madraraaj Shalya attacked Bheem. All the other Kings started to fight against the Brahmins. Arjun was soon outnumbered by the numerous soldiers to fought against but he refused to give up and kept fighting. At last, Karna said, "Sir, you must be a divine entity in disguise, for none except Lord Indra and Pandav Arjun can keep up with my prowess when I am angry." Arjun said, "No Angaraaj! I am a mere Brahmin, trained by my revered teacher who instructed me to take up this branch of knowledge." Hearing this, Karna immediately backed out from the fight. On the other side, Bheem had managed to defeat Shalya, who now lay on the ground, unconscious. Seeing these wondrous incidents the Kings surrounded the two brothers and said, "We are highly impressed O Brahmins. Who other than Sage Parashuraam, Sage Dron and Prince Arjun can defeat Karna? Who other than Prince Krishna can defeat Prince Duryodhan? Who other than Prince Balraam, Prince Bheem and Prince Duryodhan can defeat King Shalya? You have truly surpassed all limits of skill and power! The Vedas say, a Brahmin offender should always be pardoned. But yes, if you wish to fight again, we have no problem at all."
It was now that Krishna intervened, "O Kings! Enough of fighting! You all know very well that this young man here has won the hand of Princess by fair means. So, get back to your kingdoms and try to forget Draupadi. If you can't, come to my brother here, he'll teach you how to. Just that you have to endure some blows and punches. If you want, that is!" Balraam said, "In simple words, we mean to interfere, if you people do not withdraw your interference, just now." "Exactly!" echoed Krishna. Arjun gave him a grateful look before departing. Krishna said, "Lets follow them, quick! Daruk?"
The Pandavs had almost reached the potter's house when Arjun's eyes flickered with a sudden mischievous glint, "Lets give Mother a surprise!" The others agreed to it. On reaching their humble cottage, Arjun called out, "Maa! Come out and see what alms we have brought for you today!" Kunti, busy with some work, "Divide the alms equally among yourselves, children!" The brothers looked at each other. They were too shocked to react. Draupadi however, lowered her eyes and smiled. Arjun looked at her and said, "You don't understand Draupadi. Maa's words are always honoured by us." He watched as her as her eyes became large with surprise and the colour drained out of her cheeks. She looked at him disbelievingly. Arjun looked away, having no words for her. Kunti was shocked to see what her sons were speaking of. She turned to Yudhishthir, "Son! I have full faith in your understanding of the scriptures. Find such a solution which save this girl from the sin of polyandry, and me from from the sin of untrue words!" Yudhishthir appeared to be in a deep thought.
After sometime he spoke, "Arjun! You have won Yaagyaseni by your own prowess. So, you marry her with all good rites and rituals." Arjun looked down, "But how can I marry before you, Brother. It is not appropriate. So whatever you will decide will be followed by all of us, including Draupadi." Yudhishthir looked at his brothers. They were all looking at Draupadi. In their eyes was a love that was not of the kind that flourished between a brother and a sister. He himself felt a strange attraction towards her. He suddenly remembered Sage Ved Vyaas' words. He looked at Kunti and realized that they both were thinking of the same thing, it would never do for the five of them to fight amongst themselves for Draupadi. He quietly indicated the five brothers to follow him out. Outside the cottage he said, "After a lot of contemplation, I have decided that Draupadi will be a common wife to all of us. I hope this fine with all of you." Each nodded with an image of Draupadi finding a strong foundation in their hearts.
They went in and while Yudhishthir was telling Kunti of his decision, they heard a sharp knock on the door, which was followed by a sweet and confident voice, "I'm coming in!" A tall and dark figure came in and fell at Kunti's feet, "Guess who I am! The five brothers are expected to stay silent till I get an answer, and I will think a lot higher of the Princess if she lets her mother-in-law answer my question." Kunti was perplexed, "I don't know, Son! Who are you?" "Aunt? You should have known me!" "Fine, but I don't think I have seen you?" "Of course you haven't and that is why I wore this green dress today! You had sent it for me. Remember? I had even worn it for all three of my weddings!" "So? Wait! You're not Krishna? Are you?" "Yes, I am my dearest Auntie." "And I am Balraam, if I may speak." Kunti immediately rose and pulled them close to her, "You both are just so naughty. Naughtier that I had imagined! But, how come you're here?" "Yes! How did you know who we were?" asked Yudhishthir. "Actually, fire cannot hide behind ashes, can it?" smiled Krishna. Balraam embraced Bheem, "It's so nice to see you after so long, Brother-student!" "Yes it is, Brother-teacher!" "But I am very disappointed today! You have forgot half the things I taught you!" "No Brother, I haven't! It's just that I did not apply those techniques lest anyone caught us!" "I won't have any excuses. You must come to Dwarka next months. I will revise all of them with you again." Kunti caressed Krishna's hair as she spoke, "So, how's everything at Dwarka? How are Brother Vasudev and my dear sisters-in-law? And before everything, how is Subhadra? I had a portrait of her, which your father had sent when she was born. She must have grown into a beautiful young lady by now." "Yes! She is now quoted as the most beautiful girl in the world! But now your daughter-in-law will be holding that position! By the way what's your name, Princess?" Draupadi smiled coyly, "My name is Draupadi." "I did not ask for the title my dear. What's your name?" "Krishnaa." "Really? Well, my name is Krishna. Krishna-Krishnaa, such a pleasant co-incidence, isn't it? Oh yes, do you know even your husband's name is Krishna?" Draupadi's smile faded away. Krishna turned to Kunti with inquiring eyes, who then told him of her unfortunate words and Yudhishthir's decision. To their surprise, Krishna only smiled, "Oh! That's a unique solution. So intelligent of Brother to have thought it up! Don't you worry Draupadi, you have the flair. Keep all five of them on their toes! Come on, you can do it my girl!" The brothers hung their faces in embarrasment while Draupadi glared at him. "Oh, but you're just a baby! But don't worry, I'll ask my wives to help you out with this. They are expert in this art!" Draupadi's glared brightened up, "Who says I am a baby? From which angle do I look like one?" "Ah, you don't actually look like one, but come on, you're younger than my little sister! Oh, forget her, you're younger than my son!" "You have a son?" "Yes! Pradyumn, didn't you see him?" "Yes, I did, but I thought he was you're brother?" "Everyone thinks so at first." "But-" "He looks too old to be my son, isn't it? Well, that's a long story. I'll tell you some other day for now it looks like my brother's waiting for me in a temper. Let me tell you, there's just one thing I fear in this world and that is my brother's punches and right now I want none of them, and so I must leave. Goodbye, Krishnaa! Goodbye Aunt. Goodbye Arjun, we'll meet soon. See you all tomorrow at the wedding alter! And brother, no more of running away now. It's time for you to get back." The Pandavs watched them go as Kunti commented, "Oh Lord, such a whirlwind he is!" Arjun smiled at her, "Yes. Lightened up in atmosphere in a few minute. But, I wanted to ask him about so many things!" Sahdev said, "Don't worry Brother, he said that we'll meet him again very soon!"
When night fell Kunti said to Draupadi, "My dear, first offer some of this to the Gods, give some of it to the Brahmins assembled outside, and some to the poor men wanting food. Assimilate and divide the remaining food into into two halves. Keep one half for Bheem for he always eats a lot, and divide the rest into six halves for us." When the time came for them to sleep, Nakul and Sahadev prepared a bed of grasses for all of them. Then the Pandavs laid down with their heads facing the South, with Kunti at their head and Draupadi at their feet. The brothers started to talk of war-horses and elephants, and of weapons and wars.
Dhrishtadyumn, who had been hiding outside the cottage was extremely pained to see the present state of his precious sister, but at the same time was confused by the discussion that the brothers carried on because as Brahmins they should be discussing about scriptures. He went back to Drupad and reported what he had seen. Drupad, who had been lamenting the fate of daughter was struck by a thin ray of hope, and he asked Dhrishtadyumn, "I do not know why I feel that it was Prince Arjun who won the hand of my daughter. We all have heard that they have escaped the fire at Varnavart! You send a Brahmin to that potter's house to inquire of their identity and invite those brothers to our palace."
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