Storytelling for Week 5: Thoughts

I brushed my long dark hair out with contemplative strokes while gazing at the white, fluffy clouds that graced the sky. I smiled for what seemed the first time in a long time. Life was not that bad in this particular moment.

the sky on the fateful day

Memories came back to me of a particular time I would rather forget. I stood before five brothers who just argued all of the time. Did they not realize that they were presenting themselves to be just five immature little children? They had not been thinking of my feelings in that moment for sure. The least they could have done is actually presented themselves to be men worthy of having me as their wife. After all, was I not the princess?

Who could really reason with them, though? After all, they had forced me to be the wife of five men. Of five men! I was really astonished that this was a thing. It had been mentioned that it was inappropriate for a woman to the be a wife of five men. She would be considered a "public" woman ... no, I was considered a public woman. I pondered this sadly for a few moments. I used to have a great reputation. Now, look at me. The humiliated woman who had five husbands.

Some indignation arose. How was it that a man could have five wives and not be considered immoral? There was an astonishing lack of equality in society. I could not do a thing about it, though, because I was a woman.

I thought of my mother and how she would have been deeply saddened to see me in this situation. She had higher hopes for me and my future. I had higher hopes for myself.

"Draupadi!"

I was startled from my thoughts and turned to see one of my handmaidens come running in a desperate rush. She looked somewhat terrified as she stopped to catch her breath,

"What is it?" I asked with hesitation. Did I really want to know?

"They ..." she gasped, "They have gambled you away to another man."

My heart sank. Why does this happen to me? Why always to me? I stood frozen in shock while her words slowly ran through me. Another man? I was to have six husbands? Or just one? What had my current husband done to me?

I realized I had to think quickly. Knowing his gambling problem, I was probably not the first thing he had lost.

“Go back and ask if he gambled away himself first.”

Her eyes lit up as she realized what I meant. She took off out of the room. I waited with my breath held and the hope that this was going to work.

Author's Note: This story is very close to the original. Draupadi, the princess of Panchala, had been given to five brothers as their wife. It had been brought up that her reputations was going to be ruined since she would be considered a “public” woman. However, it was done and she became the wife of five men. It was worked out that she would spend one year with each man. After that year, she would then move on to be the wife of the next brother for a year. In turn, the brothers had to agree to erase her from their mind at the end of their allotted year. So, Draupadi received the wrong end of that deal. She was not even going to be remembered by her husband with whom she had just spent an entire year. My hope in writing this story was to help the reader see more of Draupadi’s side. I want them to see how this situation must have made her feel. It was not good in any possible way. It was a horrible situation and it is somewhat astonishing she was able to still think quickly to attempt to find a way out of her circumstances. The original story comes from The Mahabharata by R.K. Narayan (2008).