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36 SUKUMARI BI LATTACI1ARJ1

as human Iovcrs: RohinT, one of Soma *s twenty-scvcn wivcs was cspecially favourcd by her husband, Damayantrs atlacłuncnt to Nala was legendary, of the scvcn sages ArundhatT was so faithful to Vasistha that Svflhfi who assumed the shapes of the other six wives in order to enjoy Agni ’s embraccs, could not impersonate ArundhatT. Thus DraupadT was blesscd wilh a specially close loving relalionship wilh her husbands. In a sense the boon borę fruit: all the brolhers were aware that in DraupadT they had a rare jcwcl of womanhood, all rcspectcd her and Ioved her in their own ways. Shc had looked upon Bhlma as the proleclor, Yudhislhira as the preceptor and the upholdcr of the higher valucs of lite, Arjuna as the lover par cxccllcncc. Yet except Bhlina her other iwo husbands betrayed her failh in them. The iwo youngest brothers havc too insignificanl a role to dcserve spccial menlion. Arjuna betrayed her claim to his spccial romanlic love.

And Yudhislhira, the symbol of righleousness and juslice betrayed her human dignily. In the gamę of chess he stakcd her as a pawn and lost. First, as one of the llve brolhers Yudhislhira overslcppcd his righls on DraupadT. We hcar that ⁴a wife should not be bought or sold.*⁹² This losing a wife in a gamę is worsc; shc is clearly regarded as a chatlcl owned by the husband who could do whal he wished with her. When Pratikamin came to felch her to the courl, she could hardly believe his words. Shc asked him ⁴⁴ Pratikamin, how can you say this? What prince would evcr pawn his wife as a stake? The poor king is inloxicatcd with chess, there’s no other harm in hiin."⁹³ Foolishly shc asks him if the King lost her beforc or aflcr losing himself at the gamę. ‘Go, find this out and then take me therc.*⁹⁴ Yet it was not allogcthcr a loolish qucry, for, it contains a tacit acknowlcdgcmcnt of a husband ’s righl to stake his wife, in conformily wilh the scriptures. Towards

the period of the very last accrctions of the epic bclongs Kalidasa who States

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about Sakunlala whom her husband refuses to acccpt as his wife, “She is your wife, lakę her or abandon her : the husband’s power over his wife is absolutc. ’*⁵ DraupadT fclt outraged at having to acccpt this posilion of a mcrc chatlcl, especially where the honour of conjugality was crushcd underfoot wilhout cffccUYC protest from any ąuarter. And yet this was DraupadT to whom the hostile Karna paid an unstinted complimcnt when he said to Duryodhana, ⁴⁴ It is impossible to alienate DraupadT from the Pandavas by their cncmics (now). She had acccplcd them when they wcrc at their lowest; (but) now they shine.^4,96

This was the ultimatc public humiliation of the wife of lTve husbands, where their ignominy and passivity about rcscuing her honour and social prestige had touched ils lowest point - and DraupadT could ncver forgive her husbands for this. A spiriled girl, she writhed wilh moriitkation and when shc complained to her friend Krsna, she was fuli of gali:⁴⁴ O Madhusudana, wilh my husbands alive, with the Yrsnis and Partdilas all living, they wished