Draupadi looked around. Again they have reached a royal palace. How many inner chambers, durbars and royal courts, she has seen and lived through! Like a princess, praised by everybody! In the guise of a maid, lady-in-waiting , with the name of Sairandri, she has come to the Fisherman King Virata’s palace. Her troubled eyes wandered all over the place. She was not conscious of the movement of her feet. She was not listening to the throbbing of her heart. Her self was not anywhere she moved. Only a wonder how a
soulless body walks!
She pulled down her veil over the face once again and walked fast. Some soldiers were looking in wonder. Watchmen looked sharply at her. Their large moustache rose and fell. She wanted to tell them.
‘ Watchmen, why do you look sharply at me? I’m Draupadi, Panchala King’s daughter.’
The consciousness of the place and time put the tongue in bonds. No. This is the time of anonymity. Spies will be all around. I cannot lead a forest life for another twelve years. Nobody should get such a punishment in life. Here, Drupada Princess is becoming the maid of another Queen. What for? Hasn’t an unnecessary game of dice led to destruction? We went through many hardships. Disasters happened. Draupadi herself suffered all disasters. Poor Draupadi flowed away in the merciless waterfall of the Fate.
She bowed to the watchmen.
“I’m Sairandri. I need permission to show myself to the Queen.”
The watchmen called the soldiers inside and conveyed the matter. One of them went inside the palace.
My Lord Krishna…without consciousness Draupadi called out. What a miserable situation for this devotee of yours! Do I hear the note of a bamboo flute in my innermost heart ? Seems so. Even otherwise, I feel like having Govinda always with me…The soldier who went inside came back after some time. He gave her permission to go to the Queen’s inner chamber.
While she was walking through the corridors she remembered. For the anonymous life Dharmaputra gave each a name.
He pronounced.
“ I will take the name of Kunkan who is a Brahmin interested in the game of dice and I will win over Virata’s love. I am well- versed in the varieties of the game… I will also tell him that I was Dharmaputra’s intimate friend. “ So saying he looked at Draupadi and laughed.
Draupadi looked at Yudhishthira in surprise.
Oh! He has chosen the most fitting job for himself. I don’t think he will ever give up his mania for this game of dice even with his death. The younger brothers exchanged mutual glances when their elder brother spoke like this. They were amazed. Wasn’t Dharma brother fed up with the disasters the game of dice had brought him? The thought flashed through their faces.
Bhima was happy when Yudhisthira told him that Bhima should be an assistant in the kitchen and the dining hall in the name of Vallavan. When he cooks much better than the earlier cook, the King will definitely love him better than the others. There will not be any scarcity in the dining hall, either!
Arjuna looked to Yudhishtira’s face to know what his dress would be.
“Aren’t you a eunuch….?”
Yudhishthira’s question disappointed Arjuna. He was upset and he bent his face . “Weren’t you cursed to be a eunuch and to sing and dance among the women folk? Arjuna , you go in woman’s dress and teach the anthapurasthreekal the women of the inner chambers dance in the name of
Brihannala.”
Arjuna accepted the role quite unwillingly.
“ It’s Nakula who knows about horses. It’s better for him to work like a hostler. You are named Grandhikan. Now speak about a good species of a horse and its traits of merit.”
Nakula happily starts speaking about the horses.
“ The neck and the part of the eyelids must be long; both the lips and tongue must be red like the red flower; the shoulders and hair must be thin and soft; feet. Face and gait must be beautiful; the upper lip and the stem of the tail must be short; the ankles, knees , and thighs must be round in shape, the teeth must be properly aligned and white and shaped , beautiful to view. The horses which have these qualities are of good omen and will give victory to the kings in war.”
Draupadi felt appreciation for Nakula. He is very fond of horses and horse-riding.
Sahadeva said that he would like to be a cow-herd and bashfully looked at Draupadi. She inwardly laughed thinking that he was still not changed.
“Sahadeva wants to be a cow-herd to drink milk.” Bhima made fun of him.
“Isn’t it a holy deed to take care of the cows?” Sahadeva gave his reply.
“In that case, take the name ‘Tantrapalan.’
Sahadeva nodded his head as if it was agreeable to him. Next is my turn. What dress has Yudhishthira brother for me? Which dress may suit me? Vallava, the cook’s assistant, or Brihannala’s assistant, or the hostler or cow-herd’s wife? If these are not the ones, the wife of the vipra(Brahmin)who is going to serve Virata King by playing the game of dice? Which costume will fit me? My stay would be most agreeable with Nakula and Sahadeva. Their love is mingled with respect. If it is with Bhimabrother, there will be several hardships. But he won’t make me work hard. While Draupadi was thinking about each kind of work that may be assigned to her, Yudhishthira’s voice rose.
“Panchali has only one suitable job.”
Eagerly she looked at Yudhishthira. Her mind murmured.
‘Pandava Eldest Brother, my Lord, tell me to go as an assistant to Brihannala.’
“Let Panchali take the dress of Sairandri.” Draupadi was shocked….Sairandri…?
She frowned and looked at Yudhishthira brother.
“As Sairandri…” She lost her words. Dharmaputra could not give me any other position, she regretfully thought. While she was standing behind a tree to hide the tears trickling down her cheeks, Arjuna came to her. He wiped her tears and said.
“Panchali, don’t cry. One year will pass quickly. We will again dwell in our royal palace, sure. I’ll try to avoid such bad fortunes in future. Please be patient for one more year.”
“Partha!” with deep ache she called out.
“ Don’t you know who Sairandri is? Sairandri means the maid who leaves her home and stays in another house. What purity does a woman who has five husbands have? Prostitute…Only that he had not called me by that name. It’s Dharmabrother himself who has put me in this dilemma. Arjuna, if you were the only man in my life, should I have to suffer from this humiliation and disgrace? Not that I became a maid in the royal court. It’s for making me a Sairandri. I’m terribly grieved at this.”
Hearing her words of agony Arjuna stood stunned. He lifted Panchali’s face and said.
“My beloved, You are the one who brought me from my sorrow to a new life. If you had also rejected me this Parthan would not have been hesitant in giving up my life. I’m going to teach dance. I’ll make arrangements for your stay in the dancers’ dwelling place. Nobody will suspect.”
Sorrows somehow were melted down. What has happened to me who wanted to live with Arjuna?
The soldiers in the inner chambers gave way for them. Draupadi was being ushered into the Fisherman King Virata King’s wife’s presence. The maids stood on both sides fanning with the venchamara fans made of the tail-hair of a kind of deer. She looked with a sleek of jealousy at the Queen sitting on the throne studded with precious jewels in the centre of the Hall, bowed to show obeisance and politely told her of the purpose of her coming.
(Cont’d)
