Draupadi’s Questions and Sri Krishna’s Answers

The 18 day Mahabharata war was quite devastating. 35 million soldiers, including those mounted on horses, elephants and chariots and many chariot drivers (some collateral damage) perished. Some were cremated, some human bodies also were buried, along with carcasses of horses and elephants, as the fuel wood was running scarce, and many were eaten by carnivorous animals.
Draupadi was at total loss, seeing this great loss, also because she lost all her children, and step-children (I mean children of her husbands through other women). She was sad and full of repentance, and thought she was the cause of the war, which also sent many families into abject poverty. She went to Sri Krishna to get some answers.
Draupadi asked Sri Krishna “Could this was be avoided? i feel I am the soul reason for all the destruction. What I should have done instead, to avoid so much of damage”

Sri Krishna answered, “Oh Panchali, yes, perhaps you were the only one who could have avoided the war or reduced the destruction to some extent.
“At the Swayamvara hall, you knew I was present, and when Karna attempted to string the bow, it was unnecessary for you to prevent him from doing it. For a moment, you forgot the very purpose of My being there, and allowed me to do my job.
“Karna was equal in skills with bow and arrow, and if given an equal chance, could have hit the target. But it was my job to create a small ripple on the water surface when Karna was to fire the arrow to make him miss the target. Arjun was destined to win the contest, and you didn’t let me do my job. If you had not insulted Karna that time, he would have had no grudge, being a nice man, and even prevented Duryodhan to ill-treat you on various occasions.”

He continued to tell Draupadi, ” Oh Krishnaa, after the Swayamvar, you, Arjun and his four brothers reached the hut where you were to meet Kunti for the first time, prince Yudhishthira jokingly made you into an object they all got as Bhiksha. And unknowingly Kunti asked the five brothers to share you. Then knowing her mistake, she had reprimanded her son to make you an object.”

“That was the time, oh Panchali, you should have told your husband and his brother Yudhishthir that you are a human, a young bride, and not an object, to be shared. But you remained silent, agreed to being an object, let Yudhishthir treat you again the same way even years later in the hall of betting at Hastinapur. You only let the five brothers share you as their wife. When you let others to do an injustice once, yow are losing an opportunity to fight it.

“And if you had stated that you didn’t approve the brothers sharing you as wife, mother Kunti would have been on your side, and you would have remained Arjun’s only wife. I was following you all not far behind, and by the time I had reached Kunti’s hut, you all had taken her harmless words as an order. If you had said one word in protest, I would have changed the entire story.”

“Again, at the Palace of Khandavaprastha, i knew some bad things are going to happen, as Duryodhan and Shakuni were planning to stay back a few more days. I had to return to Dwaraka as the king of Salwa had started an attack on my city. I told you to control your tongue, and asked your husband’s to stay away from game of betting.”

“In spite of that, you laughed aloud when Duryodhan stepped into water (sthala-jala bhram), and unnecessarily insulted him hiring at his blind father. Anyone with self respect would remember such an insult.
“And your husbands went ahead with the game of gambling with Shakuni, whose only aim was to make them win initially so that in the next round at Hastinapur, you all would certainly come.”

“At Hastinapur, when Duryodhan invited your husbands to gamble, the only thing that was going in their minds was that Sri Krishna should not come into the gambling hall. How could I prevent the gambling?”

“Yudhishthir knew about Shakuni’s ways of cheating in gambling, which I could have dealt with easily, if only Yudhishthir asked me to play on his behalf, just as Duryodhan was doing the same proxy with Shakuni. But in his mind, he prayed that I should not come into the hall!”

“When Dusshasan started to disrobe you, your husbands were helpless, and you realized that only I could help, and pleaded to me so, and I did help you immediately. Remember, even I cannot act unless you plead.”

“Oh Panchali, after the war started, I thought your mind would melt, seeing the death of Bhishma Pitamah, your father and others, and you might forgo some of the desire to avenge, and like every other woman your heart would be filled with compassion. But that didn’t seem to happen.

You saw  Khatolkacha coming to the camp to join the fight against Kaurav Army, being the first son of Bhima. You also knew the his mother Hidumba (or Hidumbi) was the wife of any of the Pandava got married. Of course, being a forest dwelling hunter Hidumba did not have any family name to boast, And what if he didn’t show respect to you as the empress? He showed his obeisance to all five Pandavas correctly and as per protocol.  Did your children showed obeisance to Hidumba the way you wanted Khatolkacha to do with you? et, you cursed him to be short-lived, which provoked his mother Hidumba to curse your children also to be short lived. You should have known that mother’s curses have such great potential, which was also a cause for the untimely death of your children. You paid the price of your behaviour  through the brutal killing of your five sons by Ashwathama.”

Karma has to take its due course, and nobody could avert that