Disclaimer

The story is an a blend of author's imagination with the events mentioned in the original text of the Mahabharat, and the incidents shown in the tele-serials made on Mahabharat. Some of the incidents and dialogue exchange between the characters are added by the author to make the narrative more interesting. The base plot line has been kept as it was in the original text of Mahabharat. So, readers are requested to respect author's imagination.

Caution: The chapter contains some references depicting violence. Reader's discretion is advised.

Draupadi's POV:

Thrice; there had been attempts to violate the queen of Indraprastha. Twice by her own people, and once by an unknown. Out of those three times, justice has been served by my husbands in two of such incidents and for the one incident, which had left the deepest scar on my soul, justice is still awaited.

During our stay at the woods, my husbands always ensured that at least one of them was always at the hermitage to ensure my safety. But that day, all of them went away into the deep woods to rescue a large group of our fellow snataka brahmans, who lost their way back home.

I was done with cooking meals for my husbands and our other companions; and was standing just outside the cottage. Gazing out at the breathtaking view of the woods had become my new hobby.

End of Draupadi's POV

Author's POV:

The only sister of Dhritarashtra's 100 sons was married to the king of Sindhu, Jayadrath. Jayadrath was invited to take part in the Swayam Var ceremony at Shalva Kingdom. Duryodhana too was invited and was supposed to attend the ceremony with his brother-in-law. But at the last moment, when the doorman informed him about Jayadrath's arrival, he chose to invest his precious time in strategizing for the upcoming war, which was looming at the end of the 13-year exile. 

The route from Hastinapur to Shalva went through the woods of Kamyaka. King Jayadrath, accompanied with many other kings, his body guards and servants, and a large army were enchanted by the beauty of the woods. Unbeknownst to them, the route they had taken, passed right next to the Pandavas' hermitage.

Jayadrath was lost in relishing the beauty of the woods, when his eyes caught glance on the most beautiful women of the Universe, Panchali. He never had the opportunity to meet the fire-born empress before that day, so naturally he could not recognize her. But looking at her breathtaking beauty, he was just stupefied. It felt as if the entire Universe had come to a halt around him. His men too stopped, awaiting his order. For a second, he could not believe that such a beauty could even exist in the world of living. However, in next few moments, his amazement of seeing Draupadi's beauty, was overcome by lust and an urgent desire to obtain her by any means possible.

Under the arduous influence, he asked King Kotikashya, a king from one of his allied kingdoms, "Kotik, can you find out about that heavenly beauty over there? Her irresistible charm forces me to think if she is even a human being."

"But Maharaj, we are supposed to reach Shalva before the 2nd prahar. If we stop now, we might not reach there on time. We are already running late." Kotikashya cautioned. But Jayadrath was adamant.

"Kotik, look at her! Who would desire to marry another woman, if he has a beautiful wife like her." Jayadrath tried to justify. At last, Kotikashya, descended down his chariot and started walking towards Draupadi.

End of Author's POV

Draupadi's POV:

With the retreat of winter, the woods had seemed to awaken with a bust of colors. The valleys had gotten blanketed in wildflowers and the air was fragranced with their sweet scent. While gazing at the amazing beauty of the spring, unknowingly I started humming a piece of Vasant Raga. That was the first piece of music, I was taught by my Guru at Kampilya. He was not only my music teacher, but he had been a friend, philosopher and a guide to me.

"Devi, your voice is as melodious as your enchanting beauty. Who are you and why are you all alone in this dense forest?" An unknown man, perhaps someone from royal family, spoke. I was taken aback for a moment. I was absorbed in thoughts about my music teacher, that I did not even notice an unknown man, clad in royal silken robes and dressed like a king, had approached near the cottage.

I contemplated for few moments and then replied, "Before introducing myself to a complete stranger, may I know who are you and why have you come here?"

The stranger man answered, "Devi, I am Kotikashya, son of Maharaj Suratha. My Lord, King of Sindhu, Maharaj Jayadrath was on his way to Shalva, when he got awestruck by your divine beauty. Hence, he sent me seek your introduction. So, please devi, introduce yourself?"

I replied, "Prince Kotikashya, I am Draupadi, daughter of King of Panchal, Maharaja Dhrupad and wife of 5 Pandav Brothers of Indraprastha. I am sure you have certainly heard a lot about them." I could clearly see the signs of astonishment on his face. I added, "I have been living in these woods with my husbands. Please you and your companions rest here for a while, till then I will arrange some refreshments for all of you." He nodded at me and then went away, while I went inside to make the arrangement.

While I was busy inside, arranging for some light snacks for our guests, I heard some commotion outside. I went out only to find another person draped in royal attire. I presumed, he must be my only sister-in-law, Dusshala's husband, Maharaj Jayadrath. Perhaps feeling my presence, he turned towards me and looked at me. Something was very wrong in the way he looked at me. To be honest I was feeling a bit uneasy under his prying eyes.

"I welcome you Maharaj Jayadrath on behalf of my eldest husband, Samrat Yudhishthir. Hope, you had a comfortable journey so far." I said, overcoming the uneasiness hanging in the air.

"Thank you for the welcome, Maharani Draupadi. I am a bit amazed to know that you know me." He replied.

"Why wouldn't I? You are husband to my only sister-in-law, and in that sense, you are a part of my family. How is Dusshala doing?" I asked

"Dusshala is fine. But I am more worried about you." He replied. I noticed a change in his tone. He came forward, saying, "This forest life does not suit you." I immediately moved back few steps.

"JAYADRATH!!" I warned while giving him a stern look.

"Draupadi, the Pandavas do not deserve you. Come with me and be my queen. I promise, I will keep you as lavishly as you might not have even dreamed." He shamelessly came forward and before I could do anything he grabbed my hand. By now we he had moved inside the cottage.

I, with all my power, jerked his hand away and dashed away to the other end of the room. "YOU, SHAMELESS PRICK!! HOW DARE YOU SAY THOSE WORDS TO ME!! IF YOU WEREN'T DUSSHALA'S HUSBAND, I WOULD HAVE TORN THAT TONGUE OF YOURS FOR SAYING SUCH DISGRACEFUL WORDS." I roared at him but he shamelessly started laughing and started coming towards me. 

"DON'T YOU DARE TO COME NEAR ME!! MY HUSBANDS ARE NOT GOING TO SPARE YOU!!" I kept warning him, but he paid no heed to my words and kept walking towards me. My back was against the wall; there was no space to move and he was only inch away from me. "Listen woman! Your coward husbands do not scare me." He sneered at me and then everything happened in a blink of an eye. He forcefully seized my hands and flung me across his shoulder. He started striding outside the hermitage.

"WRETCH!! HOW DARE YOU DEFILE ME? LET ME DOWN! LET ME GO!" I cried, I begged....but he did not listen.

But my cries for help had alerted Rishi Dhaumya. He dashed at Jayadrath, and asked in a roaring voice, "Who are you? How dare you treating our queen like this? If you don't let her go, right now, my king and his brothers will not think even twice before draining life from your body." But that arrogant husband of my only sister-in-law, pushed Rishivar to the rudely and proudly remarked, "You are a fool to even think so. Your king himself staked his wife in the game of dice. Neither him nor his brothers even raised their eyes at those, who tried to disrobe their wife before the entire raj sabha. How dare they even stand infont of me!" Saying this that evil Jayadrath forcibly took me outside the hermitage, made me sit on his chariot and ordered the charioteer and his army to move towards Sindhu.

End of Draupadi's POV

[1] It was almost lunch time, when we returned from after the rescue operation. But there was an uncanny silence all around. We had not even reached near the hermitage, but I could see a trace of sadness on the faces of the ladies of the brahman families. In one corner Rishi Dhaumya was sitting on the ground and his head hung low was resting on his right hand. Silent tears were falling down his cheeks. I went to him and sat near him. "Rishivar, what happened?" I inquired with a slight tremor in my heart. My words perhaps brought him out of the trance, for he looked at me and my brothers alarmingly and said in panicked tone, "Raajan, please save her. He took her. I could not do anything. Please save our Empress."

I felt as if ground slipped beneath my feet. Before I could process the newly found information, I heard Bheem's booming voice. "Who dared to take Panchali without her permission? Tell me his name now." Rishi Dhaumya replied, "Yuvraj, your brother-in-law, Jayadrath, dared to abduct Empress Draupadi."

Without waiting for another moment, we rushed towards the direction where Jayadrath went, as pointed by Rishi Dhaumya. After walking for few yojanas, we were able to locate Jayadrath's army. Panchali's cries for help clearly reached our ears. Arjun immediately summoned his Gandiva and shot shahastra vana astra at the army and in a blink of an eye, Jayadrath's men began falling to their death. Jayadrath, stopped on his tracks and noticing our presence, immediately descended from chariot, took a horse from one of his men and fled into the woods.

We immediately went near his chariot and freed Panchali. She was a sobbing mess. "I will go after that wretch and ensure that he doesn't live after what he did." Bheem declared roaringly. His eyes blazed.

"Bheem!! I will not allow you to kill him. Don't forget he is Dusshala's husband, and being her brothers, we cannot be the reason for her widowhood." I warned Bheem. But my words had certainly aggravated all my brothers and Kalyani. Without acknowledging me, turning towards Arjun and Bheem, she said with indignation in her voice, "Aryaputra, if both of you have ever loved me, you must slay that despicable wretch king of Sindhu. A man should never forgive that foe who dared to forcibly abduct his wife or wrests his kingdom, even if the that foe begs for his life." 

None of us uttered a single word after Kalyani's declaration. Bheem and Arjun went towards the direction where Jayadrath fled, while rest of us returned to the hermitage. The brahman ladies welcomed back Panchali and took her inside to get her cleaned and changed to clean set of clothes. The three of us kept waiting for Bheem and Arjun to return. Nakul and Sahadev did not say anything, but I knew they were not at all happy with what I said about not killing Jayadrath.

Bheem's POV:

Honestly speaking, if someone else other than Jyeshth, had asked me not to kill Jayadrath, because he was our only sister's husband, I would have slain that person the next moment. How could Jyeshth, even think of sparing the life of that wretched man. During his reign at Indraprastha, the one crime for which Jyeshth never granted forgiveness, was crime against women; that day the same man was asking me to spare the life of that evil spirit man, who dared dishonor our wife, the empress of Indraprastha.

I was fuming in anger, while thinking about Jyeshth's unjustified decision, when I heard Arjun, "Majhle Bhaiya, analyzing the headstart, Jayadrath must be around 1 kos ahead of us. If we don't stop him soon, we might lose him." I agreed with him.

"Do you have a way to reach near him faster?" I questioned. Arjun, pulling an arrow from his quiver and setting on his bow answered, "How about we stop him midway?" Then, he read some incantation and shot the arrow towards Jayadrath's direction.

The arrow, as soon as reached the sky, multiplied into thousand arrows. I questioned, "What was that weapon?" Arjun replied, "It was shahastra vana astra. The arrows will make a wall like structure around our enemy and stop him from moving further."

Without wasting another moment, we started moving towards our perpetrator and Arjun was absolutely right. Poor Jayadrath was flailing inside the arrow cage like a trapped rat. Seeing us marching towards him, he got terrified. Arjun shot another arrow at him and broke the cage.

"O king of Sindhu, fleeing like this from cowards like us does not suit your grandeur." I mocked at him. Jayadrath once again tried to fled, but his luck did not support and I leaped on him and grabbed him by his neck. Looking at his deceitful face, I was suddenly reminded about the tear-stricken face of Draupadi and my anger knew no bounds. I started punching him and beating him black and blue. Then I held his neck with my bare-hands and started chocking him. He started struggling and  wiggling in my tight grip. I would have certainly killed him, had Arjun not stopped me. "No Majhle bhaiya, don't kill him, we should not defy Jyeshth's order, whatever be the condition." Arjun reasoned.

"Arjun!! Haven't you heard what Panchali said for this wicked man?" I argued. Arjun replied, "I have heard and I also remember everything. Let's take him to Draupadi, she will decide how she wants to punish him." I nodded and picked up Jayadrath over my shoulders and started walking towards our hermitage. The wicked warrior was wailing out of fear.

End of Bheem's POV

[1] I was striding back and forth inside the cottage and was wondering, where were Bheem and Arjun, how long was it going to take them to return? Suddenly I heard a someone's footstep outside. I looked at the threshold only to find Bheem and Arjun. But they weren't alone. A man dressed in royal silk was laid across Bheem's shoulders. When Bheem thrown that man across the floor, I recognized, it was our brother-in-law, Jayadrath. His face was bruised in multiple places and his hair was completely disheveled. He was absolutely horrified. I questioned, "Bheem, what happened to him? How did he end up in such a miserable state?"

Bheem retorted angrily, "Jyeshth, don't show him any kindness. He does not deserve to be treated kindly by any of us."

Before Panchali could say anything, Nakul said, "I demand to give him death sentence immediately, not because he dared to dishonor my wife, but because he dared to dishonor a women's dignity and no crime is as severe as dishonoring a woman." I tried to reason, "Nakul, we must not forget, here the plaintiff is Draupadi. We might be held responsible, for leaving Draupadi alone in the wilderness." Then turning towards Draupadi, I said, "You tell Draupadi, how do you want us to punish him?"

Draupadi gave a sharp look at Jayadrath, and said, "I don't want to punish him in such a way which might affect dear Dushala's marital status." Bheem suggested, "Let's make him our servant and imprint him with a symbol so that he never forgets, what wrong did he commit today." Draupadi agreed with Bheem's suggestion. Bheem immediately took out his dagger and shaved Jayadrath's head completely, leaving five tufts of hair. Jayadrath's face had gone completely red with shame. Nakul ordered him to press my feet. But I could not take it longer. The moment he touched my feet, I blurted out, "You have suffered enough, I am granting back your freedom. But take lesson from this incident and do not repeat it in future. Now you may go."

Jayadrath stood up and without looking at anyone silently went away. I knew whatever happened with Jayadrath, was solely his fault, but somehow, I was feeling an uneasiness. Every action has some consequence, but somewhere I knew that consequence of whatever happened with Jayadrath was certainly not going to be good. I could clearly hear a storm reeling somewhere.

Author's Notes:

[1] – The story continues in Yudhishthira's POV

Hello my dear readers,

I know I am really late in updating this chapter.....but I have valid reasons and few announcements to make......First of all, I must have told you that I was studying Chartered Accountancy and was in the final levels. I am feeling extreme happiness in sharing with all of you that I have qualified my CA Final examinations and have added the two most precious initials 'CA' before my name.  This all has been because of your love and support. So thank you, for being with me during my those days of sufferings.

The next good news is that, from now onwards, the book will be updated every Thursday. Stay tuned with me to know about the regular updates on the book. The next episode will be updated on 15th August 2024.

Another good news is that I am starting a one-shot story based on One Chicago series....the fanfictions will be posted on Archive of our Own, where I have my account with the same name. I will share the links by way of announcement. So, do follow me on wattpad to get to know about my fanfiction updates on a regular basis.

That was all, I had to say. Stay happy and keep showering your love on me and my stories.

Your Author 

Astraea (AKA now CA Snigdha Bhowmick)