Raajaa Drupad is a Mahaabhaarat character. Raajaa Drupad was the king of Paanchaal Desh. Kaampilya Nagaree was his capital. He had a daughter named Draupadee and four sons - Yudhaamanyu, Uttamaujaa, Shikhandee and Dhrishtdyumn.
He and Dronaachaarya were together in Gurukul. They were great friends. At that time he said to Drone that whatever is his, its half is his. Later they went to their respective places.
Drupad and Dronaachaarya
Drupad was a prince so he became a king, Drone was a Braahman, he wanted to become a teacher but he couldn't get anything for living. In the meantime Drone got married to Kripee and had a son named Ashwatthaamaa. Because of no living means, Kripee was not able to give him even milk. Once Drone saw her giving him flour mixed water telling him as milk. Drone got very sad seeing this so in such great difficult times, he remembered his friend Drupad and his promise that "whatever I will have half of it is yours". He went to Drupad and reminded about his promise made in childhood and asked him only a cow from his share, but Drupad refused to give the cow saying that he might have said it in some playful mood that "whatever was his, half of it is his too, how could it be possible". If you ask the cow as a Braahman, I can give you as many cows as you ask, but not as a friend. Friendship is always between the people of equal status. we have no equality between us." Drone felt insulted and went away.
Dronaachaarya Gets Drupad's Kingdom
Later Drone started teaching Paandav and Kaurav. When Paandav and Kaurav had finished their education, and the time came to pay Guru Dakshinaa, Drone asked both of them, Kaurav and Paandav to bring Raajaa Drupad tied with a horse. Kaurav went there but came back defeated by Drupad; but Paandav brought him to Drone tied with a horse. Drone said - "I still considers you my friend. Now you and your kingdom is mine. When you had the whole kingdom, you did not give me even one cow, but now first I divide your kingdom in half and half as a friend. And then I take only one cow from your part of kingdom." He took one cow from Drupad's share of kingdom and gave back his kingdom and freed him. Then he went to home where Kripee was still waiting for him to bring milk for his little son Ashwatthaamaa.
Drupad Asks For a Son to Kill Drone
Drupad went away, but an enmity had developed in Drupad's heart. At the same time he was impressed with Arjun's fighting. He just wished that if he had a daughter then he would have married her to Arjun. But Drupad was greatly insulted by Drone. So Drupad decided to do a Yagya for a son who could kill Drone and a daughter to marry her to Arjun. When the time came to give Aahuti for the son, Rishi asked him to call his wife, but his wife was taking bath. Rishi could not wait. He gave Aahuti but with the desire of a girl. So Agni Dev appeared from Havan Kund with a beautiful girl Draupadee and gave her to him. Drupad was very happy o see that girl. He found her just suitable for Arjun. He said - "Now I want a son". So the Rishi gave another Aahuti and Agni Dev appeared again with a handsome man Dhrishtdyumn. Drupad was very happyt to see him also. Thus both sister and brother were born from a Havan Kund and were divine. He married his daughter Draupadee to Arjun, as he planned. But since at that time Paandav were in living in hiding, Drupad could not know that who took her. Later when he came to know that only Arjun took her, he got very happy. She was distributed among all five Paandav by the order of Maa Kuntee.
Drupad Marries Draupadee
Drupad wanted to marry his daughter to Arjun, so he built a machine in which a fish was revolving on the top of a stick around it and at its bottom was a pond of oil. One had to pierce fish's eye looking at the shadow of the fish in the oil below.
Many kings came as her candidates. Duryodhan, Dushaasan, Karn, Jayadrath were there. Krishn and Balraam were also invited. Paandav arrived there in Braahman's disguise. Duryodhan tried to lift the bow to pierce the eye of the fish but he couldn't even move it. Karn also got up, he picked the bow and aimed at the fish's eye, the then Krishn gestured Draupadee that she should refuse to marry him. Draupadee stood and said - "I will not marry a Soot-Putra." Karn felt very much insulted and got very angry at all this.
Then Krishn gestured Arjun to come on and set his aim . Arjun came, lifted the bow, set the aim and pierced the eye of the fish. All were surprised to see this that a Braahman would take Draupadee in the presence of so many Kshatriya kings. But nobody could do anything as the condition of the marriage had been met. Drupad was already sad because after hearing the news of Paandav's death in Baaranaavat he was disappointed that now his Draupadee will not be married to Arjun. And after this incident he got more sad that some Braahman took away his Draupadee.
So after Paandav had left the court, Drupad and Dhrishtdyumn thought that at least they should check the man who took away their daughter and sister. So Drupad asked Dhrishtdyumn to follow them. Dhrishtdyumn followed them, heard all their talks, including Krishn's reason for Draupasee's five husbands. Drupad got relieved with both the news that Paandav were alive and only Arjun took Draupadee in marriage. He was a bit sad about her married to five Paandav, but couldn't do anything for her fate.
Shikhandee
Drupad previously had a daughter also, named Shikhandinee. All of them, Drupad, Dhrishtdyumn, and Shikhandee, fought from Paandav's side in Mahaabhaarat war. Shikhandee and Dhrishtdyumn were killed by Ashwatthaamaa in the end of the war, on its last day, along with Paandav's sons.
http://www.geocities.com/mahaabhaarat/witnesses/people/men/drupad.htm
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Monday, October 6, 2008
A Brief Description of the Mahabharata
The Mahabharata has existed in various forms for well over two thousand years:
* First, starting in the middle of the first millennium BCE, it existed in the form of popular stories of Gods, kings, and seers retained, retold, and improved by priests living in shrines, ascetics living in retreats or wandering about, and by traveling bards, minstrels, dance-troupes, etc.
* Later, after about 350 CE, it came to be a unified, sacred text of 100,000 stanzas written in Sanskrit, distributed throughout India by kings and wealthy patrons, and declaimed from temples.
* Even after it became a famous Sanskrit writing it continued to exist in various performance media in many different local genres of dance and theater throughout India and then Southeast Asia.
* Finally, it came to exist, in numerous literary and popular transformations in many of the non-Sanskrit vernacular languages of India and Southeast Asia, which (with the exception of Tamil, a language that had developed a classical literature in the first millennium BCE) began developing recorded literatures shortly after 1000 CE.
The Mahabharata was one of the two most important factors that created the "Hindu" culture of India (the other was the other all-India epic, the Ramayana, pronounced approximately as Raa-MEYE-a-na), and the Mahabharata and Ramayana still exert tremendous cultural influence throughout India and Southeast Asia.
But the historical importance of the Mahabharata is not the main reason to read the Mahabharata. Quite simply, the Mahabharata is a powerful and amazing text that inspires awe and wonder. It presents sweeping visions of the cosmos and humanity and intriguing and frightening glimpses of divinity in an ancient narrative that is accessible, interesting, and compelling for anyone willing to learn the basic themes of India's culture. The Mahabharata definitely is one of those creations of human language and spirit that has traveled far beyond the place of its original creation and will eventually take its rightful place on the highest shelf of world literature beside Homer's epics, the Greek tragedies, the Bible, Shakespeare, and similarly transcendent works.
http://web.utk.edu/~jftzgrld/MBh1Description.html
* First, starting in the middle of the first millennium BCE, it existed in the form of popular stories of Gods, kings, and seers retained, retold, and improved by priests living in shrines, ascetics living in retreats or wandering about, and by traveling bards, minstrels, dance-troupes, etc.
* Later, after about 350 CE, it came to be a unified, sacred text of 100,000 stanzas written in Sanskrit, distributed throughout India by kings and wealthy patrons, and declaimed from temples.
* Even after it became a famous Sanskrit writing it continued to exist in various performance media in many different local genres of dance and theater throughout India and then Southeast Asia.
* Finally, it came to exist, in numerous literary and popular transformations in many of the non-Sanskrit vernacular languages of India and Southeast Asia, which (with the exception of Tamil, a language that had developed a classical literature in the first millennium BCE) began developing recorded literatures shortly after 1000 CE.
The Mahabharata was one of the two most important factors that created the "Hindu" culture of India (the other was the other all-India epic, the Ramayana, pronounced approximately as Raa-MEYE-a-na), and the Mahabharata and Ramayana still exert tremendous cultural influence throughout India and Southeast Asia.
But the historical importance of the Mahabharata is not the main reason to read the Mahabharata. Quite simply, the Mahabharata is a powerful and amazing text that inspires awe and wonder. It presents sweeping visions of the cosmos and humanity and intriguing and frightening glimpses of divinity in an ancient narrative that is accessible, interesting, and compelling for anyone willing to learn the basic themes of India's culture. The Mahabharata definitely is one of those creations of human language and spirit that has traveled far beyond the place of its original creation and will eventually take its rightful place on the highest shelf of world literature beside Homer's epics, the Greek tragedies, the Bible, Shakespeare, and similarly transcendent works.
http://web.utk.edu/~jftzgrld/MBh1Description.html
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Saturday, August 23, 2008
Pain Of Draupadi
Can one imagine the amount of pain that Draupadi felt when she was being disrobed? It was like rape in public. Those were the times in India. Nothing has changed even now.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Sunday, August 10, 2008
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