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192
M. A. MEHENDALE
of the volume. Under this head we find mention of many other things done by Arjuna, but there is no reference to his reply.
As a matter of fact this reply of Arjuna is so important that it should find a place in any entry, big or small, on Arjuna. Just as by hitting the bull's eye at the time of Draupadi's self-choice he won her, similarly at the critical moment in her life he gave the decisive reply and saved her from utter humiliation. What importance attaches to the correct shot of the arrow, the same, or even more, attaches to this straight-forward reply. When Duryodhana invited the Pindavas to give a reply he must have been sure that none of the Pandavas will dare say, "defeated Yudhisthira was no longer the master of Draupadi ". If we look to the way Bhima made his reply, Duryodhana's confidence was perfectly justified.
But Duryodhana kept his word although Arjuna's reply was not what he had expected it to be. He did not set aside the verdict given by Arjuna, nor did he object to Dhrtarästra's giving boons to Draupadi. If he had objected, the Pandavas would not have been free from bondage, although Draupadi was admitted to be a free woman, But Duryodhana does nothing of the sort and accepts the result of his bold offer. Someone in the line of the epic transmission did not want this fairness on Duryodhana's part to be observed by the posterity. Perhaps, he also did not want the posterity to know that a woman fought for her right and won. He quietly introduced the incident of the bad omens immediately after the roply of Arjuna and successfully switched off the attention of the listners (and, later, of the readers) from the stanza containing the reply. The interpolator has had no doubt tremendous success in creating the impression that the proceedings in the Assembly after the first game of dice end the way they do because of the ill omens, Our minds are so much obsessed by the fear of bad omens that we never thought that there was anything wrong in assuming that the events in the Assembly took a different turn due to the fear of bad omens. But if we are really to believe this incident of bad omens, one shudders to think of the indignities that would have been heaped on Draupadi in case the jackals and the asses moving around--one fails to know what business these animals had in Dhitarăştra's Agnihotraśālā had not raised their voice at a very critical moment in her life. She had suffered enough in the Assembly of a famous royal dynasty. She was addressed as a lave' (dāsi )', abused as a 'harlot' (bandhaki). She was continuously cragged at her hair causing her unbearable pain. If at this juncture the above-named animals had not risen to the occasion,
1 2, 60. 27, 37.
2
2. 61. 35.
3 The Mahabharata tells us that the Assembly witnessed two very degrading incidents which one would be ashamed to repeat. I do not mention them since in my opinion they are unauthentic.
Madhu Vidya/434
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