Madhuvidya

Author(s): S D Laddu, T N Dharmadhikari, Madhvi Kolhatkar, Pratibha Pingle
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 546

MEHENDALE 1 Once Again Draupadi's Hair
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he says : distyā duryodhanah papo nihataḥ sānugo yudhi / draupadyāḥ kesapakşasya disiyā rvam padavim gataḥ // (12. 16. 25). H. assures his readers that “This passage establishes beyond any reasonable doubt that Draupadi has worn her hair loose since the dice match" (p. 201 ).
How does H. find in the above stanza unambiguous evidence for his contention ? He gets it in two steps: (1) According to H. the second line of the stanza means that "the Pāodavas have moved from the depths of defilement to rebirth, from rebirth to revenge and from revenge to coronation" (p. 201 ), just as Draupadi's hair have moved from the state of dishevelment to rebinding and anointing. (2) And the use of the word dişiyā twice, once with reference to the fall of Duryodhana and again with reference to Yudhişthira's going the way of Draupadi's hair ( as interpreted by H.) shows that the death of Duryodhana is connected with the binding up of Draupadi's hair (p. 201).
This is misleading. The stanza does not say that Draupadi's hair were dishevelled and loose before Duryodhana's death. That is H.'s assumption on the basis of which he interprets the stanza. The epic nowhere suggests that Draupadi wore her hair loose when Duḥśāsana held them and that, after that incident, she kept them loose until the death of Duryodhana. In fact, we have notices to the contrary. The epic, however, does tell us that Duḥśāsana molested Draupadi's hair. Hence when the stanza says that Draupadi's hair and Yudhişthira have gone the same way, it only means that just as Draupadi's hair bave avenged the insult done to them with the death of Duryodhana and his followers, Yudhişthira too, in their death, has avenged the injustice done to him in being refused his share of kingdom. In the stanza Bhima uses the word distyä twice. It may be that when he used it in the first line he admitted that there was an element of luck in his being able to hit the thigh of Duryodhana. By using it again in the second line, Bhima expresses his happiness over the Pagdavas' having been able to achieve a double objective with the death of Duryodhana in the battle. In the first instance Yudhisthira was able to wipe out the injustice and get back the share of the kingdom and, secondly, they were able to avenge the insult done to Draupadi's hair ( draupadyāḥ kesapaksas ya dişi yā tvam padavim gatah 12. 16. 25). The main objective of the battle was no doubt to fight against the injustice done to the Pāņdavas in the denial of their share of kingdom. This is what Kunti's message has empha. sized : "get back the paternal share of kingdom refused to you" (pitryam amsam mahābāho nimagnam punar uddhara 5. 130. 30, 32; 5. 135, 5). This was also the only point made in the story of Vidurā told by Kunti. Kuntl's reference to the harsh words spoken to Pāñcāli in the Sabha is only secon,
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