Draupadiamma

My village people worship Draupadiamma, and there are temples for her. There is one in Kommireddigaripalle. The anguish she faced, and the strength and sacrifice she called forth are part of the collective experience of all Indian women.

"In Munshi's Krishnavatara in one of the volumes, there is a conversation between Draupadi and Krishna after the swayamvara. Krishna talks to her about Dharma, the infinite burdens of standing by Dharma, the complexities of Dharma that he has to live by. And the anguish.

Krishna then talks of her, and lays her choices before her. To marry Arjuna, the man she loves, and who had also won her in the competition, and to lead her life with him in peace and happiness. Or to sacrifice that love to hold the kingdom together and to marry all five brothers to ensure their unity which Krishna told her was needed to challenge the Adharma rampant on earth. Which needed her to undergo the rigour of the Chandrayana vrata to control her mind as she moved year after year from one husband to the other. Which choice would hold her to public ridicule also.

And Krishna promised to stand by her choice made in complete freewill. And she made the choice to sacrifice her love, and thus sarificed her entire personal life and peace forever in that one moment of courage, for preserving Dharma."

We all face such moments. And these are the moments that define the rest of our life. And in these choices we stay moulded, one way or another.