युधिष्ठिर उवाच
सर्वेषां द्रौपदी राजन् महिषी नो भविष्यति ॥
एवं हि व्याहृतं पूर्वं मम मात्रा विशां पते ॥
अहं चाप्य् अनिविष्टो वै भीमसेनश् च पाण्डवः ॥
पार्थेन विजिता चैषा रत्नभूता च ते सुता ॥
एष नः समयो राजन् रत्नस्य सहभोजनम् ॥
न च तं हातुम् इच्छामः समयं राजसत्तम ॥
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca
sarveṣāṃ draupadī rājan mahiṣī no bhaviṣyati ||
evaṃ hi vyāhṛtaṃ pūrvaṃ mama mātrā viśāṃ pate ||
ahaṃ cāpy aniviṣṭo vai bhīmasenaś ca pāṇḍavaḥ ||
pārthena vijitā caiṣā ratnabhūtā ca te sutā ||
eṣa naḥ samayo rājan ratnasya sahabhojanam ||
na ca taṃ hātum icchāmaḥ samayaṃ rājasattama ||
Yudhishthira said: ‘Draupadi, O king, shall become the wife of all of us, for so it was said before by my mother, O lord of the people. And I am not yet married, nor is Bhimasena the Pandava; and this maiden was won by Arjuna, and she is a jewel, your daughter. Such is our agreement, O king: to share the jewel in common; and we do not wish to break that agreement, O best of kings.’
fd08a7877781 · published Jul 12, 2026, 5:44:41 PM UTC
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Here a word spoken becomes destiny. It is significant that Yudhishthira traces this unprecedented arrangement back to his mother's word: what Kunti said unwittingly (‘share it together’) he honors as inviolable, for a mother's word is sacred to the righteous. It should be stated clearly: polyandry is contrary to ordinary dharma and is not a model to be imitated; here is a rare, special dispensation of Providence, not a rule. Draupadi is no ordinary wife but a maiden born from the sacrificial fire, an embodiment of auspicious power; the five brothers are partial descents of the gods, and their union was ordained from above (recall Shiva's fivefold boon, ch. 157). Thus the text reveals that a higher will is at work here, honoring the mother's word and preserving the brothers' unity; and what Kunti said carries with it something that cannot be undone.