Character

Draupadi

द्रौपदीDraupadī

verses
1,708
books
16
chapters
423
Consort of
Pandavas

What the texts say

In the Mahabharata, Draupadi was not born of a mother's womb but arose from the sacrificial altar at King Drupada's great rite. Mahabharata (Gita Press) 1.165.8Mahabharata 1.153.8 At her svayamvara, where she chose her husband, she saw the target struck and garlanded Arjuna, Kunti's son. Mahabharata 1.179.22Mahabharata (Gita Press) 1.187.27 Fearing division, Yudhishthira, Arjuna's brother, declared that Draupadi would be a shared wife for the five brothers. Mahabharata 1.182.15, 1.2.88 At the dice game she was brought weeping into the assembly in a single garment, where, Yudhishthira later recalls, the wicked Duhshasana humiliated her. Mahabharata 2.60.15Mahabharata (Gita Press) 5.72.18 In the forest, the vile Jayadratha forcibly abducted her, but in a scattered army he later set her down from his chariot and fled. Mahabharata (Gita Press) 3.295.2, 3.272.33 Ashwatthama, with Kritavarman and Kripa, killed her sleeping sons, and grief for them shook her to the core. Mahabharata (Gita Press) 1.2.301 On the final journey of the Pandavas she fell on the path, and Yudhishthira went onward without turning back. Mahabharata 17.2.4Mahabharata (Gita Press) 1.2.367

Where to read

Every verse that names Draupadi, book by book.

  1. Mahabharata

    1,511 verses · 338 chapters

    All 1,511 verses in the Mahabharata

    Also in the Gita Press edition: 1,621 verses

    • 2.60.4

      Prātikāmī said: ‘O Draupadī, when Yudhiṣṭhira was impaired by the intoxication of gambling, Duryodhana won you. Therefore submit, Yājñasenī; I am taking you to Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s residence for the required proceeding.’

    • 2.62.4

      Draupadī said: At my svayaṃvara I was seen by kings assembled in the arena; otherwise I had not been seen in public. Yet today I have been brought into the assembly.

    • 2.63.7

      Bhīma said: “O King, I am not angered at the sūta’s son; truly, a servile code of conduct has entered here. Why should adversaries restrain me? You are no king if, O ruler, you do not act on account of her (Draupadī).”

  2. Bhagavatam

    51 verses · 17 chapters

    All 51 verses in the Bhagavatam
    • 1.7.14

      When the respective warriors of both camps, namely the Kauravas and the Pāṇḍavas, were killed on the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra and the dead warriors obtained their deserved destinations, and when the son of Dhṛtarāṣṭra fell down lamenting…

    • 10.83.6

      Śrī Draupadī said: O Vaidarbhī, Bhadrā and Jāmbavatī, O Kauśalā, Satyabhāmā and Kālindī, O Śaibyā, Rohiṇī, Lakṣmaṇā and other wives of Lord Kṛṣṇa, please tell me how the Supreme Lord Acyuta, imitating the ways of this world by His mystic…

    • 10.75.4

      Bhīma supervised the kitchen, Duryodhana looked after the treasury, while Sahadeva respectfully greeted the arriving guests. Nakula procured needed items, Arjuna attended the respectable elders, and Kṛṣṇa washed everyone’s feet, while…

  3. Devi Bhagavatam

    40 verses · 13 chapters

    All 40 verses in the Devi Bhagavatam
    • 3.16.16

      'O Lord! I have heard in the past that when the Pandavas were residing in the forest, they stayed in a holy hermitage of sages along with Draupadi (Panchali).'

    • 2.7.1

      Suta said: Draupadi was the wife of the five (Pandavas). She was honorable and devoted to her husbands. She had five extremely handsome sons from her husbands.

    • 2.8.17

      The king departed for the forest with Draupadi and his brothers, having ruled the kingdom in Hastinapura (Gajahvaya) for thirty-six years.

  4. Skanda Purana

    33 verses · 13 chapters

    All 33 verses in the Skanda Purana
    • 1.2.60.57

      Kuntī and Draupadī—both—rejoiced exceedingly. They performed auspicious benedictions for him, and Maurvī too was satisfied with wealth.

    • 1.2.64.3

      First, they approached Caṇḍikā Devī, who was situated to the northeast of that sacred precinct. Wearied by the journey, they arrived there then—Draupadī as the fifth among them.

    • 1.2.66.28

      Then Kṛṣṇa spoke gently to Phālguna (Arjuna) these excellent words: “This speech is only for his own purpose,” said the son of Bhīmī (Draupadī).

Also named in

Key chapters

The chapters where Draupadi matters most.

  1. Draupadī’s Question in the Assembly

    Mahabharata 2.60 · 38 verses

    Moral and juridical challenger

  2. Draupadī’s Question in the Assembly

    Mahabharata 2.62 · 24 verses

    Petitioner and moral prosecutor

  3. Sabhā-parva Adhyāya 63: Draupadī’s Contested Status, Vidura’s Warning, and Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Boons

    Mahabharata 2.63 · 24 verses

    Moral strategist and dharma-arguer

  4. Draupadī and Satyabhāmā on ethical household conduct

    Mahabharata 3.222 · 49 verses

    Moral authority and exemplar of strī-dharma as disciplined…

  5. Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 21: Kīcaka’s clandestine approach and Bhīma’s covert intervention (नर्तनागारे कीचकवध-प्रसङ्गः)

    Mahabharata 4.21 · 40 verses

    Strategist-survivor

  6. The Saugaṇdhika Lotus and Bhīma’s Approach to Hanūmān

    Mahabharata 3.146 · 10 verses

    Catalyst of the episode: desire, devotion, and aesthetic…

  7. Draupadī assumes the Sairandhrī guise and dialogues with Sudeshnā

    Mahabharata 4.8 · 33 verses

    Incognito strategist

  8. Book 3 (Āraṇyaka-parva), Adhyāya 13: Alliance Gathering; Arjuna’s Praise of Keśava; Draupadī’s Duḥkha-nivedana; Assurances and Vows

    Mahabharata 3.13 · 31 verses

    Moral plaintiff and catalyst: articulates the injury that…

  9. Draupadī-Kṛṣṇa Dialogue on Settlement and Daṇḍa

    Mahabharata 5.80 · 29 verses

    Moral prosecutor and strategist: converts personal violation…

  10. सभा-पर्व, अध्याय ६१ · द्रौपदी-प्रश्नः, सभाधर्मः, सत्यवचन-नियमः

    Mahabharata 2.61 · 28 verses

    Petitioner challenging the court’s legitimacy

Key episodes

  1. Draupadi's Svayamvara

    Mahabharata 1.176-1.182

  2. Draupadi Dragged into the Assembly

    Mahabharata 2.60-2.63

  3. Bhima Meets Hanuman

    Mahabharata 3.146-3.150

  4. Yudhishthira and the Dog: The Great Departure

    Mahabharata 17.1-17.3

Also known to Wikipedia · Wikidata Q1057886