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

      Pratikami ne kaha, Draupadi, Yudhishthir jua mein pagal ho gaya tha. Duryodhan ne tumhe jeet liya. Ab Dhritarashtra ke ghar chalo. Main tumhe wahan le ja raha hoon.

    • 2.62.4

      Draupadi ne kaha, jab mera swayamvar hua tha, tab raja log aaye the aur mujhe dekha tha. Ghar mein main kabhi kisi ko nahi mili thi. Aaj mujhe zabardasti sabha mein laaya gaya hai.

    • 2.63.7

      Bhim ne kaha. Raja main is sut ke bete par gussa nahi kar raha. Sach yeh hai ki yahan daas jaisa behaviour aa gaya hai. Dushman mujhe kaise roke? Agar tum Draupadi ke liye kuch nahi karte to tum raja nahi ho, logon ke raja.

  2. Bhagavatam

    51 verses · 17 chapters

    All 51 verses in the Bhagavatam
    • 1.7.14

      Kurukshetra ki ladai mein Kaurav aur Pandav dono taraf ke log mar gaye. Bhima ne Duryodhan ko itna maara ki uski kamar toot gayi. Drona ka beta Ashwatthama ne Draupadi ke paanch beton ko sote hue maara. Usne unke sar kaat kar Duryodhan ke…

    • 10.83.6

      Draupadi boli, are Vaidarbhi, Bhadra, Jambavati, Kaushala, Satyabhama, Kalindi, Shaibya, Rohini, Lakshmana, aur Krishna ki baaki patniyan, tum sab batao. Bhagwan khud tumse shaadi kaise aaye the? Woh bhi duniya ke riwaaz ke hisaab se, apni…

    • 10.75.4

      Bhim kitchen dekh rahe the. Suyodhana paisa sambhal rahe the. Sahadeva aaye hue mehmanon ki poocha-poocch kar rahe the. Nakul cheezeen laa rahe the jo chahiye thi. Arjun bade buzurgon ki seva kar rahe the. Krishna sabke paon dho rahe the.…

  3. Devi Bhagavatam

    40 verses · 13 chapters

    All 40 verses in the Devi Bhagavatam
    • 3.16.16

      Swami, maine suna hai ki Pandav jab jungle mein the, tab rishiyon ke ashram mein rahte the. Draupadi bhi unke saath thi.

    • 2.7.1

      Suta ne kaha, Draupadi paanchon Pandavon ki patni thi. Woh bahut izzat ki jaati thi aur apne patiyo ke saath sachchi thi. Un paanch patiyo se uske paanch bete hue, bahut sunder.

    • 2.8.17

      Raja jungle ke liye nikal gaya. Draupadi aur bhaiyon ke saath gaya. Chhattis saal tak rajya kiya Hastinapur mein.

  4. Skanda Purana

    33 verses · 13 chapters

    All 33 verses in the Skanda Purana
    • 1.2.60.57

      Kunti aur Draupadi dono bahut khush hui. Dono ne uske liye achhi dua ki. Maurvi bhi dhan paake khush ho gayi.

    • 1.2.64.3

      Pehle woh Chandika Devi ke paas gaye. Woh Devi us jagah ke northeast mein thi. Raaste mein thak gaye the. Paanch mein se Draupadi bhi unke saath thi.

    • 1.2.66.28

      Phir Krishna ne Arjun se aaram se kaha. Unhone kaha ki yeh baat sirf apne fayde ke liye hai. Draupadi ke beta ne yeh baat kahi thi.

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