O Draupadi ! Thy name is Compassion ! ( kshama)

[Guest guest]

May i have the honor of sharing a story about Draupadi which brings

out the best trait in a woman -that of 'forgiveness?

 

It was a grim scene at the BATTLEFIELD in Kurukshetra. Draupadi had

lost all her five (?) sons. She was grief stricken. At that time ,

the Pandavas brought before Draupadi the wounded body

of 'Ashwatama', the only son of Dronacharya . Bheema asks Draupadi '

Beloved! Just say YES ! and i will shatter ASHWATAMA'S BODY into

thousand pieces with my mighty Mace . Nakula and Sahadeva also plead

with Draupadi ' Dear one! please allow us to pierce Ashwatama's body

with our Bow and Arrow . Draupadi listens to her husbands but wisdom

prevails and she is overwhelmed by a sense of compassion. She looks

at her husbands and says " True ! It was i who instigated you all to

take up arms against the Kauravas to take revenge for the dishonor

commited to me. i have already paid a heavy price for this . I have

lost all my sons in the Battlefield , including my favorite Son ,

Abhimanyu. Ashwatama is the only son of Gautami , Dronacharya's

wife . Dronacharya is also dead , i do not want Gautami to suffer a

worse fate than this . i do not want Gautami to lose the support of

her son also - she is already a widow. So saying . She asks the

pandavas to spare the life of Ashwatama.

 

When Sri Krishna heard this, he was thrilled and he exclaimed ' O!

Draupadi!Your other name is Krishnaa ( sister of Lord Krishna -

another name for Durga - Draupadi is a Reincarnation of Durga) ! True

to your name , you have shown extreme compassion and you have

demonstrated 'forgiveness' - the great quality in a woman , more so

in a Mother. " Yes! if you recall Lord Krishna also forgave the

hunter who shot an arrow at his foot.

 

Yaa devi sarva bhuteshu 'kshama' rupena sansthita!

 

to the Goddess who resides in all beings as 'forgiveness' !

 

enjoy!

[Guest guest]

, " urvashii " <urvashii_mohan

wrote:

>

> May i have the honor of sharing a story about Draupadi which brings

> out the best trait in a woman -that of 'forgiveness?

 

 

Thanks Urvashi, but a few after-thoughts. I have heard the name of

mother of Ashwathhama as Kripi, whereas you mentioned as Gautami...

pls clarify again about the name.

 

Second point about forgiveness... you have written correctly as is

mentioned in Mahabharat.

 

But personally i see this episode as the cleverness of Draupadi

rather than forgiveness. Had the pandavas killed Ashwathhama... his

soul would be free..after undergoing pain of death.

 

Instead he was left alive forever....he was also cursed to remain

alive, with the wound with puss and pain...and he would not live in

the society...so Ashwathhama is still wandering in the jungles with

his pain and guilt.... his soul stuck up in the body without further

progress.

 

You call it forgiveness... I call it height of cunningness and

cruelty towards him.

 

My personal views... what do you think ??

 

AUM

[Guest guest]

Aumji :

 

we both are right about the name of *ASHWATAMA'S MOTHER *! Her name

is Also Gautami a she was born in the Gautama family ! As you know

Draupadi had many names . In those days , it was common to have more

than one name for example - Arjuna was also known as Partha! smile :-

)

 

now , let me quote a sloka from where this name 'Gautami' was taken!

 

Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.33

 

tata asadya tarasa

 

darunam *gautami-sutam*

 

babandhamarsha-tamrakshah

 

pasum rasanaya yatha

 

SYNONYMS

 

tatah -- thereupon; asadya -- arrested; tarasa -- dexterously;

darunam -- dangerous; gautami-sutam -- the son of Gautami; babandha -

- bound up; amarsha -- angry; tamra-akshah -- with copper-red eyes;

pasum -- animal; rasanaya -- by ropes; yatha -- as it were.

 

TRANSLATION

 

Arjuna, his eyes blazing in anger like two red balls of copper,

dexterously arrested the* son of Gautami* and bound him with ropes

like an animal.

 

PURPORT

 

Asvatthama's mother, Kripi, was born in the *family of Gautama.* The

significant point in this sloka is that Asvatthama was caught and

bound up with ropes like an animal. According to Sridhara Svami,

Arjuna was obliged to catch this son of a brahmana like an animal as

a part of his duty (dharma). This suggestion by Sridhara Svami is

also confirmed in the later statement of Sri Krishna. Asvatthama was

a bona fide son of Dronacarya and Kripi, but because he had degraded

himself to a lower status of life, it was proper to treat him as an

animal and not as a brahmana.

 

<<>>

 

( Copyright © The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.

His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder

Acarya of the International Society )

 

IN THE ABOVE SLOKA , KRIPI IS REFERRED TO AS GAUTAMI AND ASHWATAMA

AS GAUTAMI SUTAM ( SON OF GAUTAMI)

 

THANKS FOR GIVING AN OPPORTUNITY FOR CLARIFICATION !

 

AUMJI , DRAUPADI IS MY MOST FAVORITE CHARACTER IN Mahabharata and i

do not at all think think she is 'cunning' and clever as visualized

by you . On the contrary , she represented the best in feminine

virtues and is a great symbol of womanhood ! i will elaborate on all

the noble qualities of Draupadi in a seperate post later as i am

rushing to work this morning!btw , draupadi has also many names - i

will try to elaborate on these names!

 

ps - you seem to admire ASHWATAMA - A MAN WHO KILLED THE PANDAVA

SONS WHO WERE ASLEEP - HE IS ONLY WORTHY OF CONTEMPT - this is

totally against war ethics . Also , he tried to kill 'parikshit'

when he was in his mother uttara's womb ! i think it was very kind

of draupadi that she spared the life of such a cruel , heartless

man ! in any case , everyone should pay for their karmic debts .

Even Sri Krishna got slain by a hunter's arrow! you also know the

story of Shravan kumar ! king dasarata had to suffer in 'putra

viraha' because he accidentally killed Shravan kumar , the only

support of his blind parents

 

All women are manifestations of devi including Draupadi ; therefore

we must think twice before passing a judgement.

 

 

 

 

 

, " Aum " <beirut_ka_baba wrote:

>

>

> Second point about forgiveness... you have written correctly as is

> mentioned in Mahabharat.

>

> But personally i see this episode as the cleverness of Draupadi

[Guest guest]

, " urvashii " <urvashii_mohan

wrote:

>

> Aumji :

>

> ps - you seem to admire ASHWATAMA - A MAN WHO KILLED THE PANDAVA

> SONS WHO WERE ASLEEP - HE IS ONLY WORTHY OF CONTEMPT - this is

> totally against war ethics .>

> All women are manifestations of devi including Draupadi ; therefore

> we must think twice before passing a judgement.

>

 

 

Dear Urvashi, can you reproduce the lines where i appreciated

Ashwathhama ??? i am surprised on this comment... I dont appreciate

and i am not rejecting... i am just telling my understanding of

Mahabharata... and i am not god... i may be wrong.

 

There is no passing of judgment against any one... Draupadi is

incarnation of Mahakali and she did what ever was necessary for the

destruction.

 

I am free to present my personal views like everyone else is... if

someone dont agree ..let it not be.

 

Only appreciation of a character is not correct... we have to

analyse the characters very carefully,...as they are not mere

characters they are important aspects of this episode.

 

For me... except Shri Krishna everyone is open to discussion,

analysis, contradiction, and commenting... in mahabharat

 

 

 

With Love

 

Aum