The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan Page A

seated when the men and mother-in-law were standing. Moreover, her mind was all in a whirl.
    There was an awkward pause as the five brothers stood around uncertainly and Draupadi stood apart with downcast eyes, trying not to stare at the five men who were toshare her, if the mother’s injunction was to be obeyed. What a predicament for the girl, who thought that she was marrying one man and found four others thrown in unexpectedly!
    Now Draupadi studied the five brothers as unobtrusively as possible, wondering what freak of fate had brought her to this pass. Kunthi tried to make light of her own advice and said with a simper, “Of course I did not know what you meant when you said you had brought bhiksha. I thought it was the usual gift of alms….” Her voice trailed away.
    Bhima the strong, incapable of the subtleties of speech, struggled to explain himself. “I… meant to be jocular, I meant… ”
    It was Arjuna who broke the awkward moment. “Mother, your word has always been a command to us, and its authority is inescapable. How can it be otherwise? We will share Draupadi as you have commanded.”
    â€œNo, no, no… ” cried the mother.
    Yudhistira said, “Arjuna! What preposterous suggestion are you making in jest? A woman married to one man is a wife, to two, three, four, or five, a public woman. She is sinful. Whoever heard of such a thing!”
    The mother said, “Don’t make too much of an inadvertent bit of advice. You make me feel very unhappy and guilty, my son. Don’t even suggest such an outrage.”
    Arjuna pleaded, “Please don’t make me a sinner; it is not fair to condemn me to suffer the sin of disobedience to a mother’s word. You, my eldest brother, you are a man with a judicious mind and a knowledge of right and wrong. We four brothers and this girl will be bound by your words. You must advise us as to what is good and fair. Advise us, and we shall be bound by your words, but bear in mind that we cannot go back on the command of a mother….”
    When he said this, all the brothers studied the face of the girl, and their hearts beat faster, for already Manmatha, the God of Love, was at work, stirring their blood and affecting their vision.
    Yudhistira brooded for only a moment, recollected thewords of a seer who had already prophesied this situation. Deciding to avoid heart-burning amongst the brothers, he declared, “This rare creature shall be wife to all of us.”
    The King of Panchala, father of Draupadi, summoned the Pandavas to discuss the arrangements for the wedding. The five brothers with their mother and the girl were invited to the palace to be honoured and feasted. They were taken through the palace and its grounds, where fruits, souvenirs, rare art objects, sculpture, paintings, carvings, gold-inlaid leather, furniture of rare designs, agricultural implements, chariots, and horses were displayed. When they passed through the hall where swords, arms, shields, and equipment of warfare were kept, the five brothers picked up the articles, admiring them and commenting among themselves, spending more time in this part of the palace than anywhere else.
    Observing this, the King suspected that they might be warriors, although they were disguised as brahmins. When they repaired to the chamber and were settled comfortably, the King said point-blank to Yudhistira, “I know you will always speak the truth. Tell me who you are.”
    And Yudhistira declared his identity and that of his brothers, and explained their trials and tribulations since the time of their leaving their kingdom a year before.
    Now the King said, “Let us rejoice that this day your brother Arjuna, the man with the mighty arm, will marry my daughter, and let us celebrate this union of our families in style. Let us make everyone in this world happy today.”
    Yudhistira replied, “I am the eldest and still unmarried. I must be the