Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Draupadi

Even after being the cause of Pandavas' exile, Duryodhan couldn't rest in peace. He was always thinking of ways to harm them. This time he pleased sage Duravasa and in return asked him to visit the Pandavas with his army of ten thousand discipiles. He requested that Durvasa should go there just after Pandavas had had their evening meal. The reason being that the Pandavas had been gifted with a magical vessel by god Surya which could provide them with victuals only till before sunset, which was when the Pandavas had their meals. Since the Pandavas wouldn't be able to offer sage Durvasa and his discipiles with any food, it would anger sage Durvasa and he would curse them. Sage Durvasa was oblivious to the scheming mind of Duryodhan and he readily agreed. So one day he along with his discipiles went to visit Pandavas. Pandavas had just had their meals and were taking rest. On seeing sage Durvasa and his discipiles, they welcomed them with respect and honour and invited them to have a meal. Sage Durvasa agreed and he and his discipiles went to the river banks to wash. In the meanwhile, Draupadi was very tense. There was no food left and the magic vessel would also not be able to help as the sun had already set. In despair, she prayed to her beloved god Krishna and implored him to help her in her time of need. Krishna on hearing the pleas of his true devotee immediately left Dwarka and appeared in front of Draupadi. On seeing him, Draupadi began to recite her woes but Krishna stopped her and asked her to first get him some food. Perplexed, Draupadi told him that that was exactly the reason why she was so upset - there was no food in the vessel. Krishna asked her to get the vessel and he found that there was a leaf of spinach left. He told her that it was adequate to fill the stomach of all the people in the world and ate it. Then he asked Sahdev to fetch sage Durvasa and his discipiles. At the same time, on the banks of the river, sage and his discipiles felt as if their stomachs were full and they couldn't eat anything more. Fearing what would happen if they rejected Pandavas' invitation, they decided to simply return back without meeting the Pandavas. So when Sahdev reached the river he couldn't find anyone.
Thus, one who's a true devotee never has to face any difficulties.

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