If Draupadi Fights Back
‘Finally got these,' I exclaimed as I handed Rahul the tickets. We rushed into the auditorium together.
'Oh, it's already started,' I said with a grin. The audience was completely absorbed in The Game of Dice.
Draupadi walked onto the stage. She sat on a couch twirling her hair. Her lotus petal eyes and thin waist drew everyone's attention. Rahul sat on the edge of his seat, his mouth open, staring at her.
Oh, the queen! The Pandavas had everything taken away from them. Yudhishthira was involved in a gambling match and lost all he owned, including his brothers, himself, and finally you, ‘said a messenger bowing to her.
Draupadi was taken aback when she learned about this. She stood up and questioned him, but to no avail.
‘What had my spouses been up to? Was it before or after Yudhishthira had lost everything in the gamble that he pledged me? He had no authority to pledge me in the latter circumstance because he was already a slave. '
***
‘Who is she to question us?' Duryodhana said to his brother Dusshasana when the messenger had turned back. 'Drag Draupadi to the royal court by her hair and disrobe her.'
My heart was pounding. Despite the fact that I had read this story before, I felt it was always new. When we were all waiting for the next scene, the whole situation turned downright bizarre.
***
There was a clashing sound against the floor.
Draupadi dragged Dusshasana along the stage by the neck. He was terrified and trembled. She dragged a sword from her baldric and prepared to plunge it into his throat.
The audience was stunned. 'Hey, what a turn of events!' I exclaimed.
‘Put down your sword, Draupadi, or you will suffer unimaginable repercussions. What are you doing? You seem different. It humiliates me to see you like this, princess of Panchal and Queen of Indraprastha, ‘screamed Yudhishthira.
'Humiliates?’ She screamed angrily; her gaze fixed on his.
‘I've had a lot of difficulties throughout my life. In a chamber full of respectable beings, the queen of Indraprastha, daughter-in-law of the Kuru dynasty and princess of Panchal, had been deprived of her fundamental rights. I fought back with resistance, passion, and bravery. It's time for me to redefine myself. I have been kind and gentle and had much love, but now I announce that I'm no longer anyone's slave or prey. They have no right to question a woman who has become a victim due to the Kuru elders' inactivity and her husbands' inability to protect her dignity. I'm reclaiming my respect and demanding what's rightfully mine, my dignity, ‘she screamed.
The lights turned on. There was complete silence in the auditorium. Draupadi appeared like an incarnation of Adi Shakti. The notion of male domination was defeated by the warrior woman Draupadi. I smiled and took a step with hope, listening to the whispering winds of courage.
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