Krishna Draupadi Friendship

 Krishna Draupadi Friendship -

Lord Krishna always helps those who are genuinely in need of divine intervention. Both of them were Sakha and Sakhi in their era. A long time ago in Dwarka city, Draupadi tore a piece of her saree to stop Krishna's bleeding. We get two interpretations: when Krishna was welding a weapon and when the Lord was flying kites with the Royal Family of Pandava brothers where Draupadi was present in their company.  From then, Krishna Draupadi's friendship became a prominent theme in the lord's life.

                Therefore, It can be said that not only did Draupadi and Krishna share a deep friendship and love, but he also felt responsible for her well-being.

Draupadi is also among Krishna's greatest devotees

Everyone views incidents that happened as a symbol of Krishna Draupadi's friendship, Where a Lord came through and helped Sakhi in times of adversity. It has been claimed that not only did Draupadi consider Krishna her friend and confidante, but She was also a great devotee of the Supreme Lord. 

        Draupadi had always been mesmerized by Lord Krishna's qualities and worshipped him out of love and servitude. Like the famous Mirabai, Draupadi was a Krishna bhakt, Which is why he was the first and the only person she remembered at the gravest moment of her life. Maybe the two were more than just friends.

Were Krishna and Draupadi in love? Maybe, Yes. But it was a conventional love, theirs was a love that draws an enchanted devotee to their Lord and the one that the Lord answers as a protector. Not only does it reveal Krishna's potency as a friend, but it also points toward his loyalty to his followers. We should surrender wholeheartedly and our God will come to our rescue, just like he did for Draupadi.

The vastraharan or cheerharan of Draupadi attempted by Duryodhan and his brother Dushashan in Mahabharat is a very shameful incident and would have been worse, had the Kauravas succeeded in disrobing the Pandavas wife. But Lord Krishna, the brother, the Sakha, and the protector saved the Panchal princess in time. But before we tell you more about the episode in the epic, here's more about the special and beautiful relationship that Draupadi and Krishna shared.

        The Mahabharata has several threads of the story running parallel to others within the epic.

Drupad - say one narration of the Mahabharata- desired that Lord Krishna, the prince of Mathura wed his daughter Draupadi. Drupad also hoped that this way he will be able to avenge the insult that Dronacharya was guilty of.

Krishna gently refused the alliance but suggested his cousin Arjuna's name (as an eligible and prospective groom for Draupadi) to the father-daughter duo. The Pandavas arrived at the swayamwar dressed as Brahmins and Arjuna won the hand of the bride by fulfilling the archery contest which renowned men there lost.

It is said that Krishna and Draupadi shared an iconic relationship. Krishna called him Sakha ( a friend who happens to be a male).

 Basically, the 'sakhya' or friendship/relationship the duo shared was of deep understanding of the other's commitments, joys, and travails in life. They connected telepathically.

Once when Krishna proposed that Arjuna marry the former's sister Subhadra (later the mother to Abhimanyu), Draupadi seemed to agree to the alliance without a tantrum.

Later, when the Pandavas were forced into agyaatwaas, or anonymity-exile, Krishna arrived in the jungle along with his army. The Pandavas were leading a frugal existence in the wilderness and had just finished dinner when Krishna arrived.

Krishna is said to have told Sakhi to serve food to him and his army. That left Draupadi worried. Krishna sensed her dilemma and asked her to look into the vessel because she had cooked the rice a while ago. She knew it was now empty save for a single grain of rice struck to the inner bottom of the vessel.

Lo and behold, it now had rice and would not get over till the last man from the entourage was served. That was Krishna's empathy with her and the Akshay Paatra (the vessel with endless capacity) thus came into focus.

The Cheerharan episode:

Once when Krishna suffered a nick to his finger after wielding the all-powerful Sudarshan Chakra, it is said that his own sister Subhadra began searching for a piece of cotton cloth that could tear off and create a bandage from that place for him.

However, Draupadi tore off a section of her expensive brocaded saree pallu and quickly sealed the bleeding. This deed remained etched in Krishna's mind. The Yadava prince of Mathura returned the favor during the Cheerharan episode.

It is said that when Duryodhana and Dudhasana subjected the Pandava prince's wife Draupadi to an attempt at disrobing her, She prayed to her Sakha, her brother.

Brother Sakha Krishna sent immeasurable reams of cloth to keep Draupadi covered, thus defeating the evil and nefarious designs of the Kaurava princes. The Kauravas cheerharan failed and Draupadi was saved from the humiliation of being stripped of clothes in a full court with even elders like Bheeshma and Vidur looking on helplessly.

It is said that Draupadi tying Krishna's wounded finger with silken pallu is synonymous with what girls now do by tying rakhi to a brother's wrist and he, in turn, must protect the sister just as Krishna stood by Draupadi.

Krishna's commitment to Draupadi's welfare remained until the end of the life of all of them. Even in the great battle at Kurukshetra, Krishna - though he refused to wield weapons on either side - became a charioteer to Arjuna.

A charioteer on a battlefield drenched in blood and crisscrossed by cart tracks - was a wieldy job. For Draupadi's sake, Krishna guided and protected his own cousin Arjuna - the husband and love interest of his Sakhi.

Even to date, the pure love and understanding of the friend-brother-relative Krishna for strong-headed beauty Draupadi is stuff folklore is made of and elicits only awe and respect.