Draupadi was the daughter of King Drupada in the epic Mahabharata. She was also known as Panchali, as Drupada was the ruler of the kingdom of Panchala.
Drupada had prayed for a son, but Draupadi emerged as well. Draupadi grew to be a young woman she was considered very beautiful, mainly for her glowing dark skin, large dark eyes and graceful figure. Due to her dark skin, she was also called by the name 'Krishna'. She seemed to have been blessed with powers from Goddess Kali for the purpose of destruction of Kauravas of Mahabharata.
Draupadi's devotion to Lord Krishna
Draupadi is regarded as Shakti (Goddess Kali) incarnate who was the sister of Vishnu. This makes Lord Krishna (an avtaar of Lord Vishnu) Draupadi's brother.
The incident wherein, Krishna cut his finger through his Sudarshan Chakra and Draupadi bound it with her sari was the origin of 'Rakhi' concept
Draupadi's Marriage to Pandavas
The contest was that there would be a target. The target was a bird which is placed on a revolving disc. It should be struck by an arrow only by looking at its reflection in the water below. A huge bow was kept for that purpose. Most kings failed to even string the bow. Only Arjuna was successful in hitting the target and won Draupadi's hand in marriage.
During the period of exile Kunti had taught the Pandavas to share everything among them. When Arjuna came to Kunti and said that he has won a prize, Kunti without giving it a look told Arjuna to share him among all the brothers. Thus respecting his mother's words, all the brothers accepted Draupadi as their wife.
Cheer-Haran of DraupadiDraupadi's Cheer-Haran was one of the central reasons for the Kurukshetra battle. The term literally means stripping one from their clothes.
At a time of Cheer Haran of Draupadi. Draupadi pleaded to everyone present in the courtroom to save her modesty. But no one came forward to help her. Frantically she called out Krishna's name who worked a miracle so that as Dushasana unwraps layers and layers of her sari, her sari keeps getting extended. Tired, Dushasana gave up the idea of stripping Draupadi.
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