Read Online The Mahabharata by R. K. Narayan - Free Book Online

she muttered, ‘I want my husband, husband, husband….’
    â€œâ€˜You will soon end this identity and will be reborn as a beauty and marry five husbands,’ said the god.
    â€œâ€˜Five husbands! God! Why five? I want only one.’
    â€œâ€˜I cannot help it. I heard you say “husband,” and that five times,’ said Ishwara. And that proved the last word on the subject, since a god’s word is unretractable.
    â€œWhile it seemed as if the god had spoken in jest, he had his purpose. In the vision of a god there is no joking, everything works according to a scheme. Nalayani was reborn as the daughter of Drupada without being conceived in a womb, but out of a sacrificial fire. Justice and goodness have to be reinstated in this world. The Kauravas are evil incarnate; powerful, clever, and accomplished. For the good of mankind, they must be wiped out, and Draupadi will play a great role in it.”
    Draupadi was wedded to the brothers. At the ceremony, the first to take her hand was the eldest, Yudhistira; next came the mighty Bhima; after him the actual winner, Arjuna; and lastly the twins, Nakula and Sahadeva, one after the other. The Princess was to live with each brother for one full year as his wife, and then pass on to the next. When she lived with one, the others swore to eradicate her image completely from their minds. A very special kind of detachment and discipline was needed to practise this code. Anyone who violated it, even in thought, exiled himself from the family and had to seek expiation in a strenuous pilgrimage to the holy rivers.

5 Uncle’s Gift
    I N H ASTINAPURA there was much uneasiness, since it was now clear that the Pandavas were still alive. “Then who was it that perished in the fire?” the courtiers speculated.
    â€œOur own man—the fool,” said Duryodhana, “and a woman with five children, who had come to dine at the feast, and slept off—drank too much wine, I suppose! I have reports that she’d been seen earlier at the feast…. The God of Fire took a woman and her five sons, but not the five we had in mind….” And he and his brothers laughed grimly at the joke.
    Dhritarashtra was heard to comment on the swayamwara, “Ah, what a glorious choice for our family! Drupada’s daughter is a rare creature. I have heard about her indeed! May they flourish and be happy!”
    When he caught him alone, Duryodhana berated him for his enthusiasm. “How can you felicitate our arch-enemy Yudhistira? Have you no interest in your own sons? Have you no concern for your own family?” He glared angrily at his father, who, though eyeless, sensed the fury behind his son’s speech. He explained with an artificial laugh, “I did not mean it. I was speaking to Vidura, as you know, and I did not want to reveal to him my real feeling in the matter. We have to be careful with him. I would have been really happy if you had won the bride; that’s how I had understood it at first, and felt happy too. But later Vidura explained, and one has to be cautious when referring to those boys in his presence.”
    â€œNow we must act,” continued Dhritarashtra. “Drupada becomes a father-in-law and ally of the Pandavas. His son Dhrishtadyumna is equal to any of us. Drupada has not forgiven or forgotten the fact that his kingdom was cut up, and that he was humiliated by our guru, Drona. Each day he is getting stronger and stronger and will not rest until he has recovered his whole territory. Our guru made a mistake in leaving him alive. Drupada will never forget that we attacked him.”
    â€œThe Pandavas too had attacked him!” said Duryodhana.
    â€œBut their circumstances have changed, and they are in-laws now, and allies, and have a common enemy in us. Mark my words, they will not spare us.”
    Duryodhana toyed with the idea of bribing Drupada to isolate the Pandavas or poison them… and