Ganesha: Welcome back, everyone! Today we have our third and final interview. I really hope you’re excited because I know I certainly am. Please put your hands together for Draupadi!

*Audience cheers*

Ganesha: Welcome, Draupadi. I am so glad to have you on the show!

Draupadi: Thank you, Ganesha. I am truly so glad to be here.

Ganesha: Well, first of all, how are you doing?

Draupadi: I’m doing well, thank you for asking! How are you?

Ganesha: I am just fine, thank you!

Ganesha: So, I am going to tell you what I told the other two during their interviews. Start where you need to, and please don’t feel any pressure to tell us about something you’re not comfortable disclosing.

Draupadi: Thank you, Ganesha. I already feel so comfortable!

Draupadi: Well, I guess I’ll start at the gambling match. Yudhisthira had just gambled away the kingdom, the servants, himself, and me. I had absolutely nothing to do with that ambling match, in fact I was minding my own business when I was summoned by Duryodhana.

Ganesha: Oh, my goodness!

Draupadi: I know! I was about to get into a whirlwind of a mess, and I had no clue. When I was told that I had been lost in a bet and now a servant to Duryodhana, I was so scared. The first thin that popped into my head was to find any way to dispute it. Of course, if my husband had lost a bet for his own life to another, he couldn’t bet mine away, right? That makes sense to you, too, right?

Ganesha: Of course, it does. I understand completely.

Draupadi: I told this to the servant who came for me, and I told him to go tell this to Duryodhana. I guess Duryodhana didn’t agree because the servant was back and wasn’t taking no for an answer. I was confused, humiliated, and terrified. I had no idea what was to become of me.

Ganesha: I can imagine! You poor soul!

Draupadi: Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there. If it wasn’t bad enough that I was a servant, after I was dragged into the room I was mocked even more. This was also in front of the court and no one did a thing. I was in awe of how this court was supposed to be just when they witnessed what I was going through and didn’t say a word.

Ganesha: You are one strong woman.

Draupadi: Thank you, Ganesha. I had to be because the mockery and humiliation didn’t end there either. Duryodhana finally grew frustrated and tried to strip me of my cloths.

Ganesha: Oh no!

Draupadi: Yes. While this was happening no one did a thing, yet again. I was petrified all I had left was my honor and Duryodhana was trying to strip me of that as well. I couldn’t think of anything to do, so I prayed. I prayed as hard as I could to the god Krishna hoping that he could help me in what seemed to be my darkest hour. I kept praying when I realized that my sari had become never ending. Thankfully, Duryodhana had become too tired to continue. Due to bad omens, I was granted two boons by King Dhritarashtra. Of course, I asked for the freedom of Yudhisthira and my other husbands. I argued that I never actually lost my freedom, and I guess that argument worked on the King because off I went with the Pandavas.

Ganesha: Draupadi, that must have been traumatizing.

Draupadi: It was, and while that seemed like the worst of it, we still had to live in exile where I endured so much as well. That isn’t something I like to talk about much as it was truly traumatizing. The gambling match is where it all seemed to take a turn, though, so I figured I would talk about the event directly after.

Ganesha: Draupadi, I am honestly in awe of how well you handled everything that has been thrown your way. You are truly the epitome of strength. I never imagined that you had gone through so much, and that isn’t even all of it. Is there anything else that you’d like to add?

Draupadi: I would just like to add that, although people may disapprove, always stand up for yourself. You have to fight for yourself, because when it comes down to it, no one else can do it for you.

Ganesha: Very well said. Thank you so much, Draupadi, for being here today. I’m sure I speak for all of us when I say that we are moved by your strength. Stay safe, stay well, and be happy!

*Author’s Note: While I was refreshing on Draupadi’s story, I realized that this woman had quite literally gone through it all. Had I been in her shoes, I don’t know what I would have done. This woman was strong willed, feisty, and unafraid to call out wrongs she saw. As I was reading up on different opinions of her, I noticed that while she was seen as a model for women, she was also a bit too feisty. I don’t know too much about Indian culture, but it seems many have said that she should have been more submissive. I obviously don’t want to overstep any boundaries since that is not my culture. However, looking at it from just a story perspective, I loved how strong Draupadi was, and I wanted to showcase that in the interview. From the stories we’ve read, we haven’t seen a woman who was not afraid to fight for herself, and in Draupadi’s case, for her husbands. She literally saved them from being servants for the rest of their lives. I had a lot of fun writing these stories, they all gave me a new perspective on how to deal with different situations. My personal favorite will always be Draupadi, as I absolutely love when women stand up for themselves.

The story I based mine off of is the Mahabharata PDE Version by various authors.