Draupadi's Vow: Why She Never Tied Her Hair?

Mahabharata is an epic which is full of mysteries. In this epic you will find the tales of love, respect, bravery, intelligence, devotion and morality on one hand. On the other hand you will also find the tales of hate, treachery, immorality, adultery and injustice.

The plot of Mahabharata revolves around the main characters: Pandavas and Kauravas. This epic describes various events which culminate in the great war of Mahabharata. The stories of valiance revolve around all the male characters of the epic who fight the great war, whether they survive or not. But another very important character in this tale is a woman who has forever been held responsible for bringing about this war of destruction. Yes, we are talking about Draupadi.

Draupadi is a pivotal character of Mahabharata. She was the princess of Panchala kingdom, wife to the five Pandavas and an enigmatic woman with great wisdom and devotion towards her husbands. She has often been misunderstood and believed to be the main reason for the war of Mahabharata. This is not entirely true, though she plays a major role in bringing about the downfall of the Kauravas.

DID KRISHNA REALLY SAVE DRAUPADI FROM THE SHAME?

Everything about Draupadi is fascinating. The tales of her enigmatic beauty, her pride, her devotion, her love, her insult and her great vow are all equally mesmerising. So, let us find out about that great vow of Draupadi which destroyed the mighty Kaurava empire.

The Infamous Game Of Dice
Most of you must be familiar with the notorious game of dice which took place between the Kauravas and the Pandavas. For those who do not know, the Kauravas invited the Pandava brothers to Hastinapur for a game of dice. Since Yudhishthira was extremely fond of dice game, he accepted the invitation. However the Kauravas cheated and Yudhisthira lost everything to them. He put all his brothers on stake and lost them too. He even lost himself at stake and became a slave of the Kauravas. It is then he put his wife Draupadi at stake in an attempt to win back everything. But he lost her too.

Disrobing Of Draupadi
The events which followed after Yudhisthira lost Draupadi, is a matter of shame for the entire human race. Duryodhana ordered Dusshasana to drag Draupadi out of the women's quarters and disrobe her in front of all the people present at the court. Dusshasana followed the orders and pulled Draupadi out of her quarters by her hair. He kept uttering insults and pulling her by hair till they reached the court. Draupadi sought help from the elders of the family but no one came to her rescue. Her husbands sat there hanging their heads in shame. After that Dusshasana crossed all the lines as he tried to disrobe his own sister-in-law in the court. But he could not succeed in his vile attempts as Lord Krishna came to Draupadi's rescue.

Draupadi's Great Vow
After the disrobing incident, Draupadi sat there crying and feeling helpless as no one came to her help. She pleaded to all the elders but everyone hung their head in shame. The Kauravas kept on showering more insults on her. Enraged by the insults, Draupadi took the vow that she will never oil or tie her hair until she bathed her hair with the blood of Dusshasana. Her vow shook the souls of everyone present in the assembly. Soon after that king Dhritarashtra requested Draupadi to calm down and freed the Pandavas from the bondage.

Thus, Draupadi never tied her hair after this shameful incident and her open hair kept on reminding the Pandavas about the insult. Later when Bhima killed Dusshasana, he brought the blood of Dusshasana for Draupadi. Only after she bathed her hair with Dusshasana's blood did Draupadi tie her hair again.