Did I leave both hands holding my Sari and raised them up to call Krishna like Draupadhi
Pen Pillai questioned, “Did I let go of both my hands like Draupadi, and raise them up in surrender to Lord Krishna?”
If we pray to Bhagwan with true bhakti and faith, He will immediately come and help us anytime, anywhere. He will surely protect us. This fact is elucidated to the entire world from the following incident.
Once, Lord Krishna was conversing with His consort Rukmini at Dwaraka. At that time, He hears a sorrowful crying voice. He listens to the voice of a female in utter grief and sorrow praying to Him to help her. A melancholic scene unfolds in His mental canvas.
The events he saw were horrendous, gruesome and shockingly repellent.
In the Kuru Vamsam (dynasty), Dhritarashtra and Paandu were brothers. Dhritarashtra had 100 sons (Kauravaas), of whom Duryodhana was the eldest. Paandu had 5 sons (Paandavaas), with Yudhishthira as the eldest. Kauravaas led their life in the Adharmic way, while Paandavaas, who were cousins of Lord Krishna, chose to lead their life in the Dharmic way. Duryodhana never accepted Paandavaas as his brothers; he gave them a lot of troubles repeatedly. He even tried to kill the Paandavaas many times.
Fearing that the lingering animosity and enmity between the two (Kauravaas and Paandavaas) may lead to a war, the elders of Kuru dynasty decided to partition the kingdom into two and allot one portion to each.
With Hasthinapuram as the capital, one half of the kingdom was given to Duryodhana. An almost useless and barren half of the kingdom was given to Paandavaas.
With tireless effort and with the blessings of Krishna, the Paandavaas transformed the barren land given to them into the capital city of Indraprastha. Indraprastha became an enchanting and attractive city. The palace of Paandavaas in Indraprastha, constructed by the celestial architect, Vishwakarma himself, was so beautiful that it glowed like a magical palace.
Yudhishthira, seeking the permission of the elders, then decided to perform the Rajasuya Yagna, which Duryodhana and his brothers also attended. On seeing the grandeur of the Indraprastha Palace, Duryodhana brothers were wonder-struck. They were consumed with jealousy, greed and avarice. They wanted the palace for themselves.
They invited Yudhishthira to a gambling match and Yudhishthira accepted the challenge.
Employing devious tactics, they defeated Yudhishthira and grabbed all the possessions of Paandavaas. The five brothers and their wife Draupadi were made slaves of Duryodhana.
Duryodhana ordered his brother Dushyasana to fetch Draupadi to the royal assembly hall. When Draupadi refused, Dushyasana dragged her by her hair and brought her to the hall. She cried, and begged all the elders in the Sabha to help her, but nobody came to her help. Even her five husbands did not help her, since they were already slaves of Duryodhana. Duryodhana ordered Dushyasana to disrobe Draupadi. Dushyasana immediately carried out Duryodhana's order.
Shocked at this, Draupadi clutched both her hands over her sari to protect her honour, simultaneously crying and appealing to all to stop the horrific act and protect her. Even after a prolonged appeal, nobody came to her help.
Then she let go of her sari and raised both her hands in complete surrender to Bhagwan Krishna and prayed to Him, extolling Him thus with His Anantha Namas:
Shankha chakra gadaa paaNe
Dwaarakaa Nilaya achyutha |
Govinda Pundareekaaksha Raksha Maam Sharanaagataam ||
O wielder of weapons like the conch, discus and mace to protect your devotees, O resident of Dwaraka, O infallible Lord! O Lotus-Eyed Govinda, please protect me, I surrender unto you!
Save me Krishna! O supreme leader of Yaadavaas! Abandoned even by my husbands, only you can save me !
Govinda, Dwaarakaavaasi,
Darling of the Gopis, Lakshmipathy!
Please come and save my honour in this unjust assembly of Kauravaas.
Are you unaware of the horror happening in this Sabha?
Oh Bhagwan with Neelothpala (blue lotus) eyes, ShyamaLa thirumeni (dark-hued Lord), Lotus blossoming from your Naabhi (navel), wearing silk vasthram (garments), Kaustubha maalaa!
The lord of the Pancha bhoothaas - 5 elements, the creator, protector and destroyer of this Universe. I surrender unto your Lotus Feet, Protector of all Jeevas! Please save me and protect my honour!
Thus prayed Draupadi, surrendering to Bhagwan Krishna !
Then a miracle happened!
Dushyasana went on disrobing Draupadi. But to the wonder of everyone present, the sari on Draupadi grew endlessly! Long, colourful lengths of sari accumulated over and over and became a sari mountain! After a long time, Dushyasana became totally tired, fainted and fell on the ground.
Pen Pillai asked Sri Ramanuja, "Similar to Draupadi, who let go of both her hands with such solid faith, do I have any such faith on our Vaithamaanidhi PerumaaL?"
Sri Ramanuja added, “Bhagwan Krishna treated Draupadi as His sister. To fulfill Draupadi's vow, Krishna remained on the side of the Paandavaas and helped them win over the Kauravaas. He restored the kingdom to Yudhishthira.”
Sri Ramanuja then asked Pen Pillai, “Which story are we going to hear next, child?”
Pen Pillai replied:
இங்கு பால் பொங்கும் என்றேனோ வடுகநம்பியைப் போலே !
‘Did I say the milk will boil here, like Vaduganambi?’ referring to the milk he was heating for his Acharya Sri Ramanuja. Sri Ramanuja then looked at his disciples following him with a smile. Vadukanambi, who was among them, felt embarrassed. This shows that Pen Pillai was not aware that she was talking to Sri Ramanuja.
Let us hear the next story in the next episode.