Drupada

Quick Facts

About Drupada

King of Panchala and father of Draupadi, Dhrishtadyumna, and Shikhandi. His feud with his childhood friend Drona shaped a generation: humiliated in defeat, he performed a sacrifice to obtain children destined to destroy Drona's line.

In Their Words

From this fire shall rise the instrument of my vengeance and the jewel of the age.

Drupada

Traits

• proud
• vengeful
• devoted father
• determined

Story Appearances

• The Fire-Born and the Woman Who Became a ManThe king whose sacrifice birthed Draupadi and Dhrishtadyumna❧ 29 min
• The Impossible ChallengeHost of the great swayamvara❧ 21 min

Stories Featuring Drupada

111 further tales on this site name Drupada, in canonical reading order.

• Drona and DrupadaThe Broken FriendshipAdi Parva ‧ 7 min
• Draupadi's SwayamvaraThe Choosing of Her HusbandAdi Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Heir ApparentA crown promised, a second fee demanded, and the conquests that frightened a blind kingAdi Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Priest of DrupadaThe envoy, the guarded answer, and the weapons laid out to catch a king's sonsAdi Parva ‧ 17 min
• Vidura's Embassy to PanchalaThe envoy sent to bring the Pandavas home from Drupada's courtAdi Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Weighing of the BharataThe gods put the epic in a balance against the four Vedas, and Sauti recites the eighteen booksAdi Parva ‧ 24 min
• Kunti's BlessingA mother-in-law names seven wives, a throne nobody owns yet, and a son not yet bornAdi Parva ‧ 12 min
• The King Who Only BreathedKarna answers Drona with the tale of a minister who took everything but the throneAdi Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Five IndrasThe hidden design behind one bride, five husbandsAdi Parva
• Panchala, Kingdom of the Fire-BornThe divided realm that married the PandavasAdi Parva
• What the Blind King Was ToldDuryodhana's inventory of the rajasuya, and the quarrel it startedSabha Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Road Out of HastinapuraWhat Vidura read in the way they walkedSabha Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Vows Sworn Before ExileFour brothers name their killings on the way out of the dice hallSabha Parva ‧ 23 min
• Thirteen Years of FireThe exile teaches that suffering, accepted with dignity and used as a forge, transforms weakness into strength. The...Vana Parva ‧ 27 min
• The Ones Who Would Not Turn BackThe city walks out with its kings, and a sage answers the weepingVana Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Curse on Duryodhana's ThighA sage asks politely once, and is answered with a scratched footVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Promise Made in the Kamyaka WoodsThe allies arrive, and Draupadi asks Krishna what her friendship is worthVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• When Forgiveness Is Not a VirtueAn angry queen quotes an asura grandfather at a patient kingVana Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Queen Who Put God on TrialA bird on a string, and a child breaking its toysVana Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Council at PrabhasaThe Yadavas find the exiles on the shore and argue about ending the exile by forceVana Parva ‧ 19 min
• What Dhaumya Told Them About KingsThe rules for living inside another man's palaceVirata Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Hands Marked With CornsA night in the kitchen, and everything she had not saidVirata Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Pyre and the Uprooted TreeA hundred and five kinsmen and one bound womanVirata Parva ‧ 17 min
• Five Men on the ThronesThe morning the servants stopped pretendingVirata Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Princess Who Became DeathAmba's story reveals how injustice, even unintentional injustice, creates cycles of suffering. Bhishma meant no harm -...Udyoga Parva ‧ 22 min
• The Messenger of PeaceThe Divine Revelation in HastinapuraUdyoga Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Choice at DwarakaTen crore soldiers on one side of the bed, one unarmed man on the otherUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Net and the Mountain HoneyTwo birds who quarrelled in flight, and a cliff nobody came down fromUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Braid She Refused to BindDraupadi answers Bhima's peace with her own hairUdyoga Parva ‧ 20 min
• What Kunti Sent Instead of ComfortA mother counts her sons aloud, then tells them to fightUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Choosing of the GeneralissimoFive brothers name five different men, and Krishna names the sixthUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Cities of TentsTwo capitals raised on Kurukshetra before a single arrowUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Yaksha Who Lent His ManhoodSthuna, Sikhandini, and the curse that made the loan permanentUdyoga Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Question of DaysEach commander prices the enemy army in morningsUdyoga Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Tree and the ForestKrishna answers Sanjaya at Upaplavya and decides to go to the Kurus himselfUdyoga Parva ‧ 18 min
• Arjuna's Message to the KurusSanjaya recites the message in open court, and names every man who will dieUdyoga Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Sacrifice of BattleDuryodhana makes the coming war his own rite, and his father disowns him for itUdyoga Parva ‧ 23 min
• The First EnvoyDrupada's old priest carries the claim to HastinapuraUdyoga Parva
• Shveta Against the GrandsireThe Matsya prince who broke Bhishma's bow again and againBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• Kurukshetra Day 8: The Rakshasa's HourIravan falls and Ghatotkacha answers for himBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Pillow of ArrowsBoth armies lay down their weapons for one eveningBhishma Parva ‧ 18 min
• Omens and the Ten Kings Around BhimaDrona reads the signs of Bhishma's last day and sends his son to fightBhishma Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Grandsire Chooses His HourBhishma remembers Santanu's boon and refuses to die in the wrong seasonBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Ten Kinsmen Against the Ten SonsDay six: Dhrishtadyumna kills two princes, ten Pandavas duel ten Kauravas, and Bhima goes into the elephants on footBhishma Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Seventh Day After NoonBhima and Duryodhana wound each other twice, Sanjaya tells the blind king whose fault the war is, and Satanika kills DushkarnaBhishma Parva ‧ 23 min
• Six Duels on the Eighth DayShikhandi with a broken sword, Duryodhana on foot, and a mace that missedBhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Three ColumnsAt midday on the eighth day the Pandava army splits into three attacking bodies, Arjuna's son Iravan is killed, and Bhishma sends twelve warriors to pull Duryodhana out of the fire.Bhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• Ghatotkacha and the Javelin of BhagadattaDuryodhana asks to kill a Rakshasa, and a Rakshasa breaks a javelin on his kneeBhishma Parva ‧ 24 min
• The Shield Around BhishmaNinth day: Satyaki trades darts with the grandsire, Abhimanyu unhorses Chitrasena, and Duryodhana orders a wall of men built round BhishmaBhishma Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Wall Before BhishmaEvery Kaurava champion is given one Pandava to stop on the tenth dayBhishma Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Last Push on the Tenth DayTenth day: Bhishma asks Yudhishthira to kill him, and the champions of both armies pair off across the field while Dushasana alone stands between him and ArjunaBhishma Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Evening After Bhishma FellBoth armies stop the war for a night, and Arjuna gives the grandsire the only pillow he will accept.Bhishma Parva ‧ 19 min
• The Pairings of the Second DayArjuna goes at the grandsire, and the field breaks into nine duelsBhishma Parva ‧ 11 min
• The Fire-Born GeneralDhrishtadyumna's command of the great warBhishma Parva
• Shikhandi's WarThe life after the purposeBhishma Parva
• The Price of ShelterVirata, the old king who gave everythingBhishma Parva
• The Banners and the BowsSanjaya names every standard on the fieldDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Women in the TentSubhadra, Draupadi and Uttaraa on the night Abhimanyu diedDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Order Yudhishthira GaveA king overrules the guard his brother postedDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The King Counts His ArmyEvery soldier paid, examined and willing, and still losingDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Grandson of Shini Crosses the OceanOne chariot sent through the whole Kaurava hostDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Arrows He Did Not Want to ShootArjuna, Kripa, and a lesson in arms turned back on its teacherDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• One Man Against an Army of the NightAshwatthama burns a full akshauhini of Ghatotkacha's rakshasasDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Oath of a Bereaved FatherThe house of Bahlika ends in a single nightDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• Three Men and a Drawn SwordKarna boasts, Kripa answers, and Ashwatthama draws on his own sideDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• Kurukshetra Day 15: The Day the Teacher DiedFrom the Dawn Prayers to the Half-Truth at NoonDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• Held Back by Bhima's ArmsSatyaki and Dhrishtadyumna nearly finish the war for the KauravasDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Sword That Broke on the ShieldAbhimanyu strips a king of everything, and Jayadratha comes down off his car to stop himDrona Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Guard at the WheelKumara of Panchala checks Drona in front of Yudhishthira's chariot, and pays for itDrona Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Sword on Drona's YokeDhrishtadyumna leaps onto his enemy's chariot to kill him, and Satyaki cuts the arrow that would have killed him firstDrona Parva ‧ 13 min
• The Dice That Turned Into ArrowsDrona rebukes the fleeing Dushasana, and then wakes with a sword over his neckDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The King Who Went In AloneDuryodhana charges the whole Pandava army by himself, and Yudhishthira cuts his bowDrona Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Brahma Weapon AnsweredDrona empties the celestial arsenal at Yudhishthira on the fourteenth night, and the king matches him astra for astraDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• Seven Bows Against OneDhrishtadyumna rides at Drona in the night battle and answers seven champions with three arrows apieceDrona Parva ‧ 12 min
• The Two Who RememberedDuryodhana and Satyaki meet on the fifteenth day and talk about their childhood before they fightDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• Sword and Shield Against the PreceptorDhrishtadyumna, stripped of car and bow, dances the twenty-one motions to reach DronaDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Telling in the RoutAshwatthama rides back through a fleeing army to ask what happened, and Kripa has to tell him how Drona was killedDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Consecration of DronaKarna names the Preceptor commander, and Drona names the man he cannot killDrona Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Silent CampArjuna comes back at dusk from the samsaptakas and learns that Abhimanyu is deadDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• How Drona Won the Narayana WeaponAshwatthama tells the Kauravas where his father's last astra came from, and the one rule that came with itDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• The King Falls Out of His SeatDhritarashtra hears that Drona is dead, faints in his hall, and wakes to ask who was supposed to be guarding himDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Mouth of the GarudaDrona draws his host as a bird and comes for Yudhishthira on the twelfth morningDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Blind King Is AnsweredDhritarashtra laments the night after Abhimanyu's death, and his own messenger tells him whose fault it isDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• What Drupada Said About DuryodhanaFive kings die in front of Drona in one afternoon, and Drupada names the man who is not on the fieldDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• Bhima's Harvest on the Fourteenth EveningDrona takes the head of the king of Sivi, and Bhima kills with his fists, his palm and a caught dart until the kings call him RudraDrona Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Night Falls on the Fourteenth DayAshwatthama breaks the Panchalas after dark, Drona looses the wind weapon, and Krishna pulls Yudhishthira out of a fight he is winningDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• The Guard at Drona's Right WheelYudhishthira orders his whole army against Drona, and never gets past KritavarmaDrona Parva ‧ 15 min
• Duels by TorchlightSix single combats fought by lamplight on the road to Drona's carDrona Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Whole Host Against DronaYudhishthira sends every man he has at the preceptor, and the fifteenth morning breaks into duelsDrona Parva ‧ 23 min
• The Arrow Cut in the AirSatyaki saves Dhrishtadyumna from the preceptor's shaft and holds three great bowmen at once, and the day ends with Drona's head in the dustDrona Parva ‧ 18 min
• Bhima Carried From the FieldAshwatthama's afternoon after the Narayana weapon, and the shaft that took Bhima's charioteerDrona Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Fifteenth MorningDrona alone, and the old kings who tried to stop himDrona Parva
• The Word Brought to HastinapuraSanjaya rides through the night with the news of KarnaKarna Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Old Preceptor and the Slayer of DronaKripa freezes Dhrishtadyumna until his own driver turns the car and runsKarna Parva ‧ 11 min
• The King Names the PairsYudhishthira assigns each Pandava his enemy as Karna's array comes onKarna Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Elephant Standard Comes DownDhrishtadyumna leaves Duryodhana without horses, driver, weapons or banner at noon on the seventeenth dayKarna Parva ‧ 18 min
• Ashwatthama at Dhrishtadyumna's ThroatThe vow he very nearly kept on the seventeenth dayKarna Parva ‧ 16 min
• Karna and Satyaki ClashOne Vrishni holds the Kaurava army, and the sixteenth day ends in dustKarna Parva ‧ 14 min
• The Prince Who Went In for ShikhandiKripa strips Shikhandi on the seventeenth day, and a young ally buys him a way out with his lifeKarna Parva ‧ 12 min
• The King on the Mountain of FleshOne elephant breaks an army, and two men bring it downShalya Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Eighteenth MorningChekitana takes a lance, Suratha takes a single arrow, and Duryodhana is carried off his own field by bolting horsesShalya Parva ‧ 22 min
• Why Rudra Broke the SacrificeKrishna explains who really emptied the campSauptika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Gem on Ashwatthama's HeadDraupadi sits down to starve until the stone is brought to herSauptika Parva ‧ 15 min
• The Queens Who Came a Long WayWhat the Kuru quarrel cost the kingdoms that were only alliesStri Parva ‧ 17 min
• The Count of the DeadKrishna's blunt answer, and a king who could see where they had goneStri Parva ‧ 16 min
• Gandhari Shows Krishna the FieldWith the sight Vyasa gave her, the blindfolded queen walks Krishna through the dead of KurukshetraStri Parva ‧ 21 min
• What Gandhari SawThe blind queen, given sight for one afternoon, walks Kurukshetra naming the dead of both armiesStri Parva ‧ 21 min
• The Crowning of YudhishthiraA king anointed by the man he could not saveShanti Parva ‧ 20 min
• The News Krishna Held BackA grandfather is spared until his daughter refuses itAshvamedhika Parva ‧ 16 min
• The Night the Dead ReturnedVyasa Calls the Fallen Out of the GangaAshramavasika Parva ‧ 20 min
• The Return of the PortionsWho everybody turned out to have beenSvargarohana Parva ‧ 17 min

Places in Drupada's Story

Drawn from the stories Drupada appears in.

• Kampilyaकाम्पिल्य
• Ekachakraएकचक्र
• Kashiकाशी
• Hastinapurहस्तिनापुर
• Shalvaशाल्व
• Gandhamadanaगन्धमादन
• Kurukshetraकुरुक्षेत्र
• Himavatहिमवत्
• Pushkaraपुष्कर
• Forest Hermitageवन आश्रम
• Pandava Campपाण्डव शिविर
• Virataविराट

Related Characters

Others counted among the Pandavas.

• ❈Yudhishthira
• ⛏︎Bhima
• ◎Arjuna
• ✧Nakula
• ❧Sahadeva
• ✶Draupadi