Draupadi's Swayamvara
द्रौपदी स्वयंवर
Draupadi chooses her husband through an archery contest. Arjuna, disguised as a brahmin, wins her hand.
SignificancePandavas revealed to be alive
- Draupadi
- Arjuna
- Drupada
- Dhrishtadyumna
- Krishna
In short
The Marriage era of the Mahabharata (Forming Alliances) covers draupadi's swayamvara and marriage to Pandavas. It holds 7 recorded events, listed below in chronological order.
Year: -33 Year: -33 Draupadi marries all Five Pandavas
द्रौपदी पांचाली
Due to Kunti's accidental words and a previous boon, Draupadi becomes the wife of all five Pandavas.
SignificanceUnique polyandrous marriage
- Draupadi
- Pandavas
- Queen Kunti
- Sage Vyasa
Year: -33 Chitraratha Gandharva Confronted
चित्ररथ गान्धर्व
On their way to Draupadi's swayamvara, the Pandavas encounter the gandharva Chitraratha on the banks of the Ganga at night. He challenges them for trespassing.
SignificanceArjuna receives the Chakshushi and other gifts from the gandharva, and learns the lineage of his ancestors
- Arjuna
- Chitraratha
- Pandavas
- Tapati
- Vasishtha
Year: -33 Bhima and Hidimbi - The Birth of Ghatotkacha
हिडिम्ब वध
Fleeing the burned house of lac, the Pandavas shelter in a night forest ruled by the rakshasa Hidimba. His sister Hidimbi chooses love over her own kin, Bhima breaks the demon, and from that union is born Ghatotkacha, whose promise to his father will one day save Arjuna at Kurukshetra.
SignificanceBirth does not decide who is a demon; conduct does. Mercy shown in a moonlit clearing reached all the way to the great war.
Year: -32 Bakasura of Ekachakra - The Debt of Bread
बक वध
Hidden in the town of Ekachakra, the Pandavas learn that the family sheltering them must send one of its own to be eaten by the demon Baka. Kunti offers Bhima in their place, and the man-eater of Ekachakra takes his last meal.
SignificanceA debt of kindness is repaid not in words but in the willingness to face danger for the one who fed you.
Year: -31 The Brothers and the Apsara
Narada warns the Pandavas, who share one wife, with the tale of two asura brothers so devoted they were one soul in two bodies. Made invincible by a boon that they could die only by each other's hand, they conquered the worlds - until Brahma fashioned the flawless Tilottama, and the brothers who had never wanted different things destroyed each other over a single beautiful woman.
SignificanceNothing so easily turns brother against brother as a thing desired by more than one. The inseparable asuras were undone not by the gods they defeated but by their own love turned to rivalry. The surest way to guard a precious bond is to set wise limits upon desire before desire can set kin against kin - which is exactly the rule the Pandavas then made over Draupadi.
Year: -31 Chitraratha at the Ganga - The Gandharva at the Night Ford
चैत्ररथ
On the night road to Panchala the Pandavas are challenged at a Ganga ford by the gandharva Angaraparna. Arjuna burns his celestial chariot with the weapon of fire, spares him at his wife's plea, and the defeated celestial becomes a friend - giving gifts, telling the tales of their ancestors, and sending them to find their first priest, Dhaumya.
SignificancePower answers power, but purity outlasts both - and an enemy who can offer friendship after defeat has lost nothing that matters.