Birth of Draupadi and Drushtadhyumna

Mahabharata Adiparva Chaitraratha parva section 168-170

Sri Sadgurubhyoh Namah

After getting rid of the Ekachakra town of the problem of Baka, Pandavas continued to live there. A brahmana came there one day and started narrating the gradoise plans of King Drupada for the swayamvara(Girl choosing her husband) of his daughter Draupadi. He narrated the extraordinary birth of Draupadi from the sacrificial fire. Pandavas enquired brahmana about Drupada and how Draupadi was born.

The brahmana guest narrated the story of the brith of Draupadi.

Drupada insults Drona when he comes as a friend, saying that only equals can be friends. Drupada being a king cannot respect Drona , a poor brahmana as a friend. After being vanquished by Drona's pupil Arjuna in a battle, Drupada becomes dejected and started searching for an able priest who can help his heart's goal, that of producing a son capable of destroying Drona. He roams various places in search of an able priest who can do this Yajna for him. Finally he arrives at a sacred hermitage, where two brahmana brothers with names Yaja and Upayaja were studying vedas.

Drupada does service to them for sometime and at an opportune time, reveals his desire to the younger brother Upayaja, who was more capable than his elder brother Yaja. Drupada offers 10000 cattle to Upajaya in return for Upayaja performing a Yajna for Drupada to attain a superior son who can win Drona in battle.

Upayaja rejects this offer saying that he doesnt covet worldly possessions. But he tells King Drupada that his elder brother Yaja, to be interested in worldly matters. Drupada offers Yaja 10000 catttle for performing an yajna to obtain a son. Yaja agrees, and he takes the help of Upayaja in performing the yajna.

At the end of yajna, Yaja asks the queen to come and accept the fruits of the Yajna, "Come O queen the result of this yajna is waiting for you to accept, come quickly". The Queen says "wait a little bit, I am not yet ready, give me some time".

Yaja says, "No point in waiting, Let the child be produced without the womb of a mother", and he pours the holy ghee oblation onto the sacrificial fire uttering some mantras. Out of the sacrificial fire, rose a son with natural mail and armour, sword , bow and arrows. He lets out a loud roar and ascends a chariot and rides it to the cheers of the panchalas. A celestial voice rang out in the sky, "This boy will be the cause of destruction of Drona". He was named as Dhrustadhyumna.

Out of that same sacrificial fire comes a daughter, named Draupadi, a,k.a Panchali, a.k.a Yajnasena. She was beautiful and when she was born a celestial voice said, "This girl will be cause of destruction of many kshatriya men in war". Because she is dark in complexion, she is named as Krishna (dark complexioned).

Drona on hearing the birth of Drupada's son, comes to know that Drushtadhyumna will be the cause of his destruction, accepts the inevitability of death at sometime in life and invites Drushtadyumna to his school of warfare, and lets him live there with him, and teaches him all that he knew and the art of war, usage of weapons etc.

My commentary :

Draupadi is one of the causes of Mahabharata war. But what is striking in this story is that Drona knowing fully well that Drustadhyumna will be killing him in future, still teaches him all that he knew about weapons. This shows the impartiality of a teacher.

A good teacher will always be in search of an able student. The teaching lives through the student. Body is impermanent, but the vidya or learning is permanent.

Hari OM