Chapter 271

Janamejaya said, “What did those tigers among men, the Pandavas, do,after they had suffered such misery in consequence of the ravishment ofDraupadi?”

Vaisampayana said, “Having defeated Jayadratha and rescued Krishna, thevirtuous king Yudhishthira took his seat by the side of that best ofMunis. And among those foremost of ascetics who were expressing theirgrief upon bearing Draupadi’s misfortune, Yudhishthira, the son of Pandu,addressed Markandeya, saying, ‘O adorable Sire, amongst the gods and theascetics, thou art known to have the fullest knowledge of both the pastas well as; the future. A doubt existeth in my mind, which I would askthee to solve! This lady is the daughter of Drupada; she hath issued fromthe sacrificial altar and hath not been begotten of the flesh; and she ishighly blessed and is also the daughter-in-law of the illustrious Pandu.I incline to think that Time, and human Destiny that dependeth on ouracts, and the Inevitable, are irresistible in respect of creatures. (Ifit were not so), how could such a misfortune afflict this wife of ours sofaithful and virtuous, like a false accusation of theft against an honestman? The daughter of Drupada hath never committed any sinful act, nor,hath she done anything that is not commendable: on the contrary, she hathassiduously practised the highest virtues towards Brahmanas. And yet thefoolish king Jayadratha had carried her away by force. In consequence ofthis act of violence on her, that sinful wretch hath his hair shaved offhis head and sustained also, with all his allies, defeat in battle. It istrue we have rescued her after slaughtering the troops of Sindhu. But thedisgrace of this ravishment of our wife during our hours of carelessness,hath stained us, to be sure. This life in the wilderness is full ofmiseries. We subsist by chase; and though dwelling in the woods, we areobliged to slay the denizens thereof that live with us! This exile alsothat we suffer is due to the act of deceitful kinsmen! Is there any onewho is more unfortunate than I am? Hath thou ever seen or heard of such aone before?”