As Karna - Out of my depth

Seventeen

The Pandavas along with their common wife Empress Draupadi and their entourage had arrived at Hastinapur amodst great fanfare and were provided with great luxeries and comforts. The Dyut sabha was to be held five days after the arrival of Kaunteyas. Gandhar raj Shakuni has developed this trap for the Pandavas, especially Emperor Yudhishthir given his addiction to gambling. Cunning Shakuni had a pair of magical dice made from his father's bones, with which he can control the outcome of any game of chance.

After about four days of festivities, the day of Dyut sabha arrived. There was no entry for the women in court and the rules of the game were discussed. It was decided that one can stake anything that they have rights on. Emperor Yudhishthir will play for Pandavas while Shakuni will play as representative of Kauravas. I was already in Hastinapur in a disguise before the arrival of Pandavas and I had chosen a corner in the court to hide with my illusions. I can see the entire court from my hidden place and my illusions were unbreakable to even Gods.

The fated game of dice began and both the Kauravas and the Pandavas were equally winning and losing. Then as if struck by bad luck, the Kauravas began to lose more and more, the Pandavas, especially Bheema and Nakula who disliked the Kauravas, began to cheer and insult their cousins for losing. The Great Dharmaraj yudhishthir didn't say anything about it, but one can see his face delighted with all the winnings. I was surprised, for I have never known that Pandavas were winning some time as I always assumed they just lost, but it was like classical trick used by casinos in the modern world I suppose, to bait people with few wins and then take everything they have once hooked. True to my thoughts, the Pandavas just had a first major loss. Then another and another and one more and so on. Soon, the Pandavas had lost everything they gained from the Kauravas, wealth, treasury, palaces and Kingdom. The Kauravas having regained everything began to cheer and insult the Pandavas back. The Devputras stayed silent and stewed in defeat, but the son of Yama was hooked and he had a desperate glint in eye to win the wealth of Kauravas. Dharmaraj then continued staking more and more and losing everything in the hope to eke out a win. The more he lost, the more desperate he became and staked more. In just few rounds, The Pandu's sons became homeless commoners from being rulers of the second wealthiest kingdom after Magadha. The elders of the court has asked the game to be stopped as the Pandavas has lost everything now, but the eldest Pandunandhana has no interest in stopping, he has become like an addict who is on high. He declared that in the absence of their father, as the eldest son he had rights on his brothers and he is going to stake them. When asked to choose, he was about to name the savyasachi but Prince Nakula came forward and said to stake him as their brothers Bheema and Arjuna can free them and for that they have to be free. But alas, one can never win a rigged game, Yudhishthir lost and Nakul became the slave of Kauravas and so he went to the side of Duryodhan and kneeled. The same thing happened with Sahadeva, youngest Pandava, then again with Bheema, strongest of Pandavas, and once more with Arjuna, Most skilled of the Kaunteyas. Yudhishthir didn't stop even at that and amidst the protests of the Kuru elders and his brothers, he staked himself and lost. When the Kauravas began to insult the Pandavas that they were now slaves and how did it feel to have nothing, Yudhishthir declared that the game is not over and that he can win everything back. When asked what he will bet, he said that he will bet Panchaali, their common wife. The entire court, even his brothers, looked at him as if mad, but he continued that though he is a slave, he still had rights on his wife as a wife is the property of husband as per Dharma. His brothers kept their silence as he kept describing the beauty of the fireborn empress, like how supple are her breasts, how smooth is her skin, how beautiful are her eyes and how shapely are her curves. He began to go on and on describing the Yagnaseni, how much she is worth and placed her as his stake. Poor Empress, who didn't know how her husbands staked her, was recovering from her periods in her chambers. Predicatably, as if the casinos ever let a chance to sweep the poor fool go, Gandhar raj has crushed Yudhishthir in the game and won the Agnisuta. Duryodhan has ordered servants to fetch Draupadi, who is now a slave. The revered elders in the court objected this, saying women has no place in the court. But Suyodhana had argued that she is a slave and her place what her master decides. The servants returned after few minutes saying that Paanchali has declined as nobody had the authority to order their Empress. Duryodhana, now froth with anger, ordered Sushasan to drag the slave to the court. Prince Bheema roared with anger and threatened that he will kill anyt who touches their wife. I didn't know where such protective rage went when his brother was staking her, at least he spoke up which cannot be said for the other Pandavas. Soon, Dushashan came back dragging Draupadi by her hair, she was just in a single garment still in her seasons and she didn't accept meekly when informed that her husbands lost everything in the dice and became their slaves. She raged when she heard that her husbands staked her in the game like a property and lost her. Though she hardened her expression and began to ask all the elders present in the court about how her husband who lost himself can stake her, one can see that she is reeling from the heart break that her husbands had no respect orove for her. It was if she felt that she lost respect of her husbands for being their common wife that they thought nothing of treating her like property. I felt that she was true to some extent, because none of their other wives were treated like this, only Draupadi who had made her life a sacrifice to satisfy her mother in law's words, who had to do a severe penance to treat her husbands equally, who had to endure many insults for marrying five husbands.