If Draupadi had any doubt about the identity of her husband before while walking towards her new home and listening to the conversation between him and his brothers she realised that she had married the man her father had always wanted her to marry, the Pandava prince of Hastinapur, Kumar Arjun. Among the rest, the tallest and bulkiest of all was Vrikodar Bheemsena, who had the strength of a thousand elephants. The two younger ones, who looked almost identical, were the twins of Queen Madri. And the calmest of them all, the one who walked in front of everyone with his head held high, must be the crown prince of Hastinapur, Kumar Yudhisthira. Draupadi wore a pleased smile on her face as she walked with them towards their residence on the outskirts of the city by the forest. The realisation that she married the prince who her father told her was the best archer in the world, made her satisfied and proud of her decision. 

After walking for almost an hour they reached in front of a hut, where their mother was waiting for them. The five men conversed among themselves and rarely said anything to her. A few times, she caught all of them stealing glances at her. When their eyes met, realising that they had been caught, the men averted their gaze. Although Draupadi felt a little uncomfortable when her husband's brothers looked at her, she tried to hide it behind a polite smile. She grinned when Arjun's dreamy eyes fell on her.

Arjun invited Draupadi inside their small hut.  Draupadi's eyes wandered around, taking in the details of every small thing she saw for the first time. The bamboo frame, the earthen walls, the straw roof, the six mats made out of Madur Kathi, and a bunch of matted clothes hanging from the hangup rods made of twigs of bamboo were wonders for her. In the back of the hut was the kitchen, where they assumed Kunti was.

-"Mata, look what we got as alms today!" Bheem shouted excitedly upon entering the even smaller kitchen in their makeshift hut. In front of the traditional clay oven, sat a woman, her posture straight and rigid. Draupadi gazed at the woman's back. A strand of dark hair peeked out from under her plain white saree which covered her head, almost touching the ground. Kunti could see the reflection of her five sons and the girl dressed in royal wedding clothes and elaborate golden jewellery on a brass pot for making rice, that was kept beside her. It was not hard to guess the identity of this seemingly unknown girl, who else but the renowned Princess of Panchal. She sighed; she had to do it, for the sake of keeping her sons united forever.

The previous day, when the Pandavas returned from the temple, Kunti noticed something strange about their behaviour. Arjun had forgotten to bring fruits from the forest, which he had gone to get. When Kunti asked him what he had brought, he lowered his head in shame and his cheeks turned pink in embarrassment. He went out again and returned with some bananas, guavas, jujube fruits, and a coconut. Yudhisthira sat on a rock in front of their hut, lost in thought. Meanwhile, Bheem almost chopped Nakul's hand off, but Kunti warned them just in time while they were cutting firewood. Sahadev absent-mindedly was scribbling on a piece of palm leaf and when Kunti went to call him for lunch, he spilled the entire pot of ink on the floor. Not wanting to ask them directly where their minds were, Kunti decided to ask them about their day. The first thing that came out of their mouths was about the regal Princess of Panchal. Then they went on about her beauty and grace whom they had seen that morning in the temple. 

It was obvious that all of them were drawn to the princess. A month ago, when the pilgrims of Kashi, whom they met in the forest, told them about the Swayamvar and how King Drupad desired Arjun to be his son-in-law, they decided to travel to Kampilya. Arjun would somehow participate in the competition and would surely win it. If he married the Princess of Panchal, the Pandavas would gain the support of King Drupad, and their enemies in Hastinapur wouldn't dare to harm them anymore. They could emerge from hiding and return to Hastinapur to reclaim Yudhisthira's throne.

But after seeing their behaviour, Kunti became concerned that if only Arjuna married the princess, it might lead to some sort of internal conflicts among her sons, which she couldn't afford to happen. The thought of her sons fighting amongst each other for a woman and their bond being vulnerable, while their cousins trying to harm them constantly, kept her up all night. Finally, when the sun started to rise, removing the night's darkness little by little, her mind answered her with an unlikely solution.

-"Whatever you have brought, divide it equally among the five of you." Kunti said, looking at the reflection on the brass pot.

Draupadi couldn't believe her own ears. Did she hear it right or was it her mind playing tricks on her? 

The brothers exchanged a look of horror among themselves. Arjun called desperately, "Mata, please turn around, I have..."

Kunti turned around. Looking straight at Draupadi she repeated, "I have already told you, Putra. Whatever you have brought, divide it among yourself equally. I hope you will not disobey your mother."

-"But Mata, how can we..." Yudhisthira started but Kunti didn't let him finish, "I said what I said, Yudhisthira. These are your Mata's words and you should follow them without any question."

Draupadi couldn't take it anymore. She spoke up, "I am not an object for your sons to divide equally among themselves Mata Kunti. I am a woman, your son the third Pandav rightfully won the competition on my Swayan Var and I garlanded him, he is my husband. How can I be divided among your other four sons? I am already married to your  third son."

-"You will have to take all five of my sons as your husbands, Princess. That way you will be divided among all my sons equally. I don't know much about you but my sons have always obeyed me without any question, and now as you are their wife, you will have to as well." Kunti's voice sounded rigid.

A fire started burning behind Draupadi's eyes. She spoke, "I am..." 

But when her newlywed husband stopped her, she couldn't hold back her tears anymore, "Draupadi, don't argue with Mata, she is your elder."

They heard the sound of horses and Chariots stopping in front of their hut. The Pandavas, Kunti, and Draupadi came out of the hut to see that King Drupad and Prince Dhrishtadyumna had arrived alongside Vasudev Krishna and the same woman warrior they saw in the arena earlier that day, her face still covered with a veil. 

Draupadi ran to her father crying. Drupad held her frame and asked, "What is happening here? Who dared to make my Daughter cry?" 

His vicious eyes fell on Arjun, "Brahmin, I came here to bring you and your family to my palace so that you and my daughter can have a comfortable life. Do you know I can sentence you to death for making her cry?" 

Draupadi looked up at him in horror. Krishna stepped forward, "What happened Sakhi? Why are you crying? You looked very happy when you left the arena with your Husband. What happened in such a short time that made you cry?" 

Yudhisthira answered for her, "Our mother was not looking at us while we came up to her. Without looking, she has told us to divide whatever we have brought equally among ourselves."

-"WHAT!!" Drupad and Dhrishtadyumna shouted. 

-"We cannot disobey our mother's words, Draupadi has to marry all of us." Arjun said, looking towards the ground. 

-"Dhrishtadyumna, go back and prepare for the hanging of these people!" Drupad announced, gritting his teeth. Dhrishtadyumna looked equally enraged and nodded to his father. 

-"Don't take rushed decisions, Maharaj Drupad..." Krishna's calm tone made Drupad look at him in confusion.

-"But Vasudev..."

-"I think it's time for you to know the true identity of these Brahmin Putras before you take any decision, Rajan." A new hoarse voice made everyone turn towards its source. 

A sage dressed in bright red clothes appeared in front of them. His extremely dark skin covered in layers of dirt, bloodshot eyes, matted dreadlocks, and an unkept beard made him look scary and intimidating in the eyes of regular people. Draupadi covered her nose not being able to withstand his body odour. Krishna approached him with folded arms, "Pranam, Maharshi Vyasa." 

-"Pranam Shree Krishna, Pranam Devi Kaushiki." The woman went to touch his feet. Ved Vyasa blessed her. When she stood up he looked into her eyes deeply and slightly bowed his head, a small smile became visible from behind the bush of his beard and moustache. She stepped back and stood beside Krishna. 

Drupad scrunched his nose when out of all the people Ved Vyasa greeted the servant girl. One by one everyone present there touched the sage's feet and he blessed everyone. 

He then continued, "Maharaj Drupad, do you know who your daughter has married?..." Drupad frowned, shaking his head. 

-"The one you desired for her to marry, Prince Arjun. The rest four are his brothers. They are the Pandavas and their mother Kunti."  Vyasa said, pointing towards the group. 

Drupad wouldn't have believed the words he just heard if they had come from someone else. His eyes widened.

Vyasa turned to Draupadi and said, "For great Karma, great sacrifices are needed. It is your destiny to marry the five Pandavas, Princess Draupadi."

-"But Mahashi, will the society accept this unlikely marriage between five men and one woman?" Drupad asked.

-"Following a mother's words is the dharma of her sons, no matter what the society thinks of it. And if you are so worried about society, Rajan, then let me tell you, there are examples of polyandrous marriages in the past. Your daughter in her previous birth received a boon from Mahadev himself of having five all-accomplished men as her husbands in her next life."

Drupad looked like he was lost deep in his thoughts. After a few moments, he said, "If Maharshi Vyasa says it's her destiny then my daughter will marry all the five Pandavas, but I have a condition in that case."

Yudhisthira stepped forward and said, "You have our words, whatever your condition is Maharaj."

-"My daughter will be your chief consort and will ascend the throne alongside you eldest Pandu Putra. None of your other wives will be allowed to live with you in your palace. If you agree then..."

-"We agree, Maharaj." all the other Pandavas except for Yudhisthira said in union. All eyes turned to Yudhisthira waiting for him to agree as well. He nodded, "We agree, King Drupad." Nobody except for Krishna and Vyasa noticed the slight shake in his voice when Yudhisthir answered. 

-"It's all settled then: Princess Draupadi will marry the five Pandavas. Draupadi will be the wife of each brother for one year, and during that time, only the brother who is her husband at the moment will be allowed in her chamber. If anyone breaks this rule under any circumstances, he will have to take an oath of celibacy for three years and live in the forest as a Sanyasi." Then he turned towards Drupad again and added, "Your daughter is one of Pancha Kanyas King Drupad. I bless Princess Draupadi that she will regain her virginity during the first intercourse with each of her husbands." 

Draupadi looked at everyone like a helpless doe in front of a hunter. Shock, pain, anger all melted and mixed together poured from her eyes. She felt secondary at that moment. They were discussing her life without asking what she wanted. She looked at everyone one by one, finally at Krishna and Tiasha.

Tiasha couldn't take it anymore. The tears in Draupadi's eyes started a burning sensation in her chest. 

-"So nobody is going to ask for Princess Panchali's take on this?" She took a deep breath and removed her veil and turban in one swift motion. Seeing Tiasha standing in front of them a collective gasp came from the Pandavas.

-"Didi!!" Nakul and Sahadev exclaimed. Tiasha ignored the stares from Drupad and Dhrishtadyumna and continued, "A Swayam Var was arranged for her to choose her own husband, and now nobody cares to ask what she wants? 'So the entire, she has the right to choose her husband facade', is nothing but a joke?"

Drupad greeted his teeth, "How dare you question us, you lowly..."

-"Mind your language, King Drupad, you are talking to my sister." Krishna warned. Drupad frowned, "Your sister? But she..." The Pandavas exchanged a look of confusion.

-"Yes, she is my sister. I brought her to your palace because I wanted Draupadi to have a companion who could also protect her. But I have seen how you treated her, but not anymore." 

Tiasha went towards Draupadi who had her chin glued to her chest. She touched her shoulder and asked softly, "Princess, what do you want? Do you want to marry all the five brothers?"

For one moment Draupadi wanted to say, no she didn't want to marry all the five Pandavas, she was happy with being Arjun's wife only but she couldn't. She felt the eyes on her, she felt a crushing pressure from all the eyes of the men set on her. She didn't know what would happen if she said what she wanted to say. Besides her father agreed, he would never agree with something that could harm her. So she said, "I am ready to marry all the Pandavas."

Tiasha looked deep into her eyes and asked again, "Are you sure?"

Draupadi answered this time more firmly, "Yes, I will marry all of them." 

Vyasa smiled, "The wedding will occur two days from now."

Tiasha sighed, "We should start the preparations then. Panchal Kumar, I will need your help with the preparations." She said addressing Dhrishtadyumna, who nodded in reply.

-"Who are you to make decisions here?" Drupad asked, annoyed. 

-"I don't know King Drupad, the only female in your Palace who can take charge of the preparation? And if you think you can manage everything by yourself without any female involvement, I would love to have some free time for myself."  Tiasha responded with sass, causing Krishna and Vyasa to stifle their laughter by biting the side of their lips.

--

Two days felt like a breath in all the buzz of the wedding preparations.

Finally, on the full moon night of Agrahayana, the fire became the witness to the marriage of the Fire-born Princess of Panchal and the five celestial-born Princes of Hastinapur.

-XX-

Hey Guys, I know you have already realised that this chapter includes some of my own interpretations and theories. And I know that the celibacy period in the original is supposed to be 12 years but just for the sake of this story let's pretend that the time is three years. You will know why specifically three years later as the story progresses. 

The word Karma here means for great purpose or great work and not the usual meaning it has in English. 

Mat made of Madur Kathi is basically a Chatai made out of a special kind of dried grass. Here is a picture for reference, In Bengali, we simply call this a Madur. 

And this is one of my favorite fruit the jujube fruit, or simply 'Kul' in Bengali. I don't know what this is called in Hindi. What do you call this in your language?

And finally thank you guys so much for reading. I hope you liked the chapter. Let me know your thoughts in the comments. And thank you for all your love and support, you all are the best. I will see you again very soon.

Take care, Adiós, my lovely people ❤️.