Draupad, the king of Panchal had no children for many years.
He performed rituals and prayed to the Gods for fertility so that he could have
a child. Finally, after many failed attempts, two children appeared from the
fire: Draupadi and her brother, Dhrishtadyumna. The fire was burning in order
for Drupad to fulfil his vengance against his enemy, Dronacharya.
Dhrishtadyumna was the first child to appear from the fire, and then Draupadi
followed. The birth was unique because she was not born as an infant like we
would think. No, she was born full growth and in the pinnacle of her youth and
beauty because she was divinely created, not from a womb like us.
In nature fire can be very restorative. It is very good in
ecosystems although our society has led us to believe that forest fires are
detrimental. Without periodic fires, soils would not restore their nutrients
and plants could not grow. I believe it is this restorative idea of fire that
makes the birth of Draupadi so powerful.
Draupadi was known for her beautiful lotus smell that could
be sensed for miles. Along with her beauty, she was extremely beautiful. It is
said that she would destroy all evil. But what is it about her personality that
makes her able to defeat evil? As previously noted, Draupadi was born when king
Draupad least expected to have children. She is without a doubt a gift from the
gods—her beauty alone is proof of this. However, why isn’t her brother the one
with this special gift since he was born of fire also? It is believed that her gift comes
because she is a woman. Because she was born from the holy pyre, not requiring
a womb, she is specially known for her fertility. Her brother cannot bear
children and thus he does not receive such an honor although he obtains others.
Photo found online.
Author’s Note: This is written from a third point of
view because I didn’t want to make this very personal. I chose to give a
history of the birth of Draupadi and some details about her defining
characteristics. She is known for her remarkable beauty and smell, but why is
she the one that will defeat the Kuru line and not her brother? I chose to make
it because she is a woman that is known for her fertility and able to bear
children despite the fact that she was not born of a womb. Her brother was not called to do so
simply because he is a male.
Bibliography:
Buck, William (1973). Mahabharata.
Hello Courtney! I really liked your story for this week! I wish your font were a little larger to make your story easier to read. It looks like all your other posts have larger font, so this may just be something funky going on in Blogger. I liked how descriptive your story was! I was really able to picture Draupadi! Great job!
ReplyDeleteHello Courtney! Your story is really descriptive and I definitely enjoyed reading it. However, I agree with Melanie. It was a little difficult to read the story because of the small fonts. It looks like there might have been an issue with Blogger. Great image of Draupadi!
ReplyDeleteHi Courtney! I found this to be a very interesting storytelling post. I have not read a story post like yours before. It was very factual and informative, rather than full of dialogue or scenes. It was a nice though because I like how simple and straightforward your writing is. I only noticed a minor mistake in the third paragraph about Draupadi’s lotus smell that could be “sensed” for miles. Perhaps since we are talking about smell, it would be better if it was “scented for miles.” In any case, this was an excellent storytelling post.
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