Deep in anguish and eyes drenched with tears, Draupadi looked pleadingly at her husbands, five of them, but there was no help from that quarter. She then appealed to the learned ones like Bhishma and Kripacharya, but they silently looked the other way. And then, rising to new levels of indecent and atrocious behaviour, Duhsasana, at the behest of Duryodhana and Karna tried to disrobe Draupadi in public.
Krishna's miracle answers Draupadi's pleas
The distressed damsel now had only one resort, and that was to appeal to Lord Krishna Himself. Loudly and pathetically she wailed, "O Krishna, O Lord of Mathura, O Lord of Dwaraka, O my Indweller, where are You in my hour of distress? They say You have a thousand eyes. Are they not watching what is going on?
"And pray, what did I do to deserve all this? My husbands swore by the sacred fire to protect me and my honour. Look at them now standing silently and not lifting a little finger! You are my only refuge and I surrender totally to You; it is now entirely up to You to protect my modesty."
Lo and behold, an extraordinary miracle took place. Even as Duhsasana tried to remove Draupadi's garments, fresh ones kept appearing. He tried and tried to strip her completely, but her sari kept extending endlessly. Eventually he became physically tired and simply quit, after which the proceedings abruptly ended.
Altogether, it was an electrifying drama and different people reacted differently. Dhritarashtra, for one, was frightened out of his wits, and counselled by his Queen Gandhari, he drew Draupadi aside, profusely apologised to her and promised that he would grant any wish of hers. Draupadi merely desired that her husbands be set free; they did not come to her rescue but here she was rescuing them! Dhritarashtra gladly did as asked and offered another boon to Draupadi which she politely refused. However, in a rare mood of generosity, Dhritarashtra gave back to Yudhishtra all that had been won (by unfair means) from him. So, at the end of the day, the Pandava brothers went back with their kingdom intact and a bag full of unpleasant memories.
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