How Lord Krishna helped and saved the Pandava brothers and Draupathi?

The mind is engaged in both waking and dream states. In deep sleep, the mind merges in the self and hence we feel bliss but we can recollect this sublime bliss only on waking. Many people say that they had sound sleep in the night. In the dream, mind creates its own universe and plays many acts. Hence, the man who dreams never realizes that he is dreaming but feels that it is a real experience. Only after waking up, he realizes that all the dream experiences are illusions created by the mind. Dream state is not comforting nor there rest to the mind. Hence people desire dreamless sleep which is akin to ‘samadhi’. The real meaning of ‘samadhi’ is one with primal force.

The saints, sages and aspirants of spiritual path desire for this highest state of conscious. Even this state comprises of two experiences. One with a desire to be back from the highest state; the other is without any desire to revert back. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa is stated to have reached “Nirvikalpa Samadhi, the fixed state which is not reversible. But he got a blessing from Mother Kali to maintain the inner equilibrium, though moving in the outer world. For ordinary worldly people, the Samadhi state is not easily attainable. In Samadhi, there won’t be any mind as such. Only those who go beyond the mind can reach Samadhi. Hence for initial stages of devotion, chanting and singing god’s name is prescribed in the scriptures and epics. One may sing the glory of god in many different ways. Srimad Bagavatham, the beautiful stories about the incarnations of Lord, depicts the glories of god. Especially, the Purana speaks mostly about the delightful pranks of Lord Krishna, when he was a baby, boy, youngster and youth. He was always smiling whether he was in the palace or battle field. For him, both are one and the same!

In fact, Sage Vyasa has written many Puranas but he was restless. One day, Sage Narada happens to come across Vyasa. Narada enquired why he is restless. The sage replied, I have written many Puranas and epics which narrate the Divine aspect of God. In spite of all this, I am not content and I feel a vacuum inside me. Please tell me a way to remove my agony! Narada pacified the sage and told him to write the Divine pranks of incarnation of Lord, especially Sri Krishna. Then Vyasa has written a soul stirring narration and he was at peace on completion. From that time onwards, people started reading the Bagawata Purana. It is sweet nectar. While the Bagawata purana contains the sweet episodes of the life of Krishna, the Bagawat Gita is the teaching of the Lord to Arjuna which happened in the battle field. Arjuna was a great warrior and he loved and respected Krishna as his friend, philosopher and guide. Till the war started, Arjuna treated him as his friend and kinsman but his opinions changed when Krishna taught him the beautiful verses of Geetha in the battle field. The war had become inevitable since the Kauravas never agreed for a peaceful settlement of bifurcation of the great Kingdom! Actually, the Pandava brothers are to get one half of the Kingdom, but the wicked Kauravas have not agreed to spare even five villages to them! Krishna, though an incarnation of god, consented to go as ambassador of peace but the Kauravas were adamant and they treated Krishna disrespectfully. They told Krishna that they are ready for war! (It is Krishna’s will that the peace mission should fail, so that the evil and arrogant clan is removed from the face of the earth through war).

Even with the close association of Krishna in their life, the Pandava brothers underwent untold miseries at the hands of Kauravas. The Pandavas were never allowed to lead a peaceful life even for few days. Many evil designs were made by Duryodhana, the eldest brother of Kauravas who was always counselled by the wicked uncle Sakuni. He had a criminal brain and hence Sakuni always guided Duryodhana with wicked counsel. Duryodhana followed the instructions of his uncle verbatim. Thus a dice game was planned and the Pandavas were invited for a friendly match. The eldest of Pandava, Dharmaraja was fond of dice game and immediately accepted the invitation. Duryodhana cleverly deputed his uncle Sakuni to play the game on their behalf. Dharmaraja could not see the evil plan. Once the game commenced, he started losing his wealth and gold little by little. At least at that state, he should have withdrawn. But the Kauravas told him, by winning a single game, he could retrieve all things which he had betted and lost. It was sheer fate which drew him further. When he lost everything, Sakuni told him, he can pledge his brothers and win back everything. One by one, all brothers were lost in the game and finally Dharmaraja himself lost. Pledge your wife and retrieve everything said Sakuni. It was quiet unfortunate, which the honest and upright Dharma lost her also in the final game!

The wicked Kauravas got excited and asked his younger brother to bring the wife to the palace court where everyone assembled. She was dragged by the hair and brought there. She saw her husband’s crestfallen face and standing like clay images. She knew that she had no other refuge now except Lord Krishna! She loudly called Krishna! The Lord is everywhere but invisible to normal vision. When the younger brother started removing her sari, from nowhere, fresh saris start winding her body. The wicked brother was panting and foaming, unable to disrobe her due to hundreds of saris coming from nowhere. Finally, Krishna has shown him visibly in the courtyard. Draupadi, the wife of Pandava was fuming with anger. Her hair was hanging and she presented a horrible sight. Krishna told her, “first wind your hair, it is not correct for a wedded women to let loose her hair! Draupadi told Krishna, until and unless the wicked man is killed in war, I will anoint his blood on my hair, and then only I will wind it. All those who assembled in the court closed their ears unable to bear the harsh words uttered by her. Her words turned true during the war. The brother who laid his hand on her hair was killed by the mace of Bheema and Draupadi anointed her hair with the blood. She was pure, chaste and followed righteous path. Hence her words came true. This is the episode written in Mahabarath!