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Mahābhārata The History of the Great India
<< 84 Drupada Questions the Marriage >>
 |  | When the Pandavas had rested and were refreshed, the king came to them with his sons and said, "On this very day, the Kuru prince should take my daughter's hand in sacred marriage. It is a holy day, and mighty-armed Arjuna should take the opportunity."
| | | King Yudhisthira, son of Dharma, then said to him, "O king, [being the eldest brother] it is I who am first to accept a wife."
| | | King Drupada said, "Then you, sir, being a hero—or whomever you designate as the proper one for Krsna—may take my daughter's hand in sacred marriage."
| | | Yudhisthira said, "Draupadi will be the queen of all of us, O king, for that is what our mother has decreed. I am unmarried at present, and so is Pandava Bhimasena. Arjuna has won your daughter, who is like a jewel, and the agreement in our family, O king, is that a jewel will be shared equally. O best of rulers, we have no desire to renounce our pact. By our religious principles Krsna will be queen to all of us. So let her take the hand of each of us, in order, before the ritual fire."
| | | King Drupada said, "My dear Kuru prince, it is ordained that one king may accept many queens, but many kings have never been authorized to marry a single queen. You are a most decent and religious man, Kaunteya, and you should not perform an irreligious act that violates the Vedas, as well as common morality. Why is your mind fixed like that?"
| | | Yudhisthira said, "Virtue can be subtle, Maharaja, and we do not always understand where it will lead us. But with firm conviction we follow step by step the path of our venerable superiors and predecessors. I have never spoken a lie, nor does my mind dwell in the irreligious. I have simply repeated to you what my venerable mother has said and what is my own conviction. This is indeed in accord with dharma, O king, and you should accept it without analyzing it any further. Your Majesty, you should have no doubt in this matter."
| | | King Drupada said, "You, your mother, and my son Dhrstadyumna should discuss what is to be done. Whatever you all decide we shall carry out tomorrow morning."
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