Markandeya Purana

DRAUPADI’S FIVE HUSBANDS

The birds say- ‘Frightened by the severe penance of Trishira, Indra killed him to protect his authority and power. But the sin of killing a Brahmin took away Indra’s radiance. Trishira was the son of Twashta. Twashta became furious at his son’s death. He plucked one strand of hair from his hair-lock and offered it in the sacrificial fire. This resulted into the creation of a formidable and strong demon named Vritrasur. This demon was created with the objective of killing Indra.

Learning about the birth of Vritrasur, Indra sent Saptarishis as emissaries to work out a pact with the demon. The Saptarishis effected a friendship between Indra and Vritrasur. But Indra had other ideas. He took Vritrasur by surprise and killed him. This deceitful action of Indra further enraged the clans of the demons. Soon the atrocities of the demons increased to unbearable limits. Even Prithvi felt unable to bear the burden of their atrocities. She approached the deities and requested them to get her rid of the burden.

Thus, to relieve Prithvi of her burden, the deities began to take incarnation on earth. Dharma and Vayu implanted Indra’s radiance in the womb of Kunti. This resulted in the birth of Yudhishthir and Bheema. Then Indra himself produced Arjuna from Kunti. Nakul and Sahadev were born because of Indra’s radiance implanted by Ashwini kumars in the womb of Madri. Thus all the five Pandavas originated from the same source even though they appeared as distinct entities, whereas Draupadi was none other than Shuchi, the wife of Indra, produced from the altar in Drupad’s palace. In human incarnation, Draupadi got five Pandavas as her husband.

EXPIATION OF BALARAM

Shri Krishna’s brother Balaram had remained impartial in the battle of Mahabharat. Instead of championing the cause either for the Pandavas or for the Kauravas, he had preferred to go on a pilgrimage. His wife Revati also accompanied him on this pilgrimage. Once while travelling, Balaram drank toddy and entered a beautiful garden known as Raivat. Taking a stroll, Balaram and Revati then reached a hut.

In the hut, many Brahmins were sitting and listening to Sutaji’s oration. When the Brahmins saw Balaram, they stood up and felicitated him. Only Sutaji did not stand up. Balaram felt insulted and at once killed him. When Balaram regained his composure after the intoxication receded, he felt guilty for his deed. His belief that killing of Suta would enable him to attain a place in Brahma loka proved to be based on false notion as the Brahmins had shunned him for his deed.

After Balaram realised his folly, he began to curse himself and resolved to observe a twelve-year long fast in order to expiate for his sin. Thereafter, Balaram migrated to a place of pilgrimage known as Pratiloma Saraswati to carry out his expiation.

KILLING OF DRAUPADI’S SONS

In Treta Yug, there was a king named Harishchandra. Once he was hunting in the Mahabaahu forest when suddenly, he heard loud cries of a woman- ‘Save me! Save me!’ It was followed by the cries of many women. Hearing those cries, King Harishchandra shouted loudly-  

‘Don’t be afraid’ and dashed in the direction of the cries. The cries however were an illusion created by Vighnaraj, the lord of the obstacles. At that time when King Harishchandra heard those cries, sage Vishwamitra was observing severe penance in the forest. In order to test Harishchandra’s virtuosity, Vighnaraj entered his body. As soon as Vighnaraj entered Harishchandra’s body, Harishchandra lost his temper and began to abuse Vishwamitra, which enraged him. His anger destroyed all the knowledge, he had acquired due to his severe penance. Seeing the angry Vishwamitra, King Harishchandra began to shiver. With folded hands, he begged Vishwamitra’s pardon. He said- ‘O great sage! It is my duty to protect the subjects. Kindly forgive me. Your wrath could greatly affect the performance of my duties as a king. Vishwamitra said- ‘O king! If you are a true follower of religion, tell me, who should be given a donation? Who should be protected and who should be fought with?’ Harishchandra answered- ‘O great penancer! Donations should be made only to such a Brahmin who indulges in fast and religious actions. Protection should be extended to those who are afraid and battle should be fought with enemies.’

Vishwamitra said- ‘If you are a religious king, give me Dakshina (donation) as I am a Brahmin seeking salvation.’ Harishchandra said- ‘Tell me your desire. I am ready to grant it. Vishwamitra said- ‘O king! Just presume that I have received whatever you would donate me. Now, give me Dakshina for the Rajsuya Yagya.’

Harishchandra said- ‘Ask me whatever you wish to have as the Dakshina of Rajsuya Yagya.’ Vishwamitra said- ‘O king! Give me all you have except your own body, your wife and child.’ Feeling pleased, King Harishchandra granted what Vishwamitra desired. Vishwamitra said- ‘O king! Tell me, who is the lord of your kingdom?’ Harishchandra said- ‘Since the moment I have presented this kingdom to you, you are its master.’ Vishwamitra said- ‘If I am the master of this kingdom, what are you doing here? Leave at once! But before leaving, remove all your clothes, ornaments and other royal insignia and go out wearing tree’s bark only.’

Thus after losing his kingdom, King Harishchandra got ready to leave with his wife Shaivya and son Rohit. Vishwamitra then intercepted him and said- ‘Where are you going without paying a Dakshina for Rajsuya Yagya. Harishchandra said- ‘O lord! I have donated my whole kingdom. Now only our bodies remain with us. What can I give you now?’ Vishwamitra said- ‘You cannot leave without paying a Dakshina because you have promised me.’ Harishchandra said- ‘Don’t be angry, O Brahmin! I have nothing at present in my position but I will definitely pay you your Dakshina in due time.’ Vishwamitra said angrily- ‘Specify the time period within which you will give me my Dakshina or else be ready to get cursed by me.’ Harishchandra said- ‘I will pay the Dakshina within a month.’ Thereafter, Harishchandra started to live in seclusion with his wife and children. Seeing the king’s pitiable condition, his entire subjects began to follow him. Seeing their condition, Harishchandra halted and took a look on his subjects. At the same time, sage Vishwamitra also arrived there and began to curse Harishchandra for having attachment towards his subjects. Hearing the harsh words of Vishwamitra, Harishchandra left the kingdom with his wife Shaivya and son Rohit. To drive the king away as soon as possible, Vishwamitra began to beat the queen’s back with a stick.

Vishwamitra’s abhorrent action enraged the five guardian deities of the directions and they condemned him. Enraged Vishwamitra cursed them- ‘O sinners! Go and take birth as human beings.’ This curse of Vishwamitra frightened the deities. They begged his pardon. Pleased by their prayers, Vishwamitra said- ‘My words cannot be undone. But despite having incarnation of human beings, you will remain bachelors throughout your life. You will never feel attachment and allurement for anybody.’ Thus due to Vishwamitra’s curse, those five guardian deities took birth as the five sons of Draupadi. Dronacharya’s son, Ashwatthama, ultimately killed them.

KING HARISHCHANDRA

After being thrown out from his kingdom by Vishwamitra, Harishchandra reached the holy town of Varanasi, which was an abode of Lord Mahadev. There Harishchandra saw Vishwamitra standing before him. Vishwamitra said- ‘A month has been completed now. Now, give me my Dakshina.’ Harishchandra said- ‘There is still half an hour in the completion of this month. Please wait. I will give your Dakshina.’ Vishwamitra said- ‘I will come after half an hour.’ Saying this, Vishwamitra departed.

When Vishwamitra left, Harishchandra started to worry as to what would happen to him in his next birth if he did not keep his promise made to a Brahmin. Seeing him perplexed, queen Shaivya tried to console him. She said- ‘Man requires a wife only to produce a child. Now we already have a child- Rohit. Hence I am no longer useful for you. You sell me and pay the acquired wealth as Dakshina to the Brahmin.’ Harishchandra fainted after hearing his wife’s words. The queen began to wail at her husband’s condition. Thus wailing, the queen also fell unconscious. The little Rohit also felt perplexed by his parent’s condition. He began to cry- ‘O father! O mother! I am hungry. Give me food.’ At the same time, Vishwamitra arrived there in the guise of Kaal. After sprinkling water on Harishchandra’s face, he made him conscious and said- ‘O king! Get up and pay my Dakshina. Your sorrows will increase if you do not fulfil your promise.’

Harishchandra was regaining his consciousness slowly but seeing Vishwamitra he fainted once again. This further enraged Vishwamitra. He said- ‘O king! If you have even slightest of respect for Dharma, give my Dakshina at once. I will wait till evening and curse you if you fail to pay my Dakshina.’ Saying this Vishwamitra departed. The fear of the curse began to terrorise Harishchandra. Meanwhile the queen also regained consciousness. She once again insisted to sell her in order to pay the Dakshina. This time, Harishchandra accepted her proposal and took the queen to the township. There addressing the crowd, he said- ‘O dear citizens, kindly listen to me. I am selling my wife who is dearer to me than my own life. Anybody interested in buying her, please do so before evening.’ An old Brahmin stepped forward from the crowd and said- ‘I will buy her.’ Hearing his words, Harishchandra became extremely sad that he could not even utter a word. The Brahmin then stuffed the money in the bark clothes of Harishchandra and began to drag the queen by her hair. The boy Rohit began to cry holding the hem of her mother. Seeing the condition of her son, the queen requested the Brahmin- ‘O Arya! Kindly let me see the face of my child for once.’ Then the queen turned towards Rohit and said- ‘O son! Your mother is no longer free now. She has become a slave. Do not touch me because I have become an untouchable.’