FOUR
When Krishna heard what had happened, he went to the Kamyaka vana to meet the Pandavas. With him came Dhrishtadyumna, the new Chedi king Dhrishtaketu, the Kekaya brothers and a host of Yadavas: Bhoja, Vrishni and Andhaka warriors. Yudhishtira jumped up with a cry of joy when he saw Krishna. Here was the very person he wanted to see: the Dark One who knew the truth of all things, the only one who could comfort him.
When they sat together under the wide tree, Krishna said, "The earth is thirsty and only the blood of Duryodhana and Karna, Shakuni and Dusasana will quench her thirst. We are all with you, Yudhishtira, we will not stand for this."
There was anger in his black eyes as none of them had seen before. "Why should Draupadi live in the jungle? You need not do this just because they say you must. We all know about Shakuni's dice; he can throw anything he wants with them. I hear you did not win a single throw. You are not bound by the game, not when the dice were loaded.
I have the Yadava army waiting at the forest's edge. Dhrishtadyumna, Dhrishtaketu and the Kekayas have brought their legions with them. All Bharatavarsha is incensed: you are her emperor. Let us march on Hastinapura and see how those cowards face us in battle."
But Yudhishtira said, "Krishna, I am not innocent in this thing. I have sinned and let this exile be my expiation. When we saw evil omens at the Rajasuya, Vyasa told me I would have fourteen years of misfortune. This is that time. How I wish I could call the days back and not have to play the game of dice. But that is not fate's way and I must pay for my weakness before I am pure again. Forgive me if I don't accept your offer."
Krishna frowned. There was still fire in his eyes and he seemed to debate whether to go and burn Dhritarashtra and his sons with it. Arjuna laid a hand on his cousin's arm to pacify him. Krishna seemed lost in himself for a while.
At last, he said, "Yudhishtira, your life and mine are one. Your enemies are mine and mine yours; and so too our friends. No one can come between us. He who harms you becomes my enemy and he shall perish." A quick smile touched his lips. "But you, my lord, insist on observing the niceties of dharma. So be it. But hear this, cousin and all you kshatriyas: I swear that retribution is only postponed. One day the earth shall be slick with the Kauravas' blood and I will crown Yudhishtira king in Hastinapura. Yes I, Krishna, do swear this."
He spoke with uncommon fervor and Draupadi began to cry. She was already roused when she saw Krishna and Dhrishtadyumna; when she saw how angry the serene Avatara was, she burst into tears.
She came to Krishna, sobbing as if she was being hauled again through the palace in Hastina.
"Oh, look at me, Krishna!" wept Draupadi. "I am the wife of the greatest kshatriyas in the world. I am the Pandavas' queen. I am Drupada's daughter and Dhrishtadyumna's sister. Best of all, Krishna himself is my guardian. Yet, the beast Dusasana dragged me through the palace of Hastinapura like a whore. He dragged me by my hair, washed in the waters of the Rajasuya yagna. With his vile hands he flung me down in the sabha, where they all agreed I was Duryodhana's slave. Bheeshma was there, Dhritarashtra, Drona and Kripa, too; and none of them said a word to stop Dusasana.
Krishna, that is not all. My husbands were there."
She choked and could not speak; this was her worst memory. After a moment, Draupadi resumed, "Bheema is the wind's son; he kills rakshasas with his bare hands. Of what use is his strength if he could not protect me when I most needed him? What is it to me if Arjuna is a greater archer than Indra? Of what concern are Sahadeva and Nakula's conquests of distant kingdoms? Yudhishtira was crowned emperor of all Bharatavarsha; he did nothing to save me from Dusasana when that animal tried to strip me naked!
What can be more terrible for me, Krishna, than my husbands' silence when I was called a slave in the Kuru sabha? How will I live with the grief of knowing that, except for your grace, I would have stood naked in that court before those slavering devils? Because my husbands would do nothing to save my honor."
Krishna's eyes were like the sea. Draupadi would not be stopped now. "Yudhishtira never tires of talking about dharma. Isn't it a man's dharma to protect his wife? As I have learnt dharma, my husbands should risk their lives to save the honor of any woman. These five raised not a finger to save their own wife from shame. Krishna, dharma is dead in the hearts of men. Either that, or these are not fit to be called men."
And she wept as if her heart was broken. Krishna took her face gently in his hands. His eyes were also full, as he wiped her tears.
The Dark One said with awesome quietness, "Just be patient, Panchali. I swear on everything holy: the Kuru women will cry more than you do now, when they follow their husbands' corpses through the streets of Hastinapura. They shall wear widows' white, their hair will hang loose and their faces will be black with mud and ashes.
When Arjuna's arrows spill Karna's blood, they will cry. When Bheema's hands tear out Dusasana's heart, they will sob. When Duryodhana lies dead with his thighs broken by Bheema's mace, they will weep. I swear this to you, Panchali."
His voice did not rise, when he said, "The heavens may fall, the Himalaya may be leveled; the seas may be as dry as dead men's bones, why, the earth herself may burst asunder: but I will keep my oath to you. To avenge the crime against you there will be a war to end all wars. Your eyes, which shed drops of fire today, will see all hundred Kauravas lying dead upon a battlefield. Wipe your tears, revenge will be yours."
He spoke as if he was recounting events he already saw before his eyes. Draupadi grew calm again. She believed Krishna; she knew his were not empty promises. Her tears stanched, she said, "You say this to me and I believe you, Krishna: for kinship, for honor, for friendship and, above everything else, because you are the Lord. I am content."
Krishna replied, "Be brave, be patient; for you shall, again, be a queen of kings." He turned to Yudhishtira. "If I had been there, the game of dice would never have been played. But Shalva attacked us in Dwaraka in a vimana; I had to kill him before I came to you. Even in Dwaraka, I saw the omens for disaster around me, on the earth and in the air. But it was too late, when I heard what had happened." He smiled now, full of gentleness again. "So, perhaps you are right, Yudhishtira and this vanavasa is part of your destiny."
Then, his eyes mischievous, he said, "But, Pandava, a day of the Devas is a year for mortal men; and you have spent thirteen days in exile. Shall we take the days to be years, then and march on Hastinapura today? No oath will be broken if we do."
Yudhishtira only smiled and did not reply. Krishna laughed, "I see you are not to be tempted. Then let it be as you wish. Only remember: just thirteen years and then I will set the Kuru crown on your head with these hands. But now, there is much to be done in Dwaraka and I must go back."
The Dark One rose and embraced his cousins. Dhrishtadyumna bid a tender farewell to his sister and he too vowed that revenge would be hers. Dhrishtaketu and the Kekayas left, after swearing loyalty and friendship. Krishna and those who had come with him left the Kamyaka aranya, leaving the Pandavas and, especially, Draupadi consoled. But thirteen long years yawned ahead and despair would often have its way with them. At such times, only Krishna's oath would comfort the sons of Pandu in their exile and be as a lamp in the dark night.