Certain that those brave warriors could not be any other than the Pandavas, Krishna and Balarama had followed them and arrived at the potter’s house just as the brothers were still discussing the problem of their marriage.
The two entered and said:
“We are Krishna and Balarama, your cousins.”
The five brothers looked at them bewildered for a moment, then they got up and embraced them with great affection.
It should be remembered that Kunti was the daughter of Sura and had a brother named Vasudeva, who was Krishna and Balarama’s father. Kunti responded with joy to the affection shown by the nephews and asked them for news from their father. They sat and talked all day. Especially between Krishna and Arjuna, a very solid friendship was born immediately.
But the two transcendental brothers were not the only ones who understood that those two Brahmanas could not be what they appeared to be. In fact, even Drupada and Dhristadyumna decided to investigate. There are no words to describe the happiness of the two when they discovered who really was that Brahmana who had hit the target and had defeated Karna in a duel! However, such feelings of exultation froze and gave way to amazement and indignation as soon as they learned that Draupadi was going to marry all five brothers.
In those days, it was normal for a man to take multiple wives, but it was not so for a woman to join multiple husbands; therefore the strong and perplexed hesitation shown by Drupada to accept the situation was more than justified. For the sake of truth it must be remembered that in Vedic history there were already precedents like that, but very rarely, and all motivated by very special reasons.
In order to discuss the intricate issue that involved numerous ethical and religious issues, the next day the Pandavas went to the court. However, the situation was resolved more easily than expected thanks to the arrival of Vyasa, who recounted episodes from the previous life of the Pandavas and Draupadi. At the end of the story, the monarch of Panchala agreed to the unusual wedding, which was celebrated a few days later.
Now the Pandavas were out of the dangerous situation, and they no longer needed to hide. They had valid allies such as Drupada and his sons, Krishna, and all the Vrishni. With friends of this caliber they could easily aim to regain the kingdom that was rightfully theirs.
This is a section of the book “Maha-bharata, Vol. 1”.
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