Yajnaseni Draupadi

I am the chosen one;

Chosen to be at the receiving end

Of every injustice.

Devoid of a childhood,

Despised by my own father

And humiliated by one and all

For no fault of mine

I'm tired of asking why and why.

I am the chosen one;

Chosen to endure pain and suffering

From the moment I stepped onto this earth

I loved him dearly,

But had to marry five men

To save his family from shattering

Due to one mistake by Kunti Ma

I awaited her blessings with Arjun,

My coy smile unable to conceal my love;

I was weaving dreams of a paradise,

But instead of blessings,

Why did my life change to one full of ridicule?

I am the chosen one;

Chosen to have the strongest mind

And self-protect my honor

Despite having five valiant husbands.

How cruelly they failed me on that fateful day

When I needed them the most!

I may be battered,

I may be tired of fighting

Yet, I am fiery and opinionated

Beautiful and compassionate,

Because I have the Lord by my side

As my friend, Govind.

-Purba Chakraborty 

26.07.2017

This is a persona poem, a form that I recently started enjoying a lot while pursuing an online poetry and play writing course from the University of Iowa. I chose the character of Draupadi and gave her a voice as I find Draupadi as one of the most fascinating characters in Indian mythology. 

Note: Draupadi is one of the most important female characters in the Hindu epic, Mahabharata. According to the epic, she is the daughter of Drupada, King of Panchala and is married to the five Pandavas. You can know more about her here.

Image Source: Here