Janamejaya said, “What did those tigers among men, the Pandavas, do,
after they had suffered such misery in consequence of the ravishment of
Draupadi?”
Vaisampayana said, “Having defeated Jayadratha and rescued Krishna, the
virtuous king Yudhishthira took his seat by the side of that best of
Munis. And among those foremost of ascetics who were expressing their
grief upon bearing Draupadi’s misfortune, Yudhishthira, the son of Pandu,
addressed Markandeya, saying, ‘O adorable Sire, amongst the gods and the
ascetics, thou art known to have the fullest knowledge of both the past
as well as; the future. A doubt existeth in my mind, which I would ask
thee to solve! This lady is the daughter of Drupada; she hath issued from
the sacrificial altar and hath not been begotten of the flesh; and she is
highly blessed and is also the daughter-in-law of the illustrious Pandu.
I incline to think that Time, and human Destiny that dependeth on our
acts, and the Inevitable, are irresistible in respect of creatures. (If
it were not so), how could such a misfortune afflict this wife of ours so
faithful and virtuous, like a false accusation of theft against an honest
man? The daughter of Drupada hath never committed any sinful act, nor,
hath she done anything that is not commendable: on the contrary, she hath
assiduously practised the highest virtues towards Brahmanas. And yet the
foolish king Jayadratha had carried her away by force. In consequence of
this act of violence on her, that sinful wretch hath his hair shaved off
his head and sustained also, with all his allies, defeat in battle. It is
true we have rescued her after slaughtering the troops of Sindhu. But the
disgrace of this ravishment of our wife during our hours of carelessness,
hath stained us, to be sure. This life in the wilderness is full of
miseries. We subsist by chase; and though dwelling in the woods, we are
obliged to slay the denizens thereof that live with us! This exile also
that we suffer is due to the act of deceitful kinsmen! Is there any one
who is more unfortunate than I am? Hath thou ever seen or heard of such a
one before?”