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 hearing 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?'"