Yudhisthir, the eldest brother amongst the five Pandavas, lived in a magnificent palace with his younger brothers and wife Draupadi. This palace had miraculous architectural features. Experts had built in it many features of optical illusion. In this palace there were invisible partitions, solid floors laid with marbles creating an illusion of water filled tanks and pathways appearing like canals.
Once Yudhishthir invited their cousin Duryodhan, the son of the blind king Dhritrashtra of Hastinapur.The glitter and grandeur of the palace envied Duryodhan. The design of the shining floor and walls created a sort of visual illusions in his sight. While walking in the palace he collided against an invisible glass like partition and fell into a tank, which appeared like a solid floor. It amused Draupadi. Whispering with laughter she made a comment, saying, “There goes the blind son of the blind father.”
It made Duryodhan very angry. He returned back to his palace with the resolve to avenge the insult. One day, he invited the Pandava brothers to participate with him in a game of Chausar. (Chausar was an indoor gamble like dice-game in ancient times in which small shells were used as dice.) Winning each stake by trick Duryodhan made the Pandava brothers lose all their money. When nothing was left with them, he persuaded the Pandavas to put their wife Draupadi at stake.
Gambling is a very bad habit. While gambling, in the chase of ‘winning in the next chance’ a gambler loses all sense of right and wrong and continues with whatever he is challenged to put at stake.
In their final ‘hope’ to win the game, the Pandavas put their wife Draupadi at stake.The Pandavas lost this final stake as well and Draupadi was left to the mercy of cruel Duryodhan.Duryodhan asked his brother Dushasan to undress Draupadi in full view of courtiers. With tears in her eyes Draupadi pleaded to the senior members of the court and relatives to save her from the shame. But because of the terror of Duryodhan, none dared speak a word.
Dushasan began to pull the Sari in which Draupadi was draped. In desperation she clutched the sari tightly against her body, but Dushasan was too strong to resist. Finally, finding herself totally helpless, she raised her hands in the air and prayed to God to come for her rescue. God does not disappoint the devotee who totally surrenders to HIM. So long, Draupadi depended on her own self by holding the sari with her hands, God did not respond. The moment she showed her total helplessness by throwing her hands in the air, HE came to her help.
God made the length of Draupadi`sari endless. Dushasan kept on pulling it for hours, but could not undress the lady. Tired and scared, he finally gave up. Bhim, the husband of Draupadi then took a resolve to kill Dushasan and Duryodhan.
Thus a casual insulting comment of Draupadi became the root cause of the great war of Mahabharat.
Moral
One should never insult anyone, even casually. The result of insulting may bring dangerous consequences for the person.
Source: Pragya Tales Part 2
