(Sequel to the Jackal and the Princess)
It had been ten months since the destruction of Duryodhana and his brothers by the fire of Draupadi. Since that time there has been nothing but heartache and general sadness for the heroine. It would be a short while later when Draupadi lost all her sons, in an epic battle against the avengers of the Kauravas. There had been a wide circulating vow of this manipulative clan to cause as much pain to Draupadi as possible. They started off with the war that would take all her sons, and two of her husbands, Bhima and Sahadeva. Then when she thought it couldn’t get worse these revengeful followers made it their mission to further destroy the love she held so dear. The information that they told Yudhistira was she had willingly entered another man’s home and therefore compromised the very virtue she diligently defended months before.
Month 1.
“I saw her come out holding the hand of a strong man. A beautiful man, who was the embodiment of Rama.”
“He is as powerful as the greatest gods and more magical than any Asura,” another man spoke with assurance.
“She looked as if she was as hot as the sun, obviously making love,” said a very poor woman.
“She looked happy and said to us that she did not love you or your beloved brothers,” said a holy man wearing beautiful silks and golden jewelry.
“She truly is a vile creature,” said another.
“Yes, she is a creature. She is surely demonic!” someone yelled in the distance.
“ENOUGH!”said Yudhishthira while raising his hand. “I have no reason to believe that you do not speak the truth. I see happiness within your eyes that would make any king believe the words you speak.”
Afterward Yudhishthira dismissed each person with a kiss on the hand. Thanking them for having the surviving Pandavas’ interest at heart, he summoned Draupadi next.
“Hello, my beloved husband, is it our year yet? Surely, it is not. Maybe I lost track of time…”
“SILENCE! I have heard of your wicked ways, bedding another man. Your loyalty is to your husbands!”
“Yudhistira … I”
“I said silence! How dare you call me by my holy name! You are nothing to me…”
He then exiled Draupadi to live her life of servitude with Kichaka who was was the brother of Queen Sudeshna.
Month 10.
It had been nine long months for Draupadi. She missed her life with the Pandavas greatly. She missed the luxuries of being royalty, the comforts that it offered and most of all the protection it provided for her. She missed the very husband that exiled her to live out the torturous existence. Despite the destitution she just could not let the love of the Pandavas go and she firmly believed she wasn’t meant to. She was convinced one day they would hear the truth from the mouths of Duryodhana’s followers, but by month eight of her exile she had exhausted all hope of ever being rid of her life of servitude, under the roaming hands of Kichaka.
“Do not touch me, you evil man! I am the wife of the Gandharvas! I will not break the promise between a woman and a man not ever!” Speaking with ferocity she knew to expect repercussions.
“How dare you speak to me that way! Kichaka, the brother of the King and Queen! You are mine!”
“I am no one’s!” She yanked her arm out of his grasp and turned her back to him to show a complete lack of acknowledgement and in his eyes disrespect.
With this lack of acknowledgment Kichaka reached a heightened sense of anger and grabbed Draupadi forcefully. He would have this woman. With this act of violence Draupadi reacted out of violence of her own. She had long since promised (since the day Duryodhana and his brothers were killed by her) that no man would ever lay his hands on her.
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That woman killed him suddenly, or so the servant said, when he recalled it to Kichaka’s parents.
“One minute Kichaka was holding Draupadi in a warming embrace and the next her eyes became fire, and the evil spirit within the horrible woman made him catch fire and burn!” The servant wept for the prince and continued to tell only the half-truth.
“She is an evil spirit. She does not belong in our world; she will destroy us all!”
It was because of the servant’s half-truths’ that the King and Queen concocted a way to rid the world of Draupadi. With the very thing that made her…fire.
3 Hours Later.
She was led to the pit of fire that was built for her. Draupadi only briefly looked down into the pit. Then she held her head up high with pride.
With a hard push from the henchmen the King, Queen, and Duryodhana’s followers looked on with cold faces as Draupadi fell into the pit of fire. All of them thought at last Draupadi was dead.
5 min.
Draupadi rose from the fire. She was now completely consumed by her powers and her body was in flames.
“You fools! I’m Draupadi! The wife of the great Pandavas! The destroyer of Duryodhana and his brothers! I’m made of fire! How dare you try to kill me with what my blood relishes in!” With this she reached her hands out to each person causing them to burst into flames.
“Now this is my kingdom….” she laughed wickedly.
15 years.
After that fateful night, Draupadi did become queen. She ruled the kingdom with such callousness that she would kill anyone who got in her way, a far cry from the hero she once was. The fire that coursed through her veins at a heightened pitch caused her to act out in the evilest ways.
It wasn’t until Arjuna came to talk to Draupadi that she did finally meet her demise. She was given an ultimatum, either surrender her land to the Pandavas or die. She, of course, laughed it off. Arjuna then stabbed her with a sword given to him by Kali, who was convinced that Draupadi was an Asura.
Author’s Note:I didn’t initially seek out making a sequel to another story. I just couldn’t find anything that I 100% liked at the end of the story. I felt Draupadi’s story was not finished yet for me. I felt that way when I was writing The Jackal and the Princess, but I stopped myself because I was well over the acceptable limit of the assignment. The continuation of Draupadi’s story is her dealing with the consequences of her actions: the destruction of Duryodhana and his brothers. Even though it may have been justified the idea that a woman took down a group of powerful brothers was something that I knew would not be acceptable in the world of Indian Epics (at least I don’t think so). So, I wanted to really play into the expectations of women and the breaking down of Draupadi. I found that the only way I could do it was for her entire being to be question, because after all she “is a woman.” This is a new twist on the Indian Epic instead of Draupadi just getting angry she actually kills them. I also decided to have two Pandavas die to really turn Draupadi into a tormented soul, someone who will cave into her dark side and go on a path of destruction and hatred. I also wanted to use Kichaka as a source of discomfort and also a person that furthers Draupadi’s downward spiral of hatred. In the story I read, Kichaka attempts to pursue Draudpadi while she is in hiding at his sister’s palace. He also humiliates her in front of a room of people. I wanted to have a character that was obsessed with Draupadi. So, the concept of devolution from who she was in “The Jackal and the Princess” (link above!) is shown. All these things have caused her to go evil.
Bibliography: “The Mahabharata” by R.K. Narayan. TM-Narayan
IndiaEpic 
Hello Jessica,
This is not a first time I am reading one of your retell story. This time I decided to read “Devolution of Draupadi.” The first thing I really liked was the image. Honestly speaking, the image was very appealing to me and made me to read the story and see what it is about and what is happening and how you came around changing the story from the original story. I really enjoyed reading it. It was really easy to understand the story because the way it was written and divided into parts. Especially, the dialogues were well written and great. The each section was written in such a great and unique way. It was nice reading you’re another retell story. It was unique that you were creative because not everyone can be as creative. Great job. Thanks for sharing you great ideas with us throughout the semester.
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This was definitely an interesting sequel to the story. It is always very enjoyable to explore a character that you feel did not receive the attention that they deserved in the original narrative. I see for you that was Draupadi. The idea of questioning her fidelity reminded me a lot of the Ramayana and the way that Sita’s purity was questioned after being rescued by Rama and returning to the city. Is this your first time writing a sequel to a story because I think that you did a pretty good job.
The story was broken up into easy-to-understand segments which were clearly identified with an indicator of the chronological order in which the reader was meant to read each part. Your story touches on the theme of female representation in Indian epics. It is true that the female characters are so often at placed at the mercy of their male counterparts and subjected to unfair treatment as a result. I look forward to reading more material by you. I wonder if this will be a universal theme in your stories.
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Thank you so much for your kind words!:) To answer your questions, yes this is my first time doing a sequel in this class (but I just started another for week 12). Also, yes generally the women are portrayed as strong, independent females with a strong presence/voice. Mainly, because they lack such a voice in the story.
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Thank you for writing and sharing this story, Jessica. The words that you used conveyed the imagery of each scene and the emotion of each character so well. You did this particularly well with anger. For instance, Yudhistira’s disgust/hatred of Draupadi was palpable after having been convinced of his wife’s adultery. I also like how the meaning of the title of this story is revealed in the text. I assume that “devolution” is used because although Draupadi became more powerful (which would typically be considered evolution), she did so at the cost of her love. Or maybe I completely missed the mark on that interpretation haha.
The writing itself is in great shape. I like the layout. Everything is broken up into nice little chunks, so everything is easy to follow. The dialogue is detailed but to the point. The narration at the beginning of each major section does a great job filling us in on what has happened during the break. Everything looks great. Keep up the good work!
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Hi Jessica
After reading the “Devolution of Draupadi” I thought it was very unique and creative. What stood out to me the most was the timeline you put. I have not seen anything like that in all the stories I read this year. It actually helped me understand what was going in the story. You used dialogue then explained why that dialogue was important. I also thought the dialogue was so good because you made it exciting to keep reading. It was also a well-written story. I did not see any grammar mistakes when I was reading. I also just liked the story and how you were able to create your story out of the original story. I also like how you explain each timeline before you start the dialogue. It creates a clear story, which helps me create a vision of what is going on. I thought it was a really great story with great dialogue.
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Jessica, wow this story was so dark and twisted. It was a nice change from the usual utopian feel of the stories we normally read. I love how the towns people thought they could kill Draupadi with the one thing that she was made of! This was such strong girl power kind of story and was a treat to read. I liked how in the end, after being exiled, she ruled the kingdom with an iron fist and no one dared to challenge her! After suffering as much torment and despite as she had losing her sons in a gruesome battle, she deserved to win. The fact that these hardships did not break her but instead filed her inner fire was really moving and inspiring. You had a couple of grammatical and spelling errors that threw me off while eI was reading but otherwise the story flowed perfectly. Fantastic job!
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Oh! I’m sorry haven’t edited it yet. Hopefully, I can fix all the grammatical and spelling errors so it won’t be hard to read. Most of my stories I had to write rather quick. Thank you for the compliments!
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