Are Marriages Really Made in Heaven?

“That best portion of a man’s life -  his little, nameless and unremembered acts of kindness and love.” – William Wordsworth. Love, indeed is a bizarre ‘state’, and I have this strange feeling that it isn’t mostly fair on the ones afflicted! Am sure most of you would relate to the above.

Suddenly, today, for some unidentified reason, the impractical part of me wants to dive deep into the ancient Mahabharata. I had been always inclined towards this epic, the politics enticed me. But for today, my focus shall be on romance; a kind of romance that never really existed per se, however would have worked wonders if it did (to me at least). So, my protagonists for today are Karna and Draupadi. Before, I delve into establishing their romantic connect, let me elaborate a little on them.

Karna was addressed as ‘Suta Putra’ (son of a charioteer), though his genes come from the ‘Sun’. He possessed commendable archery skills, and was possibly the best archer; however, the world didn’t acknowledge him or his skills.

Draupadi, the one who emerged from fire was considered the most beautiful lady on earth. Her own father had wished her life be filled with extreme sorrow. And, life had carried out her father’s orders with ruthlessness. Draupadi was born to a king, married to five husbands, who were considered stalwarts during that time, yet being called a ‘whore’ publicly, and ‘disrobed’ in public.

Source: DusBus.com

As a writer, I can’t blame my creative thoughts for plunging deeper into Karna and Draupadi. Considered a thought, matters would have been quite favourable for both Karna and Draupadi, had the two gotten married. Karna would tie knots with the most beautiful lady on earth, and Draupadi would have upheld her honour at the courtroom.

As per a scripture, I recently came across online, Draupadi mentions, “Had I been married to him, I wouldn’t have been gambled away.” This was Draupadi’s confession in front of her five husbands. It so happened that Draupadi had eaten a forbidden fruit from a rose-apple tree. The fruit was reserved for a saint who stood in deep meditation for the past twelve years, without having a morsel, and this fruit was reserved to satiate his hunger. This action was considered impious and the tree required her to talk about her feelings towards a male she loved. Draupadi’s reply was prompt and apt, where she says that she had always reserved her love only for her five husbands. The rose-apple tree replied that there is someone else, she adores, apart from her five husbands. Finally, Draupadi confides that she loved Karna.

Coming back to the main point, had the two been hitched, possibly Mahabharata would be written otherwise (am well aware that Mahabharata was composed much before the events actually happened). Surely, the court scene wouldn’t have happened and Draupadi wouldn’t be disrobed in public. We would probably have witnessed/read a Mahabharata where women held a respectable position in the society, with their heads held high… So, coming back to the point, can we still say that marriages are made in heaven?