Draupadi's Revenge

Draupadi  the royal consort

of the  Pandavas, daughter of Fire

vowed never to tie up her hair

until she washed it with

Dushasan's blood.

It was an oath of a woman

scorned, a queen dishonoured

in the open court, vile, brute

strength was challenged

by nobility defiled.

It was a vow for her royal

dignity and feminine pride.

She was true to her words.

Oath was never shaken

in forest or in disguise.

Was her vow to see the

dance of death,

to cause the end of mankind

by her stubborn resolve?

Could she not have

pardoned her offender?

Revenge is unheroic for a woman

rash value snatching away

the natural grace and honour.

History may justify

poets may argue

but humanity should not be

paused by infectious revenge.

You may agree or disagree

your choice, but to rise

above everything like an angel

in bliss, is the moral of history.

Sabita Sahu