Drupada's Messenger Invites the Pandavas to the Wedding Feast
After the startling wedding of Draupadi to all five Pandavas, King Drupada prepares a feast for the bridegroom's party. His messenger arrives at the Pandavas' humble dwelling with a formal invitation and chariots worthy of kings, urging them to come swiftly to the palace.
The wedding was over. Draupadi had chosen the Brahmin archer, and then, in a turn that stunned the assembly, had been accepted as the wife of all five Pandava brothers. Now, in its aftermath, the formalities of kingship reasserted themselves.
King Drupada of Panchala prepared a feast worthy of a royal wedding party. To extend the invitation, he sent a messenger to the dwelling where the Pandavas were staying with their mother and new bride.
The messenger arrived and delivered his king’s words with formality. “Because of the wedding,” he said, “King Drupada has prepared a good feast for the bridegroom’s party. Come there with Krishna after finishing the daily rituals. Do not delay.”
Then he presented the means. “These chariots, adorned with golden lotuses and drawn by excellent horses, are worthy of being ridden by those who rule the earth. Ascending on them, all of you come swiftly to the palace of the king of Panchala.”
The offer was clear: the time for disguise was passing. The chariots were not the carts of ascetics or the modest vehicles of townsmen. They were splendid, fit for rulers, a tangible piece of the royal world they were being invited to re-enter. The Pandavas heard the invitation. They accepted. They sent the priest on ahead of them and began to prepare for their departure to the palace.