Uttarā, the Daughter They Loved

Check the theme here: Pandava Mahaprasthana

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Seeing no trace of a kingdom built by Krishna was heartbreaking for the Pandavas. Draupadi hadn’t even visited Dwarka in all her life. While she heard everything about it and saw the paintings gifted by Krishna and his wives, she had never been to the city. Draupadi hoped she could visit after the war, but Balarama and his supporters weren’t keen on reviving their relationship. Even Subhadra, born and brought up in Dwarka, refused to go home for a visit.

Now, as they circled Bharatavarsha in the Mahaprasthana, there was nothing left to see. The sea took over the land. The Pandavas didn’t stop for long. After offering their respects to the dead, they turn northward to travel along the Sindhu region to reach the River Saraswati.

Lost in thought, they and their dog were silent. This left Draupadi to think about how Krishna saved their lineage by reviving a stillborn Parikshit, and Uttarā, the daughter she gained!

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As Uttarā went into labor, the palace buzzed with anticipation. They took her to the room specially designed for her delivery and filled with items inviting positivity and hope. Apart from the midwives, Draupadi and Subhadra were in the room. The Pandava brothers waited outside with Kunti, who refused to go inside, saying the stress would be too much for her.

“It’s a premature birth. I’m worried, sister.” Subhadra whispered, wiping the sweat off Uttarā’s face. They sat on either side, holding her hands and murmuring soothing assurances.

Draupadi nodded. “She is weak too. Hope Maa Parvati blesses the child to have a safe delivery.”

Abhimanyu’s death on the thirteenth day of the war had devastated everyone. They never expected a warrior like him to face death on the battlefield. Despite being a young man of just sixteen years, the best of the warriors trained him, like the Pandavas, Krishna, Satyaki, and Krishna’s sons.

“Maa…” Uttarā gasped, tightening her grip on Draupadi’s fingers. “I’m scared…”

Draupadi bent to kiss her forehead. “You will be fine. We are here with you.”

Though Subhadra was the girl’s mother-in-law, it was Draupadi who was close to her because of the year she spent as Malini in the Matsya kingdom. After the news of Abhimanyu’s death reached them in Upaplavya, Subhadra went into a shell. While Draupadi was equally anguished, she couldn’t let Uttarā be alone with her thoughts.

“Uttarā, child, eat something.” Draupadi urged, trying her best to feed the girl porridge made of broken wheat and flavored with cow ghee.

There was no response from her. Uttarā had become a ghost and was still in shock. Her daughter-in-law hadn’t shed a tear, which worried Draupadi a lot more. She took it upon herself to feed the young woman, wipe her body with a wet cloth, help her change her clothes, and more. She plaited her hair, massaging oil into the thick tresses and talking about everything and nothing.

The young couple was married six months earlier in a grand ceremony that announced the Pandavas had completed their exile and were ready to reclaim Indraprastha. It was also a show of support from allies like Dwarka, Matsya, and Panchala.

It had been two days since the news of Abhimanyu’s death, and there was no change in Uttarā. Draupadi knew the girl hadn’t slept. She stared into oblivion with vacant eyes.

“How is she?” Subhadra asked, her voice hoarse with tears she shed.

“Still the same,” Draupadi murmured.

“What… should we do, Sister?”

Draupadi had no answer to that question. She had been thinking about it without a ray of hope in sight. She prayed to Parvati Devi to give her something to work with.

Just then, a maid knocked and entered the room. She brought a steaming bowl of meat broth ordered by Subhadra. As soon as its smell reached Uttarā, her body trembled. Before they could react, she threw up on the floor, gasping in shock.

Draupadi and Subhadra rushed to her as the maid rushed to bring water to clean the mess. They helped Uttarā onto the bed. She still had the same vacant state, her breathing heavy and uneven.

“O deva! What is this now?” Subhadra cried.

Draupadi felt a flare of hope in her heart. She tried to remember the past few weeks and counted the days. Since Uttarā spent most of the time with her when she wasn’t with Abhimanyu, Draupadi found it easy to keep track.

“I think… she is pregnant.” She whispered, praying that it would be true. This was the hope they needed to survive.

Subhadra blinked in a daze, uncertain if she could dare to smile. “Are… are you sure, Sister?”

“I think so. I remember her last period was over two months ago.” Draupadi said, her voice strengthening with conviction.

“Devi! Thank you!” Subhadra gasped, folding her arms and crying.

Draupadi instructed the maid to send a message to a Vaidya. Then she bent to whisper in Uttarā’s ears. “Darling, did you listen to what I said? You are to become a mother. Abhi didn’t leave you. His child is growing inside you.”

She saw the words seep through the fog around Uttarā and register in her mind. Tears spilled down her face onto the pillow under her head.

“Abhi…” her faint voice called out.

Draupadi shifted to cradle Uttarā in her arms and hugged her to her bosom. “Yes, Abhi is still with you. You need to live for this child, my daughter.”

Subhadra held Uttarā’s other hand as the girl cried, at last letting her pain out. They hoped the news would revive her a little. However, Uttarā continued to be a ghost of her former self.

Toward the end of the war, Draupadi made plans for Uttarā’s future. Her child would be the first of the next generation and an heir to the throne. However, the eldest among the brothers was Prathivindhya, her son with Yudhishthira. It could pose a problem when they got him married. Draupadi vowed there wouldn’t be a repeat of events like Bhishma or Pandu. Though it was too soon, she hoped Uttarā would marry Prathivindhya. Sixteen was no age to be a widow. None of them would let their daughter-in-law spend the rest of her long life without a partner to cherish her.

However, Kala had other plans. Before she could discuss her ideas with her husbands, they sent a message asking her to meet them at the Kurukshetra battlefield. Ignoring the chill creeping down her spine, Draupadi went to the battlefield and saw that someone had butchered her sons in their sleep. Just when she saw hope for the future, it was extinguished yet again.

“You have me, Maa… and this child,” Uttarā said, trying to console Draupadi.

She nodded and hugged her daughter-in-law, who needed her more than her dead sons. Draupadi shoved her pain deep inside her heart and spent the next few months ensuring Uttarā was healthy.

Still, grief had taken a toll, and Uttarā went into early labor in her seventh month of pregnancy. As the room filled with her cries, Draupadi continued to pray. This child was their only hope, their only connection to the dead.

“The baby is almost here. Push, Rani.” The midwife instructed.

Draupadi and Subhadra held their breaths as Uttarā’s fragile body convulsed and shuddered.

The silence was deafening. Draupadi heard her heart thud in her chest. She stared at the midwife, who was trying to revive a blueish baby.

“No!!” she gasped.

“Maa… baby… You said he would cry!” Uttarā’s high-pitched voice showed her rising panic.

They tried to calm her, but she wouldn’t listen. The girl had pinned all her hopes on this child.

“Is it because I didn’t eat properly? Did I kill my child?” Uttarā wailed, trying to sit. Her body was too weak to do as she wanted, and this frustrated her even more.

Draupadi held her close, worried that Uttarā’s sudden movements would cause a tear. She had given birth only a few moments ago. It was risky for her to move without the midwife’s permission.

“I killed him!!” Uttarā sobbed.

“No. No, you didn’t. Don’t say that, my baby.” Draupadi hushed her. Subhadra held the lifeless child in her arms and sobbed. Kunti, who entered the room, stood like a statue.

As strained voices approached closer, Draupadi saw Kunti snap to attention. She rushed outside, calling Krishna’s name.

Draupadi hoped Krishna had arrived. If there was anyone who could help them, it was him. Draupadi was still cradling Uttarā when Krishna entered the room with a crying Kunti.

“Krishna!” Subhadra wailed, showing him the child she held.

He looked at their tear-streaked faces and nodded. “I’ll do what I can.”

Krishna took the stillborn from his sister’s arms and held the baby close to his chest. He closed his eyes and swayed, whispering something. He then placed the baby on a cushion and blew a new breath into his mouth. After a couple of soft thumps on the child’s chest, the baby’s body bowed into an arch. He let out a faint cry. It soon became louder as the child’s skin turned to a normal shade.

“Uttarā… listen!” Draupadi said. “He is alive.”

The girl looked bewildered, her enormous eyes bloodshot and her face pale as the moon.

“O Krishna! You saved him!” Subhadra cried and hugged her brother. Kunti also rushed to hug him.

“How can I let anything happen to my nephew’s son? He will live with my breath.” Krishna said with an assuring smile. He named the boy Parikshit and stayed until the naming ceremony was over.

Over the years, Draupadi tried to convince Uttarā to remarry. None of her arguments worked. She received the same response every time.

“I am happy, Maa. This is who I want to be — your daughter and Parikshit’s mother.”

At last, Draupadi had given up. Uttarā had indeed looked healthier and happier. She made peace with her life and spent time with her son or learning how to manage the kingdom’s affairs.

Decades ago, before Draupadi was married, she hoped to have a daughter or two of her own. However, she decided birthing five sons was enough. She gave each husband a child and didn’t want to upset the balance, though none of the brothers would be sad if one of them had an extra child with Draupadi. Still, she suggested to Subhadra to try for a girl child.

Kala had played his game before it could happen. Yudhistira lost the game of dice, and the Pandavas went into exile for thirteen years. At least, he had compensated by leading Draupadi and the brothers to the Matsya Kingdom, where they met Yuvarani Uttarā. She had come into their lives as a daughter-in-law and remained their cherished daughter.

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“Thinking about Uttarā, aren’t you?” Yudhistira asked as he slowed down to walk beside her.

She smiled. “How do you know, Maharaja?”

“You look peaceful when you think of her. That girl gave us life when we lost it. May she live forever!” He replied, his voice trembling with emotion.

Draupadi wrapped her arm around his and nodded. “Yes. She is the daughter devas gifted to us.”

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