The order in which Yudhishthir loses himself and Draupadi in subsequent moves of the game turns out to be important in hindsight. So when the invitation comes from Hastinapur to play dice with Shakuni, the Pandavas – despite knowing that this will spell trouble – accept it.Īs expected, Yudhishthir loses everything to Shakuni – including his brothers, himself and his wife Draupadi in that order. Instead, he suggests, Yudhishthir could be invited to play a game of dice in which he could be persuaded to stake and lose everything he has.Īt the same time, Yudhishthir takes an oath that he will not say no to anything that Dhritarashtra says. Shakuni warns Duryodhana that the Pandavas are impossible to defeat in a normal war. ( Suggested: Mahabharata Episode 17: The Game of Dice.) He also confesses to Shakuni that he is besotted by envy toward the sons of Pandu. Duryodhana returns to Hastinapur mystified by the good fortune (as he sees it) of his cousins. Yudhishthir and the Pandavas have earned unprecedented amounts of wealth and power, and the Rajasuya at Indraprastha has just ended. In order to understand the reasons behind Draupadi’s disrobing, it is important to know what comes before it. (For answers to all Draupadi-related questions, see Draupadi: 46 Questions about the Mahabharata Heroine Answered.) Prologue to Draupadi’s Vastraharan Read on to discover more about why Draupadi vastraharan happened.