Draupadi's question

"Go and ask that gambler, whom did he lose first, himself or me? Bring me the answer."

"My husband was summoned to this assembly and though he possessed little skill at dice, he was made to play with skillful, wicked and deceitful gamblers. How can it be said that he made the stakes voluntarily? Having lost himself first, how could he stake me?"

"O Kurus, I, the wedded wife of king Yudhishtra the just, ask you one last time! Tell me now if I am a serving-maid or otherwise. I will accept your verdict whatever it be."

"I have already said, O blessed one, that the course of morality is subtle.", said Bhishma.

These were the questions of Draupadi to the elders. Even the eldest and most respected Bhishma could not come to a conclusion. This question is key to understanding the principles of dharma in regards to the respect and dignity of a woman. The answer was decided not by any of the elders who the question was posed to, but by Duryodhana and Dushasana based on 'might is right'. However the principles of Dharma and not based on might. They favour the innocents and the weak. The lord Krishna himself is the guardian of dharma and he says in the Bhagavad Gita:

"Whenever virtue declines and unrighteousness rises, I manifest Myself as
an embodied being. To protect the good, to destroy the
evil and to establish righteousness, I am born from age to age."

Krishna manifested himself when adharma was at it's peak. By coming to the rescue of Draupadi, the lord indirectly answered Draupadi's question. The actions of the Kauravas were the peak of adharma, and they had no right over Draupadi. She was not a slave, and Yudhishtira had no right to stake her, whether he was a slave or not. A husband's duty is to protect and care for his wife. By staking her in a game of dice, he was not performing his duty as a husband, and in fact he was doing the exact opposite by treating her as an object. A husband and wife are bound to each other by love and mutual respect, and the holy rites of marriage. They are not each other's property. Neither is possessed by the other. The moment a husband ceases to perform his duty as a husband, he violates the sacred institution of marriage and no longer deserves the respect of his wife. Despite Yudhishthira's violation of his duty as a husband, Draupadi did not withdraw her respect or love for her husband. When asked for a boon from Dhritarashtra, she asks for her husbands to be set free and does not ask for her own freedom. This speaks volumes for her loyalty to her husbands and her noble character.