Image Courtesy: TimeNowNews
Most prominent relationships in the Mahabharata are husband-wife, parent-child, or teacher-student. One relationship that is unique is that of Krishna and Draupadi.
Krishna and Draupadi appear to have come into contact for the first time during her Swayamvara. Krishna was a well-wisher of the Drupada family and it appears that they developed a bond during that time, which grew stronger over time. Krishna was, of course, the Pandavas' cousin.
During the vana vaasa, Krishna would visit the Pandavas and especially Draupadi in the forest so often that his wife Sathyabama became jealous of the attention she was getting and confronted her. Their conversation is one that reveals Draupadi's unique (platonic, of course) relationship with Krishna.
On an earlier occasion, when Krishna had injured his finger, Krishna's sibling Subhadra and Draupadi both saw Krishna's hand bleeding. Subhadra frantically looked for a cloth to tie as bandage, but Draupadi immediately tore a part of her saree and stopped the bleeding. It is this act that made Him so fond and protective of her, more special than His own sister.
Of the legends surrounding the modern Rakshabandhan, this may have been the first 'rakhi' tied by a girl to one she considered a brother.
There are several well-documented occasions in the Mahabharata when Draupadi sought Krishna's help, even when her own husbands were highly capable of protecting her.
Also at all times in the Mahabharata, Krishna appears to have never condescended to Draupadi; greatly valuing her intellect, scholarship, suffering, and womanhood in a world dominated by men, greed, and conflict.
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