Karṇa was refused to take part in the sporting, piercing the eyes of the fish, because Draupadī actually knew that, "Arjuna is my real husband. So if Karṇa takes part in this sporting . . ." Karṇa was powerful. He would gain. But she did not like Karṇa. Therefore at that time she said that, "This sporting is meant for the kṣatriyas, not for the śūdras." Karṇa was known at that time as śūdra. You will find all these stories in the Mahābhārata. Karṇa was also Yudhiṣṭhira's brother, born of Kuntī before her marriage. So Kuntī did not disclose that Karṇa was her son, but she (he) was raised by a śūdra. People know that he was a śūdra. So Karṇa had a grudge against Draupadī. Therefore he planned to place her in the gambling game. And when the Pāṇḍavas were lost, now he wanted to retaliate the insult given by Draupadī during her svayaṁvara. So he advised—he was friendly to Duryodhana and brothers—"Now this lady is lost. Now we can deal with her as we like. She is our property." So she was lost. "So I want to see her naked in this assembly." So vastra-haraṇa, you know. But Kṛṣṇa saved her. So Draupadī knows very well Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is said, tadājñāya draupadī ca.
And another side is that when . . . at the time of retirement, there is no more responsibility. Here it is said, patīnām anapekṣatām. They are retiring from home without any consideration, "What will happen to our wife, Draupadī?" No. "Now everyone should take care of himself. We are also going alone." This is retirement. Anapekṣatām: without waiting for anyone; alone, simply depending on Kṛṣṇa. This is called renounced order of life. So this is the process of renouncement, not that to make arrangement in the family that, "I am now retiring. You send me some money, and I shall maintain myself." No. No dependence. Simply dependent on Kṛṣṇa. Therefore it is said, ekānta-matir āpa. Ekānta.
Actually, Kṛṣṇa saves us. Why we should depend on others? Kṛṣṇa saves. Kṛṣṇa says that, "Anyone who is completely dependent upon Me," yoga-kṣemaṁ vahāmy aham (BG 9.22), "I personally bring whatever his necessity is." That is the promise of Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā. So renounced order means no more dependence on father, mother, husband, or . . . no. Completely dependent on Kṛṣṇa. Ekānta. That is perfection. One who is fully convinced that "Kṛṣṇa is with me . . ." Īśvaraḥ sarva-bhūtānāṁ hṛd-deśe 'rjuna tiṣṭhati (BG 18.61)—"I will not have to search out Kṛṣṇa anywhere. He is within me, within my heart." There are many instances.
So cirāṇi kiṁ na pathi santi diśanti bhikṣām (SB 2.2.5). Śukadeva Gosvāmī, he was wandering all over the world alone, naked, even no cloth. Simply while walking on the street early in the morning, he would stand anywhere. Because in those days, every house, they had cows, and the time for milking is early in the morning. We are also milking cows in London, in our Letchmore Heath, early in the morning. That is the time. Here also the same system?
Devotee: Oh, yes.
Prabhupāda: So any house he would stand before, and those who were milking, they would give him a glass of milk. That's all—finished, for the whole day. That was Śukadeva Gosvāmī's practice. So in this way one has to depend . . . in the renounced order of life, one has to depend completely on God. That's all. That is renounced order.
So here all the five husbands, how much responsible they were. Because their one wife was insulted, they declared the war, Battle of Kurukṣetra, and killed the whole family. Similarly, Lord Rāmacandra, His wife was kidnapped, Sītā, by Rāvaṇa. So Lord Rāmacandra is God. He could create many millions of Sītās. But no. For that one Sītā, war was declared against Rāvaṇa, and the whole family dynasty with kingdom, everything was finished. So this is the duty of the husband, that . . . not like the modern days' husband: marries for three months; on the sixth month, they were no more husband. Not like that. Husband means one who takes charge of the girl for life, and wife means the girl who has the resolution to serve the husband throughout life. That is husband and wife. And when the wife is in danger, the husband's duty is to give protection, at any cost. That is husband-wife relationship.
But when one is going to retire, that is another thing. Because life is divided into four parts: brahmacārī, gṛhastha, vānaprastha and sannyāsa. So woman has got three positions. They require protection. Women is never allowed to become in renounced order of life. No. They are supposed to be under the care of somebody. So early age under the care of father, young age under the care of husband, and old age under the care of grown-up children, sons. This is woman's position. They remain always under the care of. So Draupadī was being taken care of, their husbands, but when the husbands were going for renounced order of life, anapekṣatām, without caring, she could understand, "Now I will be uncared for. No more . . . my husbands are no more in duty bound to give me protection." She could understand. Tadājñāya. She could understand.