Draupadi continues to lash out at Bhishma and says it was foolish of her to expect justice from him. Bhishma replies lamely that dharma was a complex issue which could be interpreted differently by different people. When he had brought to Hastinapura the Kashi princess Amba, he thought he was acting in accordance with dharma, but his guru Parasurama did not think so. They had a fight but it had to be stopped because both the warriors were equally strong and invincible. When an injustice is meted out to a woman, anybody can stand up and fight for justice so long as she is helpless and single. But Draupadi had five husbands and he had no role to play in protecting her in their presence. Drona simply states that he is bound by the debt to his employer. Kripacharya has no reply when Draupadi reminds him of his duty as the adopted son of King Shantanu. Only Vikarna, the righteous son of Dritarashtra and Gandhari, asks the courtiers to answer Draupadi's question. He raises a cautionary voice that it would besmirch the glory of Kuru dynasty, but he is rebuffed by Duryodhana.
Draupadi asks Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva whether Yudhishtra took their permission before placing a wager on them. They admit that they had given him the permission. She then asks them whether they also gave permission to stake Draupadi who was also a wife to each of them. Karna taunts that the Pandavas are now slaves, and she had to accept that reality. He suggests that she should now accept Duryodhana too as her sixth husband. Arjuna warns Karna that he would soon have to face the consequences of his abusive words.
Duryodhana slaps on his right thigh and commands Dushshasana to seat Draupadi on his thigh. Bhima swears that he would break the thigh that Duryodhana wanted to seat Draupadi on. If he failed to that he would be his slave for seven births. Duryodhana scoffs at Yudhishtra for claiming his brothers were bound to upkeep his words and demands to know if his brothers would stand by his decision to stake Draupadi. Yudhishtra and the other Pandavas accept that they staked Draupadi and lost her.p> Karna says that a woman wedded to five husbands can only be called a prostitute. And there was no need to protect her honor. Arjuna has to curb his fury at these words. Duryodhana orders Dushshasana to disrobe Draupadi so he can see her naked. Bhima swears that he would break Dushshasana's hands that dared to touch Draupadi's robes. Dushshasana pulls off her garment, and Drapadi fights it back till she is exhausted and then calls loudly to Krishna for protecting her.
Then the miracle happened.
Draupadi now addresses the king and asks why he is even now mute. Vidura then appeals to the king to answer Draupadi's tears and turns to the rest of the court, declaring that being a mute witness to a injustice is equally a crime. Nobody stirs up and he pronounces the court as being filled with lifeless corpses where no justice can be expected.
Draupadi is just about to lay a curse on the Kauravas, when Gandhari rushes into the court and stops Draupadi from uttering a curse. She harangues Duryodhana and Shakuni and begs Draupadi to pardon her sons as well as Drona, Bhishma, Vidura and others. Then she scolds Dritarashtra for being a mute spectator though he had ears to know what was going on in the court. At her behest, Dritarashtra asks Draupadi for her pardon and accepts responsibility for all the untoward incidents. Then he offers her three boons. Draupadi asks for the first boon that she and her five husbands be set free from slavery. As Duryodhana watches with dismay, Dritarashtra sets them all free.
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