Since the Karna controversy is back (thanks to a recent post by director Nag Ashwin of Kalki 2898 AD), here is the thing about the controversial scene where Draupadi (played by Sarada) in NTR's Daana Veera Soora Karna expresses the desire to have Karna as her 6th husband. The episode is not mentioned in Vyasa's Mahabharatham. So, why did NTR infuse the scene in his movie?
The specific story of Draupadi wishing she had married Karna as a sixth husband comes from regional texts, such as the Bengali Kashidasi Mahabharata (by Kashiram Das) and certain Tamil and Marathi folk traditions (often referred to as the Nelli or Jambu fruit episode). During their exile, the Pandavas accidentally pluck a sacred fruit belonging to a short-tempered sage. To avoid the sage's deadly curse, Krishna tells them the fruit can only be reattached to the branch if each of them confesses their deepest, most hidden secrets and desires truthfully. When it is Draupadi's turn, she confesses her deep respect and love for her five husbands, but the fruit does not rise all the way back. Under pressure, she confesses a hidden thought: During her swayamvara, when she saw Karna, she felt a brief moment of attraction and thought that if she had married him instead, she might have had a sixth husband who would have protected her from humiliation. Once she speaks this absolute truth, the fruit returns to the tree.
