Sakhi

For those who have read the Mahabharata or are even remotely familiar with the tale shall know that Draupadi was renowned as the ‘Sakhi’ to Krishna. And Krishna? the effervescent ‘Sakha’ to his Panchali. Over the eons of years, all that we get to infer from the term was ‘friends’. Krishna, the ‘Sakha’ or the ever-present ‘friend’ to Draupadi. But does the word ‘Sakha’ only mean a friend?

The first time when I had read the tale of ‘Mahabharata’, I was intrigued by this very thought. I pondered vehemently, who was my ‘Sakha’ then? In this world, where every acquaintance begs to be names, renamed and identified, who exactly is a ‘Sakha’?

Can it not be my family like my mother? or my brother? or is the term ‘Sakha’ that effortlessly bypassed that they imbibe no more than a simple definition of being a ‘friend’ or a ‘childhood partner’?

Is that all there is? When faced by this question, I was merely dumbfounded. That answer lay right in front of me and yet not in sight.

Are we born for relations or because we are born that we form a relation. Am I a ‘daughter’ because I was born to my parents or rather, because I was born, I formed a relation of daughterhood wit hmy parents. Because I was born, I went on to become someone’s friend, sister, mother or even lover. Someone’s identity. But then, did I go on to become someone’s Sakhi? A lost wisp of childhood benevolence and good wishes or just something more than that? And if not, then why?

In this world of platonically physical relations, where the name exists as long as this body exists, is it really not fragile to say that the relation of a ‘Sakhi’ and ‘Sakha’ are only bound to the mortal realms?

Or maybe it is time to redefine the name and in term the relations a bit. ‘The one who is a part of my happiness and grief’ or rather, ‘the one who greets me to happiness or Sukh’ is my Sakha? Maybe then I too can say that I am the Sakhi to my mother, my brother, my father, my friend, my lover and maybe much more or much less.

Maybe that is what Krishna was to his Sakhi Draupadi – everything. The embodiment of her happiness, love, peace and identity personified and yet nothing at all. Not bounded by the mortal definitions of relations.

Who has been your Sakha / Sakhi in your life? Let me know in the comments.