Duryodhana believes that the Pandavas must have died in the forest during their exile. He sets an unusual date for their death ceremony in order to prevent them from going to heaven in their afterlife. This ceremony will also declare the Pandavas dead and prevent them from re-entering civil society, even if they were still alive.

To stop the ceremony, Krishna sends Draupadi in the disguise of a Kuratti or a lady of the Kurava clan to Hastinapura. Draupadi tells fortune to the Kaurava Queens. She ends her séance by predicting that their husbands will be killed in an upcoming war. Unhappy with the prediction, the Kaurava ladies refuse to pay her and send her instead to King Duryodhana.

Suspecting she might be Draupadi, Duryodhana jails the Kuratti. To rescue her, Krishna sends Arjuna disguised as Kuravan. Kidnapping Duryodhana’s wife Bhanumati, Arjuna negotiates the release of Draupadi-the-Kuratti and demands that his wife gets paid her proper coolie.