Markandeya Purana beings with the sage Jaimini asking four questions: “Why did Lord Vasudeva, the original creator, maintainer and destroyer of the universe, who is devoid of material qualities, assume a humanlike for toe descend upon the earth and engage in pastimes there with His devotees? For what reason did Krsna, the daughter of King Drupada, become the common wife of the five Pandavas? This is certainly a very unusual occurrence that makes us truly perplexed. How is it that Lord Baladeva, the first expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Krsna, went on a tour of holy places of pilgrimage so as to become freed from the sin of killing a brahmana? And, how was it that Draupada’s five unmarried sons were killed after the great battle at Kuruksetra, as if they had no protector?”

The answers to these questions give us much information of the former lives and activities of familiar personalities and thus fills in the gaps of chains of events. A common theme of the Puranas is that the events and circumstances of a particular person are the results of the activities he performed in previous lives, just as the acts that he performs in his present life will determine his future birth and activities. So the question about Draupadi marrying five husbands is answered by giving us a view of the past to see the circumstances that led to that unusual marriage.