There are two versions. One version is that it is mentioned in the Mahabharata, but not with the drama mentioned around it. That is to say, it is stopped before it actually begins. The problem is that the Mahabharata is not of one piece and there are several layers that have come up due to additions by authors.Β
The other version, considered the original one, is that while Draupadi is dragged to the court by her hair while she is menstruating (which is horrible enough), there is no mention of disrobing, as if this in any way condones those present in the Assembly.
The language of Vyasa, unlike that of Valmiki, is quite terse and direct. There are no miracles in it, no deep psychic moments. His is a seer-vision descending from above, like the bare truth. So these rather symbolic stories with a deeper psychic emotion might have been a later addition.
Affectionately,
Alok Da
