Shloka 23

Draupadī-vivāha-vidhāna

The Ritual Formalization of Draupadī’s Marriage

Devanagari script

| ५ ( 5 | ; ) 80 ॥ ४८५४१! तमब्रवीद्‌ वासुदेव: प्रहस्य गूढो5प्यग्निज्ञायत एव राजन्‌ । त॑ विक्रमं पाण्डवेयानतीत्य कोडन्य: कर्ता विद्यते मानुषेषु,तब भगवान्‌ वासुदेवने हँसकर उत्तर दिया--“राजन्‌! आग कितनी ही छिपी क्‍यों न हो, वह पहचानमें आ ही जाती है। भला, पाण्डवोंको छोड़कर मनुष्योंमें कौन ऐसा है, जो वैसा अद्भुत कर्म कर दिखाता

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | tam abravīd vāsudevaḥ prahasya gūḍho 'py agnir jñāyata eva rājan | taṁ vikramaṁ pāṇḍaveyān atītya ko 'nyaḥ kartā vidyate mānuṣeṣu ||

Translation

قال فايشامبايانا: فأجاب فاسوديفا مبتسمًا: «أيها الملك، إن النار وإن خُبِّئت تُعرَف لا محالة. وكذلك، فمن بين البشر—ومن ذا الذي يجاوز أمراء الباندافا—يستطيع أن يكون صانعًا لمثل هذه الأفعال العجيبة؟»

Word by Word

• {'tam': 'him

• to him (accusative singular)', 'abravīt': 'said

• spoke (aorist of √brū)', 'vāsudevaḥ': 'Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa), son/descendant of Vasudeva', 'prahāsya (prahāsya/prahasya)': 'having smiled

• with a smile', 'gūḍhaḥ': 'hidden

• concealed', 'api': 'even

• although', 'agniḥ': 'fire', 'jñāyata eva': 'is certainly recognized/known', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'vikramaḥ': 'valor

• heroic deed', 'pāṇḍaveyān': 'the Pāṇḍavas

• sons/descendants of Pāṇḍu', 'atītya': 'having surpassed

• beyond', 'kaḥ anyaḥ': 'who else?', 'kartā': 'doer

• agent', 'vidyate': 'exists

• is found', 'mānuṣeṣu': 'among humans

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)
• Pāṇḍavas
• Agni (fire, as an image)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

True power and virtue cannot remain concealed for long; like hidden fire that still reveals itself, exceptional merit becomes recognizable. The verse also underscores the unique stature of the Pāṇḍavas as unsurpassed in human heroic capability.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Vāsudeva responds with a smile, asserting that even if something is hidden it can be identified—then he points to the Pāṇḍavas as the only plausible agents capable of such remarkable feats, implying their deeds are unmistakable.