Shloka 14
Draupadī’s Lament and the Question of Kṣatriya Forbearance (द्रौपद्याः शोकप्रलापः क्षमानिर्णयश्च)
अथास्य दारानिच्छन्ति परिभूय क्षमावत: । दाराक्षास्य प्रवर्तन्ते यथाकाममचेतस:,इतना ही नहीं, वे क्षमाशील स्वामीकी अवहेलना करके उसकी स्त्रियोंको भी हस्तगत करना चाहते हैं और वैसे पुरुषकी मूर्ख स्त्रियाँ भी स्वेच्छाचारमें प्रवृत्त हो जाती हैं
athāsya dārān icchanti paribhūya kṣamāvataḥ | dārākṣā asya pravartante yathākāmam acetasaḥ ||
وفوق ذلك، إذ يزدَرون الزوج الحليم الصبور، يسعى الرجال حتى إلى الاستيلاء على نسائه؛ ونساءُ مثلِ هذا الرجل، لِسَفَهِهِنَّ وقلةِ تمييزهنّ، ينزلقن إلى سلوكٍ مُطلقٍ على الهوى، يفعلن ما يشأن.
प्रह्माद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Forbearance (kṣamā) is a virtue, but when society misreads it as impotence, the unscrupulous become bolder and violations escalate—reaching even the household’s honour. The verse cautions that dharma requires both patience and the capacity to uphold boundaries so that restraint is not exploited.
The speaker describes a moral decline: men, after insulting a patient man, attempt to take his wives; and the man’s wives—portrayed as lacking discernment—begin acting according to their own desires. It is presented as a consequence of the husband’s dishonour and the breakdown of protective social norms.