Shloka 20
Droṇa’s Ācārya-Dakṣiṇā: Capture of Drupada and Division of Pāñcāla (द्रोण-आचार्यदक्षिणा)
दश बालाज्जले क्रीडन् भुजाभ्यां परिगृहार सः । आस्ते सम सलिले मग्नो मृतकल्पान् विमुड्चति
daśa bālāj jale krīḍan bhujābhyāṃ parigṛhāra saḥ | āste sama-salile magno mṛta-kalpān vimuñcati ||
বৈশম্পায়ন বললেন—জলে খেলতে খেলতে সে দুই বাহু দিয়ে ধৃতরাষ্ট্রের দশটি বালককে জাপটে ধরত এবং দীর্ঘক্ষণ সেই জলে ডুবে থাকত; তারা প্রায় মৃতপ্রায় হলে তবেই তাদের ছেড়ে দিত।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Strength and skill, even in play, must be governed by restraint and compassion; when sport becomes a means to injure or humiliate, it turns into adharma and plants seeds of lasting hostility.
During water-play, a powerful youth seizes Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s ten boys, holds them underwater for a long time, and releases them only when they are nearly unconscious—an act presented as harsh and dangerous rather than harmless play.