Shloka 3
Draupadī’s Rebuke of Jayadratha and Dhaumya’s Admonition (Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 252)
त्वमल्पबुद्धया नृपते प्राणानुत्स्रष्टमर्हसि । अथवाप्यवगच्छामि न वृद्धा: सेवितास्त्वया
tvam alpabuddhyā nṛpate prāṇān utsraṣṭum arhasi | athavāpy avagacchāmi na vṛddhāḥ sevitās tvayā, nareśvara |
বৈশম্পায়ন বললেন—হে নরেশ্বর! অল্পবুদ্ধির বশেই তুমি আজ প্রাণ ত্যাগ করতে উদ্যত হয়েছ; অথবা আমি বুঝি, তুমি কখনও বৃদ্ধজনের সঙ্গ ও উপদেশ গ্রহণ করোনি।
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A king should not abandon life out of confused or immature thinking; wise conduct is shaped by seeking the guidance and example of elders. The verse frames self-destruction as a failure of discernment and of proper mentorship.
Vaiśampāyana rebukes a king who is inclined to give up his life, attributing this impulse to ‘small-minded’ judgment and suggesting that the king’s lack of association with elders has left him without stabilizing counsel.