Mahabharata 1.192.23 — Adi Parva, Adhyaya 192, Shloka 23
द्रौपदी-वरण-प्रत्ययः — Intelligence Reports and the Kaurava Court’s Response
पाज्चालराजेन सुता निसृष्टा स्वधर्मदृष्टेन यथा न कामात् । प्रदिष्टशुल्का द्रुपदेन राज्ञा सा तेन वीरेण तथानुवृत्ता
dhṛṣṭadyumna uvāca | pāñcālarājena sutā nisṛṣṭā svadharmadṛṣṭena yathā na kāmāt | pradiṣṭaśulkā drupadena rājñā sā tena vīreṇa tathānuvṛttā |
Dṛṣṭadyumna sprach: „O Brahmane! Diese Tochter wurde vom König der Pāñcālas nicht aus persönlichem Begehren heraus gegeben. Mit dem Blick auf das Dharma fasste König Drupada den Entschluss, seine Tochter nur unter der Bedingung der vorgeschriebenen Prüfung (des Zielschießens) zu vergeben. Jener Held hat eben diese Bedingung erfüllt; darum hat er sie rechtmäßig errungen, und sie hat ihn demgemäß angenommen.“
धृष्टह्ुम्न उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse emphasizes that marriage and royal decisions should be grounded in dharma (right order and duty), not in personal desire. A publicly declared condition, once fulfilled, establishes legitimacy and ethical propriety.
Dhṛṣṭadyumna defends the validity of the princess’s marriage: Drupada had announced a target-hitting condition for winning his daughter, and the hero who completed it has rightfully obtained her; she has accepted him in accordance with that rule.
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