Shloka 9
Adhyāya 16 — Daiva, Kṣatriya-dharma, and Public Reassurance to Dhṛtarāṣṭra
इयं च बृहती श्यामा तथात्यायतलोचना । वृथा सभातले क्लिष्टा मा भूदिति च तत् कृतम्,यह ऊँचे कदवाली श्यामवर्णा विशाललोचना मेरी बहू भरी सभामें पुनः व्यर्थ अपमानित होनेका कष्ट न भोगे, इसी उद्देश्यसे मैंने वह सब किया था
iyaṃ ca bṛhatī śyāmā tathātyāyatālocanā | vṛthā sabhātale kliṣṭā mā bhūd iti ca tat kṛtam ||
Und sie — hochgewachsen, dunkel von Teint, mit langen, weit geöffneten Augen — sollte nicht noch einmal vergeblich auf dem Boden der königlichen Versammlung leiden. In eben dieser Absicht tat ich, was ich tat: um zu verhindern, dass meine Schwiegertochter erneut einer sinnlosen Demütigung und Qual am Hof ausgesetzt würde.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights an ethical imperative: preventing repeated, purposeless humiliation—especially in a public institution like the royal court—is a duty. It frames action as motivated by protection of dignity and the avoidance of needless suffering.
The speaker recalls a woman described by her stature and eyes, and states that the actions taken were intended to ensure she would not again be tormented on the assembly floor—an allusion to the earlier court-scene disgrace and the resolve to prevent its recurrence.