Adhyaya 11 — Draupadī’s Grief, Demand for Justice, and Bhīma’s Departure
इहैव प्रायमासिष्ये तन्निबोधत पाण्डवा: । न चेत् फलमवाप्रोति द्रौणि: पापस्य कर्मण:
ihaiva prāyam āsiṣye tan nibodhata pāṇḍavāḥ | na cet phalam avāpnoti drauṇiḥ pāpasya karmaṇaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Hier und jetzt werde ich das Fasten bis zum Tod auf mich nehmen—merkt es euch wohl, o Pāṇḍavas—wenn Droṇas Sohn nicht die gebührende Folge seiner sündhaften Tat empfängt.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
The verse stresses moral causality: grievous wrongdoing must bear its appropriate consequence (phala). It also highlights the gravity with which elders or narrators may frame justice—invoking an extreme vow (prāya) to insist that ethical order is not left unresolved.
In the wake of the night massacre associated with Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāman), the speaker declares a drastic resolve: he will undertake a fast unto death on the spot unless Aśvatthāman receives the due result of his sinful action, urging the Pāṇḍavas to take the matter seriously.