Shloka 37
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 28: Dharmādharmalakṣaṇa in Āpad
Crisis-Discernment of Right and Wrong
प्रियां भार्या द्रौपदी पाण्डवानां यशस्विनीं शीलवृत्तोपपन्नाम् | यदुपैक्षन्त कुरवो भीष्ममुख्या: कामानुगेनोपरुद्धां व्रजन्तीम्,पाण्डवोंकी प्यारी पत्नी यशस्विनी द्रौपदी जो शील और सदाचारसे सम्पन्न है, रजस्वला-अवस्थामें सभाके भीतर लायी जा रही थी, परंतु भीष्म आदि प्रधान कौरवोंने भी उसकी ओरसे उपेक्षा दिखायी
vāyudeva uvāca |
priyāṃ bhāryāṃ draupadīṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ yaśasvinīṃ śīlavṛttopapannām |
yad-upekṣanta kuravo bhīṣmamukhyāḥ kāmānugenoparuddhāṃ vrajantīm ||
Draupadī—die geliebte Gemahlin der Pāṇḍavas, ruhmreich und von edlem Charakter und rechter Lebensführung—wurde in hilfloser Schändung fortgeführt, getrieben von Begierde. Doch die Kurus, mit Bhīṣma an der Spitze, sahen gleichgültig zu und versäumten es, sie zu schützen.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns moral cowardice and the abdication of dharma: even revered elders, when swayed by fear, attachment, or social pressure, can become complicit through silence. It highlights that lust-driven injustice (kāma) and the neglect of a righteous person’s protection are grave ethical failures, especially for those entrusted with authority.
Vāyudeva recalls the outrage done to Draupadī: she, the virtuous and celebrated wife of the Pāṇḍavas, is being led in a condition of oppression and humiliation, while the Kuru elders—Bhīṣma foremost—do not intervene and instead remain indifferent, marking a decisive collapse of righteousness in the royal assembly.