Shloka 8
Drupada’s Instruction to the Purohita for the Kaurava Embassy (द्रुपदोपदेशः दूतप्रेषणम्)
न कस्याज्चिदवस्थायां राज्यं दास्यन्ति वै स्वयम् । उन सबने मिलकर धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरको ठगा है। अब वे किसी भी अवस्थामें स्वयं राज्य नहीं लौटायेंगे ।। भवांस्तु धर्मसंयुक्तं धृतराष्ट्रं ब्रुवन् वच:
na kasyacid avasthāyāṁ rājyaṁ dāsyanti vai svayam | te sarve militvā dharmarājaṁ yudhiṣṭhiraṁ ṭhagitavantaḥ | adya te kasyāṁcid api avasthāyāṁ svayaṁ rājyaṁ na pratyāhariṣyanti || bhavāṁs tu dharmasaṁyuktaṁ dhṛtarāṣṭraṁ bruvan vacaḥ |
„Unter keinen Umständen werden sie das Reich aus eigenem Antrieb herausgeben. Vereint haben sie Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira betrogen; und nun werden sie in keiner Lage die Herrschaft freiwillig zurückerstatten. Darum sprich zu Dhṛtarāṣṭra mit Worten, die im Dharma gegründet sind.“
दुपद उवाच
Educational Q&A
When injustice is entrenched and the wrongdoers refuse voluntary restitution, one must still pursue a dharma-grounded response: speak truthfully, appeal to righteousness, and seek lawful restoration rather than abandoning ethical restraint.
Drupada assesses the Kaurava side as unwilling to return the kingdom after having deceived Yudhiṣṭhira, and he urges that Dhṛtarāṣṭra be addressed with dharmic, principled speech—framing the coming negotiations in moral terms.