Shloka 51

अध्याय ८ — शल्यस्य सत्कारः, वरदानं, पाण्डवसमागमश्च (Śalya’s Reception, the Boon, and Meeting the Pāṇḍavas)

Devanagari script

जटासुरात्‌ परिक्लेश: कीचकाच्च महाद्युते । द्रौपद्याधिगतं सर्व दमयन्त्या यथाशुभम्‌

Transliteration

Jaṭāsurāt parikleśaḥ Kīcakāc ca mahādyute | Draupadyādhigataṃ sarvaṃ Damayantyā yathāśubham ||

Translation

Śalya sprach: „O du von großer Strahlkraft, es gab schweres Leid durch Jaṭāsura und ebenso durch Kīcaka. All das Unheil, das Draupadī traf, war so unheilvoll wie das, was Damayantī widerfuhr.“

Word by Word

जटासुरात्from Jatāsura

परिक्लेशःdistress, affliction

कीचकात्from Kīcaka

चand

महाद्युतेO great-glorious one

द्रौपद्याby Draupadī

अधिगतंobtained, experienced

सर्वम्all (of it)

दमयन्त्याby Damayantī

यथाas, just as

अशुभम्inauspicious, evil

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

Śalya

Jaṭāsura

Kīcaka

Draupadī

Damayantī

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames suffering as a moral and narrative touchstone: Draupadī’s ordeals (caused by violent and lust-driven wrongdoers like Jaṭāsura and Kīcaka) are held up alongside Damayantī’s famed misfortunes, underscoring the ethical condemnation of adharma and the endurance of the righteous amid calamity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya recalls earlier crises faced by the Pāṇḍavas’ household—especially the dangers and humiliations surrounding Draupadī—citing the troubles from Jaṭāsura and Kīcaka, and he compares Draupadī’s inauspicious experiences to the well-known sufferings of Damayantī.