Shloka 27

Draupadī’s Grief at Seeing the Heroes in Disguise (द्रौपदी-विषादः / वेष-परिभव-वर्णनम्)

Devanagari script

पार्थिवा: पृथिवीपाला यस्यासन्‌ वशवर्तिन: । स वशे विवशो राजा परेषामद्य वर्तते,इस पृथ्वीका पालन करनेवाले बहुत-से भूपाल जिनकी आज्ञाके अधीन थे, वे ही महाराज आज विवश होकर दूसरोंके वशमें रहते हैं

Transliteration

pārthivāḥ pṛthivīpālā yasyāsan vaśavartinaḥ | sa vaśe vivaśo rājā pareṣām adya vartate ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Viele Könige — Hüter der Erde — standen einst unter seinem Befehl. Doch heute muss eben dieser Monarch, der seiner Freiheit beraubt ist, unter der Gewalt anderer leben.“

Word by Word

पार्थिवाःkings, rulers

पृथिवीपालाःprotectors of the earth (kings)

यस्यof whom, whose

आसन्were

वशवर्तिनःobedient, under (his) control

सःhe, that (king)

वशेin the power/control

विवशःhelpless, powerless

राजाking

परेषाम्of others

अद्यtoday, now

वर्ततेexists/remains, is situated, lives (under)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

rājā (the king, unnamed here)

pārthivāḥ/pṛthivīpālāḥ (other kings)

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?

Worldly power is unstable: those who once commanded many can, through changing fortune and circumstance, become dependent on others. The verse implicitly urges humility in sovereignty and steadiness in adversity.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator Vaiśampāyana comments on a dramatic reversal: a king who formerly had many subordinate rulers is now himself compelled to live under others’ control, highlighting the precariousness of royal authority.