Shloka 17
Bhīma–Draupadī Saṃvāda on Restraint, Protection, and the Kīcaka Threat
Virāṭa-parva, Adhyāya 20
नादैविकमहं मन्ये यत्र पार्थो धनंजय: । भीमधन्वा महाबाहुरास्ते छन्न इवानल:,भीमसेन! तुम्हीं जानते हो, पहले मुझे कितना सुख था। यहाँ आकर जबसे मैं दासीभावको प्राप्त हुई हूँ, तभीसे परतन्त्र होनेके कारण मुझे तनिक भी शान्ति नहीं मिलती है। इसे मैं दैवकी ही लीला मानती हूँ। जहाँ प्रचण्ड धनुष धारण करनेवाले महाबाहु अर्जुन भी राखसे ढकी हुई अग्निकी भाँति रनिवासमें छिपकर रहते हैं
na daivikam ahaṃ manye yatra pārtho dhanaṃjayaḥ | bhīmadhanvā mahābāhur āste channa ivānalaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Ich halte dies nicht für bloßes Werk des Schicksals, wenn Pārtha Dhanaṃjaya—mächtig an den Armen, einen furchtbaren Bogen tragend—im Frauengemach verborgen bleiben muss wie Feuer, das von Asche bedeckt ist.“
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between attributing suffering to fate (daiva) and recognizing the moral weight of circumstances: even a heroic kṣatriya like Arjuna may be compelled to conceal his power. It underscores endurance and disciplined restraint—strength held back until the proper time—rather than fatalistic resignation.
In the Virāṭa episode, the Pāṇḍavas live incognito to complete their exile conditions. The speaker remarks that it cannot be explained as mere fate that Arjuna (Pārtha Dhanaṃjaya), a mighty warrior with a fearsome bow, must stay hidden in the inner apartments, compared to fire concealed beneath ashes.