Shloka 2
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 188 — Draupadī-Vivāha Dharma-Vicāra
Debate on the Legitimacy of One Wife for Five
अस्मानयमतिक्रम्य तृणीकृत्य च संगतान् | दातुमिच्छति विप्राय द्रौपदी योषितां वराम्,“(अहो! देखो तो सही,) यह राजा ट्रुपद (यहाँ) एकत्र हुए हमलोगोंको तिनकेकी तरह तुच्छ समझकर और हमारा उल्लंघन करके युवतियोंमें श्रेष्ठ अपनी कन््याका विवाह एक ब्राह्मणके साथ करना चाहता है
asmān ayam atikramya tṛṇīkṛtya ca saṅgatān | dātum icchati viprāya draupadī yoṣitāṁ varām ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Look at this—King Drupada, disregarding us and treating this assembled company as mere straw, wishes to give Draupadī, the finest among women, in marriage to a brāhmaṇa.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of public honor and due regard for an assembled community: to ignore and belittle others while making a major social-religious decision (a royal marriage alliance) is portrayed as a breach of propriety and dharma.
A speaker (reported by Vaiśampāyana) expresses indignation that King Drupada, bypassing and slighting the gathered people, intends to give Draupadī—celebrated as the foremost of women—in marriage to a brāhmaṇa, implying a contested or surprising match in the context of the assembly.