Shloka 117
समन्तपञ्चक-आख्यानम् तथा अक्षौहिणी-प्रमाणनिर्णयः
Samantapañcaka Narrative and the Measure of an Akṣauhiṇī
पज्चेन्द्राणामुपाख्यानमत्रैवाद्धुतमुच्यते । द्रौपद्या देवविहितो विवाहश्नाप्यमानुष:,इसी वैवाहिकपर्वमें पाँच इन्द्रोंका अदभुत उपाख्यान और द्रौपदीके देवविहित तथा मनुष्य-परम्पराके विपरीत विवाहका वर्णन हुआ है
pañcendrāṇām upākhyānam atraivādbhūtam ucyate | draupadyā devavihito vivāhaś cāpy amānuṣaḥ ||
Here itself is narrated the wondrous tale of the five Indras, and also Draupadī’s marriage—ordained by the gods and yet extraordinary, standing outside the usual human convention. In this wedding-episode, the text frames an event that challenges social norms while asserting a higher, divinely sanctioned order, inviting reflection on how dharma may sometimes be upheld through exceptional, providential arrangements.
राम उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse signals that certain pivotal events—especially those that appear to violate ordinary custom—are to be understood through a higher framework of dharma grounded in divine ordinance and mythic precedent (the ‘wondrous’ upākhyāna). It prepares the reader to judge the episode not merely by social convention but by the text’s larger moral-cosmic rationale.
The narrator announces the contents of this section: a marvellous embedded tale concerning the ‘five Indras’ and the account of Draupadī’s marriage, described as divinely arranged and extraordinary (i.e., not following typical human marital convention).