यज्ञवाटवैभववर्णनम् / Description of the Splendour of the Sacrificial Enclosure
सख्यु: सखा हृषीकेश: साक्षादिव धनंजय: । उस समय द्रुपदकुमारी कृष्णाने भगवान् श्रीकृष्णकी ओर तिरछी चितवनसे ईर्ष्यापूर्वक देखा। केशिहन्ता श्रीकृष्णने द्रौपदीके उस प्रेमपूर्ण उपालम्भको सानन्द ग्रहण किया; क्योंकि उसकी दृष्टिमें सखा अर्जुनके मित्र भगवान् हृषीकेश साक्षात् अर्जुनके ही समान थे
sakhyuḥ sakhā hṛṣīkeśaḥ sākṣād iva dhanañjayaḥ |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “Hṛṣīkeśa (Śrī Kṛṣṇa) is truly the friend of one’s friend; to Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) he is as if Arjuna himself.” At that moment Draupadī (Kṛṣṇā), Drupada’s daughter, cast a sidelong, jealous glance toward Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Keśihantā Śrī Kṛṣṇa received her affectionate, love-tinged reproach with delight, for in her eyes the Lord—Arjuna’s intimate companion—was virtually identical with Arjuna.
युधिष्ठिर उवाच
The verse highlights the ethic of loyal friendship: Kṛṣṇa is portrayed as so intimately aligned with Arjuna that he is ‘as if Arjuna himself.’ It also normalizes human emotion within dharmic relationships—Draupadī’s jealousy becomes an affectionate upālambha, received without anger, suggesting that love and restraint can transform potentially divisive feelings into deeper trust.
Yudhiṣṭhira remarks on the extraordinary closeness between Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna. In the scene, Draupadī gives Kṛṣṇa a sidelong, jealous look—an intimate, love-filled complaint—while Kṛṣṇa, called Keśihantā, accepts it joyfully, understanding her feeling as rooted in affection and in her perception that Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna are inseparable.