Shloka 62
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
सभायां सूतज: कृष्णां स कथं निहतः परै: । रणभूमिमें जिसके भयसे डरे हुए पुरुषशिरोमणि धर्मराज युधिष्ठिरने तेरह वर्षोतक कभी अच्छी तरह नींद नहीं ली, जिस महामनस्वी बलवान सूतपुत्रके बलका भरोसा करके मेरा पुत्र दुर्योधन पाण्डवोंकी पत्नीको बलपूर्वक सभामें घसीट लाया और वहाँ भी भरी सभामें उसने पाण्डवोंके देखते-देखते समस्त कुरुवंशियोंके समीप पांचालराजकुमारीको दासपत्नी बतलाया, साथ ही जिसने उसे सम्बोधित करके कहा--“कृष्णे! तेरे पति अब नहींके बराबर हैं। ये सभी थोथे तिलोंके समान नपुंसक हो गये हैं। सुन्दरि! अब तू दूसरे किसी पतिका आश्रय ले' पूर्वकालमें जिस सूतपुत्रने सभामें रोषपूर्वक द्रौपदीको ये कठोर बातें सुनायी थीं, वह स्वयं शत्रुओंद्वारा कैसे मारा गया? || ५७--६१ ई || यदि भीष्मो रणश्लाघी द्रोणो वा युधि दुर्मद:,जिसने मेरे पुत्रसे कहा था कि दुर्योधन! यदि युद्धकी श्लाघा रखनेवाले भीष्म अथवा रणदुर्मद द्रोणाचार्य पक्षपात करनेके कारण कुन्तीपुत्रोंकोी नहीं मारेंगे तो मैं उन सबको मार डालूँगा। तुम्हारी मानसिक चिन्ता दूर हो जानी चाहिये
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
sabhāyāṃ sūtajaḥ kṛṣṇāṃ sa kathaṃ nihataḥ paraiḥ |
raṇabhūmau yasya bhayād drutāḥ puruṣaśiromaṇayaḥ dharmarājo yudhiṣṭhiraḥ trayodaśa varṣāṇi kadācid api suṣuptiṃ na lebhe |
yasya balāśrayād mama putro duryodhanaḥ pāṇḍavānāṃ patnīṃ balāt sabhāyāṃ ānīya, tatraiva bhariṣṭhāyāṃ sabhāyāṃ pāṇḍavān paśyataḥ sarvakurūṇāṃ samīpe pāñcālarājakumārīṃ dāsapatnīm iti nyavedayat |
sa ca tāṃ sambodhya uvāca— “kṛṣṇe! tava patayo ’dya nāstīva; ete sarve tuṣāḥ tilā iva klībāḥ; sundari! anyasya patyur āśrayaṃ vraja” iti |
pūrvam evaṃ sabhāyāṃ roṣāt draupadīṃ prati kaṭhorāṇi vacāṃsi śrutvā, sa sūtaputraḥ śatrubhiḥ kathaṃ nihataḥ ||
yadi bhīṣmo raṇaślāghī droṇo vā yudhi durmadaḥ pakṣapātāt kuntīputrān na haniṣyati, tadāham tān sarvān haniṣyāmi; tava mānasī cintā praśāmyatām iti ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “How was that charioteer’s son slain by his enemies—the very one who, in the assembly, abused Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī)? It was from fear of him on the battlefield that even the foremost of men trembled, and Dharma-rāja Yudhiṣṭhira, haunted by that dread, did not sleep soundly through the thirteen years. Relying on his strength, my son Duryodhana dragged the Pāṇḍavas’ wife into the hall by force; and there, before the full assembly and in the sight of the Pāṇḍavas, he proclaimed the princess of Pāñcāla to be a slave-wife in the presence of all the Kurus. Addressing her, he spoke cruelly: ‘Kṛṣṇe! Your husbands are as good as dead; all of them have become impotent like empty husks—fair one, seek the shelter of another husband.’ How could that same Sūta’s son—who once, in wrath, hurled such harsh words at Draupadī in the royal court—be brought down by foes? And he had even assured Duryodhana: ‘If Bhīṣma, proud of battle, or Droṇa, fierce in war, will not kill the sons of Kuntī out of partiality, then I myself will slay them all; let your mental anxiety be dispelled.’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights how cruel speech and public humiliation—especially against a vulnerable person—are grave adharma that generate lasting moral consequences. It also critiques pride in strength: confidence built on violence and contempt can collapse, and past wrongdoing becomes a lens through which later downfall is judged.
Vaiśampāyana recalls Karṇa’s earlier role in the dice-hall outrage: his harsh words toward Draupadī and his support of Duryodhana’s coercion. Against that background, the narrator raises the pointed question of how such a formidable warrior—who even promised to kill the Pāṇḍavas if Bhīṣma and Droṇa would not—could later be slain by enemies in the war.