Shloka 5
Mahāprasthānika-parva Adhyāya 2: The Northward March, Sight of Himavat and Meru, and the Sequential Falls
नाधर्मश्चरित: कश्रिद् राजपुत्र्या परंतप । कारणं कि नु तद् ब्रूहि यत् कृष्णा पतिता भुवि,'परंतप! राजकुमारी द्रौपदीने कभी कोई पाप नहीं किया था। फिर बताइये, कौन-सा कारण है, जिससे वह नीचे गिर गयी?”
nādharmas caritaḥ kaścid rājaputryā parantapa | kāraṇaṃ ki nu tad brūhi yat kṛṣṇā patitā bhuvi ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O scorcher of foes, the princess (Draupadī) committed no unrighteous act at all. Tell me, then—what was the cause because of which Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) fell down upon the earth?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames a dharmic problem: even a person perceived as blameless may still meet a painful consequence, prompting inquiry into subtle causes (kāraṇa) and the moral logic of karma beyond obvious ‘sin’ (adharma).
During the great departure (mahāprasthāna), Draupadī collapses on the journey. The speaker highlights that she did not commit adharma and asks Yudhiṣṭhira to explain the specific cause for her fall.