Shloka 38

Devanagari script

यत्र सा बृहती श्यामा बुद्धिसत्त्वगुणान्विता । द्रौपदी योषितां श्रेष्ठा यत्र चैव गता मम,'दैत्यसूदन! अपने भाइयोंके बिना मुझे यहाँ रहनेका उत्साह नहीं होता; अतः मैं वहीं जाना चाहता हूँ, जहाँ मेरे भाई गये हैं तथा जहाँ ऊँचे कदवाली, श्यामवर्णा, बुद्धिमती सत्त्वगुणसम्पन्ना एवं युवतियोंमें श्रेष्ठ मेरी द्रौपदी गयी है

Transliteration

yatra sā bṛhatī śyāmā buddhisattvaguṇānvitā | draupadī yoṣitāṃ śreṣṭhā yatra caiva gatā mama ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “I too wish to go to that very place where my Draupadī has gone—tall of stature, dark-hued, endowed with intelligence and the sāttvika virtues, the foremost among women.”

Word by Word

यत्रwhere

साshe (that woman)

बृहतीtall/large

श्यामाdark-complexioned

बुद्धि-सत्त्व-गुण-अन्विताendowed with intellect, sattva, and virtues

द्रौपदीDraupadi

योषिताम्of women

श्रेष्ठाbest/excellent

यत्रwhere

चand

एवindeed/just

गताgone

ममmy/of me

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Draupadī

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores steadfast attachment to dharmic companionship even at life’s end: the speaker’s resolve is not for worldly gain but to follow those who have already departed, highlighting renunciation, acceptance of mortality, and the honoring of virtue (sattva, buddhi) embodied by Draupadī.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Mahāprasthānika context of the great departure, the narration points to Draupadī having already fallen/left on the journey; the speaker expresses the wish to proceed to the same destination where she has gone, describing her qualities and eminence among women.