Shloka 23
पुनर्द्यूत-समाह्वानम्
Renewed Summons to the Dice-Game and Exile Wager
ततस्त्वेषां मुखमालोक्य राजा दुर्योधन: सूतमुवाच ह्ृष्ट: । इहैवैतामानय प्रातिकामिन् प्रत्यक्षमस्या: कुरवो ब्रुवन्तु,उनके दीन मुँहकी ओर देखकर राजा दुर्योधन अत्यन्त प्रसन्न हो सूतसे बोला --'प्रातिकामिन्! तुम द्रौपदीको यहीं ले आओ। उसके सामने ही धर्मात्मा कौरव उसके प्रश्नोंका उत्तर देंगे”
tatas tveṣāṁ mukham ālokya rājā duryodhanaḥ sūtam uvāca hṛṣṭaḥ | ihaivaitām ānaya prātikāmin pratyakṣam asyāḥ kuravo bruvantu ||
Then King Duryodhana, seeing their downcast faces, spoke with delight to the charioteer: “Prātikāmin, bring her here at once. Let the Kuru elders answer her questions directly, in her very presence.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how appeals to ‘dharma’ and elder authority can be weaponized to mask injustice. Duryodhana’s joy at others’ dejection and his demand for a public, face-to-face ‘answer’ signals coercion and humiliation rather than sincere ethical deliberation.
After observing the assembly’s downcast reaction, Duryodhana instructs the sūta (messenger/charioteer) to bring Draupadī into the hall immediately, insisting that the Kurus respond to her questions directly in her presence—setting the stage for a public confrontation in the royal court.