Shloka 28

Devanagari script

ततः समुत्थाय सुदुर्मना: सा विवर्णमामृज्य मुखं करेण । आर्ता प्रदुद्राव यतः स्त्रियस्ता वृद्धस्य राज्ञ: कुरुपुड्रवस्थ,यह सुनकर द्रौपदीका हृदय अत्यन्त दु:खित होने लगा। उसने अपने मलिन मुखको हाथसे पोंछा। फिर उठकर वह आर्त अबला उसी ओर भागी, जहाँ बूढ़े महाराज धृतराष्ट्रकी स्त्रियाँ बैठी हुई थीं

Transliteration

tataḥ samutthāya sudurmanāḥ sā vivarṇam āmṛjya mukhaṃ kareṇa | ārtā pradudrāva yataḥ striyās tā vṛddhasya rājñaḥ kurupuṅgavasyāḥ ||

Translation

Then she rose, her mind overwhelmed with grief. Wiping her pale, discolored face with her hand, the distressed woman ran toward the place where the wives of the aged king—Dhṛtarāṣṭra, the foremost of the Kurus—were seated.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

समुत्थायhaving risen up

सुदुर्मनाःvery sorrowful, deeply distressed

साshe

विवर्णम्pale, discolored

आमृज्यhaving wiped

मुखम्face

करेणwith (her) hand

आर्ताafflicted, distressed

प्रदुद्रावran forth, rushed

यतःwhere, whither

स्त्रियःwomen

ताःthose (women)

वृद्धस्यof the aged

राज्ञःof the king

कुरुपाण्डवस्थाःsituated among the Kurus and the Pाण्डवs (i.e., belonging to that household)

Speaker

दुर्योधन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Draupadī

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

wives of Dhṛtarāṣṭra (royal women)

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 highlights the ethical breakdown of the royal court: when dharma fails to protect the vulnerable, the afflicted seek shelter among elders and the inner household. It implicitly condemns a polity where a woman’s distress is met not with justice but with fear-driven flight.

What is happening in the narrative?

Draupadī, overwhelmed and visibly shaken, wipes her pale face and runs toward the seated wives of the aged King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, seeking refuge and support within the women’s quarters/assembly area.