Shloka 3
पुनर्द्यूत-समाह्वानम्
Renewed Summons to the Dice-Game and Exile Wager
वैशग्पायन उवाच एवमुक्त: प्रातिकामी स सूत: प्रायाच्छीघ्रं राजवचो निशम्य । प्रविश्य च श्वेव हि सिंहगोएछ्ठं समासदन्महिषीं पाण्डवानाम्,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! दुर्योधनके ऐसा कहनेपर राजाकी आज्ञा शिरोधार्य करके वह सूत प्रातिकामी शीघ्र चला गया एवं जैसे कुत्ता सिंहकी माँदमें घुसे, उसी प्रकार उस राजभवनमें प्रवेश करके वह पाण्डवोंकी महारानीके पास गया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | evam uktaḥ prātikāmī sa sūtaḥ prāyāc chīghraṃ rājavaco niśamya | praviśya ca śva eva hi siṃhagoṣṭhaṃ samāsadan mahiṣīṃ pāṇḍavānām ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Thus addressed, Prātikāmī—the charioteer-messenger—on hearing the king’s command, set out at once. Entering the royal residence like a dog slipping into a lion’s den, he approached the chief queen of the Pāṇḍavas.
वैशग्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical strain created when a subordinate carries out a ruler’s command that leads toward wrongdoing: obedience to power can place one in moral danger, and the simile ‘like a dog in a lion’s den’ signals the peril and impropriety of the mission in the presence of the righteous.
After Duryodhana’s instruction is given, Prātikāmī promptly departs, enters the royal quarters, and approaches the Pāṇḍavas’ chief queen (Draupadī), with the narration emphasizing the risky, tense nature of this approach.