Shloka 53
(न सा सभा यत्र न सन्ति वृद्धा नते वृद्धा ये न वदन्ति धर्मम् नासौ धर्मों यत्र न सत्यमस्ति न तत् सत्यं यच्छलेनानुविद्धम् ।।) वह सभा नहीं है जहाँ वृद्ध पुरुष न हों, वे वृद्ध नहीं हैं जो धर्मकी बात न बतावें, वह धर्म नहीं है जिसमें सत्य न हो और वह सत्य नहीं है जो छलसे युक्त हो। वैशम्पायन उवाच तथा ब्रुवन्तीं करुणं रुदन्ती- मवेक्षमाणां कृपणान् पतींस्तान् । दुःशासन: परुषाण्यप्रियाणि वाक्यान्युवाचामधुराणि चैव,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! इस प्रकार द्रौपदी करुणस्वरमें बोलकर रोती हुई अपने दीन पतियोंकी ओर देखने लगी। उस समय दुःशासनने उसके प्रति कितने ही अप्रिय कठोर एवं कटुवचन कहे
na sā sabhā yatra na santi vṛddhā
nate vṛddhā ye na vadanti dharmam |
nāsau dharmo yatra na satyam asti
na tat satyaṃ yac chale'nanuviddham ||
vaiśampāyana uvāca |
tathā bruvantīṃ karuṇaṃ rudantīm
avekṣamāṇāṃ kṛpaṇān patīṃs tān |
duḥśāsanaḥ paruṣāṇy apriyāṇi
vākyāny uvāca amadhurāṇi caiva ||
“That is no assembly where elders are not present. Those are not truly elders who do not speak of dharma. That is not dharma in which truth is absent; and that is not truth which is tainted by deceit.” Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya, as Draupadī spoke thus in a voice of anguish, weeping and looking toward her wretched husbands, Duḥśāsana addressed her with many harsh, unwelcome, and bitter words.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A legitimate court depends on morally courageous elders who uphold dharma by speaking truth. Dharma is inseparable from satya, and ‘truth’ loses its status when it is mixed with deceit (chala).
In the Kuru assembly, Draupadī laments the failure of the elders and the collapse of justice. As she weeps and looks to her husbands for support, Duḥśāsana responds with cruel, insulting speech, intensifying her humiliation.