Shloka 40

Devanagari script

ततो दुःशासनो राजन द्रौपद्या वसनं बलात्‌ | सभामध्ये समाक्षिप्य व्यपाक्रष्ठूं प्रचक्रमे,राजन्‌! तब दुःशासनने उस भरी सभामें द्रौपदीका वस्त्र बलपूर्वक पकड़कर खींचना प्रारम्भ किया

Transliteration

tato duḥśāsano rājan draupadyā vasanaṃ balāt | sabhāmadhye samākṣipya vyapākraṣṭuṃ pracakrame rājan ||

Translation

Then, O King, Duḥśāsana, having seized Draupadī’s garment by force in the midst of the assembly, began to drag it away.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

दुःशासनःDuhshasana

राजन्O king

द्रौपद्याःof Draupadi

वसनम्garment, clothing

बलात्by force

सभामध्येin the middle of the assembly

समाक्षिप्यhaving seized/dragged (and thrown/pulled)

व्यपाकृष्यhaving pulled away/dragged off

प्रचक्रमेbegan (to do), set about

राजन्O king

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Duḥśāsana

Draupadī

Sabhā (royal assembly/court)

vasana (garment)

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 a decisive breach of dharma: power used to dishonor the vulnerable in a public institution (the sabhā) becomes a moral crime that corrodes legitimacy and invites catastrophic consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the royal assembly, Duḥśāsana forcibly grabs Draupadī’s clothing and begins to pull it, escalating the humiliation of Draupadī and intensifying the ethical crisis at the heart of the dice-hall episode.