Shloka 9
धर्म्या स्त्रियं सभां पूर्वे न नयन्तीति न: श्रुतम् । स नष्ट: कौरवेयेषु पूर्वो धर्म: सनातन:,मैंने सुना है, पहले लोग धर्मपरायणा स्त्रीको कभी सभामें नहीं लाते थे, किंतु इन कौरवोंके समाजमें वह प्राचीन सनातनधर्म नष्ट हो गया है
dharmyāṁ striyaṁ sabhāṁ pūrve na nayantīti naḥ śrutam | sa naṣṭaḥ kauraveyeṣu pūrvo dharmaḥ sanātanaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “We have heard that in earlier times people did not bring a righteous woman into the royal assembly. Yet among the Kauravas that ancient, eternal standard of dharma has been destroyed.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns the collapse of established dharma: a righteous woman should not be dragged into a public court for humiliation. It frames the Kauravas’ conduct as a violation of an ancient, enduring ethical norm.
In the context of the dice-hall events, the narrator remarks that tradition forbids bringing a virtuous woman into the assembly; nevertheless, the Kauravas have allowed (and caused) this breach, showing that their society has abandoned the old dharma.