Shloka 1
Kuntī’s Consolation to Draupadī and Lament for the Dispossessed Pandavas (सभा पर्व, अध्याय 70)
अफ्--णक+ सप्ततितमो< ध्याय: दुर्योधनके छल-कपटयुक्त वचन और भीमसेनका रोषपूर्ण उद्गार वैशम्पायन उवाच तथा तु दृष्टवा बहु तत्र देवीं रोरूयमाणां कुररीमिवार्ताम् । नोचुर्वच: साध्वथ वाप्यसाधु महीक्षितो धार्तराष्ट्रस्य भीता:,वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं--जनमेजय! महारानी द्रौपदीको वहाँ आर्त होकर कुररीकी भाँति बहुत विलाप करती देखकर भी सभामें बैठे हुए राजालोग दुर्योधनके भयसे भला या बुरा कुछ भी नहीं कह सके
Vaiśampāyana uvāca | tathā tu dṛṣṭvā bahu tatra devīṃ rorūyamāṇāṃ kurarīm ivārtām | nocur vacaḥ sādhv atha vāpy asādhu mahīkṣito dhārtarāṣṭrasya bhītāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Seeing the queen Draupadī there, crying out loudly in anguish like a kurarī-bird, the kings seated in the assembly—afraid of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son (Duryodhana)—uttered not a word, neither in support of what was right nor in condemnation of what was wrong. The verse highlights how fear and dependence can silence moral judgment in public life.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns moral paralysis: when leaders and elders remain silent out of fear or self-interest, they become complicit in adharma. Ethical speech—supporting the right and censuring the wrong—is presented as a duty, especially in a public assembly.
In the Kuru assembly, Draupadī is in visible distress and cries out loudly. Yet the assembled kings do not speak up—neither praising what is right nor condemning what is wrong—because they fear Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, Duryodhana, who dominates the situation.