Shloka 2
पाण्डवानां वनप्रस्थानवर्णनम् / The Pāṇḍavas’ Departure for the Forest
Vidura’s Report and Portents
प्रविश्य राज्ञ: परिवारं भजस्व तत् ते कार्य शिष्टमादिश्यतेडत्र ईशास्तु सर्वे तव राजपुत्रि भवन्ति वै धार्तराष्ट्रा न पार्था: 4 २ ॥। राजकुमारी! अतः अब तुम राजा दुर्योधनके परिवारमें जाकर सबकी सेवा करो। यही कार्य तुम्हारे लिये शेष बचा है
praviśya rājñaḥ parivāraṃ bhajasva tat te kāryaṃ śiṣṭam ādiśyate ’tra | īśās tu sarve tava rājaputri bhavanti vai dhārtarāṣṭrā na pārthāḥ || 2 ||
Karna said: “Enter the king’s household and serve there. This is the only duty left to you; it is what is being commanded to you here. From today, O princess, all the sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra are your masters—not the sons of Pṛthā (Kuntī).”
कर्ण उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse illustrates how power can be asserted through coercive redefinition of social bonds—declaring new “masters” and forcing service. Ethically, it highlights adharma: authority is claimed not by righteousness but by domination, and a woman’s autonomy is denied in the name of political victory.
In the royal assembly context of the dice-game aftermath, Karna addresses the princess (understood in this episode as Draupadī) and orders her to enter the king’s household and serve, declaring that the Kauravas (sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra) are now her lords, not the Pāṇḍavas (sons of Kuntī).