Shloka 27
पाण्डवानां वनप्रस्थानवर्णनम् / The Pāṇḍavas’ Departure for the Forest
Vidura’s Report and Portents
धृतराष्ट उवाच वरं वृणीष्व पाज्चालि मत्तो यदभिवाञ्छसि । वधूनां हि विशिष्टा मे त्वं धर्मपरमा सती
dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca varaṁ vṛṇīṣva pāñcāli matto yad abhivāñchasi | vadhūnāṁ hi viśiṣṭā me tvaṁ dharmaparāmā satī ||
Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “Choose a boon, O Pāñcālī—whatever you truly desire from me. Among my daughters-in-law you are preeminent, a chaste and steadfast woman devoted to dharma; therefore ask as you wish.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma as a moral standard: a ruler acknowledges virtue and seeks to make amends through a lawful, public grant (vara). It also highlights the ethical weight of honoring a wronged yet dharma-centered person by offering restitution and agency.
In the aftermath of Draupadī’s humiliation in the Kuru assembly, Dhṛtarāṣṭra addresses her respectfully as Pāñcālī and offers her a boon, recognizing her as the foremost among his daughters-in-law and devoted to dharma—setting up her request(s) that will affect the fate of the Pāṇḍavas.