Shloka 28
पाण्डवानां वनप्रस्थानवर्णनम् / The Pāṇḍavas’ Departure for the Forest
Vidura’s Report and Portents
द्रौपहुुवाच ददासि चेद् वरं महां वृणोमि भरतर्षभ । सर्वधर्मानुग: श्रीमानदासो<सस््तु युधिछिर:
draūpy uvāca | dadāsi ced varaṁ mahāṁ vṛṇomi bharatarṣabha | sarvadharmānugaḥ śrīmān dāso ’sastu yudhiṣṭhiraḥ ||
Draupadī said: “If you will grant me a boon, O bull among the Bharatas, then I choose this great one: let the illustrious Yudhiṣṭhira—ever following all dharma—be freed from the condition of slavery.”
धृतराष्ट उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid humiliation and legalistic manipulation, Draupadī frames her request in terms of dharma: restoring Yudhiṣṭhira’s rightful status is presented as a moral necessity, not merely a personal favor, emphasizing that righteousness and legitimate personhood cannot be overridden by unjust coercion.
In the Kuru court after the dice-game catastrophe, Draupadī is offered a boon. She chooses a ‘great boon’: that Yudhiṣṭhira—described as noble and devoted to dharma—should no longer be treated as a slave, seeking first to restore her husband’s freedom and dignity.