Shloka 19
एकव्स्त्रा प्ररुदती मुक्तकेशी रजस्वला । शोणितेनाक्तवसना द्रौपदी वाक्यमब्रवीत्,द्रौपदीके शरीरपर एक ही वस्त्र था, उसके बाल खुले हुए थे, वह रजस्वला थी और उसके कपड़ोंमें रक्त (रज)-का दाग लगा हुआ था, उसने रोते हुए यह बात कही थी
ekavastrā prarudatī muktakeśī rajasvalā | śoṇitenāktavasanā draupadī vākyam abravīt |
Vidura said: Drapadī, wearing only a single garment, weeping, with her hair loosened, and in her menstrual period—her clothing stained with blood—spoke these words. The scene reveals a grave violation of dignity and dharma, as a woman is publicly humiliated in a royal assembly, turning the court into a witness of adharma.
विदुर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how public institutions collapse when they tolerate humiliation and injustice. A court that witnesses the stripping of dignity—especially of a vulnerable person—becomes complicit in adharma, making the protection of honor and lawful conduct a central demand of dharma.
Vidura describes Draupadī entering or being presented in the royal assembly in a state of extreme distress: she is weeping, her hair is unbound, she has only one garment, and she is menstruating with blood-stained clothing. In this condition she speaks, marking the intensity of the outrage and the moral crisis in the sabhā.