Shloka 256
Adhyaya 11 — Draupadī’s Grief, Demand for Justice, and Bhīma’s Departure
मामप्युद्धृतवान् कृच्छात् पौलोमीं मघवानिव । “इसी प्रकार हिडिम्बासुरसे भेंट होनेपर भी आप ही उनके आश्रयदाता हुए। विराटनगरमें जब कीचकने मुझे बहुत तंग कर दिया, तब उस महान् संकटसे आपने मेरा भी उसी तरह उद्धार किया, जैसे इन्द्रने शवीका किया था
mām apy uddhṛtavān kṛcchrāt paulomīṃ maghavān iva |
Vaiśampāyana said: “You rescued me too from a grievous peril—just as Maghavān (Indra) once delivered Paulomī. In the same way, when the encounter with the asura Hiḍimba occurred, you became their refuge and protector; and in Virāṭa’s city, when Kīcaka tormented me greatly, you saved me from that great calamity, as Indra saved Paulomī.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharmic guardianship: a righteous protector does not abandon those in distress. Ethical excellence is shown through timely rescue, steadfast refuge-giving, and compassionate intervention during crises.
The speaker recalls being saved from severe danger and compares that deliverance to Indra’s rescue of Paulomī. The surrounding prose context links this motif of protection to earlier episodes—Hiḍimba’s encounter and the harassment by Kīcaka in Virāṭa’s city—emphasizing repeated acts of safeguarding.