Shloka 10
Chapter 59: Baladeva’s Censure, Keśava’s Restraint, and Yudhiṣṭhira’s Moral Accounting
रजस्वलां द्रौपदीमानयन् ये ये चाप्यकुर्वन्त सदस्यवस्त्राम् । तान् पश्यध्वं पाण्डवैर्धार्तहराष्ट्रान् रणे हतांस्तपसा याज्ञसेन्या:,“जिन लोगोंने रजस्वला द्रौपदीको सभामें बुलाया, जिन्होंने उसे भरी सभामें नंगी करनेका प्रयत्न किया, उन्हीं धृतराष्ट्रपुत्रोंको द्रौषपदीकी तपस्यासे पाण्डवोंने रणभूमिमें मार गिराया, यह सब लोग देख लो
rajasvalāṃ draupadīm ānayan ye ye cāpy akurvanta sadasya-vastrām | tān paśyadhvaṃ pāṇḍavair dhārtarāṣṭrān raṇe hatāṃs tapasā yājñasenyāḥ ||
Sañjaya said: “Behold those very sons of Dhritarashtra—those who dragged Draupadi while she was in her season and those who sought to strip her in the royal assembly. By the Pandavas they have been struck down on the battlefield, brought to ruin by the power of Yajnaseni’s austerity and righteous resolve.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Public humiliation and adharma committed in the assembly ripen into catastrophic consequences. The verse frames the Kauravas’ downfall as not only military defeat by the Pandavas but also as the moral-spiritual repercussion of violating Draupadi’s dignity, with her tapas (righteous suffering and resolve) functioning as an ethical force.
Sanjaya points out to Dhritarashtra that the very men who dragged Draupadi and attempted to disrobe her in the court are now lying slain in the war. He connects their deaths to the Pandavas’ victory and to Draupadi (Yajnaseni)’s tapas, emphasizing the reversal of fortune from courtroom outrage to battlefield retribution.