Shloka 16
भीष्मद्रोणयोर्दुर्योधनं प्रति शमोपदेशः | Bhīṣma and Droṇa’s Counsel of Conciliation to Duryodhana
यच्च व: प्रेक्षमाणानां सर्वधर्मोपचायिनाम् । पाज्चाली परुषाप्युक्ता को नु तत् क्षन्तुमहति
yacca vaḥ prekṣamāṇānāṃ sarvadharmopacāyinām | pāñcālī paruṣāpyuktā ko nu tat kṣantum arhati ||
And moreover, while you—who foster the growth of every form of dharma—were looking on, harsh words were spoken to Pāñcālī. Who, indeed, could bear to forgive that?
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames Draupadī’s public insult as a moral outrage witnessed by dharma-upholding heroes, implying that tolerating or forgiving such adharma would itself be ethically untenable; it highlights the tension between forbearance and the duty to uphold justice and honor.
A son (putra) addresses the Pāṇḍavas, recalling that while they were present, Draupadī (Pāñcālī) was subjected to harsh speech; he uses this remembered humiliation to argue that such an offense cannot simply be forgiven, strengthening the case for decisive action.