Shloka 46
पतिभि: पड्चभि: शूरैरग्निकल्पै: प्रहारिभि: । उपपन्ना महेष्वासैद्रौपदी दुःखभागिनी,“हाय! जो महाथनुर्थधर, शूरवीर, युद्धकुशल तथा अग्नितुल्य तेजस्वी पाँच पतियोंसे युक्त है, वह द्रपदकुमारी कृष्णा भी दुःखभागिनी हो गयी
patibhiḥ pañcabhiḥ śūrair agnikalpaiḥ prahāribhiḥ | upapannā maheṣvāsaiḥ draupadī duḥkhabhāginī ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “Alas! Draupadī—Drupada’s daughter—though she was joined to five heroic husbands, mighty archers, fierce in battle and blazing like fire in their prowess, nevertheless became a sharer in sorrow.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights that external supports—strength, fame, martial skill, and powerful protectors—cannot by themselves prevent suffering. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, when adharma gains ground and social/political order is corrupted, even the well-protected may be driven into distress; thus true security is tied to dharma, not merely to power.
Vaiśampāyana comments on Draupadī’s condition: despite being married to five formidable Pāṇḍava heroes—great archers and fearsome fighters—she has become ‘duḥkhabhāginī,’ a participant in sorrow. It serves as a poignant narrative observation during the tense pre-war developments of the Udyoga Parva.