Shloka 31
द्रौपद्याः भीमसेन-प्रबोधनम्
Draupadī Awakens Bhīmasena
न राजा राजवत् किंचित् समाचरति कीचके । दस्यूनामिव धर्मस्ते न हि संसदि शोभते,“यह राजा होकर भी कीचकके प्रति कुछ भी राजोचित न्याय नहीं कर रहा है। मत्स्यराज! तुम्हारा यह लुटेरोंका-सा धर्म इस राजसभामें शोभा नहीं देता। तुम्हारे निकट इस कीचकढद्वारा मुझपर मार पड़ी, यह कदापि उचित नहीं कहा जा सकता। यहाँ जो सभासद् बैठे हैं, वे भी कीचकका यह अत्याचार देखें
na rājā rājavat kiñcit samācarati kīcake | dasyūnām iva dharmas te na hi saṃsadi śobhate ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “This king does not act in any way as a king should toward Kīcaka. O Matsya-king, this ‘law’ of yours—like that of bandits—does not befit a royal assembly. That I should be struck here by Kīcaka in your very presence cannot be called proper; and the courtiers seated here are witnesses to this outrage.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Royal authority is validated by rājadharma—impartial justice and protection within the court. When a ruler tolerates a powerful offender, the ‘dharma’ operating becomes indistinguishable from banditry and is unworthy of a public assembly.
In the Matsya court, Kīcaka commits violence, and the king fails to restrain or punish him. The speaker condemns this failure as unkingly conduct, declaring that such lawlessness disgraces the assembly and that the courtiers are witnesses to the wrongdoing.