Shloka 33
द्रौपद्याः भीमसेन-प्रबोधनम्
Draupadī Awakens Bhīmasena
कीचको न च धर्मज्ञो न च मत्स्य: कथंचन । सभासदोअ प्यधर्मज्ञा य एनं॑ पर्युपासते,“कीचकको धर्मका ज्ञान नहीं है और यह मत्स्यराज भी किसी प्रकार धर्मज्ञ नहीं है तथा जो इस अधर्मी राजाके पास बैठते हैं, वे सभासद् भी धर्मके ज्ञाता नहीं हैं!
kīcako na ca dharmajño na ca matsyaḥ kathaṃcana | sabhāsado 'py adharmajñā ye enaṃ paryupāsate ||
Vaiśaṃpāyana said: “Kīcaka is not a knower of dharma, and the king of Matsya is in no way a knower of dharma either. Even the courtiers who sit in attendance upon that unrighteous man are not knowers of dharma—by their complicity they share in the failure of ethical governance.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not only an individual trait but a social responsibility: those who knowingly associate with and enable an unrighteous power-holder become implicated in adharma and lose moral authority.
In the Virāṭa court context, the narrator condemns Kīcaka’s unrighteous conduct and extends the critique to the Matsya king and the courtiers who remain seated in attendance, highlighting a court’s ethical collapse through tolerance and support of wrongdoing.