Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 47
द्रौपदी-भीमसेनसंवादः
Draupadī–Bhīmasena Dialogue on Suffering, Kāla, and Daiva
भारत! कुन्तीकुमार! इनसे भी भारी दूसरे दुःख मुझपर आ पड़े हैं, उनका भी वर्णन करती हूँ, सुनो ।।
yūṣmāsu priyamāṇeṣu duḥkhāni vividhāny uta | śoṣayanti śarīraṃ me ki nu duḥkham ataḥ param ||
“While you—my beloved ones—are still alive, manifold sorrows nonetheless wither my very body. What grief could possibly be greater than this?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of inner suffering: even when loved ones survive, relentless adversity can feel worse than death, underscoring the need for fortitude (dhairya) and steadfastness in dharma amid hardship.
In the Virāṭa Parva context, Kuntī voices her anguish about the Pāṇḍavas’ ongoing trials; despite her sons being alive, the continuing miseries ‘wither’ her body, and she asks what sorrow could exceed such a state.