Shloka 26
Bhīma–Draupadī Saṃvāda on Restraint, Protection, and the Kīcaka Threat
Virāṭa-parva, Adhyāya 20
कि नु वक्ष्यति सम्राण्मां वर्णक: सुकृतो न वा । नान्यपिष्ट हि मन्स्यस्य चन्दनं किल रोचते,उस समय मैं सोचती हूँ, “न जाने सम्राट् मुझे क्या कहेंगे? यह उबटन अच्छा बना है या नहीं।” मेरे सिवा दूसरेका पीसा हुआ चन्दन मत्स्यराजको अच्छा ही नहीं लगता
ki nu vakṣyati samrāṇ māṁ varṇakaḥ sukṛto na vā | nānyapiṣṭaṁ hi matsyasya candanaṁ kila rocate ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “I keep wondering, ‘What will the king say to me? Has this cosmetic paste been prepared well, or not?’ For, it is said that to the Matsya king, sandalwood paste ground by anyone other than me does not truly please him.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethics of careful service and responsibility: one who serves in a royal household must be attentive to quality and to the expectations of the one served. It also reflects how trust and excellence in a craft can become personally associated with a particular attendant.
A female attendant (in the Virāṭa court context) worries about how the king will judge the cosmetic paste she has prepared, noting that the Matsya king is pleased only by sandalwood paste ground by her, not by others.