Shloka 14
Role-Allocation in Virāṭa’s Court: Nakula, Sahadeva, and Draupadī’s Concealment
युधिछिर उवाच इयं हि नः प्रिया भार्या प्राणेभ्योडपि गरीयसी । मातेव परिपाल्या च पूज्या ज्येछ्रेव च स्वसा,युधिष्ठिर बोले--यह ट्रुपदकुमारी कृष्णा हमलोगोंकी प्यारी भार्या है। इसका गौरव हमारे लिये प्राणोंसे भी बढ़कर है। यह माता (पृथ्वी)-की भाँति पालन करनेयोग्य तथा बड़ी बहन (धेनु)-के समान आदरणीय है। यह तो दूसरी स्त्रियोंकी भाँति कोई काम-काज भी नहीं जानती; फिर वहाँ किस कर्मका आश्रय लेकर निवास करेगी?
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | iyaṃ hi naḥ priyā bhāryā prāṇebhyo 'pi garīyasī | māteva paripālyā ca pūjyā jyeṣṭheva ca svasā |
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “This woman is our beloved wife, dearer to us even than our own lives. She must be protected like a mother and honored like an elder sister.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical duty: a wife—especially one regarded as exceptionally precious—is to be safeguarded and treated with reverence, not merely as a spouse but with the protective respect due to a mother and the honor due to an elder sister. It emphasizes restraint, responsibility, and dignity in familial relationships.
In the Virāṭa Parva, as the Pāṇḍavas plan their concealed year (ajñātavāsa), Yudhiṣṭhira speaks about Draupadī (Kṛṣṇā), stressing how dear and venerable she is and implying the need to place her in a situation where she will be protected and respected during their incognito stay.