Shloka 54
पुनर्द्यूत-समाह्वानम्
Renewed Summons to the Dice-Game and Exile Wager
तां कृष्यमाणां च रजस्वलां च स्रस्तोत्तरीयामतदर्हमाणाम् । वृकोदर: प्रेक्ष्य युधिष्ठिरं च चकार कोपं परमार्तरूप:
tāṁ kṛṣyamāṇāṁ ca rajasvalāṁ ca srastottarīyām atad-arhamāṇām | vṛkodaraḥ prekṣya yudhiṣṭhiraṁ ca cakāra kopaṁ paramārta-rūpaḥ ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Al ver a Kṛṣṇā arrastrada mientras estaba en su período—con la prenda superior deslizándose suelta—pese a no merecer en absoluto tal humillación, Vṛkodara (Bhīma) fue presa de una angustia intensa. Mirando hacia Yudhiṣṭhira, estalló en una ira feroz, herido hasta lo más hondo por la violación de la dignidad y del dharma ante sus propios ojos.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical collapse that occurs when a vulnerable person’s dignity is violated in public and elders remain passive. Bhīma’s anguish and anger underscore that dharma is not merely personal virtue but a social duty: protecting the undeserving from humiliation and resisting adharma, especially when power structures enable abuse.
In the Kuru assembly after the dice-game, Draupadī (Kṛṣṇā) is forcibly dragged in a state of menstruation, her upper cloth slipping. Bhīma (Vṛkodara) witnesses this and, looking toward Yudhiṣṭhira—whose gambling loss has precipitated the crisis—erupts in furious, grief-stricken anger.