Shloka 10

Devanagari script

महाप्राज्ञ: सौमकिर्यज्ञसेन: कन्यां पाज्चालीं पाण्डवेभ्य: प्रदाय | अकार्षीद्‌ वै सुकृतं नेह किंचित्‌ क्लीबा: पार्था: पतयो याज्ञसेन्या:

Transliteration

mahāprājñaḥ saumikir yajñasenaḥ kanyāṃ pāñcālīṃ pāṇḍavebhyaḥ pradāya | akārsīd vai sukṛtaṃ neha kiṃcit klībāḥ pārthāḥ patayo yājñasenyāḥ ||

Translation

Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Aunque Yajñasena (Drupada) era de gran inteligencia, no realizó mérito verdadero al entregar a su hija Pāñcālī a los Pāṇḍavas; pues a los hijos de Pṛthā (los Pārthas), esposos de Yajñasenī, se los llama aquí “impotentes”: una censura cruel que alude a su humillación e incapacidad del momento, más que a un juicio definitivo sobre su valía.»

Word by Word

• {'mahāprājñaḥ': 'very wise

• of great intelligence', 'saumakiḥ': 'descendant of Somaka

• of the Somaka lineage (epithet)', 'yajñasenaḥ': 'Yajñasena, i.e., King Drupada (proper name/epithet)', 'kanyām': 'daughter

• maiden', 'pāñcālīm': 'the Pāñcāla princess

• Draupadī', 'pāṇḍavebhyaḥ': 'to the Pāṇḍavas', 'pradāya': 'having given (in marriage)

• after giving', 'akārsīt': 'did

• performed', 'vai': 'indeed

• certainly (emphatic particle)', 'sukṛtam': 'a good/meritorious deed

• virtuous act', 'na iha kiṃcit': 'not at all here

• nothing (of that sort)', 'klībāḥ': 'impotent

• powerless (used as an insult/censure)', 'pārthāḥ': 'sons of Pṛthā (Kuntī)

• the Pāṇḍavas', 'patayaḥ': 'husbands', 'yājñasenyāḥ': 'of Yajñasenī (Draupadī), daughter of Yajñasena'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Yajñasena (Drupada)
• Somaka lineage (Saumaki)
• Pāñcālī (Draupadī / Yājñasenī)
• Pāṇḍavas (Pārthas / sons of Kuntī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how public honor and perceived capability shape ethical judgments in royal politics: a marriage alliance is praised as ‘meritorious’ only when it upholds dignity and strength; when the recipients are viewed as powerless or disgraced, the same act is condemned, showing the tension between dharma, reputation, and political prudence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the context of the Sabha Parva’s courtly conflict and humiliation, the narrator reports a severe disparagement: Drupada’s act of giving Draupadī to the Pāṇḍavas is criticized as not being a ‘good deed,’ because the Pāṇḍavas—Draupadī’s husbands—are derided as ‘klība’ (powerless/impotent), reflecting their current dishonor and vulnerability.