Shloka 9
इदं हि वासो यदि वेदृशानां मनस्विनां रौरवमाहवेषु । अदीक्षितानामजिनानि यद्वद् बलीयसां पश्यत पाण्डवानाम्
idaṃ hi vāso yadi vīdṛśānāṃ manasvināṃ rauravam āhaveṣu | adīkṣitānām ajināni yadvat balīyasāṃ paśyata pāṇḍavānām ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: «Mirad esta vestidura de los poderosos Pāṇḍavas, de ánimo elevado: una áspera piel llevada en medio del combate. Tal cobertura puede convenir a hombres resueltos; pero en ellos no parece la sagrada piel de ciervo ligada a los ritos de consagración, sino más bien las pieles de quienes carecen de iniciación: una imagen destinada a avergonzarlos, negándoles la dignidad del dharma y el rango ritual.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how social and ethical standing is rhetorically constructed through symbols: a deerskin can signify sacred discipline when linked to dīkṣā (consecration), but the same object can be weaponized as an insult by denying that sacred context. It warns how dharma-language and ritual markers may be used to confer or strip honor.
In the Sabha Parva’s tense court setting, the Pāṇḍavas are being publicly disparaged. Their hide-garments are pointed out and reinterpreted not as dignified, rite-associated attire but as the crude skins of the uninitiated—an attempt to shame them and undermine their prestige.