Shloka 17
शल्यस्य सेनापत्याभ्युपगमः | Śalya’s Acceptance of Command
दुःशासनेन यत् कृष्णा एकवस्त्रा रजस्वला | परिक्लिष्टा सभामध्ये सर्वलोकस्य पश्यत:
duḥśāsanena yat kṛṣṇā ekavastrā rajasvalā | parikliṣṭā sabhāmadhye sarvalokasya paśyataḥ ||
Dijo Sañjaya: Aquel ultraje—cuando Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī), vestida con una sola prenda y en su periodo menstrual, fue atormentada en medio de la asamblea real ante la mirada de todos—permanece como una grave violación pública del dharma, que revela el derrumbe moral de la corte y la complicidad de los testigos silenciosos.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how adharma becomes systemic when a powerful wrong is committed publicly and the assembly remains passive. Ethical failure is not only in the aggressor’s act but also in the silence of those who witness injustice without intervening.
Sañjaya recalls the infamous court outrage in which Duḥśāsana mistreated Draupadī in the Kuru assembly—she is described as wearing only one garment and being in her menstrual period—emphasizing the severity of the humiliation and the public nature of the wrongdoing.