Shloka 37
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 28: Dharmādharmalakṣaṇa in Āpad
Crisis-Discernment of Right and Wrong
प्रियां भार्या द्रौपदी पाण्डवानां यशस्विनीं शीलवृत्तोपपन्नाम् | यदुपैक्षन्त कुरवो भीष्ममुख्या: कामानुगेनोपरुद्धां व्रजन्तीम्,पाण्डवोंकी प्यारी पत्नी यशस्विनी द्रौपदी जो शील और सदाचारसे सम्पन्न है, रजस्वला-अवस्थामें सभाके भीतर लायी जा रही थी, परंतु भीष्म आदि प्रधान कौरवोंने भी उसकी ओरसे उपेक्षा दिखायी
vāyudeva uvāca |
priyāṃ bhāryāṃ draupadīṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ yaśasvinīṃ śīlavṛttopapannām |
yad-upekṣanta kuravo bhīṣmamukhyāḥ kāmānugenoparuddhāṃ vrajantīm ||
Draupadī—la amada esposa de los Pāṇḍavas, ilustre y dotada de noble carácter y recta conducta—era arrastrada en un estado de indefensión, impulsada por la lujuria ajena. Y, sin embargo, los Kurus, con Bhīṣma a la cabeza, miraron con indiferencia y no la protegieron.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns moral cowardice and the abdication of dharma: even revered elders, when swayed by fear, attachment, or social pressure, can become complicit through silence. It highlights that lust-driven injustice (kāma) and the neglect of a righteous person’s protection are grave ethical failures, especially for those entrusted with authority.
Vāyudeva recalls the outrage done to Draupadī: she, the virtuous and celebrated wife of the Pāṇḍavas, is being led in a condition of oppression and humiliation, while the Kuru elders—Bhīṣma foremost—do not intervene and instead remain indifferent, marking a decisive collapse of righteousness in the royal assembly.