Shloka 18
Udyoga Parva, Adhyāya 72 — Bhīmasena’s counsel on conciliation and Duryodhana’s disposition
दुःशासनेन पापेन तदा झूते प्रवर्तिते । अनाथवत् तदा देवी द्रौपदी सुदुरात्मना,उन दिनों जब जूएका खेल चल रहा था, अत्यन्त दुरात्मा पापी दुःशासन अनाथकी भाँति रोती-कलपती हुई महारानी द्रौपदीको उनके केश पकड़कर राजसभामें घसीट लाया और भीष्म तथा द्रोणाचार्य आदिके समक्ष उसने उनका उपहास करते हुए बारंबार उसे “गाय” कहकर पुकारा
duḥśāsanena pāpena tadā dyūte pravartite | anāthavat tadā devī draupadī sudurātmanā ||
Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «Cuando comenzó el juego de dados, el pecador Duḥśāsana—de ánimo enteramente perverso—trató a la reina Draupadī como si no tuviera protector, sometiéndola a la humillación en la asamblea. Este ultraje, cometido ante los ancianos, es una grave violación del dharma y un giro moral decisivo que alimenta la guerra venidera.»
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores that public humiliation and exploitation of the vulnerable—especially in a royal assembly—constitute severe adharma. Such acts corrode social order and inevitably demand moral reckoning, becoming a seed of large-scale conflict.
Yudhiṣṭhira recalls the dice-game episode: Duḥśāsana, described as sinful and wicked, abuses and humiliates Draupadī as if she were without protection. The recollection functions as an indictment of the Kaurava side’s wrongdoing and a justification for the Pāṇḍavas’ demand for justice.