Shloka 10

Ghaṭotkaca’s Conveyance to Badarī and Entry into the Nara-Nārāyaṇa Āśrama (घटोत्कच-वाहनम्; नरनारायणाश्रम-प्रवेशः)

Devanagari script

युधिछिर उवाच कथं वेश्मसु गुप्तेषु स्वास्तीर्णशयनोचिता । भूमौ निपतिता शेते सुखाहा वरवर्णिनी,युधिषछ्टिर बोले--अहो! जो सुरक्षित सदनोंमें सुसज्जित सुकोमल शय्यापर शयन करनेयोग्य है, वह सुख भोगनेकी अधिकारिणी परम सुन्दरी कृष्णा आज पृथ्वीपर कैसे सो रही है?

Transliteration

Yudhiṣṭhira uvāca: kathaṁ veśmasu gupteṣu svāstīrṇa-śayanocitā | bhūmau nipatitā śete sukhārhā varavarṇinī ||

Translation

Dijo Yudhiṣṭhira: «¿Cómo es que ella—digna de reposar en lechos bien tendidos, en palacios custodiados—yace ahora derribada sobre la tierra desnuda? ¿Cómo puede Kṛṣṇā, esa dama de hermosura suprema, merecedora de todo consuelo, dormir de este modo?»

Word by Word

युधिष्ठिरःYudhiṣṭhira

उवाचsaid

कथम्how

वेश्मसुin houses/dwellings

गुप्तेषुprotected/guarded

स्वास्तीर्ण-शयना-उचिताfit for a well-spread bed

भूमौon the ground/earth

निपतिताhaving fallen down

शेतेlies/sleeps

सुख-अर्हाdeserving of comfort

वर-वर्णिनीthe fair/beautiful lady

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Yudhiṣṭhira

Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī)

veśman (guarded palaces/houses)

bhūmi (earth/ground)

śayana (bed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical shock of undeserved suffering: a queen accustomed to protected comfort is reduced to sleeping on the ground. It underscores dharma’s concern for the vulnerable and the moral responsibility of rulers and kin to protect dignity, especially when fortune reverses.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the forest exile (Vana Parva), Yudhiṣṭhira observes Draupadī’s hardship. He laments that someone worthy of palace comforts now lies on the earth, expressing grief and a sense of injustice at the Pandavas’ fallen condition.