Shloka 263
Vyāsa’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira: Pratismṛti-vidyā, Arjuna’s Aśtra-Quest, and the Move to Kāmyaka
दृष्टवा मां गौरिति प्राह प्रहलन् राजसंसदि । नाथ! मुझे सबसे बढ़कर दुःख इस बातसे हुआ है कि उस पापी दुर्योधनने राजाओंसे भरी हुई सभामें मेरी ओर देखकर और मुझे “गाय” (अनेक पुरुषोंके उपभोगमें आनेवाली) कहकर मेरा उपहास किया
dṛṣṭvā māṃ gaur iti prāha prahasan rājasansadi | nātha! mama sarvato 'dhikaṃ duḥkham asminn eva jātaṃ yat sa pāpī duryodhanaḥ rājabhir bhṛtāyāṃ sabhāyāṃ mām avalokya “gauḥ” (anekapuruṣopabhogyā) iti vadann upahāsaṃ cakāra |
Vaiśampāyana dijo: «Al verme, se rió en la asamblea real y dijo: “¡Una vaca!” Oh señor, mi mayor dolor nació sólo de esto: que el pecador Duryodhana, en un salón colmado de reyes, me miró y se burló de mí llamándome “vaca”, un ultraje que insinúa a una mujer tratada como objeto para muchos hombres.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights adharma expressed through public humiliation and sexualized slander. It frames mockery in a royal court as a grave ethical violation: degrading a person’s dignity—especially before elders and rulers—corrodes social order and becomes a karmic seed for larger conflict.
In a court filled with kings, Duryodhana looks at the speaker (a woman being referenced in the narration) and derisively calls her “cow,” a loaded insult implying she is for the use of many men. The narrator emphasizes that this public ridicule is the greatest source of her pain.