Shloka 2
द्रौपदी-भीमसेनसंवादः
Draupadī–Bhīmasena Dialogue on Suffering, Kāla, and Daiva
सूदकर्मणि हीने त्वमसमे भरतर्षभ । ब्रुवन् बललवजातीय: कस्य शोकं न वर्धये:,भरतर्षभ! जो तुम्हारे लिये सर्वथा अयोग्य है, ऐसे रसोइयेके नीच काममें लगे हो और अपनेको “बललव' जातिका मनुष्य बताते हो। इस अवस्थामें तुम्हें देखकर किसका शोक न बढ़ेगा?
sūdakarmaṇi hīne tvam asame bharatarṣabha | bruvan ballavajātīyaḥ kasya śokaṃ na vardhayet ||
Vaiśampāyana dijo: «¡Oh toro entre los Bhāratas! Has tomado el vil oficio de cocinero, del todo indigno de ti, y hasta dices pertenecer a la comunidad de los Ballava. Al verte en tal estado, ¿a quién no se le acrecentaría la pena?»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between inner worth and outward role: a great person may accept a menial occupation due to dharmic necessity (protection, strategy, keeping vows), yet observers feel sorrow because social signs of honor appear diminished. It invites reflection on how dharma can require humility and concealment without reducing intrinsic nobility.
During the incognito period in Virāṭa’s kingdom, a high-born hero lives under an assumed identity and performs kitchen service as a cook, calling himself a Ballava. The narrator frames this as a pitiable sight—someone of eminent stature forced into an unbefitting, lowly role—thereby intensifying the emotional tone of exile and concealment.