Shloka 4
द्रौपदी-भीमसेनसंवादः
Draupadī–Bhīmasena Dialogue on Suffering, Kāla, and Daiva
यदा महानसे सिद्धे विराटमुपतिष्ठसि । ब्रुवाणो बल्लव: सूदस्तदा सीदति मे मन:,जब पाकशालामें भोजन बना लेनेपर तुम विराटकी सेवामें उपस्थित होते हो और कहते हो--“महाराज! बलल्लव रसोइया आपको भोजनके लिये बुलाने आया है', तब यह सब सुनकर मेरा मन दुःखित हो जाता है
yadā mahānase siddhe virāṭam upatiṣṭhasi | bruvāṇo ballavaḥ sūdās tadā sīdati me manaḥ ||
Dijo Vaiśampāyana: Cuando la comida en la cocina real queda preparada y tú vas a presentarte ante el rey Virāṭa, anunciando: «¡Oh rey, Ballava, el cocinero, ha venido a convocarte al banquete!», al oírlo mi corazón se hunde en la tristeza. La escena subraya la tensión del ocultamiento y del servicio: personas nobles, forzadas por las circunstancias, asumen oficios humildes, y quien lo presencia siente el peso de esa inversión.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension of enforced concealment: even the worthy may accept menial service to uphold a larger dharma (survival, vows, and future justice). The listener’s sorrow reflects compassion for virtue placed under constraint and the dignity that persists even in humble duty.
After food is prepared in the royal kitchen, the speaker describes someone approaching King Virāṭa and formally announcing that ‘Ballava, the cook,’ has come to invite him to eat. Hearing this announcement makes the narrator’s mind sink—because it evokes the painful spectacle of a significant person living under a servant’s guise.