Shloka 20
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 180 — Svayaṃvara-Virodha and Pāṇḍava Parākrama
Draupadī Episode
एवं प्रतिज्ञा सत्येयं तवानघ भविष्यति । न चैवं सामरा लोका गमिष्यन्ति पराभवम्
evaṁ pratijñā satyeyam tavānagha bhaviṣyati | na caivaṁ sāmarā lokā gamiṣyanti parābhavam, anagha || nimittabhūtas tvaṁ cātra krato vāsiṣṭha-nandana | tat satraṁ muñca bhadraṁ te samāptam idam astu te ||
Aurva dit : «Ô toi sans faute, en agissant ainsi ton vœu deviendra véritable, et les mondes avec les dieux ne tomberont pas dans la ruine. Et toi, ô descendant de Vasiṣṭha, tu n’es ici qu’une cause instrumentale dans ce sacrifice. Abandonne donc cette session sacrificielle ; que le bien soit tien — que ce rite parvienne maintenant à sa juste conclusion.»
ऑर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
A vow should be fulfilled without causing disproportionate harm: Aurva urges restraint so that the pledge is honored while preventing the ruin of the worlds. He also stresses humility about agency—one may be only an instrument (nimitta) within a larger moral-causal order.
Aurva addresses a descendant of Vasiṣṭha engaged in a prolonged sacrificial rite aimed at destructive ends. He counsels him to stop the satra, assuring that the vow can still be considered fulfilled and that the cosmic order (including gods and worlds) will be spared catastrophe.