Shloka 6

Ādi-parva, Adhyāya 187: Drupada’s Inquiry and the Dharma Debate on Draupadī’s Marriage

Devanagari script

अवहास्या भविष्यन्ति ब्राह्मणा: सर्वराजसु । कर्मण्यस्मिन्नसंसिद्धे चापलादपरीक्षिते,“इसने बालोचित चपलताके कारण इस कार्यकी कठिनाईपर विचार नहीं किया है। यदि इसमें यह सफल न हुआ तो समस्त राजाओंमें ब्राह्मणोंकी बड़ी हँसी होगी

Transliteration

Vaiśampāyana uvāca |

avahāsyā bhaviṣyanti brāhmaṇāḥ sarvarājasu |

karmaṇy asminn asaṁsiddhe cāpalād aparīkṣite |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : «Si cette entreprise demeure inachevée—tentée à la légère, sans examen convenable—alors les brāhmaṇas deviendront la risée de tous les rois. Car, poussé par une inconstance d’enfant, il n’a pas mesuré la difficulté de l’épreuve ; et s’il échoue, la moquerie se répandra partout.»

Word by Word

अवहास्याःlaughable; objects of ridicule

भविष्यन्तिwill become

ब्राह्मणाःBrahmins

सर्वराजसुamong all kings

कर्मणिin/with regard to the act (undertaking)

अस्मिन्in this

असंसिद्धेnot accomplished; not successfully completed

चापलात्from fickleness; due to rashness

अपरीक्षितेunexamined; not considered/tested

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

brāhmaṇas

kings (sarvarāja)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Undertakings should be examined and pursued with steadiness; rash, untested action risks failure and brings public disgrace not only to the individual but to the wider community whose honor is implicated.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana comments that if the present plan is attempted impulsively and fails, brāhmaṇas will be mocked in royal circles everywhere—highlighting the social and moral stakes of an ill-considered enterprise.