Shloka 1
Kuntī’s Consolation to Draupadī and Lament for the Dispossessed Pandavas (सभा पर्व, अध्याय 70)
अफ्--णक+ सप्ततितमो< ध्याय: दुर्योधनके छल-कपटयुक्त वचन और भीमसेनका रोषपूर्ण उद्गार वैशम्पायन उवाच तथा तु दृष्टवा बहु तत्र देवीं रोरूयमाणां कुररीमिवार्ताम् । नोचुर्वच: साध्वथ वाप्यसाधु महीक्षितो धार्तराष्ट्रस्य भीता:
Vaiśampāyana uvāca | tathā tu dṛṣṭvā bahu tatra devīṃ rorūyamāṇāṃ kurarīm ivārtām | nocur vacaḥ sādhv atha vāpy asādhu mahīkṣito dhārtarāṣṭrasya bhītāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana dit : «Ô Janamejaya ! Voyant la reine Draupadī là, gémissant à grands cris dans la détresse comme un oiseau kurarī meurtri, les rois assis dans l’assemblée—par crainte du fils de Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Duryodhana)—ne prononcèrent pas un mot : ni pour soutenir le juste, ni pour condamner l’injuste.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns moral paralysis: when leaders and elders remain silent out of fear or self-interest, they become complicit in adharma. Ethical speech—supporting the right and censuring the wrong—is presented as a duty, especially in a public assembly.
In the Kuru assembly, Draupadī is in visible distress and cries out loudly. Yet the assembled kings do not speak up—neither praising what is right nor condemning what is wrong—because they fear Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, Duryodhana, who dominates the situation.