Shloka 14
Kuntī’s Consolation to Draupadī and Lament for the Dispossessed Pandavas (सभा पर्व, अध्याय 70)
न हि मुच्येत मे जीवन् पदा भूमिमुपस्पृशन् | मर्त्यधर्मा परामृश्य पाज्चाल्या मूर्थजानिमान्
na hi mucyeta me jīvan padā bhūmim upaspṛśan | martyadharmā parāmṛśya pāñcālyā mūrdhajān imān |
Bhīmasena dit : «Aucun mortel encore en vie, marchant sur la terre, n’aurait échappé à mes mains s’il avait osé toucher ces mèches de Pāñcālī. Si je n’avais pas été lié par l’opprobre de la défaite, un tel outrage n’aurait pas été laissé impuni.»
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical tension between righteous anger and enforced restraint: Bhīma asserts that an outrage against Draupadī would normally demand immediate punishment, but the conditions of defeat and the binding force of the gambling loss suppress his ability to act—showing how adharma can be enabled when dharma is constrained by social/legal forms.
In the Kuru assembly after the dice game, Draupadī is dishonored. Bhīma, furious, declares that anyone who touched Draupadī’s hair should not have survived if Bhīma were not effectively powerless due to the Pandavas’ loss, expressing his vow-like resolve for future retribution.