Shloka 27

Drupada’s Alarm and Inquiry Regarding Śikhaṇḍinī (द्रुपदस्य भय-विमर्शः)

Devanagari script

आगम: क्रियतां व्यक्त: कुमारोडयं सुतो मम । मिथ्यैतदुक्तं केनापि तदश्रद्धेयमित्युत,“राजन! आप आकर स्पष्टरूपसे परीक्षा कर लें। मेरा यह कुमार पुत्र है (कन्या नहीं)। आपसे किसीने झूठे ही उसके कन्या होनेकी बात कह दी है, जो विश्वास करनेके योग्य नहीं है!

Transliteration

āgamaḥ kriyatāṁ vyaktaḥ kumāro ’yaṁ suto mama | mithyaitad uktaṁ kenāpi tad aśraddheyam ity uta ||

Translation

Bhīṣma dit : «Viens et vérifie-le clairement par toi-même, ô Roi. Voici mon fils, un jeune homme—non une jeune fille. Quelqu’un a menti en prétendant qu’il était une fille ; un tel propos n’est pas digne de foi.»

Word by Word

आगमःcoming/arrival

क्रियताम्let it be done / may it be made

व्यक्तःclear, manifest

कुमारःboy, young prince

अयम्this

सुतःson

ममof me, my

मिथ्याfalsely

एतत्this

उक्तम्said, spoken

केनby whom, by someone

अपिeven, indeed, somehow

तत्that

अश्रद्धेयम्not to be believed, untrustworthy

इतिthus (quotative)

उतand/also (emphatic particle)

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhīṣma

rājan (the king addressed)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Bhīṣma emphasizes ethical discernment: do not accept hearsay as truth. A responsible ruler should seek direct verification (pratyakṣa/parīkṣā) before forming judgments that affect honor, lineage, or political decisions.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhīṣma addresses a king and challenges a circulating claim about his child’s gender. He invites the king to come and examine the matter openly, asserting that the report of the child being a girl is a falsehood and should not be trusted.