Shloka 15
द्रौपद्याः शोकवचनम्
Draupadī’s Lament and Indictment of Misfortune
उत्तिष्ोत्तिष्ठ कि शेषे भीमसेन यथा मृत: । नामृतस्य हि पापीयान् भार्यामालभ्य जीवति,'भीमसेन! उठो, उठो, क्यों मुर्देकी तरह सो रहे हो?; क्योंकि (तुम्हारे-जैसे वीर) पुरुषके जीवित रहते हुए उसकी पत्नीका स्पर्श करके कोई महापापी मनुष्य जीवित नहीं रह सकता”
uttiṣṭhottiṣṭha kiṃ śeṣe bhīmasena yathā mṛtaḥ | na amṛtasya hi pāpīyān bhāryām ālabhya jīvati ||
વૈશંપાયન બોલ્યા—“ઉઠો, ઊઠો, ભીમસેન! મરેલા માણસની જેમ કેમ સૂઈ રહ્યા છો? જીવતા પુરુષની પત્નીને સ્પર્શ કરનાર કોઈ ઘોર પાપી પણ જીવતો રહી શકતો નથી.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts a strong ethical norm: violating a living man’s marital honor by touching his wife is a grave adharma, portrayed as so heinous that the offender should not be able to ‘live on’ with impunity. It reinforces social and kṣatriya ideals of protecting women and upholding household honor.
In the Virāṭa episode, a speaker (as reported by Vaiśampāyana) urgently rouses Bhīmasena, rebuking him for lying still ‘like dead’ and invoking the outrage of a wife being molested while her husband yet lives—an appeal meant to provoke immediate action and restore honor.