Shloka 114
Ulūka’s Provocation and Keśava’s Counter-Message (उलूकदूत्ये केशवप्रत्युत्तरम्)
“तुम सब लोग अमनुष्योचित दीन दशाको प्राप्त हो दासभावमें स्थित थे। उस समय ट्रपदकुमारी कृष्णाने ही दासताके संकटमें पड़े हुए तुम सब लोगोंको छुड़ाया था ।।
sañjaya uvāca | yūyaṁ sarve ’manuṣyocitāṁ dīna-daśāṁ prāptā dāsa-bhāve sthitā āsata | tadā draupadī-kumārī kṛṣṇā eva dāsatā-saṅkaṭe patitān yuṣmān sarvān amocayat || avocaṁ yat ṣaṇḍha-tilān ahaṁ vas-tathyam eva tat | dhṛtā hi veṇī pārthena virāṭa-nagare tadā ||
Sañjaya berkata: “Kalian semua telah jatuh ke keadaan hina yang tak layak bagi lelaki, hidup dalam batin seorang budak; saat itu, hanya Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī), sang putri, yang menyelamatkan kalian dari bencana perbudakan. Dan ucapanku kala itu—bahwa kalian seperti banci—ternyata benar; sebab pada masa penyamaran di kota Virāṭa, Pārtha (Arjuna) harus mengenakan kepang rambut seperti perempuan.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights two ethical tensions: (1) gratitude and recognition of Draupadī’s decisive agency in rescuing the afflicted, and (2) the moral danger of humiliating speech—Sanjaya reports a harsh insult that equates enforced disguise and vulnerability with loss of manhood. It invites reflection on how dharma is upheld not merely by status or gendered appearance, but by conduct, courage, and loyalty in crisis.
Sanjaya recounts that the group had been reduced to a servile, helpless condition, and that Draupadī (called Kṛṣṇā) freed them from that predicament. He then recalls having earlier mocked them as ‘eunuchs,’ claiming it was ‘confirmed’ because during the incognito exile (ajñātavāsa) Arjuna, in Virāṭa’s city, adopted a feminine presentation, including wearing a braid (veṇī).