Shloka 9
Draupadī’s Instruction on Marital Conduct and Household Discipline (चित्तग्रहण-उपदेश)
देवानां वह हव्यं त्वमहं वीर सुदुर्बल: । अथ त्वं गच्छ मध्वक्ष॑ प्रियमेतत् कुरुष्व मे
devānāṁ vaha havyaṁ tvam ahaṁ vīra sudurbalaḥ | atha tvaṁ gaccha madhv-akṣa priyaṁ etat kuruṣva me vīra ||
Mārkaṇḍeya berkata: “Wahai pahlawan, bawalah persembahan (havis) yang diperuntukkan bagi para dewa. Aku telah menjadi sangat lemah. Karena itu, wahai yang bermata manis, pergilah sekarang dan lakukan apa yang kukasihi—tuntaskan tugas yang kuharapkan ini, wahai pemberani.”
मार्कण्डेय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights dharma as faithful service: when an elder or ascetic becomes incapable, a capable hero should take up the entrusted sacrificial duty. It frames ethical action as fulfilling a righteous request with humility and reliability.
Mārkaṇḍeya, weakened and unable to proceed himself, instructs a heroic figure—addressed affectionately as “honey-eyed”—to carry the sacrificial oblation to the gods and to complete this task as a personal, valued request.