Shloka 52
अध्याय ३३ — कर्म, दैव, हठ, स्वभाव और पुरुषार्थ पर द्रौपदी का उपदेश
Draupadī on Action, Fate, and Human Effort
स्वथधर्म प्रतिपद्यस्व जहि शत्रून् समागतान् । धार्तराष्ट्रमवनं पार्थ मया पार्थेन नाशय,'पार्थ! अपने धर्मका आश्रय लीजिये, प्राप्त हुए शत्रुओंका वध कीजिये। मेरे तथा अर्जुनके द्वारा धृतराष्ट्रपुत्ररूपी जंगलको कटवा डालिये
svadharmaṃ pratipadyasva jahi śatrūn samāgatān | dhārtarāṣṭrāraṇyaṃ pārtha mayā pārthena nāśaya ||
Waiśampāyana berkata: “Berdirilah teguh pada svadharmamu. Tumpaslah musuh-musuh yang telah datang menghadang. Wahai Pārtha, dengan bantuanku dan bersama Arjuna, tebang dan binasakan rimba para Dhṛtarāṣṭra—putra-putra Dhṛtarāṣṭra.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse urges steadfastness in svadharma—acting according to one’s rightful duty—especially when confronted by hostile forces. It presents righteous combat as a duty-bound response to aggression, not as private hatred, and uses the metaphor of clearing a ‘forest’ to suggest removing a dangerous, entangling obstacle to justice.
The speaker (Vaiśaṃpāyana) reports an exhortation addressed to Pārtha, calling him to take up his duty and destroy the assembled enemies identified with the Dhṛtarāṣṭras (Kauravas). The line emphasizes coordinated action—‘with my aid and with Arjuna’—to overcome the Kaurava force, depicted metaphorically as a forest to be cut down.