Shloka 38
दमयन्त्याः व्याकुलता — स्वयंवरसंनिपातः — देवदूतयाचनम्
Damayantī’s Distress, Proclamation of the Svayaṃvara, and the Gods’ Request
पास्यन्ति रुर्धिर तेषां गृध्रा गोमायवस्तथा । उत्तमाड़ानि कर्षन्तो यै: कृष्टासि सभातले,“इसी प्रकार जिन्होंने तुम्हें सभाभवनमें घसीटा है, उनके कटे हुए सिरोंको घसीटते हुए गीध और गीदड़ उनके रक्त पीयेंगे
pāsyanti rudhiraṁ teṣāṁ gṛdhrā gomāyavas tathā | uttamāṅgāni karṣanto yaiḥ kṛṣṭāsi sabhātale ||
“Burung nasar dan serigala hutan akan meneguk darah mereka, sambil menyeret kepala-kepala yang terpenggal—merekalah yang menyeretmu di lantai balairung kerajaan.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames moral outrage at adharma: public humiliation and injustice demand restoration of righteousness. It expresses a kṣatriya sense of accountability—wrongdoing in the sabhā is not merely personal insult but a violation of social order that must be answered by just retribution.
Yudhiṣṭhira, recalling the outrage of being dragged in the assembly hall, foretells the violent end of the perpetrators: their blood will be drunk by scavengers and their severed heads dragged—an image that mirrors and reverses the earlier humiliation.