Shloka 26
द्रौपदी-भीमसेनसंवादः
Draupadī–Bhīmasena Dialogue on Suffering, Kāla, and Daiva
भूषितं तमलंकारै: कुण्डलै: परिहाटकै: । कम्बुपाणिनमायान्तं दृष्टवा सीदति मे मन:,अर्जुनको स्त्रीजनोचित आभूषणों तथा सुवर्णमय कुण्डलोंसे विभूषित हो हाथोंमें शंखकी चूड़ियाँ धारण किये आते देख मेरा हृदय दुःखित हो जाता है
bhūṣitaṃ tam alaṅkāraiḥ kuṇḍalaiḥ parihāṭakaiḥ | kambupāṇinam āyāntaṃ dṛṣṭvā sīdati me manaḥ ||
Melihat dia datang—berhias perhiasan, mengenakan anting dan ornamen emas, serta gelang kerang di kedua tangannya—hatiku tenggelam dalam duka.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Outer appearance can be strategically assumed for a righteous purpose without altering inner virtue; the verse underscores the emotional cost and social tension of such role-reversal, while implying that dharma may require difficult, even humiliating, adaptations to protect a greater good.
During the Pāṇḍavas’ incognito stay in Virāṭa’s kingdom, Arjuna appears in a feminized, ornamented guise (as Bṛhannalā). The narrator describes his own sorrow on seeing the great warrior approaching adorned with earrings, gold ornaments, and conch-shell bangles.