Shloka 63
Vāraṇāvata-prasaṃsā and the Pāṇḍavas’ Departure (वरणावत-प्रशंसा तथा पाण्डव-प्रयाणम्)
अब्रुवं पुरुषव्यात्र सखायं विद्धि मामिति । उपस्थितस्तु द्रुपदं सखिवच्चास्मि संगत:,उस समय मुझे द्रुपदकी मैत्री और उनकी कही हुई पूर्वोक्त बातोंका बारंबार स्मरण हो आता था। तदनन्तर अपने पहलेके सखा द्रुपदके पास पहुँचकर मैंने कहा--“नरश्रेष्ठ! मुझ अपने मित्रको पहचानो तो सही।' प्रभो! मैं ट्रपदके पास पहुँचनेपर उनसे मित्रकी ही भाँति मिला
abruvaṃ puruṣavyātra sakhāyaṃ viddhi mām iti | upasthitas tu drupadaṃ sakhivac cāsmi saṃgataḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “I said, ‘O tiger among men, recognize me as your friend.’ Then, having come into the presence of Drupada, I approached him and met him in the manner of a friend.” The verse highlights the moral tension between remembered friendship and the realities of status and changing circumstances.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the dharmic strain between personal bonds (friendship remembered and claimed) and the social-political realities that can erode reciprocity; it invites reflection on whether friendship should remain steadfast despite changes in power and position.
The narrator reports a speaker approaching King Drupada and addressing him directly: “Recognize me as your friend.” He then meets Drupada in a friendly manner, setting up the larger episode about an earlier friendship being tested when one party has become a king.