Shloka 12
Kuntī’s Benediction to Draupadī and the Alliance Gifts (कुन्त्याः स्नुषाशीर्-वचनम् तथा दान-प्रतिग्रहः)
तेषां कथास्ता: परिकीर्त्यमाना: पाञज्चालराजस्य सुतस्तदानीम् | शुश्राव कृष्णां च तदा विषण्णां ते चापि सर्वे ददृशुर्मनुष्या:,उनकी कही हुई वे सभी बातें उस समय पांचालराजकुमार धृष्टद्युम्नने सुनीं और उन सभी लोगोंने वहाँ सोयी हुई द्रौपदीको भी देखा
teṣāṁ kathās tāḥ parikīrtyamānāḥ pāñcālarājasya sutas tadānīm | śuśrāva kṛṣṇāṁ ca tadā viṣaṇṇāṁ te cāpi sarve dadṛśur manuṣyāḥ ||
As those accounts were being recounted, the son of the king of Pāñcāla—Dhṛṣṭadyumna—heard them at that very time. Then he also heard of Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) in her sorrow, and all those people there likewise saw her lying asleep. The verse underscores how spoken reports become immediate moral and political realities, drawing witnesses into the unfolding duty to respond to another’s distress.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of testimony and awareness: when suffering is heard about and then directly seen, it creates a moral claim on the listeners and witnesses—especially leaders—to respond according to dharma rather than remain passive.
While certain events are being narrated aloud, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the Pāñcāla prince, hears them. He also learns of Draupadī (Kṛṣṇā) in a sorrowful state, and the gathered people see her lying asleep, making the situation immediate and publicly witnessed.