Shloka 17

Kuntī’s Benediction to Draupadī and the Alliance Gifts (कुन्त्याः स्नुषाशीर्-वचनम् तथा दान-प्रतिग्रहः)

Devanagari script

कच्चिन्न तप्स्ये परमप्रतीत: संयुज्य पार्थेन नरर्षभेण । वदस्व तत्त्वेन महानुभाव को<सौ विजेता दुहितुर्ममाद्य,“क्या ऐसा सौभाग्य होगा कि मैं नरश्रेष्ठ अर्जुनसे द्रौयदीका विवाह करके अत्यन्त प्रसन्न होऊँ और कभी भी संतप्त न हो सकूँ? महानुभाव पुत्र! ठीक-ठीक बताओ, आज जिसने मेरी पुत्रीको जीता है, वह पुरुष कौन है?

Transliteration

kaccin na tapsye paramapratītaḥ saṁyujya pārthena nararṣabheṇa | vadasva tattvena mahānubhāva ko'sau vijetā duhitūr mamādya ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Will it truly be my good fortune that, by uniting my daughter with Pārtha—Arjuna, the bull among men—I shall be supremely content and never again know grief? O noble son of great spirit, tell me truthfully: who is the man that has won my daughter today?”

Word by Word

{'kaccit''whether indeed

I wonder if', 'na tapsye''I shall not suffer

I shall not be tormented (by grief)', 'parama-pratītaḥ''supremely satisfied

fully assured/content', 'saṁyujya''having joined

by uniting (in marriage/association)', 'pārthena''with Pārtha (Arjuna, son of Pṛthā/Kuntī)', 'nara-ṛṣabheṇa': 'with the bull among men

best of men', 'vadasva''tell (you should speak)', 'tattvena': 'in truth

as it really is', 'mahānubhāva''great-souled

of noble power/majesty (vocative)', 'kaḥ asau''who is that man?', 'vijetā': 'the victor

winner (of the contest)', 'duhitūḥ''of (my) daughter', 'mama': 'my', 'adya': 'today'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Pārtha (Arjuna)

Duhitṛ (the daughter—Draupadī implied by context)

Vijetā (the victor—unnamed here)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds ethical speech and discernment: the request “vadasva tattvena” emphasizes truth-telling at decisive moments, while the king’s concern shows that marriage alliances are evaluated not merely by victory but by the prospect of lasting welfare and freedom from future sorrow.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the contest in which a suitor has won the king’s daughter, the speaker conveys the king’s anxious hope that the victor is Arjuna. He asks a trusted person to state plainly who has won the bride that day.