Shloka 2
Vidurovācā: Śreyas, Mantra, and Conciliation toward the Pāṇḍavas (विदुरोवाच—श्रेयः-मन्त्र-समाधानम्)
दिष्टस्य ग्रन्थिरनिवर्तनीय: स्वकर्मणा विहितं नेह किंचित् । कृतं निमित्तं हि वरैकहेतो- स्तदेवेदमुपपन्नं विधानम्,भाग्यमें जो लिख दिया है, उसे कोई भी बदल नहीं सकता। अपने प्रयत्नसे यहाँ कुछ नहीं हो सकता। एक वरकी प्राप्तिके लिये जो साधन (तप) किया गया, वही पाँच पतियोंकी प्राप्तिका कारण बन गया; अतः दैवके द्वारा पूर्वनिश्चित विधानका ही पालन करना उचित है
diṣṭasya granthir anivartanīyaḥ svakarmaṇā vihitaṁ neha kiñcit | kṛtaṁ nimittaṁ hi varaikahetoḥ tadevedam upapannaṁ vidhānam |
Drupada said: “The knot of destiny cannot be undone. In this matter, nothing can be altered by one’s own effort. The means that was undertaken for the sake of obtaining a single boon has itself become the cause for obtaining five husbands. Therefore, it is fitting to accept and follow the ordinance that has already been fixed by fate.”
द्ुपद उवाच
Educational Q&A
Drupada emphasizes the supremacy of what is divinely ordained (diṣṭa/daiva): certain outcomes are irreversible, and personal effort cannot overturn them. Ethically, he frames acceptance of an unexpected social situation (polyandry) as submission to a higher, pre-fixed dispensation rather than mere human preference.
In the context of Draupadī’s marriage, Drupada interprets the extraordinary outcome—her becoming wife to five brothers—as the unfolding of destiny. He argues that the earlier act performed to obtain a single boon became the instrumental cause for this result, and therefore the proper course is to accept the established ordinance.