Shloka 18
स्त्रीपर्व — अध्याय १५: गान्धारी-युधिष्ठिर-संवादः
Gandhārī’s Confrontation and Consolation of Yudhiṣṭhira
केशपक्षपरामर्शे द्रौपद्या द्यूतकारिते | क्रोधाद् यदब्रवं चाहं तच्च मे हृदि वर्तते,द्यूतक्रीडाके समय जब द्रौपदीका केश खींचा गया, उस समय क्रोधमें भरकर मैंने जो प्रतिज्ञा की थी, उसकी याद हमारे हृदयमें बराबर बनी रहती थी
keśapakṣaparāmarśe draupadyā dyūtakārite | krodhād yad abravāṃ cāhaṃ tac ca me hṛdi vartate ||
When Draupadī’s hair was seized and dragged in the gambling hall outrage, I spoke in wrath a vow that was forced out of me by that insult; and that very utterance has remained fixed in my heart ever since—an unforgotten debt of justice demanding fulfillment.
भीमसेन उवाच
Educational Q&A
A grave public humiliation—especially of a protected person like Draupadī—creates an enduring moral claim for redress. Bhīma frames his vow as an ethical memory: anger is not praised in itself, but the refusal to forget injustice becomes a force that sustains commitment to restoring dharma.
Bhīmasena recalls the dice-game episode in which Draupadī was abused and her hair was seized. He says that, in that moment of rage, he spoke a vow, and that vow has remained constantly in his heart—signaling his continuing resolve to answer the insult and complete the retributive duty that the outrage set in motion.