Shloka 19
तीर्थयात्रा: सागरतीर्थ-शूर्पारक-प्रभासगमनम्
Pilgrimage to Sea Tīrthas, Śūrpāraka, and Prabhāsa
ते वृष्णय: पाण्डुसुतान् समीक्ष्य भूमौ शयानान् मलदिग्धगात्रान् अनर्तहतीं द्रौपदी चापि दृष्टवा सुदु:खिताश्लुक्रुशुरातनादम्,वहाँ जाकर वृष्णिवंशियोंने देखा, पाण्डवलोग पृथ्वीपर सो रहे हैं, उनके सारे अंग धूलसे सने हुए हैं तथा कष्टसहनके अयोग्य द्रौपदी भी भारी दुर्दशा भोग रही है। यह सब देखकर वे बड़े दुःखी हुए और आर्त स्वरसे रोने लगे
te vṛṣṇayaḥ pāṇḍusutān samīkṣya bhūmau śayānān maladigdhagātrān | anartahatīṃ draupadīṃ cāpi dṛṣṭvā suduḥkhitāś cukruśur ārtanādam ||
Vaiśampāyana said: When the Vṛṣṇis went there and saw the sons of Pāṇḍu lying on the ground, their bodies smeared with dust and grime, and also beheld Draupadī—unable to endure such suffering—fallen into grievous distress, they were overwhelmed with sorrow and cried out in a lamenting, anguished voice. The scene underscores how visible humiliation and hardship of the righteous evokes compassionate outrage and signals a grave breach of dharma that demands redress.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic sensitivity: when the virtuous are reduced to visible hardship and indignity, the proper response of allies is compassionate solidarity and moral urgency. Suffering is not treated as spectacle; it becomes a call to restore justice and uphold dharma.
The Vṛṣṇis arrive and witness the Pāṇḍavas lying on the bare ground with dust-smeared bodies, and Draupadī in severe distress. Seeing their condition, they are overcome with grief and cry out loudly in anguish.