Shloka 6
Duryodhana’s Account of Gandharva Defeat and the Pandavas’ Intervention (दुर्योधनवर्णितो गन्धर्वसंग्रामः)
कृशांश्व वातातपकर्शिताड्रान् दुःखस्थ चोग्रस्य मुखे प्रपन्नान् । तां चाप्यनाथामिव वीरनाथां कृष्णां परिक्लेशगुणेन युक्ताम्,उसने बताया--“इस समय पाण्डव हवा और गर्मी आदिका कष्ट सहन करनेके कारण अत्यन्त कृश हो गये हैं। भयंकर दुःखके मुँहमें पड़ गये हैं और वीरपत्नी द्रौपदी भी अनाथकी भाँति सब ओरसे क्लेश-ही-क्लेश भोग रही है”
kṛśāṁś ca vātātapa-karśitāḍrān duḥkha-sthāś cograsy mukhe prapannān | tāṁ cāpy anāthām iva vīra-nāthāṁ kṛṣṇāṁ parikleśa-guṇena yuktām ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “At this time the Pāṇḍavas have become exceedingly emaciated, worn down by wind and scorching heat. They have fallen into the very jaws of dreadful suffering. And Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī)—though protected by heroic husbands—endures affliction on every side, as if she were without any refuge.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of suffering caused by injustice: even those who are ‘protected’ by rightful strength (vīra-nāthā) can be made to feel helpless when dharma is violated. It invites compassion and underscores the duty to respond to adharma rather than normalize the afflicted condition of the righteous.
Vaiśampāyana describes the Pāṇḍavas during their forest exile: they are physically wasted by exposure to wind and heat and are overwhelmed by misery. Draupadī, despite having heroic husbands, is portrayed as enduring relentless distress, as though she had no protector.