Shloka 22
Draupadī’s Rebuke of Jayadratha and Dhaumya’s Admonition (Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 252)
पातालवासिनो रौद्रा: पूर्व देवैविनिर्जिता: । ते स्वपक्षक्षयं त॑ तु ज्ञात्वा दुर्योधनस्य वै,दुर्योधनके इस निश्चयकों जानकर पातालवासी भयंकर दैत्यों और दानवोंने, जो पूर्वकालमें देवताओंसे पराजित हो चुके थे, मन-ही-मन विचार किया कि इस प्रकार दुर्योधनका प्राणान्त होनेसे तो हमारा पक्ष ही नष्ट हो जायगा; अतः उसे अपने पास बुलानेके लिये मन्त्रविद्यामें निपुण दैत्योंने उस समय बृहस्पति और शुक्राचार्यके द्वारा वर्णित तथा अथर्ववेदमें प्रतिपादित मन्त्रोंद्वारा अग्निविस्तार-साध्य यज्ञकर्मका अनुष्ठान आरम्भ किया और उपनिषद् (आरण्यक)-में जो मन्त्रजपसे युक्त हवनादि क्रियाएँ बतायी गयी हैं, उनका भी सम्पादन किया
vaiśampāyana uvāca | pātālavāsino raudrāḥ pūrvaṃ devair vinirjitāḥ | te svapakṣakṣayaṃ tu jñātvā duryodhanasya vai |
Vaiśampāyana said: The fierce beings who dwelt in Pātāla—who in former times had been defeated by the gods—came to understand that Duryodhana’s impending destruction would mean the ruin of their own faction as well. Recognizing this, they resolved to act so that their cause would not collapse with him.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how attachment to factional victory can drive beings toward strategic intervention, even when their past defeat and moral standing are questionable; it frames political loyalty as a motive that can override ethical restraint.
Netherworld-dwellers, previously defeated by the gods, realize that Duryodhana’s downfall would also destroy their own cause; they therefore decide to take steps to prevent their side from collapsing with him.