Shloka 9
अध्याय २७०: प्रहस्त-वधः, धूम्राक्ष-हननं, कुम्भकर्ण-प्रबोधनम्
Chapter 270: Slaying of Prahasta; Defeat of Dhūmrākṣa; Awakening of Kumbhakarṇa
इत्येव ते तद् वनमाविशन्तो महत्यरण्ये मृगयां चरित्वा । बालामपश्यन्त तदा रुदन्तीं धात्रेयिकां प्रेष्यवधूं प्रियाया:,इस प्रकार उस विशाल वनमें शिकार खेलकर लौटे हुए पाण्डव जब आश्रमके समीपवर्ती वनमें प्रवेश करने लगे, तब उन्होंने देखा कि उनकी प्रिया द्रौपदीकी दासी धात्रेयिका, जो उन्हींके एक सेवककी स्त्री थी, रो रही है
ity eva te tad vanam āviśanto mahāty araṇye mṛgayāṃ caritvā | bālām apaśyanta tadā rudantīṃ dhātreyikāṃ preṣyavadhūṃ priyāyāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: Thus, after roaming in the great wilderness in pursuit of the hunt, the Pāṇḍavas were entering that forest again when they then saw a young woman—Dhātreyikā, the beloved Draupadī’s maidservant, who was also the wife of one of their attendants—standing there and weeping. The scene signals an abrupt shift from the pastime of hunting to the moral urgency of responding to distress within the household and the āśrama’s vicinity.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a dharmic pivot: leisure or royal pastime (hunting) must yield immediately to the duty of protecting and responding to the suffering of dependents. The sight of a weeping servant’s wife near the āśrama foregrounds compassion and responsibility toward those under one’s care.
After hunting in the great forest, the Pāṇḍavas return and begin to enter the nearby woodland by the hermitage. They notice Dhātreyikā—Draupadī’s maidservant and the wife of one of their attendants—crying, which sets up an impending report of trouble and prompts the heroes’ attention.