Shloka 45
इन्द्रजिद्-लक्ष्मणयुद्धम्
Indrajit and Lakṣmaṇa: Escalation through Concealment
वैशम्पायनजी कहते हैं-जनमेजय! युधिष्ठिरकी यह बात सुनकर द्रौपदीकी सारी इन्द्रियाँ व्याकुल हो उठीं। वह लज्जावती और बुद्धिमती होनेपर भी भीमसेन और अर्जुन दोनों पतियोंसे कुपित होकर बोली-- ।। कर्तव्यं चेत् प्रियं महाूं वध्य: स पुरुषाधम: । सैन्धवापसद: पापो दुर्मति: कुलपांसन:,“यदि आप लोगोंको मेरा प्रिय करना है तो उस नराधमको अवश्य मार डालिये। वह पापी दुर्बुद्धि जयद्रथ सिन्धुदेशका कलड्ूक और कुलाज्ार है
vaiśampāyana uvāca—janamejaya! yudhiṣṭhirasya vacaḥ śrutvā draupadyāḥ sarvendriyāṇi vyākulāny abhavan. sā lajjāvatī buddhimatī ca satī bhīmasenārjunau ubhau patī krodhena samudīkṣya uvāca— kartavyaṃ cet priyaṃ mahyaṃ vadhyaḥ sa puruṣādhamaḥ | saindhavāpasadaḥ pāpo durmatiḥ kulapāṃsanaḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O Janamejaya! Hearing Yudhiṣṭhira’s words, all of Draupadī’s senses were thrown into turmoil. Though modest and wise, she became angry with both her husbands—Bhīmasena and Arjuna—and spoke: ‘If you truly wish to do what is dear to me, then that vilest of men must be slain. That sinful wretch of the Sindhu land—of perverse mind, a disgrace to his lineage—must be put to death.’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the tension between personal grievance and dharma: Draupadī frames vengeance as a ‘duty’ for those who claim to act for her welfare, pressing the Kṣatriya ideal of punishing grave wrongdoing, while also revealing how anger can compel even the modest and wise to demand extreme retribution.
After hearing Yudhiṣṭhira’s words, Draupadī becomes emotionally overwhelmed and, despite her usual modesty and discernment, rebukes Bhīma and Arjuna. She insists that if they wish to please her, they must kill Jayadratha of Sindhu, branding him a sinful, evil-minded disgrace to his lineage.