Shloka 37
दमयन्त्याः व्याकुलता — स्वयंवरसंनिपातः — देवदूतयाचनम्
Damayantī’s Distress, Proclamation of the Svayaṃvara, and the Gods’ Request
प्रतिजानीमहे सत्यं मा शुचो वरवर्णिनि । ये सम ते$क्षजितां कृष्णे दृष्टवा त्वां प्राहसंस्तदा । मांसानि तेषां खादन्तो हरिष्यन्ति वृकद्विजा:,“वरवर्णिनि! हम यह सच्ची प्रतिज्ञा करते हैं, तुम शोक न करो। कृष्णे! उस समय तुम्हें जूएमें जीती हुई देखकर जिन लोगोंने हँसी उड़ायी है, उनके मांस भेड़िये और गीध खायँगे और नोच-नोचकर ले जायूँगे
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | pratijānīmahe satyaṁ mā śuco varavarṇini | ye sma te ’kṣajitāṁ kṛṣṇe dṛṣṭvā tvāṁ prāhasaṁs tadā | māṁsāni teṣāṁ khādanto hariṣyanti vṛkadvijāḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira said: “We make this true vow—do not grieve, O fair-complexioned lady. O Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī), those who, at that time, mocked you when they saw you won in the game of dice—wolves and carrion-birds will devour their flesh and tear it away.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of a truthful vow (satyapratijñā) and the duty to restore violated honor. Yudhiṣṭhira consoles Draupadī by binding himself to a moral commitment: those who rejoiced in adharma (her humiliation after the dice-game) will face the consequences. It also shows how grief is met with resolve grounded in truth and responsibility.
In the aftermath of Draupadī’s humiliation—being treated as ‘won’ in the dice-game—Yudhiṣṭhira addresses her in the forest exile. He urges her not to grieve and makes a solemn promise that the men who mocked her will be destroyed in the coming reckoning, vividly pictured as their bodies being left for wolves and carrion-birds.