Shloka 19
Draupadī Meets Kṛṣṇa’s Queens — Narratives of the Lord’s Marriages and the Queens’ Bhakti
यथा स्वयंवरे राज्ञि मत्स्य: पार्थेप्सया कृत: । अयं तु बहिराच्छन्नो दृश्यते स जले परम् ॥ १९ ॥
yathā svayaṁ-vare rājñi matsyaḥ pārthepsayā kṛtaḥ ayaṁ tu bahir ācchanno dṛśyate sa jale param
王妃よ、あなたのスヴァヤンヴァラでアルジュナを夫として得させるため魚が的とされたように、私の式でも魚が的とされた。だが私の場合、その魚は四方を覆われ、下の水の器に映る影だけが見えたのだ。
Arjuna is famous as the most expert bowman. Why, then, could he not hit the fish target at Śrīmatī Lakṣmaṇā’s svayaṁvara ceremony just as he had done once before to win Draupadī? Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī explains: The target at Draupadī’s svayaṁvara had been covered only partially, so that a marksman could see it if he looked straight up the pillar on which it was placed. To shoot Lakṣmaṇā’s target, however, it was necessary to aim by looking up and down at the same time, an impossible feat for any mortal. Therefore only Kṛṣṇa could strike the target.
FAQs
The verse recalls the famous test where the fish-target’s true position was discerned via its reflection in water, highlighting extraordinary focus and the destined selection of Arjuna.
Because the queens’ conversation recollects celebrated events connected to Kṛṣṇa’s circle and the Pāṇḍavas, including Draupadī’s svayaṁvara where Arjuna’s skill fulfilled the intended outcome.
It teaches disciplined attention and correct perspective—success often comes by learning how to perceive the truth indirectly and steadily, without being distracted by what is merely “outerly covered.”