Shloka 20
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 180 — Svayaṃvara-Virodha and Pāṇḍava Parākrama
Draupadī Episode
एवं प्रतिज्ञा सत्येयं तवानघ भविष्यति । न चैवं सामरा लोका गमिष्यन्ति पराभवम्
evaṁ pratijñā satyeyam tavānagha bhaviṣyati | na caivaṁ sāmarā lokā gamiṣyanti parābhavam, anagha || nimittabhūtas tvaṁ cātra krato vāsiṣṭha-nandana | tat satraṁ muñca bhadraṁ te samāptam idam astu te ||
アウルヴァは言った。「罪なき者よ、かく為せば汝の誓いはまこととなり、神々とともなる諸世界も滅亡に陥らぬ。しかも汝—ヴァシシュタの末裔よ—この祭においてはただの媒介因にすぎぬ。ゆえにこの祭会を捨てよ。吉祥は汝のもの—この儀礼はいま正しく結了すべし。」
ऑर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
A vow should be fulfilled without causing disproportionate harm: Aurva urges restraint so that the pledge is honored while preventing the ruin of the worlds. He also stresses humility about agency—one may be only an instrument (nimitta) within a larger moral-causal order.
Aurva addresses a descendant of Vasiṣṭha engaged in a prolonged sacrificial rite aimed at destructive ends. He counsels him to stop the satra, assuring that the vow can still be considered fulfilled and that the cosmic order (including gods and worlds) will be spared catastrophe.