Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 180 — Svayaṃvara-Virodha and Pāṇḍava Parākrama
Draupadī Episode
तान् भूगूणां यदा दारान् वक्रिन्नाभ्युपपद्यत । माता तदा दधारेयमूरुणैकेन मां शुभा
tān bhṛgūṇāṃ yadā dārān rakṣitā nābhyupapadyata | mātā tadā dadhāreyam ūrūṇā ekena māṃ śubhā || tataḥ paramaduṣprāpam anyair ṛṣir udāradhīḥ | samāpipayiṣuḥ satraṃ tam atriḥ samupāgamat ||
アウルヴァは言った。「バフリグ族の妻たちを守る者が誰一人見いだせなかったとき、祝福されたわが母は私を自らの片方の腿に隠した。そののち、あのサトラ(連続供犠)を他者が終結させるのはきわめて困難だと悟り、気高き心の聖仙アトリが、サトラを結了させようとしてそこへ来た。」
ऑर्व उवाच
The verse foregrounds dharma as protection: when social order fails to provide a guardian, a mother’s courageous, resourceful protection preserves lineage and life. It also highlights restraint in ritual power—great sages like Atri intervene to conclude a dangerous or unmanageable sacrificial undertaking rather than let it escalate.
Auruva recounts how, during a time when the Bhṛgu women lacked any protector, his mother concealed him in her thigh to save him. Then the sage Atri arrives, intending to bring a prolonged sacrificial session (satra) to its proper conclusion, recognizing that ending it would be extremely difficult for others.