Shloka 25
Draupadī’s Lament and Theodicy: Dharma, Dice, and Īśvara’s Governance (Āraṇyaka-parva 31)
अफलो यदि धर्म: स्याच्चरितो धर्मचारिभि: | अप्रतिष्ठे तमस्येतज्जगन्मज्जेदनिन्दिते,साध्वी द्रौपदी! यदि धर्मपरायण पुरुषोंद्वारा पालित धर्म निष्फल होता तो सम्पूर्ण जगत् असीम अन्धकारमें निमग्न हो जाता
aphalo yadi dharmaḥ syāc carito dharmacāribhiḥ | apratiṣṭhe tamasy etaj jagan majjed anindite sādhvī draupadī ||
ユディシュティラは言った。「もし、法（ダルマ）に帰依する者たちが実践するダルマが、まことに無果であるなら、この世界は—確かな拠り所を失い—果てしない闇へと沈み込むであろう。ああ、咎なき貞淑なるドラウパディよ！」
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
Dharma is not ultimately futile: if righteous conduct had no consequence, the moral structure of the world would collapse into darkness. The verse affirms confidence in an underlying ethical order even amid apparent injustice.
In the Vana Parva, Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Draupadī, who is distressed by the Pandavas’ suffering despite their righteousness. He reassures her that dharma must bear meaning and support the world, and therefore cannot be without fruit.