Shloka 37
Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 28: Dharmādharmalakṣaṇa in Āpad
Crisis-Discernment of Right and Wrong
प्रियां भार्या द्रौपदी पाण्डवानां यशस्विनीं शीलवृत्तोपपन्नाम् | यदुपैक्षन्त कुरवो भीष्ममुख्या: कामानुगेनोपरुद्धां व्रजन्तीम्,पाण्डवोंकी प्यारी पत्नी यशस्विनी द्रौपदी जो शील और सदाचारसे सम्पन्न है, रजस्वला-अवस्थामें सभाके भीतर लायी जा रही थी, परंतु भीष्म आदि प्रधान कौरवोंने भी उसकी ओरसे उपेक्षा दिखायी
vāyudeva uvāca |
priyāṃ bhāryāṃ draupadīṃ pāṇḍavānāṃ yaśasvinīṃ śīlavṛttopapannām |
yad-upekṣanta kuravo bhīṣmamukhyāḥ kāmānugenoparuddhāṃ vrajantīm ||
ಪಾಂಡವರ ಪ್ರಿಯ ಪತ್ನಿ, ಯಶಸ್ವಿನಿ ದ್ರೌಪದಿ—ಶೀಲಸದುಪಚಾರಸಂಪನ್ನಳು—ಕಾಮವಶರಾದವರಿಂದ ಅವಮಾನಿತಳಾಗಿ ಅಸಹಾಯವಾಗಿ ಸಭೆಯೊಳಗೆ ಎಳೆದುಕೊಂಡು ಹೋಗಲ್ಪಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದಾಗಲೂ, ಭೀಷ್ಮಪ್ರಮುಖ ಕುರುಗಳು ಅವಳನ್ನು ರಕ್ಷಿಸದೆ ನಿರ್ಲಕ್ಷ್ಯದಿಂದ ನೋಡಿದರು.
वायुदेव उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse condemns moral cowardice and the abdication of dharma: even revered elders, when swayed by fear, attachment, or social pressure, can become complicit through silence. It highlights that lust-driven injustice (kāma) and the neglect of a righteous person’s protection are grave ethical failures, especially for those entrusted with authority.
Vāyudeva recalls the outrage done to Draupadī: she, the virtuous and celebrated wife of the Pāṇḍavas, is being led in a condition of oppression and humiliation, while the Kuru elders—Bhīṣma foremost—do not intervene and instead remain indifferent, marking a decisive collapse of righteousness in the royal assembly.