Shloka 9

Devanagari script

यत्‌ तु धर्मप्रवृत्तस्य हृतं राज्यमधर्मत: । द्रौपदी च परामृष्टा सभामानीय शत्रुभि:,'परंतु धर्ममें तत्पर रहनेपर भी जो शत्रुओंने अधर्मसे हमारा राज्य छीन लिया, द्रौपदीको सभामें लाकर अपमानित किया तथा हमें वलकल और मृगचर्म पहनाकर तेरह वर्षोके लिये जो वनमें निर्वासित कर दिया, हम वैसे बर्तावके योग्य कदापि नहीं थे

Transliteration

yat tu dharmapravṛttasya hṛtaṁ rājyam adharmataḥ | draupadī ca parāmṛṣṭā sabhām ānīya śatrubhiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Yet, though he was steadfastly devoted to dharma, his kingdom was seized by the enemies through unrighteous means; and Draupadī too was violated—brought into the royal assembly and subjected to humiliation by those foes.”

Word by Word

{'yat tu''but as for this

however', 'dharma-pravṛttasya''of one engaged in dharma

of one devoted to righteous conduct', 'hṛtam''taken away

seized', 'rājyam''kingdom

sovereignty', 'adharmataḥ''by unrighteousness

unjustly', 'draupadī''Draupadī (wife of the Pāṇḍavas)', 'ca': 'and', 'parāmṛṣṭā': 'outraged

dishonoured (lit. ‘touched improperly’)', 'sabhām''assembly hall

royal court', 'ānīya''having brought

leading (her) in', 'śatrubhiḥ''by enemies'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Draupadī

sabhā (royal assembly)

śatravaḥ (enemies)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts dharma and adharma: even a person committed to righteousness can suffer grave injustice when opponents abandon ethical limits. It highlights that legitimacy in kingship and social order depends on dharma, and that violations—seizing a kingdom unjustly and dishonouring a woman in the assembly—are moral transgressions with far-reaching consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya recalls the wrongs done by the enemies: the kingdom was taken through unrighteous means, and Draupadī was brought into the court and dishonoured. The statement functions as a reminder of the earlier outrage that fuels the continuing conflict and frames the war as arising from accumulated injustice.