Shloka 22

धर्मरहस्योपदेशः

Dharma-rahasya Instruction: Vows, Truth, and Non-injury

Devanagari script

अज्ञातवासं वसता विराटनगरे तदा | द्रौपद्या: प्रियकामेन केवलं बाहुसंश्रयात्‌

Transliteration

ajñātavāsaṃ vasatā virāṭanagare tadā | draupadyāḥ priyakāmena kevalaṃ bāhusaṃśrayāt ||

Translation

അന്ന് വിരാടനഗരത്തിൽ അജ്ഞാതവാസം കഴിയുമ്പോൾ, ദ്രൗപദിയെ പ്രസന്നയാക്കണമെന്ന ആഗ്രഹത്തോടെ അവൻ തന്റെ ഭുജബലത്തെയേ മാത്രം ആശ്രയിച്ചു.

Word by Word

अज्ञातवासम्the incognito residence (period of living unknown)

वसताby (him) dwelling / while dwelling

विराटनगरेin the city of Virāṭa

तदाthen

द्रौपद्याःof Draupadī

प्रियकामेनby one desiring what is dear (to her) / by a wish to please her

केवलम्only, merely

बाहुसंश्रयात्from reliance on (his) arms / from taking refuge in his arms

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Draupadī

Virāṭa (place/kingdom)

Virāṭanagara (city)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights an ethic of personal valor and responsibility: when protecting dignity and fulfilling one’s duty, one should rely on one’s own disciplined strength and resolve, motivated by righteous affection rather than vanity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya recalls the time of the Pandavas’ incognito stay in Virāṭa’s city, describing how the hero (implied) acted to satisfy and protect Draupadī, depending solely on his own arm-strength—suggesting direct intervention and martial readiness during concealment.