Shloka 66

Adhyāya 45 — Duryodhana’s Distress, Śakuni’s Counsel, and the Summons for Dyūta

Devanagari script

बान्धवास्त्वोपजीवन्तु सहस्राक्षमिवामरा: | कृत्वा परस्परेणैवं संविदं कृष्णपाण्डवी

Transliteration

bāndhavās tvopajīvantu sahasrākṣam ivāmarāḥ | kṛtvā paraspareṇaivaṃ saṃvidaṃ kṛṣṇapāṇḍavī ||

Translation

“അവന്റെ ബന്ധുക്കൾ അവന്റെ ആശ്രയത്തിൽ ജീവിക്കട്ടെ; ദേവന്മാർ സഹസ്രാക്ഷനായ ഇന്ദ്രനെ ആശ്രയിച്ച് ജീവിക്കുന്നതുപോലെ.” ഇങ്ങനെ പരസ്പരം സംവിദം (ഉടമ്പടി) ഉറപ്പാക്കി കൃഷ്ണാ (ദ്രൗപദി)യും പാണ്ഡവരും ആ ധാരണപ്രകാരം മുന്നോട്ടു നീങ്ങി.

Word by Word

बान्धवाःkinsmen, relatives

तुbut, indeed

उपजीवन्तुlet (them) live by, subsist on

सहस्राक्षम्the thousand-eyed one (Indra)

इवlike, as

अमराःthe immortals, gods

कृत्वाhaving made, having done

परस्परेणwith one another, mutually

एवम्thus, in this manner

संविदम्agreement, compact, understanding

कृष्णपाण्डवीO Krishna-Pandavi (Draupadi, the dark one of the Pandavas)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Sahasrākṣa (Indra)

Amarāḥ (the gods)

Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī)

Pāṇḍavas

Bāndhavāḥ (kinsmen/relatives)

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 reciprocity and patronage as a social ethic: a powerful supporter sustains not only an individual but also their wider kin-network, just as Indra sustains the gods. It also subtly points to the moral ambiguity of dependence on power within political agreements.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī) and the Pāṇḍavas have reached a mutual understanding/compact with others (implied by context), and the arrangement is framed as one that will allow relatives and dependents to subsist under a strong patron, likened to Indra.