Shloka 6
Draupadī’s Grief at Seeing the Heroes in Disguise (द्रौपदी-विषादः / वेष-परिभव-वर्णनम्)
एवं बहुविधे: क्लेशै: क्लिश्यमानां च भारत । न मां जानासि कौन्तेय कि फलं जीवितेन मे,भरतकुलभूषण कुन्तीनन्दन! ऐसे बहुत-से क्लेशोंद्वारा मैं निरन्तर पीड़ित रहती हूँ; क्या तुम यह नहीं जानते? फिर मेरे जीनेका ही कया प्रयोजन है?
evaṁ bahuvidhaiḥ kleśaiḥ kliśyamānāṁ ca bhārata | na māṁ jānāsi kaunteya kiṁ phalaṁ jīvitena me ||
Vaiśampāyana said: “O descendant of Bharata, I am continually tormented by many kinds of suffering. O son of Kuntī, do you not understand my condition? What purpose is served by my continuing to live?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds the ethical weight of suffering within dharma: when a person is overwhelmed by repeated afflictions, life can feel purposeless. In the Mahābhārata’s moral world, such lament becomes a test for the listener’s compassion, responsibility, and capacity to respond with dharmic counsel rather than indifference.
In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a distressed woman speaks to a Pāṇḍava addressed as “Bhārata” and “Kaunteya,” declaring that she is continually afflicted by many troubles and questioning the value of her continued life. The line functions as a plea for recognition and help, intensifying the emotional stakes of the episode in Virāṭa Parva.