Shloka 10

Devanagari script

महाप्राज्ञ: सौमकिर्यज्ञसेन: कन्यां पाज्चालीं पाण्डवेभ्य: प्रदाय | अकार्षीद्‌ वै सुकृतं नेह किंचित्‌ क्लीबा: पार्था: पतयो याज्ञसेन्या:,“महाबुद्धिमान्‌ सोमकवंशी राजा ट्रुपदने अपनी कन्या पांचालीको पाण्डवोंके लिये देकर कोई अच्छा काम नहीं किया। द्रौपदीके पति ये कुन्तीपुत्र निरे नपुंसक ही हैं

Transliteration

mahāprājñaḥ saumikir yajñasenaḥ kanyāṃ pāñcālīṃ pāṇḍavebhyaḥ pradāya | akārsīd vai sukṛtaṃ neha kiṃcit klībāḥ pārthāḥ patayo yājñasenyāḥ ||

Translation

अतिशय प्रज्ञावान यज्ञसेन (द्रुपद) यांनी पाञ्चालीला पांडवांना देऊनही येथे काही विशेष पुण्यकर्म केले नाही; कारण याज्ञसेनीचे पती—पृथापुत्र पार्थ—इथे ‘क्लीब’ म्हणून कठोरपणे निंदिले जात आहेत, जे त्यांच्या सध्याच्या अपमान व असहायतेचे द्योतक आहे, त्यांच्या खऱ्या मूल्याचा अंतिम निर्णय नव्हे.

Word by Word

• {'mahāprājñaḥ': 'very wise

• of great intelligence', 'saumakiḥ': 'descendant of Somaka

• of the Somaka lineage (epithet)', 'yajñasenaḥ': 'Yajñasena, i.e., King Drupada (proper name/epithet)', 'kanyām': 'daughter

• maiden', 'pāñcālīm': 'the Pāñcāla princess

• Draupadī', 'pāṇḍavebhyaḥ': 'to the Pāṇḍavas', 'pradāya': 'having given (in marriage)

• after giving', 'akārsīt': 'did

• performed', 'vai': 'indeed

• certainly (emphatic particle)', 'sukṛtam': 'a good/meritorious deed

• virtuous act', 'na iha kiṃcit': 'not at all here

• nothing (of that sort)', 'klībāḥ': 'impotent

• powerless (used as an insult/censure)', 'pārthāḥ': 'sons of Pṛthā (Kuntī)

• the Pāṇḍavas', 'patayaḥ': 'husbands', 'yājñasenyāḥ': 'of Yajñasenī (Draupadī), daughter of Yajñasena'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Yajñasena (Drupada)
• Somaka lineage (Saumaki)
• Pāñcālī (Draupadī / Yājñasenī)
• Pāṇḍavas (Pārthas / sons of Kuntī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how public honor and perceived capability shape ethical judgments in royal politics: a marriage alliance is praised as ‘meritorious’ only when it upholds dignity and strength; when the recipients are viewed as powerless or disgraced, the same act is condemned, showing the tension between dharma, reputation, and political prudence.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the context of the Sabha Parva’s courtly conflict and humiliation, the narrator reports a severe disparagement: Drupada’s act of giving Draupadī to the Pāṇḍavas is criticized as not being a ‘good deed,’ because the Pāṇḍavas—Draupadī’s husbands—are derided as ‘klība’ (powerless/impotent), reflecting their current dishonor and vulnerability.