Shloka 16
Ambā’s Vow of Tapas after Paraśurāma’s Assessment (अम्बाया तपोव्रतनिश्चयः)
पुत्रवत् पुत्रकार्याणि सर्वाणि समकारयत् । रक्षणं चैव मन्त्रस्य महिषी द्रुपदस्य सा
putravat putrakāryāṇi sarvāṇi samakārayat | rakṣaṇaṁ caiva mantrasya mahiṣī drupadasya sā, narendra |
भीष्म म्हणाले— हे नरेन्द्र! द्रुपदाने त्या लपविलेल्या अपत्यासाठी पुत्राप्रमाणेच सर्व कार्ये व संस्कार करवून घेतले. द्रुपदाच्या राणीने त्या रहस्याचे रक्षण करण्यासाठी सर्व उपाय केले; ती तिला नेहमी ‘पुत्र’ असेच संबोधत असे. नगरात द्रुपदाला सोडून दुसऱ्या कोणालाही ती कन्या आहे हे माहीत नव्हते।
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights royal and familial pragmatism: to preserve political stability and intended outcomes, Drupada and his queen maintain strict confidentiality and perform socially recognized rites as for a male heir. It raises ethical tension between truthfulness and perceived necessity in matters of lineage and statecraft.
Bhishma narrates that Drupada secretly raises a girl as a son. He arranges all the customary ‘son’s’ rites for the child, while the queen carefully guards the secret and publicly refers to the child as a boy so that no one in the city suspects the truth.