Shloka 29
द्रौपदी-भीमसेनसंवादः
Draupadī–Bhīmasena Dialogue on Suffering, Kāla, and Daiva
यदा होन॑ परिवृतं कन्याभिदेदेवरूपिणम् । प्रभिन्नमिव मातडूं परिकीर्ण करेणुनि:
yadā haiva parivṛtaṃ kanyābhir devatārūpiṇam | prabhinnam iva mātaṅgaṃ parikīrṇaṃ kareṇubhiḥ ||
वैशंपायन म्हणाले—जेव्हा मी कुंतीनंदन अर्जुनाला देवसदृश रूप धारण करून नृत्यशाळेत वाद्यांच्या निनादामध्ये बसलेला, कन्यांनी वेढलेला, मत्स्यदेशाचा धनपति राजा विराट याच्या सेवेत उपस्थित पाहते, तेव्हा तो कपोलांतून मदधारा वाहणारा व हत्तीणींनी घेरलेला महान गजराज जसा भासतो तसाच भासतो. ते दृश्य पाहताच माझी दृष्टी डळमळते; डोळ्यांवर अंधार दाटतो आणि दिशा कळेनाशा होतात.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the strain of dharma under concealment: a heroic warrior must accept an outwardly incongruent role to keep a vow and protect a larger righteous aim. It also shows how attachment to social expectations can cause inner disorientation when confronted with a dharmic necessity that overturns appearances.
During the Pāṇḍavas’ incognito year in Virāṭa’s court, Arjuna lives as a dance-and-music teacher in a feminine guise. The speaker describes seeing him seated among instruments and surrounded by maidens while serving King Virāṭa, comparing him to a rutting elephant encircled by cow-elephants, and expresses being overwhelmed and losing composure at the sight.