Shloka 4
Bhīṣma’s Counsel on Reconciliation and Partition (भीष्मोपदेशः—संधि-राज्यविभागविचारः)
ततो मुहूर्तान्मधुरां वाणीमुच्चार्य पार्षत: । पप्रच्छ त॑ महात्मान द्रौपद्यर्थ विशाम्पते
tato muhūrtān madhurāṃ vāṇīm uccārya pārṣataḥ | papraccha taṃ mahātmānaṃ draupady-arthaṃ viśāṃpate, rājan |
Kemudian, setelah seketika, Raja Drupada—putera Pṛṣata—berkata dengan suara lembut lalu menyoal Vyāsa yang berhati agung tentang Draupadī. Baginda bertanya bagaimana seorang wanita boleh dengan benar menjadi isteri yang sah menurut dharma kepada ramai lelaki tanpa menanggung kesalahan “saṅkara” (kekacauan dan percampuran susur galur serta tatanan sosial), serta memohon penjelasan yang terang dan tepat berlandaskan dharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical-dharmic problem: extraordinary marital arrangements must be justified within dharma so that they do not produce saṅkara (social and genealogical disorder). It highlights the Mahābhārata’s method of resolving moral tension through inquiry to a qualified authority (a ṛṣi) and through careful reasoning about duty, lineage, and social stability.
After a brief pause, King Drupada speaks respectfully and asks the sage Vyāsa to explain the dharmic basis for Draupadī becoming the wife of multiple men, seeking assurance that no fault—especially the charge of saṅkara—will arise from such a marriage.