Shloka 60
अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः
दासभार्येति पाञज्चालीमब्रवीत् कुरुसंनिधौ । न सन्ति पतय: कृष्णे सर्वे षण्ढतिलै: समा:
dāsabhāryeti pāñcālīm abravīt kurusaṃnidhau | na santi patayaḥ kṛṣṇe sarve ṣaṇḍhatilaiḥ samāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Di hadapan kaum Kuru, dia menghina Pāñcālī dengan kata-kata kejam: ‘Engkau hanyalah isteri seorang hamba.’ Lalu dia menambah: ‘Kṛṣṇā tidak mempunyai suami sama sekali—mereka semua sama seperti orang yang tidak berdaya.’”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how adharma spreads when a public assembly tolerates cruelty: verbal violence and sexualized slander are used to strip a person of dignity and to provoke conflict. Ethically, it condemns the misuse of power and speech, especially in a royal court where restraint and protection of the vulnerable are expected.
In the Kuru assembly, Pāñcālī (Draupadī) is publicly abused with the epithet “slave’s wife,” and her husbands are derided as impotent. The scene underscores the collapse of decorum and righteousness in the court, intensifying hostility and justifying the moral outrage that fuels the larger conflict.