Shloka 42
पुनर्द्यूत-समाह्वानम्
Renewed Summons to the Dice-Game and Exile Wager
(इमं प्रश्नमिमे ब्रूत सर्व एव सभासद: । जितां वाप्यजितां वा मां मन्यध्वे सर्वभूमिपा: ।।
imaṃ praśnam ime brūta sarva eva sabhāsadaḥ | jitāṃ vāpy ajitāṃ vā māṃ manyadhve sarvabhūmipāḥ ||
vaśiṣṭhaḥ uvāca: tathā bruvantī karuṇaṃ sumadhyamā bhartṝn kaṭākṣaiḥ kupitān apaśyat | sā pāṇḍavān kopaparītadehān saṃdīpayām āsa kaṭākṣapātaiḥ ||
“Biarlah semua ahli dewan ini menjawab pertanyaanku. Wahai raja-raja yang memerintah bumi, menurut dharma apakah penilaian kalian—adakah aku telah dimenangi, atau belum dimenangi?” Vaiśampāyana berkata: Ketika dia berkata demikian dengan suara yang memilukan, Draupadī yang berpinggang ramping melemparkan pandangan serong kepada para suaminya dan melihat mereka menyala oleh amarah. Tubuh para Pāṇḍava sudah pun dikuasai murka, dan dengan jatuhnya lirikan tajamnya, dia mengipas api itu menjadi lebih marak lagi.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma as a public standard of judgment: even in a royal court, power and victory must be tested against ethical legitimacy. Draupadī’s question forces the assembly to confront whether a person can be treated as property through an unrighteous wager, making moral law superior to mere outcome.
In the Kaurava court after the dice game, Draupadī challenges the assembly to decide whether she has been lawfully ‘won.’ As she laments, she looks toward her husbands; seeing their suppressed fury, her sidelong glances intensify the Pāṇḍavas’ anger, heightening the tension in the hall.