Shloka 11
सभा-पर्यवसान-प्रस्थानवचनम् | Counsel at the Point of Departure
तामिमां धर्मराजस्य भारया सदृशवर्णजाम् | ब्रूत दासीमदासीं वा तत् करिष्यामि कौरवा:
tām imāṃ dharmarājasya bhāryayā sadṛśavarṇajām | brūta dāsīm adāsīṃ vā tat kariṣyāmi kauravāḥ ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Akulah wanita ini—isteri yang sah kepada Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira, lahir daripada varṇa yang sama dengannya. Katakan dengan jelas, wahai Kaurava: adakah aku hamba perempuan atau bukan hamba? Apa jua yang kamu putuskan, itulah yang akan aku lakukan.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds dharma as a public, reasoned standard: a person’s status and rights cannot be reduced to power or coercion. By demanding a clear determination—‘slave or not’—the speaker forces the assembly to confront the ethical and legal implications of treating a lawful queen as property.
In the royal assembly after the dice-game, the woman identified as Dharmarāja’s wife appeals to the Kauravas to decide her status. Her question challenges the legitimacy of her being treated as a wagered object and presses the court to pronounce whether she is bound as a dāsī or remains free.