Shloka 16
Ambā’s Vow of Tapas after Paraśurāma’s Assessment (अम्बाया तपोव्रतनिश्चयः)
पुत्रवत् पुत्रकार्याणि सर्वाणि समकारयत् । रक्षणं चैव मन्त्रस्य महिषी द्रुपदस्य सा
putravat putrakāryāṇi sarvāṇi samakārayat | rakṣaṇaṁ caiva mantrasya mahiṣī drupadasya sā, narendra |
Bhishma berkata: “Wahai raja, selepas itu Drupada menyuruh agar segala upacara dan persiapan bagi anak yang disembunyikan itu dilakukan tepat seperti bagi seorang putera. Dan permaisuri Drupada mengambil segala langkah untuk melindungi rahsia itu; dia memanggil anak itu hanya sebagai ‘anak lelaki’. Di seluruh kota, selain Drupada sendiri, tiada siapa mengetahui bahawa anak itu sebenarnya seorang anak perempuan.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights royal and familial pragmatism: to preserve political stability and intended outcomes, Drupada and his queen maintain strict confidentiality and perform socially recognized rites as for a male heir. It raises ethical tension between truthfulness and perceived necessity in matters of lineage and statecraft.
Bhishma narrates that Drupada secretly raises a girl as a son. He arranges all the customary ‘son’s’ rites for the child, while the queen carefully guards the secret and publicly refers to the child as a boy so that no one in the city suspects the truth.