Shloka 13
Draupadī’s Lament and Theodicy: Dharma, Dice, and Īśvara’s Governance (Āraṇyaka-parva 31)
प्रत्यक्ष पश्यसि होतान् दिव्ययोगसमन्वितान् । शापानुग्रहणे शक्तान् देवेभ्योडपि गरीयस:,तुम अपनी आँखों इन सबको देखती हो, ये दिव्य योगशक्तिसे सम्पन्न, शाप और अनुग्रहमें समर्थ तथा देवताओंसे भी अधिक गौरवशाली हैं
pratyakṣaṁ paśyasi hotṝn divyayogasamanvitān | śāpānugrahaṇe śaktān devebhyo 'pi garīyasaḥ ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Engkau dapat melihat para pendeta yang memimpin upacara ini dengan matamu sendiri. Dikurniai kuasa yoga yang bersifat ilahi, mereka mampu menjatuhkan sumpahan dan juga menganugerahkan rahmat, bahkan lebih dimuliakan daripada para dewa.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the ethical and social principle that spiritual discipline and ritual authority (embodied by the sacrificial priests) carry immense potency—able to bless or curse—and therefore deserve reverence and careful conduct toward them.
Yudhiṣṭhira points out that the priests present are not ordinary people: they are visibly before the listener, endowed with divine yogic power, and their capacity to confer favor or inflict a curse makes them worthy of exceptional respect—greater even than that accorded to the gods.