Shloka 32
Draupadī’s Lament and Theodicy: Dharma, Dice, and Īśvara’s Governance (Āraṇyaka-parva 31)
त्वमात्मनो विजानीहि जन्म कृष्णे यथा श्रुतम् वेत्थ चापि यथा जातो धृष्टद्युम्न: प्रतापवान्,धर्म निष्फल नहीं होता। अधर्म भी अपना फल दिये बिना नहीं रहता। विद्या और तपस्याके भी फल देखे जाते हैं। कृष्णे! तुम अपने जन्मके प्रसिद्ध वृत्तान्तको ही स्मरण करो। तुम्हारा प्रतापी भाई धृष्टद्युम्न जिस प्रकार उत्पन्न हुआ है, यह भी तुम जानती हो
tvam ātmano vijānīhi janma kṛṣṇe yathā śrutam | vettha cāpi yathā jāto dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ pratāpavān || dharmo niṣphalo na bhavati | adharmo 'pi svaphalaṃ adātvā na tiṣṭhati | vidyā-tapasoḥ phalāni 'pi dṛśyante | kṛṣṇe! tvam sva-janma-prasiddha-vṛttāntaṃ smara | tava pratāpī bhrātā dhṛṣṭadyumnaḥ yathā utpannaḥ, tad api tvaṃ jānāsi ||
Yudhiṣṭhira berkata: “Wahai Kṛṣṇā, ingatlah sendiri kisah masyhur tentang kelahiranmu, sebagaimana telah didengar dan diwariskan. Engkau juga mengetahui bagaimana adikmu yang gagah, Dhṛṣṭadyumna, muncul ke dunia. Dharma tidak pernah sia-sia; adharma juga tidak akan tinggal tanpa berbuah. Buah ilmu dan buah tapa juga nyata terlihat. Maka ingatlah asal-usulmu yang termasyhur—dan engkau pun tahu bagaimana saudaramu yang perkasa itu dilahirkan.”
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse asserts moral causality: dharma inevitably bears beneficial fruit, and adharma also inevitably yields its (harmful) result. It further affirms that learning (vidyā) and austerity (tapas) are not wasted—their outcomes are observable—encouraging steadfastness in righteous conduct even amid suffering.
Yudhiṣṭhira addresses Draupadī (called Kṛṣṇā), urging her to remember the renowned circumstances of her own birth and that of her brother Dhṛṣṭadyumna. By invoking their extraordinary origins, he frames their present hardship within a larger moral and providential order where actions and virtues inevitably bear results.