Shloka 16
Draupadī’s Grief at Seeing the Heroes in Disguise (द्रौपदी-विषादः / वेष-परिभव-वर्णनम्)
जिनके कहीं यात्रा करते समय दस हजार हाथी और सोनेकी मालाएँ पहने हुए सहस्रों घोड़े पीछे-पीछे चलते थे, वे ही महाराज यहाँ जूएसे जीविका चलाते हैं ।। रथा: शतसहस्राणि नृपाणाममितौजसाम् | उपासन्त महाराजमिन्द्रप्रस्थे युधिष्ठिरम्
rathāḥ śata-sahasrāṇi nṛpāṇām amita-ojasām | upāsanta mahārājam indraprasthe yudhiṣṭhiram ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: Di Indraprastha, ratusan ribu kereta perang milik raja-raja yang berkekuatan tiada terukur pernah menghadap dan berkhidmat kepada Raja Yudhiṣṭhira. Namun kini kebesaran itu telah diterbalikkan oleh takdir: tuan yang dahulu dilayani para raja perkasa terlihat di sini menyara hidup melalui permainan dadu—suatu ratapan etika tentang bagaimana kemakmuran dan kuasa, apabila terikat pada perjudian dan pertimbangan yang silap, boleh runtuh menjadi kehinaan dan kebergantungan.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Royal power and prosperity are unstable when dharma is compromised; the verse underscores the moral warning that attachment to gambling and poor judgment can reduce even a universally honored king to disgrace and dependence.
The narrator recalls Yudhiṣṭhira’s former imperial splendor at Indraprastha—countless chariots of powerful kings attending him—contrasting it with his present diminished condition after the dice-game, heightening the sense of reversal and pathos.