Shloka 25
Virāṭa-parva Adhyāya 23: Report of the Slain Sūtaputras, Royal Orders, and Sairandhrī’s Return
गन्धर्वो बलवानेति क्रुद्ध उद्यम्य पादपम् । सैरन्ध्री मुच्यतां शीघ्रं यतो नो भयमागतम्,“अरे! देखो, यह बलवान गन्धर्व वृक्ष उठाये कुपित हो हमारी ओर आ रहा है। सैरन्ध्रीको शीघ्र छोड़ दो, क्योंकि उसीके कारण हमें यह भय उपस्थित हुआ है”
gandharvo balavān iti kruddha udyamya pādapam | sairandhrī mucyatāṁ śīghraṁ yato no bhayam āgatam ||
Vaiśampāyana berkata: “Lihatlah—Gandharva yang gagah perkasa itu, dalam murka, telah mengangkat sebatang pokok dan sedang mara ke arah kita. Lepaskan hamba perempuan itu segera, kerana oleh sebab dialah bahaya ini menimpa kita.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
When harm is provoked by injustice, fear drives wrongdoers to shift blame onto the victim; the verse highlights the ethical inversion where perpetrators seek to escape consequences by sacrificing the vulnerable.
Seeing a powerful Gandharva approaching in anger with a tree raised like a weapon, the speakers urgently demand that Sairandhrī (Draupadī, disguised as a maid) be released, claiming that their present danger has arisen because of her.