Shloka 20
Droṇa’s Ācārya-Dakṣiṇā: Capture of Drupada and Division of Pāñcāla (द्रोण-आचार्यदक्षिणा)
दश बालाज्जले क्रीडन् भुजाभ्यां परिगृहार सः । आस्ते सम सलिले मग्नो मृतकल्पान् विमुड्चति,वे जलमें क्रीड़ा करते समय अपनी दोनों भुजाओंसे धृतराष्ट्रके दस बालकोंको पकड़ लेते और देरतक पानीमें गोते लगाते रहते थे। जब वे अधमरे-से हो जाते, तब उन्हें छोड़ते थे
daśa bālāj jale krīḍan bhujābhyāṃ parigṛhāra saḥ | āste sama-salile magno mṛta-kalpān vimuñcati ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: Brincando na água, ele agarrava com ambos os braços dez dos filhos de Dhṛtarāṣṭra e permanecia submerso por muito tempo na mesma água; só quando eles ficavam como mortos—meio sem sentidos, quase sem vida—é que os soltava. O episódio evidencia o uso cruel da força na brincadeira, transformando o jogo em dano e prenunciando a corrosão ética que alimentará a inimizade futura.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
Strength and skill, even in play, must be governed by restraint and compassion; when sport becomes a means to injure or humiliate, it turns into adharma and plants seeds of lasting hostility.
During water-play, a powerful youth seizes Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s ten boys, holds them underwater for a long time, and releases them only when they are nearly unconscious—an act presented as harsh and dangerous rather than harmless play.