Shloka 4
Bhīṣma’s Counsel on Reconciliation and Partition (भीष्मोपदेशः—संधि-राज्यविभागविचारः)
ततो मुहूर्तान्मधुरां वाणीमुच्चार्य पार्षत: । पप्रच्छ त॑ महात्मान द्रौपद्यर्थ विशाम्पते,राजन! तदनन्तर दो घड़ीके बाद राजा ट्रुपदने मीठी वाणी बोलकर महात्मा व्यासजीसे द्रौपदीके विषयमें पूछा--“भगवन्! एक ही स्त्री बहुत-से पुरुषोंकी धर्मपत्नी कैसे हो सकती है? जिससे संकरताका दोष न लगे, यह सब आप ठीक-ठीक बतावें”
tato muhūrtān madhurāṃ vāṇīm uccārya pārṣataḥ | papraccha taṃ mahātmānaṃ draupady-arthaṃ viśāṃpate, rājan |
Então, após um breve intervalo, o rei Drupada —filho de Pṛṣata— falou com voz suave e interrogou o magnânimo Vyāsa a respeito de Draupadī. Perguntou como uma única mulher poderia, com retidão, tornar-se a esposa legítima de muitos homens sem incorrer na falta de saṅkara (confusão e mistura da ordem social e da linhagem), e pediu uma explicação clara, firmada no dharma.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an ethical-dharmic problem: extraordinary marital arrangements must be justified within dharma so that they do not produce saṅkara (social and genealogical disorder). It highlights the Mahābhārata’s method of resolving moral tension through inquiry to a qualified authority (a ṛṣi) and through careful reasoning about duty, lineage, and social stability.
After a brief pause, King Drupada speaks respectfully and asks the sage Vyāsa to explain the dharmic basis for Draupadī becoming the wife of multiple men, seeking assurance that no fault—especially the charge of saṅkara—will arise from such a marriage.