Shloka 53
Adhyāya 196: Droṇa’s Conciliatory Counsel and Karṇa’s Suspicion of Counsel (मन्त्र-नय-विवादः)
सैषा देवी रुचिरा देवजुष्टा पज्चानामेका स्वकृतेनेह कर्मणा । सृष्टा स्वयं देवपत्नी स्वयम्भुवा श्र॒त्वा राजन द्रुपदेष्टं कुरुष्व,महाराज द्रुपद! वही यह देवसेवित सुन्दरी देवी अपने ही कर्मसे पाँच पुरुषोंकी एक ही पत्नी नियत की गयी है। स्वयं ब्रह्माजीने इसे देवस्वरूप पाण्डवोंकी पत्नी होनेके लिये रचा है। यह सब सुनकर तुम्हें जो अच्छा लगे, वह करो
saiṣā devī rucirā devajuṣṭā pañcānām ekā svakṛtenehā karmaṇā | sṛṣṭā svayaṃ devapatnī svayambhuvā śrutvā rājan drupadeṣṭaṃ kuruṣva ||
Vyāsa disse: “Esta deusa radiante, formosa e querida pelos deuses, foi—pela força de seus próprios atos passados—ordenada aqui para ser a única esposa dos cinco. O Criador Auto-nascido (Svayambhū) a moldou como consorte divinamente destinada àqueles homens semelhantes a deuses. Tendo ouvido isto, ó rei Drupada, faze o que julgares melhor.”
व्यास उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames an unusual social arrangement (one wife for five brothers) as grounded in karma and divine ordinance, while still placing responsibility on the king to act with discernment (iṣṭaṃ kuruṣva) within dharma.
Vyāsa addresses King Drupada, explaining that the woman (Draupadī) is destined—by her own karma and by Brahmā’s design—to be the single wife of the five Pāṇḍavas, and he urges Drupada to decide accordingly.