Shloka 43

Devanagari script

याजोपयाजतपसा पुत्र लेभे स पावकात्‌ । धृष्टद्रुम्न॑ द्रौोपदीं च वेदीमध्यात्‌ सुमध्यमाम्‌

Transliteration

yājopayāja-tapasā putra lebhe sa pāvakāt | dhṛṣṭadyumnaṁ draupadīṁ ca vedīmadhyāt sumadhyamām ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana disse: Pelas austeridades de Yāja e Upayāja, o rei obteve do fogo sagrado um filho —Dhṛṣṭadyumna— e também Draupadī, a donzela de cintura esbelta, surgida do próprio centro do altar.

Word by Word

याजYāja (name of Drupada’s priest)

उपयाजUpayāja (name of the priest)

तपसाby austerity

पुत्रम्a son

लेभेobtained

सःhe

पावकात्from the fire

धृष्टद्युम्नम्Dhṛṣṭadyumna

द्रौपदीम्Draupadī

चand

वेदी-मध्यात्from the middle of the altar

सुमध्यमाम्the slender-waisted (lady)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Yāja

Upayāja

Pāvaka (sacrificial fire)

Dhṛṣṭadyumna

Draupadī

Vedi (sacrificial altar)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the Mahābhārata’s view that disciplined ritual action (tapas and yajña) performed within dharma can generate powerful outcomes that shape collective destiny; extraordinary births are presented as morally and cosmically significant, not merely personal events.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that through the austerities/ritual power of the priests Yāja and Upayāja, the king receives Dhṛṣṭadyumna from the sacrificial fire, and Draupadī emerges from the center of the altar—an origin that marks them as pivotal figures for the coming events.