Shloka 16
Adhyaya 11 — Draupadī’s Grief, Demand for Justice, and Bhīma’s Departure
“यदि आज आप रणभूमिमें पराक्रम प्रकट करके सगे-सम्बन्धियोंसहित पापाचारी द्रोणकुमारके प्राण नहीं हर लेते हैं तो मैं यहीं अनशन करके अपने जीवनका अन्त कर दूँगी। पाण्डवो! आप सब लोग इस बातको कान खोलकर सुन लें। यदि अश्वत्थामा अपने पापकर्मका फल नहीं पा लेता है तो मैं अवश्य प्राण त्याग दूँगी” ।।
yadi ājāpy raṇabhūmau parākramaṃ prakaṭya sage-sambandhibhiḥ saha pāpācāriṇaḥ droṇakumārasya prāṇān na haratha, tarhi aham ihaiva anaśanena svajīvitasya antaṃ kariṣyāmi. pāṇḍavāḥ, yūyaṃ sarve etad vacanaṃ karṇau vivṛtya śṛṇuta. yadi aśvatthāmā svapāpakarmaphalaṃ na prāpnoti, tarhi aham avaśyaṃ prāṇān tyakṣyāmi. evam uktvā tataḥ kṛṣṇā pāṇḍavaṃ pratyupāviśat—yudhiṣṭhiraṃ yājñasenī dharmarājaṃ yaśasvinī.
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Se hoje não demonstrais vosso valor no campo de batalha e, com vossos parentes, não tirais a vida do pecaminoso filho de Droṇa, então porei fim à minha vida aqui mesmo pelo jejum. Ó Pāṇḍavas, ouvi isto com os ouvidos bem abertos: se Aśvatthāmā não receber o fruto de seu ato perverso, certamente abandonarei a vida.” Tendo dito isso, a ilustre Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī), filha de Drupada, sentou-se diante de Yudhiṣṭhira—o Dharmarāja—para empreender o jejum.
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage foregrounds the demand that grave wrongdoing must meet appropriate consequence (pāpakarmaphala), while also exposing the ethical tension between personal vengeance, royal duty, and dharma. Draupadī’s vow of anaśana functions as moral pressure on rulers to act decisively for justice.
After Aśvatthāmā’s atrocity, Draupadī addresses the Pāṇḍavas and declares that if they do not kill the sinful son of Droṇa and ensure he receives the fruit of his crime, she will fast to death. She then sits before Yudhiṣṭhira to begin the fast, intensifying the crisis of response and punishment.