Shloka 203

Adhyaya 11 — Draupadī’s Grief, Demand for Justice, and Bhīma’s Departure

Devanagari script

राजन्‌ शिरसि ते कृत्वा जीवेयमिति मे मतिः । द्रौपदी बोली--महाराज! मैंने सुना है कि द्रोणपुत्रके मस्तकमें एक मणि है जो उसके जन्मके साथ ही पैदा हुई है। उस पापीको युद्धमें मारकर यदि वह मणि ला दी जायगी तो मैं उसे देख लूँगी। राजन! उस मणिको आपके सिरपर धारण कराकर ही मैं जीवन धारण कर सकूँगी; ऐसा मेरा दृढ़ निश्चय है

Transliteration

rājan śirasi te kṛtvā jīveyam iti me matiḥ |

Translation

Disse Vaiśampāyana: “Ó Rei, esta é a minha resolução: somente depois de colocá-la sobre a tua cabeça poderei continuar vivendo.” (No contexto, Draupadī declara que a gema de nascimento de Aśvatthāman, uma vez tomada dele, deve ser posta sobre a cabeça do rei; só então, diz ela, sua vida e sua dignidade poderão ser sustentadas após o ultraje do massacre noturno.)

Word by Word

• {'rājan': 'O king (vocative of rājan)', 'śirasi': 'on the head', 'te': 'your', 'kṛtvā': 'having placed/put (absolutive of √kṛ)', 'jīveyam': 'I would live / I can live (optative/volitional sense)', 'iti': 'thus', 'me': 'my', 'matiḥ': 'thought, intention, resolve'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Draupadī
• Aśvatthāman (Droṇaputra)
• maṇi (birth-gem)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames a moral demand for restitution after atrocity: dignity and social order (dharma) are symbolically restored when the wrongdoer’s emblem of power (the maṇi) is removed and transferred to rightful authority; grief seeks justice, not mere vengeance.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the night massacre, Draupadī insists that Aśvatthāman’s innate jewel be taken from him and placed on the king’s head; she declares she cannot continue living unless this act of reparation and humiliation of the offender is carried out.