Shloka 16
Ambā’s Vow of Tapas after Paraśurāma’s Assessment (अम्बाया तपोव्रतनिश्चयः)
पुत्रवत् पुत्रकार्याणि सर्वाणि समकारयत् । रक्षणं चैव मन्त्रस्य महिषी द्रुपदस्य सा
putravat putrakāryāṇi sarvāṇi samakārayat | rakṣaṇaṁ caiva mantrasya mahiṣī drupadasya sā, narendra |
Disse Bhishma: “Ó rei, depois disso Drupada mandou que todos os ritos e preparativos para aquela criança oculta fossem feitos exatamente como para um filho. E a rainha de Drupada tomou todas as medidas para proteger o segredo; chamava a criança apenas de ‘filho’. Em toda a cidade, exceto o próprio Drupada, ninguém sabia que a criança era, na verdade, uma menina.”
भीष्म उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights royal and familial pragmatism: to preserve political stability and intended outcomes, Drupada and his queen maintain strict confidentiality and perform socially recognized rites as for a male heir. It raises ethical tension between truthfulness and perceived necessity in matters of lineage and statecraft.
Bhishma narrates that Drupada secretly raises a girl as a son. He arranges all the customary ‘son’s’ rites for the child, while the queen carefully guards the secret and publicly refers to the child as a boy so that no one in the city suspects the truth.