Shloka 5
मृगस्वप्नदर्शनम्
The Deer’s Dream-Appeal and the Move to Kāmyaka
दुर्योधनस्य ग्रहणाद् गन्धर्वेण बलात् प्रभो | स्त्रीणां बाह्माभिमर्शाच्च हतं भवति न: कुलम्,शक्तिशाली भीम! गन्धर्वके द्वारा बलपूर्वक दुर्योधनके पकड़े जानेसे और एक बाहरी पुरुषके द्वारा कुरुकुलकी स्त्रियोंका अपहरण होनेसे हमारे कुलका जो तिरस्कार हुआ है, वह कुलके लिये मृत्युके तुल्य है
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | duryodhanasya grahaṇād gandharveṇa balāt prabho | strīṇāṃ bāhv-abhimarśāc ca hataṃ bhavati naḥ kulam |
Yudhiṣṭhira disse: “Ó senhor, porque Duryodhana foi tomado à força por um Gandharva, e porque as mulheres da casa Kuru sofreram o toque e o aperto dos braços de um forasteiro, nossa linhagem fica como se tivesse sido morta. Para uma família nobre, tal desonra pública é equivalente à morte.”
युधिषछ्िर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse frames public dishonour—especially the violent humiliation of a ruler and the violation of women’s dignity—as a moral catastrophe for a lineage. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical world, reputation (kīrti) and protection of dependents are integral to kṣatriya-dharma; when these collapse, the family’s standing is treated as ‘dead’ even if its members live.
Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on a recent disgrace: Duryodhana has been forcibly captured by a Gandharva, and the Kuru women have been manhandled by outsiders. He interprets these events not merely as tactical setbacks but as a profound insult to the Kuru house, intensifying the sense of crisis and the ethical pressure to respond.