Shloka 5
Setubandha-Niścaya (Decision for the Causeway) and Vānara-Senā Saṃniveśa — Bridge Strategy and Alliance Consolidation
अपत्यमस्मि ट्रुपदस्य राज्ञ: कृष्णेति मां शैब्य विदुर्मनुष्या: । साहं वृणे पञ्च जनान् पतित्वे ये खाण्डवप्रस्थगता: श्रुतास््ते
apatyam asmi trupadasya rājñaḥ kṛṣṇeti māṃ śaibya vidur manuṣyāḥ | sāhaṃ vṛṇe pañca janān patitve ye khāṇḍavaprasthagatāḥ śrutās te ||
“Sou filha do rei Drupada; ó Śaibya, entre os homens sou conhecida pelo nome de Kṛṣṇā. Por isso escolhi como maridos aqueles cinco homens de quem ouviste falar — os que foram para Khāṇḍavaprastha.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse foregrounds identity (lineage and public name) and deliberate choice, while implicitly raising a dharmic question: how extraordinary marital arrangements can be situated within a larger moral and cosmic order in the epic.
Kṛṣṇā (Draupadī), identifying herself as Drupada’s daughter, states that she chooses the five renowned men—those associated with Khāṇḍavaprastha—as her husbands, indicating her acceptance of the Pāṇḍavas as a group.