Shloka 263
Vyāsa’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira: Pratismṛti-vidyā, Arjuna’s Aśtra-Quest, and the Move to Kāmyaka
दृष्टवा मां गौरिति प्राह प्रहलन् राजसंसदि । नाथ! मुझे सबसे बढ़कर दुःख इस बातसे हुआ है कि उस पापी दुर्योधनने राजाओंसे भरी हुई सभामें मेरी ओर देखकर और मुझे “गाय” (अनेक पुरुषोंके उपभोगमें आनेवाली) कहकर मेरा उपहास किया
dṛṣṭvā māṃ gaur iti prāha prahasan rājasansadi | nātha! mama sarvato 'dhikaṃ duḥkham asminn eva jātaṃ yat sa pāpī duryodhanaḥ rājabhir bhṛtāyāṃ sabhāyāṃ mām avalokya “gauḥ” (anekapuruṣopabhogyā) iti vadann upahāsaṃ cakāra |
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Ao ver-me, ele riu na assembleia real e disse: ‘Uma vaca!’ Ó senhor, minha maior dor nasceu apenas disso: que o pecador Duryodhana, num salão repleto de reis, olhou para mim e zombou de mim chamando-me de ‘vaca’—um insulto que sugere uma mulher tratada como objeto para muitos homens.”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The passage highlights adharma expressed through public humiliation and sexualized slander. It frames mockery in a royal court as a grave ethical violation: degrading a person’s dignity—especially before elders and rulers—corrodes social order and becomes a karmic seed for larger conflict.
In a court filled with kings, Duryodhana looks at the speaker (a woman being referenced in the narration) and derisively calls her “cow,” a loaded insult implying she is for the use of many men. The narrator emphasizes that this public ridicule is the greatest source of her pain.