Shloka 11
Bhīma–Draupadī Saṃvāda on Restraint, Protection, and the Kīcaka Threat
Virāṭa-parva, Adhyāya 20
महिषी पाण्दुपुत्राणां दुहिता द्रुपदस्य च । इमामवस्थां सम्प्राप्ता मदन््या का जिजीविषेत्,मैं पाण्डवोंकी पटरानी और ट्रुपदकी पुत्री होकर भी ऐसी दुर्दशामें पड़ी हूँ। मेरे सिवा दूसरी कौन स्त्री ऐसी अवस्थामें जीना चाहेगी?
mahiṣī pāṇḍuputrāṇāṃ duhitā drupadasya ca | imām avasthāṃ samprāptā madanyā kā jijīviṣet ||
Vaiśampāyana disse: “Sou a rainha consagrada dos filhos de Pāṇḍu e também filha de Drupada; e, no entanto, caí nesta condição miserável. Fora de mim, que outra mulher desejaria sequer continuar vivendo em tal estado?”
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tension between social status and lived suffering: even one who is a royal queen and of noble birth can be reduced to misery. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s concern with honor, vulnerability, and the endurance required to uphold dharma amid humiliation and adversity.
In the Virāṭa Parva context, the speaker reports a woman’s self-description as the Pāṇḍavas’ chief queen and Drupada’s daughter, lamenting that she has fallen into a degraded condition and questioning who else would choose to live through such a plight—an expression of despair and wounded honor during the Pāṇḍavas’ period of concealment.