Shloka 10
Arjuna’s Lament, the End of the Yadus, and the Pāṇḍavas’ Departure
पत्न्यास्तवाधिमखक्लृप्तमहाभिषेक- श्लाघिष्ठचारुकबरं कितवै: सभायाम् । स्पृष्टं विकीर्य पदयो: पतिताश्रुमुख्या यस्तत्स्त्रियोऽकृतहतेशविमुक्तकेशा: ॥ १० ॥
patnyās tavādhimakha-kḷpta-mahābhiṣeka- ślāghiṣṭha-cāru-kabaraṁ kitavaiḥ sabhāyām spṛṣṭaṁ vikīrya padayoḥ patitāśru-mukhyā yas tat-striyo ’kṛta-hateśa-vimukta-keśāḥ
Это был Он, Шри Кришна: в собрании, когда злодеи дерзнули коснуться и осквернить прядь волос Царицы, прекрасно убранную и освящённую для великого раджасуя-абхишека, Он распустил волосы жён тех грешников. Тогда Царица, со слезами на глазах, пала к стопам Кришны.
Queen Draupadī had a beautiful bunch of hair which was sanctified in the ceremonial function of Rājasūya-yajña. But when she was lost in a bet, Duḥśāsana touched her glorified hair to insult her. Draupadī then fell down at the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and Lord Kṛṣṇa decided that all the wives of Duḥśāsana and company should have their hair loosened as a result of the Battle of Kurukṣetra. Thus after the Battle of Kurukṣetra, after all the sons and grandsons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra died in battle, all the wives of the family were obliged to loosen their hair as widows. In other words, all the wives of the Kuru family became widows because of Duḥśāsana’s insulting a great devotee of the Lord. The Lord can tolerate insults upon Himself by any miscreant because the father tolerates even insults from the son. But He never tolerates insults upon His devotees. By insulting a great soul, one has to forgo all the results of pious acts and benedictions also.
FAQs
This verse recalls how Draupadī’s sanctified hair was dishonored by cheating gamblers in the royal assembly, marking it as a grave adharma that later brought devastating consequences to the offenders’ families.
Because it was adorned and honored during Yudhiṣṭhira’s great royal sacrifice (rājasūya), making the public attempt to dishevel it not only an insult to Draupadī but also an affront to sacred royal dharma.
It teaches that humiliating the innocent—especially in public and through abuse of power—creates severe karmic reactions; protecting dignity and honoring dharma are essential for personal and social wellbeing.