Shloka 19
भीष्मद्रोणयोर्दुर्योधनं प्रति शमोपदेशः | Bhīṣma and Droṇa’s Counsel of Conciliation to Duryodhana
स्त्रीधर्मिणी वरारोहा क्षत्रधर्मरता सदा । नाध्यगच्छत् तदा नाथं कृष्णा नाथवती सती
strīdharminī varārohā kṣatradharmaratā sadā | nādhyagacchat tadā nāthaṃ kṛṣṇā nāthavatī satī ||
«Драупади — верная женскому долгу, благородная и возвышенная, и всегда преданная дхарме кшатрия — в тот час не смогла найти защитника. Хотя она была добродетельной женой и поистине имела опору, в тот день в собрании кауравов не нашлось никого, кто бы встал за неё, и она вынесла унижение, словно была без прибежища.»
पुत्र उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights a moral failure: even a virtuous woman who should have been protected by social and familial duty found no defender in a public assembly. It underscores that dharma is not merely personal virtue (satī, strī-dharma) but also collective responsibility—especially the kṣatriya obligation to protect and uphold justice.
The speaker recalls Draupadī’s ordeal in the Kaurava court: despite being a lawful wife with rightful protectors, she was left without effective refuge when she was publicly wronged. The line frames her as exemplary in conduct, while exposing the assembly’s ethical collapse in failing to shield her.