Shloka 15
Bhīma–Draupadī Saṃvāda on Restraint, Protection, and the Kīcaka Threat
Virāṭa-parva, Adhyāya 20
वर्णावकाशमपि मे पश्य पाण्डव यादृशम् । तादृशो मे न तत्रासीद् दु:खे परमके तदा
varṇāvakāśam api me paśya pāṇḍava yādṛśam | tādṛśo me na tatrāsīd duḥkhe paramake tadā
Вайшампаяна сказал: «О Пандава, взгляни хотя бы на ту меру свободы, что есть у меня теперь — говорить и действовать. В то время, в пору крайнего страдания, у меня не было ни такой воли, ни такой возможности.»
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how severe adversity can strip a person of ordinary freedom—of speech, choice, and initiative—inviting reflection on patience and endurance when circumstances leave little ‘room’ to act.
Vaiśaṃpāyana addresses a Pāṇḍava and contrasts the present ability to speak or act with an earlier period of intense distress, stating that in that earlier crisis he had no such opportunity or latitude.