Shloka 16
Ādi Parva, Adhyāya 180 — Svayaṃvara-Virodha and Pāṇḍava Parākrama
Draupadī Episode
भवतां च विजानामि सर्वलोकहितेप्सुताम् । तस्माद् विधध्व॑ यच्छेयो लोकानां मम चेश्वरा:
aurva uvāca |
bhavatāṃ ca vijānāmi sarvalokahitepsutām |
tasmād vidadhvaṃ yac chreyo lokānāṃ mama ceśvarāḥ ||
na hitaṃ rākṣasaḥ kaścit śakto bhakṣayituṃ mune |
ātmanāivātmanas tena dṛṣṭo mṛtyus tadābhavat ||
और्व उवाच— भवतां च विजानामि सर्वलोकहितेप्सुताम्; तस्माद् विधध्वं यच्छ्रेयो लोकानां मम चेश्वराः। (वृद्धा ऊचुः)—न हितं राक्षसः कश्चिच्छक्तो भक्षयितुं मुने; आत्मनैवात्मनस्तेन दृष्टो मृत्युस्तदाभवत्॥
ऑर्व उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even when one has power, the right course is what promotes śreyas—true welfare—for oneself and for the worlds; harm and ruin often arise not from external enemies but from one’s own actions and their consequences.
Aurva addresses the powerful elders/ancestors, acknowledging their intention for universal welfare and urging them to choose the best course. The passage also notes that no rākṣasa could destroy certain persons; instead, their downfall came from their own deed—an internal, self-generated cause rather than an external attacker.