Shloka 10
Adhyāya 16 — Daiva, Kṣatriya-dharma, and Public Reassurance to Dhṛtarāṣṭra
प्रेक्षतामेव वो भीम वेपन्तीं कदलीमिव । सत्रीधर्मिणीमरिष्टाड़ीं तथा द्यूतपराजिताम्
prekṣatām eva vo bhīma vepantīṁ kadalīm iva | satrīdharmiṇīm ariṣṭāḍīṁ tathā dyūta-parājitām ||
वैशम्पायन उवाच—प्रेक्षतामेव वो भीम वेपन्तीं कदलीमिव। सत्रीधर्मिणीमरिष्टाङ्गीं तथा द्यूतपराजिताम्॥
वैशम्पायन उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the ethical weight of witnessing injustice: even a person devoted to dharma (especially strī-dharma) can be shaken and humiliated by others’ adharma, and the ruin caused by gambling (dyūta) is portrayed as a moral and social catastrophe.
Vaiśampāyana addresses Bhīma, recalling how a virtuous woman—associated with the fallout of the dice-game defeat—stood trembling before the onlookers, likened to a plantain tree quivering, emphasizing her vulnerability amid public disgrace.