Shloka 84

Devanagari script

पतिमन्यं पृथुश्रोणि वृणीष्व मृदुभाषिणि । एषा त्वं धृतराष्ट्रस्य दासी भूता निवेशनम्‌

Transliteration

patim anyaṃ pṛthuśroṇi vṛṇīṣva mṛdubhāṣiṇi | eṣā tvaṃ dhṛtarāṣṭrasya dāsī bhūtā niveśanam ||

Translation

सञ्जय उवाच—पतिमन्यं पृथुश्रोणि वृणीष्व मृदुभाषिणि। एषा त्वं धृतराष्ट्रस्य दासी भूता निवेशनम्॥

Word by Word

पतिम्husband

अन्यम्another

पृथुश्रोणिO broad-hipped one

वृणीष्वchoose (for yourself)

मृदुभाषिणिO soft-spoken one

एषाthis (woman)

त्वम्you

धृतराष्ट्रस्यof Dhṛtarāṣṭra

दासीfemale servant/slave

भूताhaving become

निवेशनम्dwelling/house; residence

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical and social consequences of defeat in war: loss of autonomy and enforced servitude. It implicitly raises questions about dharma in victory—how the powerful treat the vulnerable—and the fragility of worldly status.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a harsh address to a woman described as gentle-speaking and broad-hipped, telling her to seek another husband because she has become a servant in Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s household—indicating a situation of subjugation following the fortunes of war.