Shloka 36

Draupadī’s Exhortation on Rājadharma and Daṇḍa (द्रौपद्याः राजधर्मोपदेशः)

Devanagari script

एतेषां यतमानानां न मेडद्य वचन मृषा

Transliteration

eteṣāṃ yatamānānāṃ na medadya vacanaṃ mṛṣā

Translation

वैशम्पायन उवाच—एतेषां यतमानानां मध्ये मेदद्यस्य वचनं न मृषा।

Word by Word

• एतेषाम्: of these
• एतेषाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• यतमानानाम्: of those striving/endeavoring
• यतमानानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यत् (धातु)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• मे: my / of me
• मे: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• एतद्: this
• एतद्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• वचनम्: statement/word
• वचनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वचन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• मृषा: falsely / untrue
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मृषा

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Medadya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse affirms the reliability of a particular speaker’s words, linking truthfulness and credibility with sincere striving (yatamāna). In ethical terms, it underscores that earnest effort and integrity support trustworthy speech.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana, as narrator, endorses Medadya’s statement as truthful in the context of a discussion about those who are actively striving, thereby validating a point being made in the ongoing discourse of Śānti Parva.